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

[peppergunner]

ALSO, for those of you who took the ASTB TWICE!!! What were the differences you saw in the test from the first time to the second time??
Was the material in math and mechanical much different? For example I did not see any questions about Logs or Matrices on my first attempt and I saw lots of DRT, should I now just expect the opposite?

Thanks for everything/anything!

Check my signature for some good study tips I've tried to gather from this thread.

It doesn't matter that you studied for 5 hours a day because you didn't mention how many total days you studied. If you did that for a few days ahead of time, that's only 20 hours of studying. If you did that for a few weeks and actually studied a lot, then you had issues with the material you studied, which this forum should help you with since all the resources are available to you.


Also, about the "questions you will see", the test is adaptive and gets harder if you get more questions right. You didn't see logs or matrices because you didn't get the questions right before then. So next time if you see logs and whatnot, it means you've done better.

 

[blackngold]

Took my first (and last) attempt this morning and ended up with a 65 9/9/9.

I don't know how much I'll be able to add to the gouge, but I figured I would share my test experiences at the very least.

MST
I got a ton (4-5) questions on probability, which was certainly more than I expected. Most of it was pretty straightforwards, but there was a bit involving the probability of multiple events and multiplying probabilities of disjoint and non disjoint events.
I also got questions about binary and how to write a certain number in a base 2 or base 4 code, I hadn't had any prior exposure to binary but was able to reason it out through the information given in the question, but I'd say the majority of my questions were word problems involving some sort of related rates or intersecting times, generally involving using d=rt.
In general, the MST was much more difficult than I anticipated, math has never been my strongest area, and I found the questions more difficult than those in Barron's book as well as the Marine gouge posted on this site.
I finished 12-15 questions and was kicked out with around 16 minutes remaining.

RCT
I found the passages pretty difficult and confusing at a first glance, but was able to answer most questions using a process of elimination. Remember to answer based off of what is given and don't draw on any outside information. Most of the passages were Navy related (dry), nothing super exciting.

MCT
About as expected based off of Barron's book and the gouge, almost all questions were purely conceptual, any math was straightforwards and simple. However, there were some strange questions involving how microwave ovens work, what G's are defined as, how pitots work, and a couple of pulley questions.

ANIT
As expected, but I studied a lot for this section. Difficult questions (for me) involved the Naval Air Forces chain of command, VFR regulations, and how different grades of aircraft fuel affect engine performance.

NAFTI
Today I learned that I'm a terrible person.

PBM
Hard.
I used the compass trick for the UAV, missed 2 and averaged 1-1.5 seconds. The dichotic listening was easy by itself, but the aircraft tracking was difficult, I felt like I was tracking <10% of the time and my joystick came unplugged at one point during the test, but I guess it worked out.
Write down the emergency procedures!

All in all, I studied around 8 weeks for the test, averaging 10 hours per week. As far as books go, I used Barron's 4th edition which I found useful, along with NAVEDTRA 14014 and the FAA Pilot's handbook for the ANIT, but the most useful study materials in my opinion are the various gouges posted in this thread, (Marine gouge, apatrick's guide, ect.) for which I can't thank you all enough.

Good luck to all future test takers, and feel free to send me a PM with any questions or if you'd like my full list of study materials.

 

[peppergunner]

Took my first (and last) attempt this morning and ended up with a 65 9/9/9.

*vomits*

Absolutely disgusting.

 

[schmoo13]

Took my first (and last) attempt this morning and ended up with a 65 9/9/9.

I don't know how much I'll be able to add to the gouge, but I figured I would share my test experiences at the very least.

MST
I got a ton (4-5) questions on probability, which was certainly more than I expected. Most of it was pretty straightforwards, but there was a bit involving the probability of multiple events and multiplying probabilities of disjoint and non disjoint events.
I also got questions about binary and how to write a certain number in a base 2 or base 4 code, I hadn't had any prior exposure to binary but was able to reason it out through the information given in the question, but I'd say the majority of my questions were word problems involving some sort of related rates or intersecting times, generally involving using d=rt.
In general, the MST was much more difficult than I anticipated, math has never been my strongest area, and I found the questions more difficult than those in Barron's book as well as the Marine gouge posted on this site.
I finished 12-15 questions and was kicked out with around 16 minutes remaining.

