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

[Anthony2000]

Does getting a prorec N affect your competitiveness for future boards?

A pro rec N without much improvement would hurt. You wouldn’t be allowed to apply without a major change either from my understanding.

I got a pro rec N last October for this July/AUG board I got 10 flight hours, high speed/ complex endorsement. Professional job, passing my SIE, Series 7, and Series 63. Also new LOR, and higher ASTB score.

So a lot of improvements

 

[BDavis11]

Ok I was asking because I want to apply 12 months out from graduation but it seems the boards don’t like being that far out from graduation. If I apply 6 months out with the same application will they look at that negatively?

i doubt they will even remember your application

 

[BDavis11]

A pro rec N without much improvement would hurt. You wouldn’t be allowed to apply without a major change either from my understanding.

I got a pro rec N last October for this July/AUG board I got 10 flight hours, high speed/ complex endorsement. Professional job, passing my SIE, Series 7, and Series 63. Also new LOR, and higher ASTB score.

So a lot of improvements

you can't reapply within 6 months without major change

 

[exNavyOffRec]

I had to get two medical waivers, one for ADHD and one for the athsma I had when I was like 5. My RO told me they might request a letter from my college stating that I neither asked for or used accomodations for my ADHD.

Not that I am worried about that, I had to get one just for the DODMERB waiver.

That letter would be from the campus medical and would not be seen by a board.

 

[dav246]

Hey guys, just bought and downloaded the ASTB prep app by Alex Hastings onto my android tablet, but it doesn't want to launch. I open it and I just get a white screen and then it kicks me out. Any ideas?

 

[MotorCookie]

Hey guys, just bought and downloaded the ASTB prep app by Alex Hastings onto my android tablet, but it doesn't want to launch. I open it and I just get a white screen and then it kicks me out. Any ideas?

@TwoScoops is the developer so he might be able to help you out.

 

[Anthony2000]

^^

 

[dav246]

You guys think its a good sign that I am scoring just as well on Jantzens Sim drunk as I do sober?

 

[MotorCookie]

just finished my second attempt and by some miracle I went from 50 5/6/5 to 57 8/9/9. Completely unexpected and extremely happy right now.

The biggest improvements I noticed that I made was I got all UAV questions correct with a reaction time of about 1.8 to 2 seconds. First time, I got maybe 5 or 6 wrong with a reaction time of about 4 seconds. Even though I can get all UAV questions right with a speed of 1.2 seconds on the ASTB Prep app, i found the actual to test to be more difficult because of the nervousness. So during this second test attempt, I used the paper compass with a pencil through the middle. This makes spinning the compass a lot faster. Also, do not wait for the voice to tell you what parking lot to target. I found the voice to be very distracting so I took off the headphones and only used the text displayed.

Another improvement was that I only got 2 or 3 audio cues wrong during the dichotic listening. What I did this time was to repeat the odd or even numbers I heard in the Target ear out loud. During my first test attempt, I probably got about 5 or more audio cues wrong.

Math is definitely my weakest. For context, during my freshman college placement exams, I did so terribly on the math test that I had to take an Elementary Algebra class. And the only other math class I took in college was a financial math class which was fairly easy. What I used to study for the math test was Gomez’ Drive. In the “worksheets with answers” folder, I made it a goal to complete all of the worksheets which is honestly doable in like a week or so. Other than that I used the Organic Chemistry Tutor’s Algebra II Udemy course. It’s $10 and provides a structured curriculum to follow. Better than watching random YouTube videos in my opinion. I honestly thought I was doing terrible during the math portion but I guess when your questions become difficult, you’re doing good.

Mechanical is something I did not really focus on during my studying time. I found it to be mostly “common sense” problems but there were a few that required some basic math.

I did not study at all for reading. You can’t really study for this I think. I’ve always been pretty good at reading and writing so this portion of the test came naturally to me.

For the ANIT I just used the ASTB flash cards from Cram and maybe did some reading from Barron’s book.

There’s a couple of documents I found from Reddit that I also used that I think helped me in all portions of the OAR. I’m on my phone right now so I’ll link those later.

Edit: Here is the link to the Reddit post that helped me a lot:

https://www.reddit.com/r/newtothenavy/comments/l2e1lj

Overall I think the PBM section plays a significant role in your AQR. 57 OAR is not amazing but I still managed to score an 8 for the AQR and I think the reason for that is because I did really well on the PBM. So if you're weak in math like I am, you might be able to score pretty high as long as you do great on everything else.

Buying the x52 HOTAS and using that to practice on the ASTB sim is a good idea.

