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

E

exNavyOffRec

Well-Known Member
jest19 said:
Hi everyone,

I'm currently in the process of applying and I've taken the OAR twice now. I've gotten decent enough scores on them, but the program I'm trying for is a little selective and I would like just a couple more points to boost my application (think 2 more points to bring me up to a "competitive" score). Math and reading are no problem for me. I've spent a lot of time studying mechanical material and both times I've taken the test I've felt confident, but then the mechanical section begins and the questions confuse me. The wording seems strange to me and not as straightforward as the material I study. Has this issue happened to anyone else and could anyone provide me with advice on how to counteract this issue?

Thank you all in advance!
Click to expand...

The OAR gets you to the board, it carries very little weight in the actual board, what helps you at the board is high GPA, tech degree for some designators, ASTB for aviation designators, and no need for legal waivers.
 
coolhand_505

coolhand_505

One Eight Zero, one more time!
zbr23 said:
Yessir, it’s time for another obligatory post-exam synopsis post! In an attempt to spare y’all from spending hours upon hours scrolling back through this wonderful forum, like I did, I’ll try to cover all the pertinent: links, gouge, and personal intel in this here post...

First and foremost, a huge shout out and thank you to guys like: Popeye, Patrick, RhinoHornet, and others I’m surely missing (sorry!) for helping myself and other aspiring aviators attempt to attain their wings and affirm their affinity for flight. But enough alliteration, down to the juicy stuff.

1st attempt: 53 6/7/8
2nd attempt: Well, didn’t happen (as of now anyways) as my OR said these were good enough to proceed. Fingers crossed!!!

What did I use to study?
  • Barron’s “Military Flight Aptitude Tests” 4th Edition (yes, I drove to Barnes & Noble and bought it) (best used for studying: mechanical, physics, and aviation concepts as well as the (2) ASTB-E practice exams AND the (2) AFOQT exams)
  • McGraw-Hill “Conquering GRE Math” 3rd Edition (borrowed from my fiancee)
  • OAR Math Practice Guide: By Carlos Miro (google drive)
  • Peterson’s ASTB-E practice exam (Chapter 5) (google drive)
  • RhinoHornet’s dichotic listening simulator (see link)
  • ANIT practice test (google drive)
  • Popeye’s ANIT gouge (google drive)
  • Popeye’s Math gouge (google drive)
  • Patrick’s personal study guide (google drive)
  • Peterson’s practice test 4 (google drive)
  • Peterson’s practice test 8 (google drive)
  • Peterson’s practice test 3 (google drive)
  • “Aircraft Performance and Design” by John D. Anderson (textbook from a class I took during undergrad)
  • Quizlet flashcards (see link for jump off point)
  • Proprofs flashcards (see link for jump off point)
  • Purchased a Thrustmaster and played War Thunder via Steam (INVERT YOUR JOYSTICK)
  • Compass trick video (see link)
  • Khan academy
What did I bring on game day?
  • Birth Certificate
  • SSN card
  • State issued driver’s license
  • Number 2 pencils
  • Big fat eraser
  • Large bottle of water
  • Bag of snacks (trail mix, crackers, etc.)
  • Piece of paper where I had written:
    • Compass trick!
    • Remember to write down emergency procedures!
    • (2) strips of paper: odd numbers on left side (throttle) and even numbers on right side (joystick)
    • During PBM: prioritize listening AND emergency procedures!
    • Accuracy over speed!
Formulas to actually memorize:
  • Pythagorean Theorem
  • Areas of polygons
  • Volumes
  • Newton’s three basic laws of motion
  • Total internal degrees of polygons (# of sides - 2 multiplied by 180 degrees)
  • D = RT (and its variations)
  • Degree to Radian and Radian to Degree conversion
  • Area/Arc conversions
Actual questions (straight from my scratch paper!):
  • 2(x-3) = y^2 + 1 (solve for x)
  • sqrt(3) + sqrt(27) (simplify)
  • cubedrt(1 - x) = 2*cubedrt(8 - 3x) (solve for x)
  • (2(x+2)^2)^2 - 6x + 2(x+2) / 4 (simplify)
  • (2x^2 + 8x + 8) (2x^2 + 8x + 8) (simplify)
  • log_5(32,768) = 5^x (solve for x)
  • Several other questions are just too long to type out. Topics include:
    • D=RT (was given multiple of these of different variations and varying difficulties)
    • Probability (was given a couple of these)
    • Perimeter and Area (was given a couple of these)
    • Exponents and Logarithms (was given a couple of these)
    • Series and Sequences (was given a couple of these)
    • F=ma (was given one of these)
    • V=IR (was given one of these)
    • Word problems (was given several of these)
      • “If Sally gets scores … What must she score … to average …?”
      • “Two people are painting a house … How long does it take together?”
Lessons learned:
  • Don’t. Get. Frustrated!!! I know, easier said than done. Just try to put it in perspective. This is just a part of the process. The first hurdle of many in order to achieve your ultimate goal. Brief story here… While I was taking the test, my computer and/or the APEX system kept freezing and my OR had to keep coming in and restarting the computer (god bless NMCI)... I remember arriving around 0815 for my 0900 exam and didn’t leave until almost 1500. It was a very long day filled with “wait, did it record my answer correctly?” “wait, is it saving my progress correctly?” And just the general anxiety and frustration of the computer constantly freezing. I just tried to take it in stride with a “glass half full” mentality. “Hey, this gives me a couple extra minutes to double check my work on the scratch paper.” Eventually though, I did have to resort to repping push-ups in order to control my emotions. Just stay focused and take deep breaths y’all!!
  • Practice Practice Practice inverted gaming controls!!!
  • During the PBM emergency procedures, remember to press the clutch after you’ve adjusted your E and I levels!!!
    • I definitely missed one because I somehow forgot to press the damn clutch
  • Try really hard to get at least 8 hours of sleep the night before. Personally, I was super nervous so I probably got closer to 5… Don’t be me!
Quick exam breakdown (with personal sectional-summations):

