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

[JDtoSupply]

Just curious on thoughts for retake: I won't be up for board until at earliest November and latest Jan/Feb '14, so time isn't the issue. I have a package for Supply/SWO that's 3.8 GPA Business Admin, 55 OAR, law degree, etc. I feel like I nailed the Math/Verbal sections, and completely derped on the Mechanical. I would guess that, with some knowledge of what the actual Mechanical section covers, I would do better.

Should I consider retaking on a 55, or is the marginal return on a higher score minimal in terms of making my package more competitive?

 

[BusyBee604]

Just curious on thoughts for retake:

Should I consider retaking on a 55, or is the marginal return on a higher score minimal in terms of making my package more competitive?

Were it I, would stick with the OAR you have. It plus your excellent GPA, makes you very competitive so far... you need solid LORs, and listing of other achievements, leadership experience, volunteer work, etc.
Don't sweat the mechanical "derp", you are shooting for Supply/SWO, not aviation, where mechanical comes more into play. Go for it!
BzB

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Just curious on thoughts for retake: I won't be up for board until at earliest November and latest Jan/Feb '14, so time isn't the issue. I have a package for Supply/SWO that's 3.8 GPA Business Admin, 55 OAR, law degree, etc. I feel like I nailed the Math/Verbal sections, and completely derped on the Mechanical. I would guess that, with some knowledge of what the actual Mechanical section covers, I would do better.

Should I consider retaking on a 55, or is the marginal return on a higher score minimal in terms of making my package more competitive?

Your OAR is fine, it is in the average range and the OAR doesn't make or break the application, you have a great GPA so if the rest is good you should have a decent shot, but look at the messages RUFiO181 has posted about Supply.

 

[dademcbrayer]

I am getting ready to take the ASTB in early October. I have been studying out of Barron's, Military Flight Aptitude Tests. I have been reading about what to expect during the test and have read some mixed reviews. What sort of supplementary information should I be seeking, if any?

 

[tdogsmith]

Thought I'd post something and reciprocate for all of the resources this forum has given me.

Took the ASTB for the first time this morning (Form 3) and this is what I thought:

Math - Fairly easy for me, much more simple than the Peterson practice tests I went through. If you can master those, you should master this section.
Reading - I hated this section, the whole reason I decided to study engineering was to avoid reading as much as possible. However, this section was equivalent in difficulty to any of the gouge/resources you find on here.
Mechanical - Definitely easier than Peterson practice tests, in my opinion. Basically all conceptual stuff.
Spatial - Once again, similar to practice items but with severe angles. Wasn't too difficult to figure out.
ANT - Know atrickpay's study guide and this should be easy as well. Having that guide is kind of like cheating because it covers basically everything I saw in this section.
Supplemental - All aviation if I remember correctly and even a repeat of a couple questions from the ANT section. atrickpay's guide is solid for this again.

Score: 8/8/9/66

My best advice is to read through this forum as much as possible and to look into all the resources you can find here, and most of all practice under timed conditions. I used atrickpay's guide, marine gouge, ASTB mechanical gouge, Peterson's Military Flight Aptitude Tests and Master the Officer Candidate Tests, NOMI's sample ASTB questions, and the FAA Pilots Handbook. I think I studied too much, as my education has taught me to overkill on the studying for any kind of test. However, remember to relax. The test was much easier than I imagined and I had much more time left over than I expected.

 

[Kristoffer Abonal]

Great work tdogsmith, you and I got the same score. Which communities are you going for?

Thought I'd post something and reciprocate for all of the resources this forum has given me.

Took the ASTB for the first time this morning (Form 3) and this is what I thought:

Math - Fairly easy for me, much more simple than the Peterson practice tests I went through. If you can master those, you should master this section.
Reading - I hated this section, the whole reason I decided to study engineering was to avoid reading as much as possible. However, this section was equivalent in difficulty to any of the gouge/resources you find on here.
Mechanical - Definitely easier than Peterson practice tests, in my opinion. Basically all conceptual stuff.
Spatial - Once again, similar to practice items but with severe angles. Wasn't too difficult to figure out.
ANT - Know atrickpay's study guide and this should be easy as well. Having that guide is kind of like cheating because it covers basically everything I saw in this section.
Supplemental - All aviation if I remember correctly and even a repeat of a couple questions from the ANT section. atrickpay's guide is solid for this again.

Score: 8/8/9/66

My best advice is to read through this forum as much as possible and to look into all the resources you can find here, and most of all practice under timed conditions. I used atrickpay's guide, marine gouge, ASTB mechanical gouge, Peterson's Military Flight Aptitude Tests and Master the Officer Candidate Tests, NOMI's sample ASTB questions, and the FAA Pilots Handbook. I think I studied too much, as my education has taught me to overkill on the studying for any kind of test. However, remember to relax. The test was much easier than I imagined and I had much more time left over than I expected.

 

[BusyBee604]

Thought I'd post something and reciprocate for all of the resources this forum has given me.

Took the ASTB for the first time this morning (Form 3) and this is what I thought:

Score: 8/8/9/66

Great work tdogsmith, you and I got the same score.

