AROBLES93
Underdog
That deadline is coming up soon for sure,
Good luck to you
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1,001 questions about the ASTB (post your scores & ask your questions here!)
- Thread starter edato
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Good luck to you
jboliver08
Well-Known Member
Thanks! I have everything ready for submission, just need to retake the test and then I'll be sending it in. Good luck to you as well.
PM me if you need some study materials or some pointers! Took the test this past Wednesday.
Just did my ASTB retake
1st attempt - 44 - 4/4/4
2nd attempt - 56 - 7/9/8
I 100% have to thank LoneWanderer (his full post is on Page 298 it's a MUST READ). I met him outside of the testing office while waiting for my ride, I felt defeated, but knew I was capable of doing better, then I ran into him and he told me his high score, which gave me renewed hope, and he let me see the books he used to study (Barron's is a MUST-have). He also told me about the amazing community over here at Air Warriors. I had an account here, but underestimated how much information can be accessed from just this forum thread (seriously, if you search back far enough you can find entire PDF's of books [1 of which I had already ordered on Amazon] lol).
As someone who scored low my first attempt for anyone that is retaking the test, I truly believe if you do efficient studying you can get a passing score. The reason I got perfect on Pilot I think was because of the way I practiced the tracking test (which I will attach a photo at the end of this post). Also know EXACTLY what you are going for. I knew I wanted to go for NFO, so I spent the time between my test mostly studying Math (because Math is weighted more heavily on the FOFAR than reading/physics).
Some background on me-
GPA - 3.2 Communication Studies Major @ Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles
Test Prep
- I took LoneWanderer's advice, Ear plugs were for sure THE MOST IMPORTANT. The testing site we took the test at, is really busy, which means the recruiters are always talking. 100% I recommend ear plugs for this test. That's the only thing really. I drank some water (which made me have to pee) didn't eat my snack at all. Had some coffee that morning.
Math - I didn't see a single problem that was posted on AirWarriors (and I honestly don't remember the problems exactly). Just know EVERY concept of EVERY math problem posted on this forum. Obviously know basic algebra. First I think I had an exponent problem, then I had a lot of log(like 3-5 problems), then a matrix problem, then some % problems/a surface area problem but ran out of time. I took my time on the Math. Again, I knew this section would be weighted heavily for NFO, so I really took my time for each problem. I ran out of time, used the entire 40 minutes, but overall am super happy with my results because it means that I got a lot of the problems right.
Reading - I really struggled here, because I didn't study for it, didn't really need to, again I was focused on NFO which is Math + UAV/PBM.
Physics - I had some pretty basic physics concepts, if you study the sheets, you should be fine. Some of it you have to kind of just infer, unless you were a STEM major in college, this will probably be an area you need to apply yourself in when studying.
UAV - I studied these flashcards RELIGIOUSLY. But I only printed out the satellite image ones to study. I didn't bother with the paper compass ones, because the test is more similar to the satellite image (2nd half of the flashcards). When I got to this section, I only did 2 practice rounds (each practice round I believe was like 5 questions, you can do unlimited practicing here though, so if you need it take your time). But I was really confident, and I didn't miss a single problem, got everything correct in 1-2seconds without the compass trick. If you are going for pilot, you should reallllly know how to do this fast as I believe it's one of the more weighted ones. A trick I did was orient Left/Right. So if the UAV was going SouthEast, I knew that South was RIGHT, East was LEFT, North was LEFT-LEFT, and West was RIGHT-RIGHT.
PBM - I practiced with the attached screenshot and was really comfortable with the controls/inverted, wrote down the emergency procedures. I also wrote down left/right for the controls and which side I pressed when odd/even because I remember someone saying they skipped through this part and forgot what was even/odds which meant they missed every question.
The screenshot is me using Aim Hero (a $5 game on steam) + JMouse (a windows program that lets you use Joystick as your mouse[I bought a $30 joystick on Amazon]) to practice inverted tracking via the lazer tracking game. It is REALLY choppy, but it gets you familiar with inverted. On the side I pulled up a 10hour PONG video to help practice the up/down throttle tracking on my little ghetto joystick. Found this SUPER helpful, as during the test I was really impressed with how on target I was for a lot of the test, I was keeping up. I owe this to my gaming background, being a gaming youtuber helped me here because I saw this section as a game that I could easily improve on with time.