RCT
I found the passages pretty difficult and confusing at a first glance, but was able to answer most questions using a process of elimination. Remember to answer based off of what is given and don't draw on any outside information. Most of the passages were Navy related (dry), nothing super exciting.

MCT
About as expected based off of Barron's book and the gouge, almost all questions were purely conceptual, any math was straightforwards and simple. However, there were some strange questions involving how microwave ovens work, what G's are defined as, how pitots work, and a couple of pulley questions.

ANIT
As expected, but I studied a lot for this section. Difficult questions (for me) involved the Naval Air Forces chain of command, VFR regulations, and how different grades of aircraft fuel affect engine performance.

NAFTI
Today I learned that I'm a terrible person.

PBM
Hard.
I used the compass trick for the UAV, missed 2 and averaged 1-1.5 seconds. The dichotic listening was easy by itself, but the aircraft tracking was difficult, I felt like I was tracking <10% of the time and my joystick came unplugged at one point during the test, but I guess it worked out.
Write down the emergency procedures!

All in all, I studied around 8 weeks for the test, averaging 10 hours per week. As far as books go, I used Barron's 4th edition which I found useful, along with NAVEDTRA 14014 and the FAA Pilot's handbook for the ANIT, but the most useful study materials in my opinion are the various gouges posted in this thread, (Marine gouge, apatrick's guide, ect.) for which I can't thank you all enough.

Good luck to all future test takers, and feel free to send me a PM with any questions or if you'd like my full list of study materials.

I think it is safe to say that you did good *vomits*

 

[JessieFlys]

Just for reference...

Current/Unique Prescribed Gouge:
Piloting material in free easy online format: Free Online Piloting School
Free Flight simulator (in Browser) Online: Free Flight Sim
Math/Physics/Mechanical Advantage: Khan Academy
Common Free online tests: Trivium (Mechanical, Math, reading ...), ProProfs
.... will add more soon... still attacking this studying journey from every resource and angle!

 

[Senorpatio]

Took my first (and last) attempt this morning and ended up with a 65 9/9/9.

I don't know how much I'll be able to add to the gouge, but I figured I would share my test experiences at the very least.

MST
I got a ton (4-5) questions on probability, which was certainly more than I expected. Most of it was pretty straightforwards, but there was a bit involving the probability of multiple events and multiplying probabilities of disjoint and non disjoint events.
I also got questions about binary and how to write a certain number in a base 2 or base 4 code, I hadn't had any prior exposure to binary but was able to reason it out through the information given in the question, but I'd say the majority of my questions were word problems involving some sort of related rates or intersecting times, generally involving using d=rt.
In general, the MST was much more difficult than I anticipated, math has never been my strongest area, and I found the questions more difficult than those in Barron's book as well as the Marine gouge posted on this site.
I finished 12-15 questions and was kicked out with around 16 minutes remaining.

RCT
I found the passages pretty difficult and confusing at a first glance, but was able to answer most questions using a process of elimination. Remember to answer based off of what is given and don't draw on any outside information. Most of the passages were Navy related (dry), nothing super exciting.

MCT
About as expected based off of Barron's book and the gouge, almost all questions were purely conceptual, any math was straightforwards and simple. However, there were some strange questions involving how microwave ovens work, what G's are defined as, how pitots work, and a couple of pulley questions.

ANIT
As expected, but I studied a lot for this section. Difficult questions (for me) involved the Naval Air Forces chain of command, VFR regulations, and how different grades of aircraft fuel affect engine performance.

NAFTI
Today I learned that I'm a terrible person.

PBM
Hard.
I used the compass trick for the UAV, missed 2 and averaged 1-1.5 seconds. The dichotic listening was easy by itself, but the aircraft tracking was difficult, I felt like I was tracking <10% of the time and my joystick came unplugged at one point during the test, but I guess it worked out.
Write down the emergency procedures!

All in all, I studied around 8 weeks for the test, averaging 10 hours per week. As far as books go, I used Barron's 4th edition which I found useful, along with NAVEDTRA 14014 and the FAA Pilot's handbook for the ANIT, but the most useful study materials in my opinion are the various gouges posted in this thread, (Marine gouge, apatrick's guide, ect.) for which I can't thank you all enough.