  • Math:
    • About as difficult as I figured it would be. I majored in Mechanical Engineering though so I’ve been around math a lot. Remember, this exam is adaptive just like the GRE. The study guides that helped me the most were: Peterson’s practice test 4 and the “OAR math practice guide” by Carlos Miro. Take all of the practice tests I listed above and remember to go back and really review the wrong answers. As mentioned above, I was given problems covering: D=RT, logs and exponents, probability, series/sequences, basic statistics, area/perimeter, various word problems, and factoring/simplifying. None of these problems were inherently difficult. You just have to practice and get used to “GRE math” …
  • Reading:
    • Dry and boring. If you’ve ever taken a standardized test (SAT, ACT, GRE) then you know exactly what I mean. Not much you can really study for here. Brush up on your diction ;) Read books with fewer pictures. Google and review “GRE reading comprehension tips and tricks.” Review the Barron’s book. That’s about it… Honestly, didn’t spend much time studying for the reading section.
  • Mechanical:
    • GOUGE, GOUGE, GOUGE. What helped me the most were the google drive study guides, Peterson’s practice test 8, and the Barron’s book. Study the above and you should do just fine.
  • ANIT:
    • GOUGE, GOUGE, GOUGE. What helped me the most were the various flashcards (cram, proprofs, quizlet) and the Barron’s book. What I’ll also say here is that you shouldn’t spend so much time studying this section that you lose your mind trying to memorize everything. This section varies so much and covers so much material that it’s near impossible. Just review the basics of the topics covered in the aforementioned gouge and call it a day. In the end, if you don’t get super lucky here, in the total randomness of this section, it weighs less than the others towards your overall scores.
  • NAFTI (BI-RV?)
    • Just be honest and try not to fixate or “dig deep” here. Definitely don’t want to expend too much brain power in this section. Honestly, it really felt like there were no wrong answers and what I did answer wouldn’t really affect the score. Obviously, this isn’t a section you can really study for…
  • UAV
    • Can’t stress this enough… Watch the youtube compass trick video!!! Then practice the UAV flashcards and/or various simulators posted within this thread. Do them quickly AND accurately. Seriously, as quick as you can possibly go without error. Even a few extra seconds can hurt your score. I believe I got one or two wrong here; however, I averaged 1.5 - 3 seconds per question.
  • PBM
    • Definitely the most difficult section. For the dichotic listening, I tilted my head towards the ear it told me to. I also practiced with RhinoHornets simulator a lot. When using the simulator I worked my way down to a 0.1 blend and made sure I could average 24/26 correct. To be honest, the actual exam was probably closer to a 0.5 or even a 0.6; however, I would still recommend working your way up (down?) to the most blended you can get. Remember, accuracy over speed!!! As previously mentioned, I purchased a Thrustmaster and downloaded War Thunder via Steam. Remember to invert your joystick!!! If you don’t want to purchase your own throttle/joystick just invert your xbox/ps4 controller and start sucking real bad in the Warzone. For the emergency procedures, remember to write down the control settings before beginning that section!!! As mentioned in my lessons learned section, remember to press the clutch after you’ve adjusted the knobs!!! Emergency procedures are below:
  • Engine Fire:
    • E knob = Low
    • I knob = Low
    • PRESS THE CLUTCH
  • Engine Malfunction:
    • E knob = High
    • I knob = High
    • PRESS THE CLUTCH
  • Propeller Malfunction:
    • E knob = Neutral
    • I knob = High
    • PRESS THE CLUTCH
  • Remember, accuracy over speed!!! Here’s the last thing I’ll say on this. When they’re throwing the kitchen sink at you (dichotic + throttle + joystick and throttle + joystick + emergency procedures) just take a deep breath and relax. I was convinced that I absolutely bombed this section. But, I remembered to focus more on the dichotic listening than the throttle/joystick and I essentially stopped tracking the throttle/joystick whenever an emergency procedure had to be done. This section, and really the test as a whole, is supposed to challenge the crap out of you. Just gotta keep your head down and keep pounding!!! Sorry this post is so long. If you made it this far, congrats and I hope you’ve found all this at least somewhat helpful. I’ll update y’all once I hear back from my Aviation Boards. Hopefully, I’ll get the good news and maybe even meet one of you out in the fleet someday!
Links to get you started:
Click to expand...