Overall I am reallllllllly happy with my improved score, obviously keeping it and not doing another retake. My recruiter said this is probably the most improved he's EVER seen an applicant, and again I really appreciate LoneWanderer for talking to me when we ran into each other outside of the testing site. If this is the kind of solidarity the Navy is made of, I am REALLY looking forward to serving!
Best of luck to anyone out there doing a retake (or first take)! If I missed anything just shoot me a message I will try to respond ASAP!
1st attempt - 44 - 4/4/4
2nd attempt - 56 - 7/9/8
I 100% have to thank LoneWanderer (his full post is on Page 298 it's a MUST READ). I met him outside of the testing office while waiting for my ride, I felt defeated, but knew I was capable of doing better, then I ran into him and he told me his high score, which gave me renewed hope, and he let me see the books he used to study (Barron's is a MUST-have). He also told me about the amazing community over here at Air Warriors. I had an account here, but underestimated how much information can be accessed from just this forum thread (seriously, if you search back far enough you can find entire PDF's of books [1 of which I had already ordered on Amazon] lol).
As someone who scored low my first attempt for anyone that is retaking the test, I truly believe if you do efficient studying you can get a passing score. The reason I got perfect on Pilot I think was because of the way I practiced the tracking test (which I will attach a photo at the end of this post). Also know EXACTLY what you are going for. I knew I wanted to go for NFO, so I spent the time between my test mostly studying Math (because Math is weighted more heavily on the FOFAR than reading/physics).
Some background on me-
GPA - 3.2 Communication Studies Major @ Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles
Test Prep
- I took LoneWanderer's advice, Ear plugs were for sure THE MOST IMPORTANT. The testing site we took the test at, is really busy, which means the recruiters are always talking. 100% I recommend ear plugs for this test. That's the only thing really. I drank some water (which made me have to pee) didn't eat my snack at all. Had some coffee that morning.
Math - I didn't see a single problem that was posted on AirWarriors (and I honestly don't remember the problems exactly). Just know EVERY concept of EVERY math problem posted on this forum. Obviously know basic algebra. First I think I had an exponent problem, then I had a lot of log(like 3-5 problems), then a matrix problem, then some % problems/a surface area problem but ran out of time. I took my time on the Math. Again, I knew this section would be weighted heavily for NFO, so I really took my time for each problem. I ran out of time, used the entire 40 minutes, but overall am super happy with my results because it means that I got a lot of the problems right.
Reading - I really struggled here, because I didn't study for it, didn't really need to, again I was focused on NFO which is Math + UAV/PBM.
Physics - I had some pretty basic physics concepts, if you study the sheets, you should be fine. Some of it you have to kind of just infer, unless you were a STEM major in college, this will probably be an area you need to apply yourself in when studying.
UAV - I studied these flashcards RELIGIOUSLY. But I only printed out the satellite image ones to study. I didn't bother with the paper compass ones, because the test is more similar to the satellite image (2nd half of the flashcards). When I got to this section, I only did 2 practice rounds (each practice round I believe was like 5 questions, you can do unlimited practicing here though, so if you need it take your time). But I was really confident, and I didn't miss a single problem, got everything correct in 1-2seconds without the compass trick. If you are going for pilot, you should reallllly know how to do this fast as I believe it's one of the more weighted ones. A trick I did was orient Left/Right. So if the UAV was going SouthEast, I knew that South was RIGHT, East was LEFT, North was LEFT-LEFT, and West was RIGHT-RIGHT.
PBM - I practiced with the attached screenshot and was really comfortable with the controls/inverted, wrote down the emergency procedures. I also wrote down left/right for the controls and which side I pressed when odd/even because I remember someone saying they skipped through this part and forgot what was even/odds which meant they missed every question.
