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1,001 questions about the ASTB (post your scores & ask your questions here!)

BusyBee604

St. Francis/Hugh Hefner Combo!
pilot
Super Moderator
Contributor
Should I retake the exam and risk a worse score? or try with what I got? Also, anybody know the competitive score for Information Warfare Officers? I've wanted to be a Navy Officer for almost 8 years now and counting. Please help......
Retake definitely... I cannot recall anyone taking one, or even two retakes, who did not improve substantially with each retake. You will have to improve that OAR by 15+ to be competitive.

As for study gouge, I recall a dude here on AW a couple of months ago... who nailed a 9 9 9 73 on his ASTB/OAR. Do some research to find & PM him... he would probably be glad to share some study hints/gouge with you. It's usually money to do what the winners do!;)

Good luck...:cool:
BzB
 

exNavyOffRec

Well-Known Member
Hey guys,

I have a problem, I took the OAR today for the first time and scored a 37. I want to go Intel Officer and I know that it is a very competitive field. Here is some of my background: I'm 28, I served 5 years on active duty and have four years in the Navy Reserve. I was recently Command Advanced to E-6 for being the Reserve sailor of the year at my helicopter squadron. The degree I am pursuing is Political Science and I currently have a 3.94, and am set to graduate december 2013. My officer recruiter told me that I have no chance of picking up Intel with my OAR of 37. I think I did bad on the mechanical comprehension portion. Can someone offer me advice on what to study. Here is what I studied prior to taking the OAR:

Marinegouge.com
ARCO- Master the Officer Candidate Test
ARCO- GRE/GMAT Math Review
Petersons MWR military ASTB timed tests.

Should I retake the exam and risk a worse score? or try with what I got? Also, anybody know the competitive score for Information Warfare Officers? I've wanted to be a Navy Officer for almost 8 years now and counting. Please help......

I would tell you to retake, at least get it in the mid 40's so it doesn't stick out as low.

Your degree does not align with IW, unless you have taken calculus and physics, IW essentially looks only at tech degrees they don't say it, but the selection results show it.

FYI, on Intel they changed the program authorization, it list "STEM" degrees as "preferred but not required" and degrees such as Poly Sci/History/etc are now listed as "acceptable"
 

ea6bflyr

Working Class Bum
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Here's my rub. You posted a very similar question in another thread, then you start another thread. What's going on? You didnt like the answers you received? The advice you received, I thought, was pretty solid.

You say you studied, but you failed to say how and how long you studied. So you did not blow the test out of the water? Big deal....Study harder and re-take the test. It's that simple. If you suck at Mechanical comprehension, then get some help....either take a class or get a tutor.

You are not the first, nor will you be the last, person to fall short on the ASTB. There are lots of other great resources on this site....time to do your homework.
 

Toon56

Member
As this is my first post on this site I would like to say thank you for all of the information that everyone has put on here. I took the full ASTB for the first time two days ago and had only two weeks to study for it. The gouges and other sources of information that I found on here were invaluable to me.

The majority of what I studied was the Barron's Military Flight Aptitude Test study book (easy to find and Barnes and Noble) I found it to be extremely helpful and would recommend it to anyone who is planning to take the test. From this site I was directed to the ARCO study guide which you can download online for free, atrickpay's guide, and a host of other small guides that I found just exploring the various ASTB threads.

As a quick and dirty breakdown of the test I'll go through it section by section, I took form 5.

Math- this section is easier than I was expecting, coming from a Political Science degree and only a few calculus classes I was the most worried about this section the most. The Barron's book adequately prepared me for the types of questions that were on here, lots of basic algebra with a few word problems. I remember specifically a few questions that were of the (car A leaves and travels at 45 mph and car B leaves and travels at 65 mph) type, so study those and do plenty of practice examples, I found some good examples on the NOMI website and in their practice questions.

Reading- For me this was the easiest of the OAR sections, I finished and had time to go back over every single question again. My advice is just practice these in a timed environment so you don't run short.

Mechanical- Again the Barron's book was a great example of how this section would be. There were lever questions, rope and pulley questions, mechanical gear advantage questions, and the water tower example. I did not have any compressed fluids questions on my test form. What I struggled with most were the rope and pulley questions, I studied them a TON over the two weeks that I was preparing and still had some trouble. Maybe this is just me having issues with that particular concept, but I would advise anyone to know it well as there were several questions in this section regarding it.

Spatial Apperception- As with what everyone on this site has said, this portion is harder in the test than in any of the study guides. There are crazy angles and the situations presented were often more complicated than anything I had seen beforehand, the only thing I can say to do is practice over and over, find any possible practice questions and do them.