Wow, have y'all come from an advanced galaxy faaar away? Back those scores up with a high average to above kit, and you'll be golden. Those scores are damn close to the highest I've ever seen posted in my 4+ years on AW *9/9/9/63*. My dipped 'pisscutter' is off to both of you.!
BzB

 

[mich313]

I took the test this morning (Form 5) and here's my reaction:

-Math: much easier than I expected. I was able to finish with several minutes to spare. There were 2 questions that I had to guess on, but I recalled seeing similar questions in my study gouge. Overall, there was nothing foreign or anything I hadn't seen in study materials on the test.

-Reading: more difficult than I had expected. Throughout my studying this was the section I always scored best in, but I found the paragraphs to be harder to follow and answer choices more difficult to discern what was most correct. However, as I scored well on the practice, I did not spend much time studying for the reading portion, so that may be why I had more trouble.

-Mechanics: I knew this section would be hardest for me personally, and I was very correct. The questions here were similar to the gouge, but different enough that several questions I had to just blindly guess and hope for the best. If you have no previous mechanics/physics background, be sure to know the simple machines and their mechanical advantage like the back of your hand!!!

Overall, my score was a 56. As I am applying for Intel/SWO/Supply, I only took the OAR portion. I used the Arco Book, Peterson Book, Officer Candidate Tests for Dummies, Air Warriors gouge, and several .pdf study guides floating around this forum. I also found the flashcards on http://www.proprofs.com/flashcards/search.php?page=1&search=astb to be extremely helpful.

Good luck to all taking the exam! Time is really the trickiest part, so I repeat what tdogsmith said and practice under timed conditions prior to test day!

 

[mich313]

Thought I'd post something and reciprocate for all of the resources this forum has given me.

Took the ASTB for the first time this morning (Form 3) and this is what I thought:

Math - Fairly easy for me, much more simple than the Peterson practice tests I went through. If you can master those, you should master this section.
Reading - I hated this section, the whole reason I decided to study engineering was to avoid reading as much as possible. However, this section was equivalent in difficulty to any of the gouge/resources you find on here.
Mechanical - Definitely easier than Peterson practice tests, in my opinion. Basically all conceptual stuff.
Spatial - Once again, similar to practice items but with severe angles. Wasn't too difficult to figure out.
ANT - Know atrickpay's study guide and this should be easy as well. Having that guide is kind of like cheating because it covers basically everything I saw in this section.
Supplemental - All aviation if I remember correctly and even a repeat of a couple questions from the ANT section. atrickpay's guide is solid for this again.

Score: 8/8/9/66

My best advice is to read through this forum as much as possible and to look into all the resources you can find here, and most of all practice under timed conditions. I used atrickpay's guide, marine gouge, ASTB mechanical gouge, Peterson's Military Flight Aptitude Tests and Master the Officer Candidate Tests, NOMI's sample ASTB questions, and the FAA Pilots Handbook. I think I studied too much, as my education has taught me to overkill on the studying for any kind of test. However, remember to relax. The test was much easier than I imagined and I had much more time left over than I expected.

Congrats on the score tdogsmith! That's awesome!!

 

[Kristoffer Abonal]

Solid score mich313, you and I are going for the same communities in that order. Good luck.

I took the test this morning (Form 5) and here's my reaction:

-Math: much easier than I expected. I was able to finish with several minutes to spare. There were 2 questions that I had to guess on, but I recalled seeing similar questions in my study gouge. Overall, there was nothing foreign or anything I hadn't seen in study materials on the test.

-Reading: more difficult than I had expected. Throughout my studying this was the section I always scored best in, but I found the paragraphs to be harder to follow and answer choices more difficult to discern what was most correct. However, as I scored well on the practice, I did not spend much time studying for the reading portion, so that may be why I had more trouble.

-Mechanics: I knew this section would be hardest for me personally, and I was very correct. The questions here were similar to the gouge, but different enough that several questions I had to just blindly guess and hope for the best. If you have no previous mechanics/physics background, be sure to know the simple machines and their mechanical advantage like the back of your hand!!!

Overall, my score was a 56. As I am applying for Intel/SWO/Supply, I only took the OAR portion. I used the Arco Book, Peterson Book, Officer Candidate Tests for Dummies, Air Warriors gouge, and several .pdf study guides floating around this forum. I also found the flashcards on http://www.proprofs.com/flashcards/search.php?page=1&search=astb to be extremely helpful.

Good luck to all taking the exam! Time is really the trickiest part, so I repeat what tdogsmith said and practice under timed conditions prior to test day!

 

[lawgal]

Taking the test Thursday. Quite nervous. Will update!

 

[dademcbrayer]

Taking the test Thursday. Quite nervous. Will update!

Better hope the government shut down ends. I just received an email from my testing center saying they might have to reschedule mine if it doesn't end.

 

[lawgal]

Better hope the government shut down ends. I just received an email from my testing center saying they might have to reschedule mine if it doesn't end.

Not sure how that will work out for me. I'm taking it at Naval Station Norfolk, and as far as I know they will still be open. I have not heard anything but I will contact the officer responsible tomorrow to see if anything has changed.

 

[mich313]

Taking the test Thursday. Quite nervous. Will update!

Good luck lawgal!

 

[tdogsmith]

Great work tdogsmith, you and I got the same score. Which communities are you going for?

Thanks Kristoffer Abonal, congrats on your score as well. I'm going for SNA, I'm not sure whether I want to apply for NFO as well. I was planning to submit my package for the December '13 boards but my graduation date is about a month longer than the 6 month max window you have to be in to apply. So I guess I'm going to have to wait until April '14.