The screenshot is me using Aim Hero (a $5 game on steam) + JMouse (a windows program that lets you use Joystick as your mouse[I bought a $30 joystick on Amazon]) to practice inverted tracking via the lazer tracking game. It is REALLY choppy, but it gets you familiar with inverted. On the side I pulled up a 10hour PONG video to help practice the up/down throttle tracking on my little ghetto joystick. Found this SUPER helpful, as during the test I was really impressed with how on target I was for a lot of the test, I was keeping up. I owe this to my gaming background, being a gaming youtuber helped me here because I saw this section as a game that I could easily improve on with time.
Overall I am reallllllllly happy with my improved score, obviously keeping it and not doing another retake. My recruiter said this is probably the most improved he's EVER seen an applicant, and again I really appreciate LoneWanderer for talking to me when we ran into each other outside of the testing site. If this is the kind of solidarity the Navy is made of, I am REALLY looking forward to serving!
Best of luck to anyone out there doing a retake (or first take)! If I missed anything just shoot me a message I will try to respond ASAP!
Attachments
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cchristoff89
New Member
Thanks for the info. I'm studying up for my third attempt, you can read my story on pg 301. I've heard mixed reviews on Barron's, was that your main source of info, or just a good suppliment? I'm currently using Cliffnotes GRE math prep, and Khan Academy for Physics.
A good supplement for aviation info. I spent a majority of my time studying for math using most the study guides listed here, in particular this one below I think is a solid foundation for the various types of math problems seen on the test. Then I would just google similar problems for any problem where I got stuck at, so I could do it over and over until I had it down. After talking to LoneWanderer I realized I needed to devote more time to studying and spent like 3+hours every night/morning studying. Though my OAR score isn't that great, someone who scored 60+ might be able to offer better resources, but Anthony's Google Drive folder really helped me a lot!
Rblackburn
Member
Just finished my OAR retake. My first score was far off from where I wanted it to be, and I'm proud to say that through a lot of study, and the use of the excellent resources provided by this forum I have turned my score around.
First attempt: 37
Second attempt: 53
Background: 3.6 Bachelor's of Music Education from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
Resources Used:
All of the attached documents (A huge thank you to many who have shared these documents on the site, but specifically
CHOPS_avn for his direct help)
As well as:
The 5 lb. Book of GRE Practice
-This book is an excellent assortment of math problems (as well as many other topics, but I focused on math). The book includes over 500 pages of math problems which are organized into chapter long practice tests based on specific categories, such as exponents, word problems, work problems, etc.
ASTB Study Guide 2018 by Test Prep Books
-This book is a great resource for the Physics and Reading portions of the test. The math problems are generally too easy (as many have said before), but the book is a good refresher to those who need to polish their arithmetic and algebra rules.
The Test:
Math: On my first attempt I found myself having to guess on the last 10 problems within this section, which really hurt my morale for the remainder of the test. On my second attempt I finished the math portion with 3 minutes to spare. I recommend checking your time before each problem, and not allowing yourself to spend longer than 3-4 minutes guessing how to solve it; If you don't know the solution, make a mental note and return to it in your studies if need be. I mostly dealt with problems based on averages, probability (mostly combined probability), factoring, work, and distance problems.
Reading: I'm very thankful for the early morning pretest I took before I left for my second retake; it allowed for me to get a reminder of the speed you need to achieve this test. It helped for me to read the passage then read the statements, and finally skim the passage to eliminate obvious incorrect answers.
Physics: This section is surprisingly short after the huge uphill battle of the math and reading sections. Both times I was asked questions about pulleys, pendulums, balancing weights, and water pressure. My first attempt included basic circuitry, but my second attempt didn't. Both times I found this to be the easiest section, but your experience may differ.
Overall I am extremely happy to have brought up my score 16 points. I will be including the 53 in my package for SWO on the next board. If anyone has any questions please feel free to message me, and I will be happy to help. You can bring your score up, just spend 1-2 hrs a day (force yourself) and know that quality practice creates a quality performance.