Aviation and Nautical Info- I read on an earlier thread someone's post "live by the gouge, die by the gouge" for this section it is true, you can gain the greatest advantage here by just putting your nose to the book and studying. Know the structure of a plane, which control surfaces control what movements, the instrument panel in detail (the big 6) and know basic weather fronts. I had one random question about clouds here as well.

Aviation supplemental- I expected this section to be easy as it is supposed to be a conglomeration of all the sections, but on my test form it ended up being nothing but an extra Aviation and Nautical Info section. I had no math, no mechanics, no reading, and no spatial apperception. I will be the first to say this was a HARD section on form 5. The questions were random and asked from a variety of concepts. Make sure you know aircraft instruments and what they do, study binary numbers (I was asked what specific numbers were in binary form and had no idea) Also know what a Radio Magnetic Indicator is and what it does.

Sorry for the long post and any grammar errors, I hope this provides a little insight to my test form for anyone who is about to take the test.I'm happy to answer any questions.
I scored- 7/8/8/53
 

BusyBee604

St. Francis/Hugh Hefner Combo!
pilot
Super Moderator
Contributor
As this is my first post on this site I would like to say thank you for all of the information that everyone has put on here. I took the full ASTB for the first time two days ago and had only two weeks to study for it. The gouges and other sources of information that I found on here were invaluable to me.
Outstanding post, well thought out and organized. Should be very helpful gouge for those preparing for their ASTBs..

Of particular note, it's a pleasure to read a 'Wannabee' post that is well organized, properly spelled, and punctuated. Too many posts on here resemble fifth-grade vice college level composition. Proper writing skills are a must for a Naval Officer... among other considerations are that your Sailor's promotions are dependent upon it; and your writing skills will be one of the numerous inputs to your own evaluations (FitRep), thus also affecting your promotions.;)
I scored- 7/8/8/53
That says it all, and certainly validates your gouge!:)
BzB
 

jander12

Well-Known Member
pilot
First: Thank you to all who posted gouge, recommended readings, etc. I would not have known where to begin studying without these forums.

Took the OAR/ASTB FORM 5: I scored - 9/9/9/67

Primary study aids: FAA Pilot's Handbook (google: "FAA pilot's handbook of aeronautical knowledge"), Barron's Military Flight Aptitude Tests (google it - Amazon, half.com, etc), various other gouge documents (attached - not my documents - document titles are as I received them).

Degree: Systems Engineering (so math wasn't as much of a concern for me).

Aviation Background: None. With that being said, if you put in the time and read a lot of the FAA Pilot's Handbook (read: chapters 2-7 and 13 if pressed for time, entire document if time permits) it will serve you well.

I studied for approximately 3 weeks, 10 - 12 hours/week. The week before the test I simply reviewed maybe an hour/day. I was primarily concerned about the Aviation and Nautical information portions of the test. Patrick Toon's gouge above was helpful and in depth (Thank you).

Again, thank you to all who posted gouge.

I am no expert, but am willing to answer questions.
 

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Navy Ship

Member
First: Thank you to all who posted gouge, recommended readings, etc. I would not have known where to begin studying without these forums.

Took the OAR/ASTB FORM 5: I scored - 9/9/9/67

Primary study aids: FAA Pilot's Handbook (google: "FAA pilot's handbook of aeronautical knowledge"), Barron's Military Flight Aptitude Tests (google it - Amazon, half.com, etc), various other gouge documents (attached - not my documents - document titles are as I received them).

Degree: Systems Engineering (so math wasn't as much of a concern for me).

Aviation Background: None. With that being said, if you put in the time and read a lot of the FAA Pilot's Handbook (read: chapters 2-7 and 13 if pressed for time, entire document if time permits) it will serve you well.

I studied for approximately 3 weeks, 10 - 12 hours/week. The week before the test I simply reviewed maybe an hour/day. I was primarily concerned about the Aviation and Nautical information portions of the test. Patrick Toon's gouge above was helpful and in depth (Thank you).

Again, thank you to all who posted gouge.

I am no expert, but am willing to answer questions.


Just curious was you supplemental section all aviation / nautical?
 

jander12

Well-Known Member
pilot
Essentially, yes. Binary numbers (referenced below) are technically mathematics, but there were no calculations or reading in this section.

Patrick Toon:

... I took form 5....

Aviation supplemental- I expected this section to be easy as it is supposed to be a conglomeration of all the sections, but on my test form it ended up being nothing but an extra Aviation and Nautical Info section. I had no math, no mechanics, no reading, and no spatial apperception. I will be the first to say this was a HARD section on form 5. The questions were random and asked from a variety of concepts. Make sure you know aircraft instruments and what they do, study binary numbers (I was asked what specific numbers were in binary form and had no idea) Also know what a Radio Magnetic Indicator is and what it does.
 

red_ryder

Well-Known Member
None
Retake definitely... I cannot recall anyone taking one, or even two retakes, who did not improve substantially with each retake. You will have to improve that OAR by 15+ to be competitive.