Good luck to all future test takers, and feel free to send me a PM with any questions or if you'd like my full list of study materials.

Great scores! Your hard work paid off. I have a question: were there many helo questions in the ANIT section?

I ask because one study book I have, has lots of helo questions but most other study material doesnt have any.

 

[Meyerkord]

Great scores! Your hard work paid off. I have a question: were there many helo questions in the ANIT section?

I ask because one study book I have, has lots of helo questions but most other study material doesnt have any.

YMMV. I don't think I had a single helo question on mine, but I also don't think I had anything on VFR or aircraft fuel either. Seems like they have a massive bank of questions they pull from, so study broadly for this section.

 

[Chris94]

Just took the ASTB-E today (3rd time so the pressure was on), got a 53 6/7/7, so I'm pretty stoked! I was mainly worried about the PFAR and based on what I know now I have a few tips for it.

1.) Get a flight sim and a joystick and throttle. Even though the test is on a flat plain, using a throttle develops muscle memory and it's not so foreign when you get to that portion of the test. I would also agree with others posting about using a video game with the y-axis inverted. I didn't do that but it definitely seems like it would've helped.
2.) When you have to do multiple things, such as using the throttle and joystick and then when it adds the dichotic listening and emergency procedures, focus on the listening and throttle and try to at least move the joystick around. The throttle is much easier to keep on track than the joystick. Obviously try to keep both on track if you can.
3.) When you first start with the listening, try to get every single one right, it'll get you major points. I only missed one or two.
4.) Finally, when using the joystick to follow around the target, don't be too fast and be kind of smooth. For example, if the plane is going from corner to corner and you jerk the stick around it's gonna fly past it, be as smooth as possible so that it'll at least go over it slowly or stay with the target.

Got some great resources on here so thanks to everyone that posted!

 

[blackngold]

Great scores! Your hard work paid off. I have a question: were there many helo questions in the ANIT section?

I ask because one study book I have, has lots of helo questions but most other study material doesnt have any.

Thanks! I don't remember any helo questions on my exam but your experience may vary...

 

[Chris94]

Just took the ASTB-E today (3rd time so the pressure was on), got a 53 6/7/7, so I'm pretty stoked! I was mainly worried about the PFAR and based on what I know now I have a few tips for it.

1.) Get a flight sim and a joystick and throttle. Even though the test is on a flat plain, using a throttle develops muscle memory and it's not so foreign when you get to that portion of the test. I would also agree with others posting about using a video game with the y-axis inverted. I didn't do that but it definitely seems like it would've helped.
2.) When you have to do multiple things, such as using the throttle and joystick and then when it adds the dichotic listening and emergency procedures, focus on the listening and throttle and try to at least move the joystick around. The throttle is much easier to keep on track than the joystick. Obviously try to keep both on track if you can.
3.) When you first start with the listening, try to get every single one right, it'll get you major points. I only missed one or two.
4.) Finally, when using the joystick to follow around the target, don't be too fast and be kind of smooth. For example, if the plane is going from corner to corner and you jerk the stick around it's gonna fly past it, be as smooth as possible so that it'll at least go over it slowly or stay with the target.

Got some great resources on here so thanks to everyone that posted!

One more study method that I wish I knew long before taking PBM portion... Try playing pong on two separate screens. If you don't have two computer screens to play it on, use your laptop and your phone. It's insanely hard and frustrating, but that's just how the PBM is (surprise!). Get used to watching two screens at once and them having no correlation WHATSOEVER. Like I said, I wish I had heard about this several months ago, but hopefully, someone who hasn't taken it yet will find this info useful.

 

[The Byrd]

Took my ASTB this morning. Got a 68 8/8/8, my OSO said that it is a very competitive score so I am feeling really good about it. Thank you everyone for your insight and help.

MST: (Math) I had maybe one rate problem, but I had an abundant amount of system of equations problems (i.e. Tom buys his friends and their kids' tickets. If a kid ticket cost $3 and an adult ticket cost $5 and there were 25 total guests, how many kids did he pay for?).
Some geometric questions relating to arc length and volume. (If you use the formulas given it helps a lot for these.)
About what I expected and it did not get much harder than that for me.