First attempt: 37
Second attempt: 53
Background: 3.6 Bachelor's of Music Education from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
Resources Used:
All of the attached documents (A huge thank you to many who have shared these documents on the site, but specifically
CHOPS_avn for his direct help)
As well as:
The 5 lb. Book of GRE Practice
-This book is an excellent assortment of math problems (as well as many other topics, but I focused on math). The book includes over 500 pages of math problems which are organized into chapter long practice tests based on specific categories, such as exponents, word problems, work problems, etc.
ASTB Study Guide 2018 by Test Prep Books
-This book is a great resource for the Physics and Reading portions of the test. The math problems are generally too easy (as many have said before), but the book is a good refresher to those who need to polish their arithmetic and algebra rules.
The Test:
Math: On my first attempt I found myself having to guess on the last 10 problems within this section, which really hurt my morale for the remainder of the test. On my second attempt I finished the math portion with 3 minutes to spare. I recommend checking your time before each problem, and not allowing yourself to spend longer than 3-4 minutes guessing how to solve it; If you don't know the solution, make a mental note and return to it in your studies if need be. I mostly dealt with problems based on averages, probability (mostly combined probability), factoring, work, and distance problems.
Reading: I'm very thankful for the early morning pretest I took before I left for my second retake; it allowed for me to get a reminder of the speed you need to achieve this test. It helped for me to read the passage then read the statements, and finally skim the passage to eliminate obvious incorrect answers.
Physics: This section is surprisingly short after the huge uphill battle of the math and reading sections. Both times I was asked questions about pulleys, pendulums, balancing weights, and water pressure. My first attempt included basic circuitry, but my second attempt didn't. Both times I found this to be the easiest section, but your experience may differ.
Overall I am extremely happy to have brought up my score 16 points. I will be including the 53 in my package for SWO on the next board. If anyone has any questions please feel free to message me, and I will be happy to help. You can bring your score up, just spend 1-2 hrs a day (force yourself) and know that quality practice creates a quality performance.
Nicely done! Glad I could help.
blackngold
Active Member
dbutterfield
Member
Took my test for the first time last Monday, trying for SNA. My goal was to try and get 7’s, but after the reading and PBM sections, thought for sure I got in the 5-6 range. I was surprised when my final score was a 65 8/8/8. I am beyond excited and my recruiter said I’m basically guaranteed to pass the board. Background on me, I have a BS in Mechanical Engineering with a 3.2 gpa, taught kids about the history/physics of planes at an air museum in college, and worked as an engineer on submarines for 2 years. So, I guess I have a pretty decent background for the test.
Math: The problems on the test are definitely harder than any of the practice test you find. I got ratios, probability, drt, logs, system of equations, and the perfect number (496) question. No matrix or binary questions. The biggest thing for me was doing all the mental math fast and correct. If I could go back, I would just do a bunch of practice sheets of multiplication and division so I could be quicker. Besides that, just watch Khan Academy stuff to get the basis of the different topics and then google worksheets to help you practice (khan’s questions aren’t that hard either). Before the exam even started, you have an untimed section where you fill in all your personal info, I took that time to make an exponent and squares chart on my scratch paper so I could have those readily at hand. I attached an OAR math guide I found on here, but I updated some of the errors in it, and added a couple problems that were more difficult, like on the test. Time yourself and try to solve each question in 2 min. I got kicked out of this section before time was up.
Reading: Just like every other standardize test, they are boring topics. I read them all aloud, and most of the time I would read the passage, read all the answers trying to cancel out any, reread the passage, then make my selection. It kind of helped with the zoning out of the boring passages. I am definitely not the best reader so that might help you too. I ran out of time on this section.
Mechanical: I’m a little biased since my all of my college and career is based on this stuff so I have a good grasp on it. I think most of the study guides on here are a good representation of the difficulty of the problems on the test. One question I got that I didn’t see anywhere was which part should I heat up if I wanted to remove a seized nut from a stud. The rest were springs, levers, mechanical advantage, basic stuff from study guides. I ran out of time on this section as well
ANIT: Found these 400+ flashcards on here that I thought was going to be really good. I think I answered 15-20 questions total on the test and maybe 2 or 3 could have been solved from the flashcards. I think my history with working at an air museum helped me skate by on this section and take good educated guesses. I had a fair amount of history questions.
