Hello All,
67/9/8/8 (OAR/AQR/PFAR/FOFAR) SECOND ATTEMPT
53/5/6/6 (OAR/AQR/PFAR/FOFAR) FIRST ATTEMPT
So I just retested today (3/12/19) and my second attempt went very well. I'm going to provide as much support/advice I can since I truly owe it all to this forum for my success. Like most people, I've scanned this forum for as many resources as I could. What I concluded with was a folder on my desktop specifically for ASTB Study Material, I'm going to attach the google doc to this post (if/when I figure out how). I don't know if this is completely true but here are my thoughts; I found through research that the AQR's strongest influenced section was MATH and the PFAR's strongest influenced section was Aviation Nautical Info. That being said, I studied these two sections at least twice as much more than any other sections.
First attempt: I studied for ~3 weeks. The first 2 weeks I only used books, they were all trash compared to the resources on here I found and compared to the actual test problems. The 3rd week I discovered this forum and studied any guides I found on here.
Second attempt: I studied for a solid 6 weeks, averaging 2-4 hours/day. Consistency is key; 10, 1 hour sessions > 1, 10 hour session.
Math Skills Test
I spent the most time on this section than any other section. The types of problems I RECALL(I barely remember problems because I was anxious) are:
First Attempt: Sorry I don't remember much from this attempt
Roots/exponents
Geometry
Second Attempt:
System of equations
Fractions…2 problems at least, which is the smallest/largest fraction, know your long division for fractions like 44/296.
Probability…this stumped me, not the simple 2 green, 5 yellow, 6 red marbles bs the books give you, the question I saw said something along the lines of it there are 8 teams, how many different ways are there for teams to come in first, second, and third. I might be butchering that, I randomly selected an answer.
Logs… The log problem was a log in a log. Example… Log5(log2x)=2
DRT Word Problems... I got at least 3 of these and I definitely practiced these in study, just like the study problems
Reading Skills Test
I didn't study for a second on this. The sections are about 1 paragraph and then I think it asks which statement is most true. I hate reading, I just did my best to stick the factual statements. My advice is to pay attention to the details in the statements, I noticed they throw in a lot of specific words that will alter if the statement is actually true. For instance if the paragraph uses the word "might, likely, should, recommend" and the statement includes the word "must" then it is actually not true. Just be careful and pay attention to detail in the wording.
Mechanical Comprehension
Second Attempt:
Pulleys... One pulley problem is a 2 pulley system, one pulley is fixed and the other is attached to a vertical spring (just like in 2-fixed-pulley problems). If it were a standard 2-fixed-pulleys problem, there is no MA if no movable pulleys. It asks if there is any MA.. I put no since even though the spring moves, I assumed it didn't provide MA. I COULD BE WRONG. But find that answer and study its concept.
Levers... As simple as it gets, F1 * D1 = F2 * D2
Circuits... One circuit problem, it asked what the symbol was (it was an inductor)
A lot of these I was simply thinking, I didn't study anything like this and I'm just not sure.. I'll guess intuitively.
Aviation Nautical Information Test
Its a difficult section to study for, study long and study hard. The spectrum of questions is so broad. QUIZLET has some pretty good ASTB flashcards, I studied those. I wrote a lot of notes on this section, highlighted stuff and re-wrote them. I'm attaching my study material folder and it has plenty of ANIT stuff in there. I created a powerpoint that can be used for studying aircraft deck crew shirt colors and roles. It includes Naval History and Aircraft Roles which are all good to know.
Specific questions I recall are:
Squawk and Indent correspond to what? Transponder
Which surface controls the flight of an airplane? I assumed elevators, but "wing" was an option also.
If an aircraft is heading 360 degrees and has a 15 knot crosswind from 270 degree, which should be the correction to maintain flight path, I put 350 degrees. Not sure if there's a formula but I just intuitively guessed.
Spatial Apperception/Performanced Based Measures(PBM)
UAV Tracking / Parking: I used the same compass rose method for both attempts, the first attempt I got 2-3 wrong and the 2nd attempt I got 0 wrong. I don't know how the test is graded, but I specifically went in with the mindset that I was going to do my best to get ZERO wrong EVEN IF THAT MEANS TAKING 1-2 MORE SECONDS. Although I believe both accuracy and speed are important, I would assume accuracy is more important. Compare getting an answer wrong to taking 2 extra seconds to answer and getting it correct.
PBM: Practically impossible. I didn't buy any cool gadgets to practice tracking. I haven't touched a video game in over five years, although I used to play a lot of halo back in the day, shout out to my H3 fam. Considering I completely bombed the dichotic listening on the first exam (due to not realizing the test was going and I thought I was in practice still), I did significantly better on the second attempt. I didn't lean to either side, I just focused. Everyone says to write down the emergency procedures on the last part of this section, DO IT.
Here are some simple test taking tips I used that may or may not have benefited my performance and score:
- Someone recommended to do push ups in between sections and before you start to release some tension, I did it..
- People recommend earplugs, I brought them and it blocked everything out
- I ate a meal prior to walking in (Egg McMuffin and an apple to be exact)
- Put in the hours of studying and when it comes time to take the test, think about the hours you put in and remind yourself if you could figure out the problems during study, you can figure out the problems now.
- People recommend not to spend more than 3-4 minutes on a question, I listened... If I had a good idea on how to figure it out it was just going to take time, I did it.. But if I did not have a concrete path to find the answer after 3 minutes, I selected C and moved on
- When randomly selecting an answer, ALWAYS SELECT THE SAME DEFAULT LETTER. I always selected C on questions I didn't have a clue on.
Hopefully this stuff helps at least a little bit. I'm sorry I can't remember more questions/concepts. I simply recommend studying as much as you can and as consistently as you can, I put in a lot of hours toward this. Good luck to you all and if you have any specific questions, feel free to message me or reply and I'll try to check this page periodically.
STUDY MATERIAL I USED
drive.google.com