RhinoHornet sim Link just takes me to the Epizy.com site. Not a sim site. Did he take it down? Thanks for all the above help... planning on re- taking ASTB in two weeks.
 
Navyguy1995

Navyguy1995

New Member
How can I raise my score from 53 to 60+? I realize 53 is generally competitive, but I think I can do better and I got 53 on my first try. The biggest issue I had with the test was not the math or reading, but the mechanical comprehension section. How do you study for this? I looked through a couple of books before my first attempt, but few of the questions in the books were on the actual test.
 
E

exNavyOffRec

Well-Known Member
Navyguy1995 said:
How can I raise my score from 53 to 60+? I realize 53 is generally competitive, but I think I can do better and I got 53 on my first try. The biggest issue I had with the test was not the math or reading, but the mechanical comprehension section. How do you study for this? I looked through a couple of books before my first attempt, but few of the questions in the books were on the actual test.
Click to expand...

Keep that next test attempt in your back pocket in case you are a pro-N
 
T

tcurran565

New Member
Just got done taking the ASTB-E. My OAR was 49 and I got a 5/6/6 on the AQR/PFAR/FOFAR respectively. I wasn't blown away by my scores but my recruiter seemed to think I stood a good chance to be selected for NFA at the very least, so I might as well save another test attempt until after the selection board meets on August 3rd. In the meantime, I'll be studying.

The math section went about how I expected. As a journalism major, math has always been my weakest link. The Barron's book and the study materials on this forum did help with the math a bit, but I don't think I blew this section out of the water. Lots of problems involving simplification of variable equations, some rate of change problems, some probability and a handful of basic word problems. Since I didn't see anything involving logs or matrices, I assume I didn't do that hot.

The reading was simple. There was only a question or two that I think may have tripped me up, but it's fairly self explanatory.

The mechanical knowledge wasn't too bad, but does require a pretty thorough understanding of basic engineering and scientific concepts such as mass, velocity, etc. Hammer those, and anyone can do just fine on this section.

The aviation and nautical information portion was brutal. I studied the comprehensive flashcards pretty thoroughly, but almost none of the information I saw on there reflected how the actual test went. The best thing to do here I guess would be to study everything, and I mean everything, if you can.

As far as the performance based measures go, there are a few tricks that helped me. The UAV flashcards were a lifesaver. I missed only two of the 48 on there, and the two that I missed were just dumb, unforced errors on my part. Take a look at those and you'll be good.

For the dichotic listening, it helped to lean my head to the target ear side to better listen to what I was hearing. Trying to chase around the cursors while doing so made this part extremely difficult, but I'm confident I only made a few mistakes in terms of the trigger/clutch pressing when listening for the odd/even numbers.