NATFI: Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Just answer the best you can, don’t think too much about it. I think I even zoned out a couple times lol.
UAV: Use the flash cards. The ones that have the yellow arrow over the map are how they show up on the test. Everyone here says to use the paper compass trick, it helped me learn how to do these questions but I didn’t use the compass on the exam. I feel it is kind of clunky and would slow me down. I used my own “click” method I guess you can call it. Think of dial that clicks into different positions. However many clicks it took to get the arrow to point up, that’s how many clicks your parking lot would be. I got 2 wrong and answered all the questions in a little over a second. I think I was only allowed 4 practice questions, not unlimited.
PBM: I thought it would never end. I thought for sure I failed this section when it got to tracking both targets at once. Stay relaxed and just try your best. I leaned my head for the listening, I know I got 1 wrong the first time, and got 2 or 3 wrong when I had to listen and track at the same time. My joystick had little resistance to move it, where my throttle required a lot of force to get it to move. Make sure the controls are comfortable to you and can move properly. I had the throttle base lift up on me instead of the throttle moving forward during the test. I tended to focus on the 2D moving plane and tracked the 1D plane with my peripherals, however there were some times I thought the 1D plane was my tracker and I was making the wrong inputs. WRITE DOWN THE EMERGENCY PROCEDURES!! I even went as far as writing which buttons go in which direction. I would suggest having your dials be somewhere in the middle because when my first error came up, one of my dials was already where it needed to be, but the computer still thought it was somewhere in the middle. When I hit the clutch button nothing happened so I went through the procedure again and noticed the dial that was already at 100% showed up on the screen as like 50%. Once I moved the dial, the readout jumped to the dials true position. Focus on clearing the emergency first and clear it as fast as possible. You will feel like you are failing the whole time when you have to track both planes at once. I know when the listening and emergencies were added in, there were multiple times where my trackers were in the completely opposite direction of the planes, and I still got a good score.
Additional study materials:
Before I found this site I got the Trivium ASTB study guide, not bad, not the greatest. Most of my material came off this forum. I would start your search about a year before your test date and just skim through the posts. There is tons of info on here. See the links below for the specific posts I used.
This whole forum
Post #4462 (ironically we got the same score too lol)
Post #4500 and 4501
I tried playing video games with the inverted controls. I think it helps a little as like a confidence booster but doesn’t actually give you the skill needed in the tracking. I played COD with the inversion and got to the point where I was about as good without it and I don’t feel it helped, but maybe it did. I think an actual throttle and joystick would be the way to go if money is no option to you.
Besides all this, make sure you’re well rested, maybe a little caffeine beforehand (wouldn’t suggest a full monster like I did), and just go into the test with confidence. There ain’t nothing to it but to do it!
Math: The problems on the test are definitely harder than any of the practice test you find. I got ratios, probability, drt, logs, system of equations, and the perfect number (496) question. No matrix or binary questions. The biggest thing for me was doing all the mental math fast and correct. If I could go back, I would just do a bunch of practice sheets of multiplication and division so I could be quicker. Besides that, just watch Khan Academy stuff to get the basis of the different topics and then google worksheets to help you practice (khan’s questions aren’t that hard either). Before the exam even started, you have an untimed section where you fill in all your personal info, I took that time to make an exponent and squares chart on my scratch paper so I could have those readily at hand. I attached an OAR math guide I found on here, but I updated some of the errors in it, and added a couple problems that were more difficult, like on the test. Time yourself and try to solve each question in 2 min. I got kicked out of this section before time was up.
Reading: Just like every other standardize test, they are boring topics. I read them all aloud, and most of the time I would read the passage, read all the answers trying to cancel out any, reread the passage, then make my selection. It kind of helped with the zoning out of the boring passages. I am definitely not the best reader so that might help you too. I ran out of time on this section.
Mechanical: I’m a little biased since my all of my college and career is based on this stuff so I have a good grasp on it. I think most of the study guides on here are a good representation of the difficulty of the problems on the test. One question I got that I didn’t see anywhere was which part should I heat up if I wanted to remove a seized nut from a stud. The rest were springs, levers, mechanical advantage, basic stuff from study guides. I ran out of time on this section as well
ANIT: Found these 400+ flashcards on here that I thought was going to be really good. I think I answered 15-20 questions total on the test and maybe 2 or 3 could have been solved from the flashcards. I think my history with working at an air museum helped me skate by on this section and take good educated guesses. I had a fair amount of history questions.