As for study gouge, I recall a dude here on AW a couple of months ago... who nailed a 9 9 9 73 on his ASTB/OAR. Do some research to find & PM him... he would probably be glad to share some study hints/gouge with you. It's usually money to do what the winners do!;)

Good luck...:cool:
BzB

I did comparably, I'll save you the time in finding him, whoever he is. I mostly studied the marine gouge and the ARCO book, although I did take a look at the Barron's as well. You can read through them at the book store for an hour or two if you want, to get an idea for how good they seem to be, before you buy them (or not buy them).

I will say, it doesn't matter how long you study, per se, but that you study such that by the time you get to the test, you are totally comfortable with the types of practice problems they have. Also don't forget to take a day off before the test because you don't want to go in with a tired/melted down brain.

Good luck!
 

Navy Ship

Member
I did comparably, I'll save you the time in finding him, whoever he is. I mostly studied the marine gouge and the ARCO book, although I did take a look at the Barron's as well. You can read through them at the book store for an hour or two if you want, to get an idea for how good they seem to be, before you buy them (or not buy them).

I will say, it doesn't matter how long you study, per se, but that you study such that by the time you get to the test, you are totally comfortable with the types of practice problems they have. Also don't forget to take a day off before the test because you don't want to go in with a tired/melted down brain.

Good luck!
His name is Rosseter or something like that and I believe hes gone inactive
 

Fireball793

New Member
Hi everyone! first post.. hope I'm doing this right

This may have been asked before but my mind is slowly imploding from seeing 91 pages of ASTB questions so I'll shoot anyways. Does anyone know if there is a website or gouge out there that has the spatial apperception directions listed? I have taken the ASTB twice, and not improved, and my LT is starting to think it might be the spatial section considering the pictures and angles/difficulty are vastly different (at least in my mind) from all of the practice out there. If anyone knows of any practice or if the examples/directions from the actual exam are posted anywhere, I would greatly appreciate that info so that I can use that extra time to double check answers, rather than trying to decipher the differences in the picture.

Thanks for all the help and info listed on here thus far. Somewhat overwhelming, but so incredibly useful for someone who is dyin' to fly/may cut off a limb to not go SWO
 

exNavyOffRec

Well-Known Member
Hi everyone! first post.. hope I'm doing this right

This may have been asked before but my mind is slowly imploding from seeing 91 pages of ASTB questions so I'll shoot anyways. Does anyone know if there is a website or gouge out there that has the spatial apperception directions listed? I have taken the ASTB twice, and not improved, and my LT is starting to think it might be the spatial section considering the pictures and angles/difficulty are vastly different (at least in my mind) from all of the practice out there. If anyone knows of any practice or if the examples/directions from the actual exam are posted anywhere, I would greatly appreciate that info so that I can use that extra time to double check answers, rather than trying to decipher the differences in the picture.

Thanks for all the help and info listed on here thus far. Somewhat overwhelming, but so incredibly useful for someone who is dyin' to fly/may cut off a limb to not go SWO

It is an aptitude test, so often even when people study scores just go up a point, maybe 2, I have seen a bigger jump but that person studied over a year and used all the times to increase his scores, the biggest thing is there isn't a way to see which area you need to improve in.

What scores are you going for? Where are you trying to go up from?
 

Toon56

Member
Hi everyone! first post.. hope I'm doing this right

This may have been asked before but my mind is slowly imploding from seeing 91 pages of ASTB questions so I'll shoot anyways. Does anyone know if there is a website or gouge out there that has the spatial apperception directions listed? I have taken the ASTB twice, and not improved, and my LT is starting to think it might be the spatial section considering the pictures and angles/difficulty are vastly different (at least in my mind) from all of the practice out there. If anyone knows of any practice or if the examples/directions from the actual exam are posted anywhere, I would greatly appreciate that info so that I can use that extra time to double check answers, rather than trying to decipher the differences in the picture.

Thanks for all the help and info listed on here thus far. Somewhat overwhelming, but so incredibly useful for someone who is dyin' to fly/may cut off a limb to not go SWO

The Barron's Military Flight Aptitude book did a good job of showing varying examples. The official NOMI website also provided a good set. As I am sure you know, the actual test questions are much more convoluted and confusing than the practice questions so nothing can completely prepare you, but if you look over those two sources repeatedly you will be in the ballpark.
 
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