Other than that, it's now a waiting game. I'm going to continue to PT like a madman and study, while hoping for the best. Good luck everyone
 
G

gspock

New Member
tcurran565 said:
Just got done taking the ASTB-E. My OAR was 49 and I got a 5/6/6 on the AQR/PFAR/FOFAR respectively. I wasn't blown away by my scores but my recruiter seemed to think I stood a good chance to be selected for NFA at the very least, so I might as well save another test attempt until after the selection board meets on August 3rd. In the meantime, I'll be studying.

The math section went about how I expected. As a journalism major, math has always been my weakest link. The Barron's book and the study materials on this forum did help with the math a bit, but I don't think I blew this section out of the water. Lots of problems involving simplification of variable equations, some rate of change problems, some probability and a handful of basic word problems. Since I didn't see anything involving logs or matrices, I assume I didn't do that hot.

The reading was simple. There was only a question or two that I think may have tripped me up, but it's fairly self explanatory.

The mechanical knowledge wasn't too bad, but does require a pretty thorough understanding of basic engineering and scientific concepts such as mass, velocity, etc. Hammer those, and anyone can do just fine on this section.

The aviation and nautical information portion was brutal. I studied the comprehensive flashcards pretty thoroughly, but almost none of the information I saw on there reflected how the actual test went. The best thing to do here I guess would be to study everything, and I mean everything, if you can.

As far as the performance based measures go, there are a few tricks that helped me. The UAV flashcards were a lifesaver. I missed only two of the 48 on there, and the two that I missed were just dumb, unforced errors on my part. Take a look at those and you'll be good.

For the dichotic listening, it helped to lean my head to the target ear side to better listen to what I was hearing. Trying to chase around the cursors while doing so made this part extremely difficult, but I'm confident I only made a few mistakes in terms of the trigger/clutch pressing when listening for the odd/even numbers.

Other than that, it's now a waiting game. I'm going to continue to PT like a madman and study, while hoping for the best. Good luck everyone
Click to expand...
What kind of questions was on the ANIT?
I take my test on July 9th.
 
Z

zbr23

Active Member
coolhand_505 said:
RhinoHornet sim Link just takes me to the Epizy.com site. Not a sim site. Did he take it down? Thanks for all the above help... planning on re- taking ASTB in two weeks.
Click to expand...
Yeah, sorry about that! Same thing is happening to me now. I would recommend PM'ing RhinoHornet. He might just need to renew the URL. You're welcome! Glad you found it informative. Good luck!!!
 
coolhand_505

coolhand_505

One Eight Zero, one more time!
zbr23 said:
Yeah, sorry about that! Same thing is happening to me now. I would recommend PM'ing RhinoHornet. He might just need to renew the URL. You're welcome! Glad you found it informative. Good luck!!!
Click to expand...

Message sent to RhinoHornet. Thanks for the help man --- Time to get trained up on the PBM. When I last took the ASTB the PBM didn't exist -- so this will be new territory for me--- Although I did very well on the USAF's TBAS test so hopefully that gives me a leg up. Take care
 
B

bluemoonwalk

New Member
Hey,
I'm new on the forum but just wanted to post a thanks for all the helpful tips in this thread. I took it yesterday and got a 60, 8/7/8.

I found the Math to be simpler for me, no logs, lots of geometry (triangles, area), a few factoring.
Reading was dry but felt like 2/4 answers were obviously wrong, and then choose one that doesn't infer information not presented in the reading.
Aviation and nautical information was so broad...the amount of history about planes or boats was crazy. I felt I did decent but it might've just been lucky guesses.
As others have said, the UAV compass trick helped immensely. I took my time (~4 seconds per question) and got one wrong.
The PBM is extremely stressful and I had to remind myself to keep breathing.

Are these scores competitive for a pilot slot at the June 26th board? I have a 3.75 GPA, 8/7/8.
 
Last edited:
M

michael odell

Member
stephenalbarracin said:
I need help.

You have 70 score on this test, 75 on the second, 80 on the third. Each test is weighted 10% more than the previous. What do you need on the 4th to have 75 average at the end of the course.
Click to expand...
did anyone ever answer this question for you. Im curious as to what the correct answer/way to solve this problem is also.
 
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