NATFI: Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Just answer the best you can, don’t think too much about it. I think I even zoned out a couple times lol.
UAV: Use the flash cards. The ones that have the yellow arrow over the map are how they show up on the test. Everyone here says to use the paper compass trick, it helped me learn how to do these questions but I didn’t use the compass on the exam. I feel it is kind of clunky and would slow me down. I used my own “click” method I guess you can call it. Think of dial that clicks into different positions. However many clicks it took to get the arrow to point up, that’s how many clicks your parking lot would be. I got 2 wrong and answered all the questions in a little over a second. I think I was only allowed 4 practice questions, not unlimited.
PBM: I thought it would never end. I thought for sure I failed this section when it got to tracking both targets at once. Stay relaxed and just try your best. I leaned my head for the listening, I know I got 1 wrong the first time, and got 2 or 3 wrong when I had to listen and track at the same time. My joystick had little resistance to move it, where my throttle required a lot of force to get it to move. Make sure the controls are comfortable to you and can move properly. I had the throttle base lift up on me instead of the throttle moving forward during the test. I tended to focus on the 2D moving plane and tracked the 1D plane with my peripherals, however there were some times I thought the 1D plane was my tracker and I was making the wrong inputs. WRITE DOWN THE EMERGENCY PROCEDURES!! I even went as far as writing which buttons go in which direction. I would suggest having your dials be somewhere in the middle because when my first error came up, one of my dials was already where it needed to be, but the computer still thought it was somewhere in the middle. When I hit the clutch button nothing happened so I went through the procedure again and noticed the dial that was already at 100% showed up on the screen as like 50%. Once I moved the dial, the readout jumped to the dials true position. Focus on clearing the emergency first and clear it as fast as possible. You will feel like you are failing the whole time when you have to track both planes at once. I know when the listening and emergencies were added in, there were multiple times where my trackers were in the completely opposite direction of the planes, and I still got a good score.
Additional study materials:
Before I found this site I got the Trivium ASTB study guide, not bad, not the greatest. Most of my material came off this forum. I would start your search about a year before your test date and just skim through the posts. There is tons of info on here. See the links below for the specific posts I used.
This whole forum
Post #4462 (ironically we got the same score too lol)
Post #4500 and 4501
I tried playing video games with the inverted controls. I think it helps a little as like a confidence booster but doesn’t actually give you the skill needed in the tracking. I played COD with the inversion and got to the point where I was about as good without it and I don’t feel it helped, but maybe it did. I think an actual throttle and joystick would be the way to go if money is no option to you.
Besides all this, make sure you’re well rested, maybe a little caffeine beforehand (wouldn’t suggest a full monster like I did), and just go into the test with confidence. There ain’t nothing to it but to do it!
FormerRecruitingGuru
Making Recruiting Great Again
Yes. By searching the forums.
Your scores can improve as much as 42% when you search for answers on your own instead of asking strangers to help you.
rckmorty123
New Member
wow, thanks that really helped to clear things a little. I messed up the first time around and looking to take the test on December 2018 sometime. Did you just practice math problems using the gauges here or did you have a particular book that you went to always Any (same w/ mechanical comp) recommendations?
For math, all I did was practice problems wherever I could get them. So yeah, I used the stuff from this thread for practice as well as the ASTB books by Trivium, Aegis, and Test Prep. I didn't focus on any book in particular, just used all equally.
For mech comp, it was the same situation. Online study guides from here as well as using books for practice problems ONLY. Like I said, don't use the books to explain concepts. Use the internet for that.
Scimitarze
Automated Member
In your opinion, which resource had the math problems that matched the test difficulty the most? I've read a majority of this thread by now, and most people say that the test questions were more advanced than the ones in the practice guides.
I imagine a ACT or other collegiate level math prep book might suffice, no?