OrcinusOrca
New Member
Hello all! Have been following this forum since 2017, but today took the 1st steps. I am interested in crypto and intel, so I only to the OAR.
Background: I have degrees in Electrical (BS 3.3 GPA) and Computer (MS 3.68 GPA) Engineering. I am currently a Navy civilian but looking to do more. Am interested in cyber security. I am 24 but will be 25 next month. No prior service, would be first in my family.
Score: 57
As someone who HATES standardized exams (I spent 3 years building up the courage to take this exam), here's what I did:
Practice, I knew the material, but was not good at mental math (thanks higher education!) I went through the gouge on here from the very first page, just pulling links. Unfortunately, the old ones are broken but many others were nice enough to provided newer links. I studied an hour a day for 6 weeks (did not study the week of Christmas). The week before I did one practice test a day. I bought the Barron's book, the Master the Officer Candidates book, the Arco GRE book, and the Peterson's. I also purchased those little yellow GRE math and reading books.
The test was down a bunch too. We had to stop and close it at one point. Don't panic! It saves your progress! If anything, the lag let me mentally breath before the next question!
Math: One matrix problem (just know how to add 'em), D=RT (a bunch!), simplifying exponents like 16^(-3/4), basic volume geometry, the cost of business with two companies. Struggling to remember the rest. No logs, or geometry.
Reading: For me, the hardest section as I am not a reader. I definitely struggled here as the questions and answers got very easy, meaning it brought down my score. : ( I just had my fingers on the screen so I could compare words/phrases from the question to the answers to find any contradictions. People said it's all military but no, I got some science ones and one about mountains in there too. Do not hesitate to speak out loud. I was in a room alone so I read the passages aloud and even talked to myself during the other two sections.
Mechanical: I believe I did do well here, as I got the nuclear question (hint it talks about rods and reactors). My background is in EE, so the electrical questions were a breeze. As an EE, I can only suggest memorizing V=IR (and units -- I was asked this!) and understanding resistors, as from my experience they don't ask about capacitors or inductors. I memorized mechanical advantage and levers, but were not on the test. A lot to do with pendulums though and kinetic energy. Understand that a force in the x direction will not necessarily affect a force in the y direction (like a boat going perpendicular while being dragged downstream or a bullet being shot vs dropping a bullet) I was also literally asked to provide the equations for power and work as two separate questions.
Overall, was hoping to break 60 but the recruiter says I'm competitive. The board is in April so now just trying to get all the paperwork together. Lemme know what you think!
Background: I have degrees in Electrical (BS 3.3 GPA) and Computer (MS 3.68 GPA) Engineering. I am currently a Navy civilian but looking to do more. Am interested in cyber security. I am 24 but will be 25 next month. No prior service, would be first in my family.
Score: 57
As someone who HATES standardized exams (I spent 3 years building up the courage to take this exam), here's what I did:
Practice, I knew the material, but was not good at mental math (thanks higher education!) I went through the gouge on here from the very first page, just pulling links. Unfortunately, the old ones are broken but many others were nice enough to provided newer links. I studied an hour a day for 6 weeks (did not study the week of Christmas). The week before I did one practice test a day. I bought the Barron's book, the Master the Officer Candidates book, the Arco GRE book, and the Peterson's. I also purchased those little yellow GRE math and reading books.
The test was down a bunch too. We had to stop and close it at one point. Don't panic! It saves your progress! If anything, the lag let me mentally breath before the next question!
Math: One matrix problem (just know how to add 'em), D=RT (a bunch!), simplifying exponents like 16^(-3/4), basic volume geometry, the cost of business with two companies. Struggling to remember the rest. No logs, or geometry.
Reading: For me, the hardest section as I am not a reader. I definitely struggled here as the questions and answers got very easy, meaning it brought down my score. : ( I just had my fingers on the screen so I could compare words/phrases from the question to the answers to find any contradictions. People said it's all military but no, I got some science ones and one about mountains in there too. Do not hesitate to speak out loud. I was in a room alone so I read the passages aloud and even talked to myself during the other two sections.
Mechanical: I believe I did do well here, as I got the nuclear question (hint it talks about rods and reactors). My background is in EE, so the electrical questions were a breeze. As an EE, I can only suggest memorizing V=IR (and units -- I was asked this!) and understanding resistors, as from my experience they don't ask about capacitors or inductors. I memorized mechanical advantage and levers, but were not on the test. A lot to do with pendulums though and kinetic energy. Understand that a force in the x direction will not necessarily affect a force in the y direction (like a boat going perpendicular while being dragged downstream or a bullet being shot vs dropping a bullet) I was also literally asked to provide the equations for power and work as two separate questions.
Overall, was hoping to break 60 but the recruiter says I'm competitive. The board is in April so now just trying to get all the paperwork together. Lemme know what you think!
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