RST: (Reading) The only problem with this is just trying to read through the longer passages while still remembering what you are reading. I got frustrated with one passage that was like 12 sentences long about Family Development and each answer choice was 5 sentences long.

MCT: (Mechanical) I had no lever questions but a lot of questions about pulleys and mechanical advantage, some water pressure questions, and a good amount of work related questions.

ANIT: (Aviation and Nautical Knowledge) Not too bad, just a refresher course on naval terminology, history, and basic aerodynamics is needed. Not much more too it than that.

NAFTI: (Personality) Take this time as a nice break and just plow through it, felt like one of the longest sections and almost every choice feels like the wrong choice.

PBM: (UAV and Joystick/Throttle) To me, using the compass trick on the UAV portion is a necessity to pass it. Tutorial:
>

<
Just keep using that technique over and over and it will work on every question for the UAV. Examples: >https://www.proprofs.com/flashcards/story.php?title=_36014<
The joystick part got pretty intense towards the end with the throttle, joystick, and listening all at once. I learned to play video games with inverted controls for about three weeks to help with this and it honestly helped out quite a bit. Write down the emergency procedures when they are given for when you need to use them and keep them in front of you. You are doing better than you think you are for this section. Do not get discouraged.

I mainly used the ASTB guide for dummies book and online practice tests for the different sections. Studied for about three months at work when it was not busy in the afternoons.

Good Luck on all your ASTB's. You will do better than you think you can!

 

[TyKing]

Hey guys, I took the ASTB for the first time today and scored a 49 5/7/6. My cumulative GPA is about a 2.6, I believe I can raise that to a 2.8 by the time I apply. My question is do you think it’s worth retesting to get a higher score. I feel like I can do better, but at the same time don’t know if the risk is worth it, just in case I somehow scored less for pilot. My recruiter said if I think I can improve I should consider retesting, but thinks my scores are pretty solid. As of now, on the aviation calculator I’m in the yellow. I’m going to apply only SNA. Also when I took the test I was not allow to do the compass trick, did anyone else experience this?

 

[peppergunner]

Hey guys, I took the ASTB for the first time today and scored a 49 5/7/6. My cumulative GPA is about a 2.6, I believe I can raise that to a 2.8 by the time I apply. My question is do you think it’s worth retesting to get a higher score. I feel like I can do better, but at the same time don’t know if the risk is worth it, just in case I somehow scored less for pilot. My recruiter said if I think I can improve I should consider retesting, but thinks my scores are pretty solid. As of now, on the aviation calculator I’m in the yellow. I’m going to apply only SNA. Also when I took the test I was not allow to do the compass trick, did anyone else experience this?

No, the OR wasn't in the room with most of us to monitor how we used scratch paper with regards to the compass method.

To evaluate if you want to retest, how long did you study for this first attempt? If you winged it, you can definitely improve with study. If you a tually studied 100hours and got those scores, there's probably less room for improvement.

 

[TyKing]

No, the OR wasn't in the room with most of us to monitor how we used scratch paper.

To evaluate if you want to retest, how long did you study for this first attempt? If you winged it, you can definitely improve with study. If you a tually studied 100hours and got those scores, there's probably less room for improvement.

I took a week of leave from work and studied. my recruiter said I really just need to improve the AQR to be in the green on the calculator, but part of me feels like improving my gpa from a 2.6 to a 2.8 will do the trick. I got a month till I can test again idk how much I’ll improve on the math and mechical in that time. Mostly I just want to know if I competitive enough with my gpa and that pilot score?

 

[peppergunner]

I took a week of leave from work and studied. my recruiter said I really just need to improve the AQR to be in the green on the calculator, but part of me feels like improving my gpa from a 2.6 to a 2.8 will do the trick. I got a month till I can test again idk how much I’ll improve on the math and mechical in that time. Mostly I just want to know if I competitive enough with my gpa and that pilot score?

So the AQR you know pulls from your math and mechanics sections, which since you got a 49 OAR, have some room for improvement which will bump all ASTB scores.

Hopefully you can find some more study material.