Figured I would do a write up on what I did to prepare, I saw others do the same and I found the advice helpful. I used a number of resources, I'll touch on what I did for each section below. I already posted my score above but I scored a 65 9/9/9. If you don't feel like reading this, the main takeaway is use kyle's guide and practice the jantzen and UAV flashcards a ton. I practiced nearly everyday for probably 3 months.
Math:
- Used Kyle's guide and other posters information to determine what topics would be covered. I tested myself on those topics and brushed up on what I needed to using Khan academy as well as the organic chemistry tutor. I also did buy the Mometrix book and the Barron's book but to be honest I think Kyle's guide is better. I also feel like I had a leg up here as I was already familiar with all these concepts due to an engineering background and just had to refresh.
Reading:
- My current job requires a ton of technical reading so I honestly hardly prepared for this portion. Big thing to remember here is not to make assumptions based off your general knowledge, only draw conclusions that are absolutely supported by the text. To be honest, felt like this was my weakest section
Mechanical Comprehension:
- The engineering background helped a lot here, I refreshed on basic physics concepts via organic chemistry tutor. I did not have to study this much as I was already pretty familiar with the concepts but if you don't have a strong physics background I'll keep repeating myself here and say check out Kyle's guide. One of the documents on his guide is a pretty thorough concept review. Know your formulas, but beyond that I recommend taking time to understand what those formulas "mean" in practical application (don't just memorize the math, understand what it means). I also practiced a lot of simple machines problems.
ANIT:
- I found this to be the easiest section. I studied with the CRAM flashcards, I read the pertinent chapters in the Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical knowledge, I listened to various free pilot training youtube videos, and I also am about 3/4 of my way into earning my private pilot's license so that certainly helps. Your ground school material will be helpful if you are also a student pilot/pilot but really you can find all the information in the pilot's handbook. This section briefly touched on ship components and had 1 "historical" question about ship components.
PBM:
- Practice, practice, practice. I think what I did a little differently on some in my study approach here is the amount of time I put in. I would go through 120ish UAV flashcards almost everyday using the compass method and run through the Jantzen practice about 5-6 times almost every day. I did this for about 3 months. By the end of my preparation, I was scoring 70-80 on the Jantzen hardest difficulty on 60 second intervals for the control stick. I also practiced the UAV section so much that I did not have to look at my handmade compass, but instead knew the correct parking lost based on how I rotated my hand to match the arrows.
Math:
- Used Kyle's guide and other posters information to determine what topics would be covered. I tested myself on those topics and brushed up on what I needed to using Khan academy as well as the organic chemistry tutor. I also did buy the Mometrix book and the Barron's book but to be honest I think Kyle's guide is better. I also feel like I had a leg up here as I was already familiar with all these concepts due to an engineering background and just had to refresh.
Reading:
- My current job requires a ton of technical reading so I honestly hardly prepared for this portion. Big thing to remember here is not to make assumptions based off your general knowledge, only draw conclusions that are absolutely supported by the text. To be honest, felt like this was my weakest section
Mechanical Comprehension:
- The engineering background helped a lot here, I refreshed on basic physics concepts via organic chemistry tutor. I did not have to study this much as I was already pretty familiar with the concepts but if you don't have a strong physics background I'll keep repeating myself here and say check out Kyle's guide. One of the documents on his guide is a pretty thorough concept review. Know your formulas, but beyond that I recommend taking time to understand what those formulas "mean" in practical application (don't just memorize the math, understand what it means). I also practiced a lot of simple machines problems.
ANIT:
- I found this to be the easiest section. I studied with the CRAM flashcards, I read the pertinent chapters in the Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical knowledge, I listened to various free pilot training youtube videos, and I also am about 3/4 of my way into earning my private pilot's license so that certainly helps. Your ground school material will be helpful if you are also a student pilot/pilot but really you can find all the information in the pilot's handbook. This section briefly touched on ship components and had 1 "historical" question about ship components.
PBM:
- Practice, practice, practice. I think what I did a little differently on some in my study approach here is the amount of time I put in. I would go through 120ish UAV flashcards almost everyday using the compass method and run through the Jantzen practice about 5-6 times almost every day. I did this for about 3 months. By the end of my preparation, I was scoring 70-80 on the Jantzen hardest difficulty on 60 second intervals for the control stick. I also practiced the UAV section so much that I did not have to look at my handmade compass, but instead knew the correct parking lost based on how I rotated my hand to match the arrows.