Links to other study materials I used:
Gomez Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1IxIizps2bu2ljw1bYjFPajWv8RYvLWyv?usp=sharing

Udemy Course: https://www.udemy.com/course/algebracourse7245/ (Don't spend the $95 price, usually Udemy offers constant discounts for like $10)

@Petersonjr Updated Sim: https://astbsimulatorupdated-jantzen.github.io/ASTB-remade/ (Don't use the emergency section because the knob twisting isn't in the right direction. But audio listening works very similar to the test. Use X52 HOTAS.)

Cram Flash Cards: https://www.cram.com/flashcards/astb-aviation-nautical-information-test-anit-comprehensive-4718163

ASTB Prep App: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/astb-prep/id1549216388 (Primarily for UAV section)

 

[Raema19]

just finished my second attempt and by some miracle I went from 50 5/6/5 to 57 8/9/9. Completely unexpected and extremely happy right now.

The biggest improvements I noticed that I made was I got all UAV questions correct with a reaction time of about 1.8 to 2 seconds. First time, I got maybe 5 or 6 wrong with a reaction time of about 4 seconds. Even though I can get all UAV questions right with a speed of 1.2 seconds on the ASTB Prep app, i found the actual to test to be more difficult because of the nervousness. So during this second test attempt, I used the paper compass with a pencil through the middle. This makes spinning the compass a lot faster.

Another improvement was that I only got 2 or 3 audio cues wrong during the dichotic listening. What I did this time was to repeat the odd or even numbers I heard in the Target ear out loud. During my first test attempt, I probably got about 5 or more audio cues wrong.

Math is definitely my weakest. For context, during my freshman college placement exams, I did so terribly on the math test that I had to take an Elementary Algebra class. And the only other math class I took in college was a financial math class which was fairly easy. What I used to study for the math test was Gomez’ Drive. In the “worksheets with answers” folder, I made it a goal to complete all of the worksheets which is honestly doable in like a week or so. Other than that I used the Organic Chemistry Tutor’s Algebra II Udemy course. It’s $10 and provides a structured curriculum to follow. Better than watching random YouTube videos in my opinion. I honestly thought I was doing terrible during the math portion but I guess when your questions become difficult, you’re doing good.

Mechanical is something I did not really focus on during my studying time. I found it to be mostly “common sense” problems but there were a few that required some basic math.

I did not study at all for reading. You can’t really study for this I think. I’ve always been pretty good at reading and writing so this portion of the test came naturally to me.

For the ANIT I just used the ASTB flash cards from Cram and maybe did some reading from Barron’s book.

There’s a couple of documents I found from Reddit that I also used that I think helped me in all portions of the OAR. I’m on my phone right now so I’ll link those later.

Congratulations on your new score!! How long did you study for the second test?

 

[MotorCookie]

Congratulations on your new score!! How long did you study for the second test?

Thank you! I took my first test about a month and a half ago. So I studied about 4 days a week for an hour or 2. What I did differently this time was I studied at my University’s library rather than studying at home. I found that my studying was much more effective at the library because of the lack of distractions. My library has whiteboards so I would pretend I’m a teacher teaching the concepts I was learning to a class. I also studied after every gym session. Don’t know if that helped me or not but I feel like it did.

 

[pcola478]

just finished my second attempt and by some miracle I went from 50 5/6/5 to 57 8/9/9. Completely unexpected and extremely happy right now.

The biggest improvements I noticed that I made was I got all UAV questions correct with a reaction time of about 1.8 to 2 seconds. First time, I got maybe 5 or 6 wrong with a reaction time of about 4 seconds. Even though I can get all UAV questions right with a speed of 1.2 seconds on the ASTB Prep app, i found the actual to test to be more difficult because of the nervousness. So during this second test attempt, I used the paper compass with a pencil through the middle. This makes spinning the compass a lot faster.

Another improvement was that I only got 2 or 3 audio cues wrong during the dichotic listening. What I did this time was to repeat the odd or even numbers I heard in the Target ear out loud. During my first test attempt, I probably got about 5 or more audio cues wrong.

Math is definitely my weakest. For context, during my freshman college placement exams, I did so terribly on the math test that I had to take an Elementary Algebra class. And the only other math class I took in college was a financial math class which was fairly easy. What I used to study for the math test was Gomez’ Drive. In the “worksheets with answers” folder, I made it a goal to complete all of the worksheets which is honestly doable in like a week or so. Other than that I used the Organic Chemistry Tutor’s Algebra II Udemy course. It’s $10 and provides a structured curriculum to follow. Better than watching random YouTube videos in my opinion. I honestly thought I was doing terrible during the math portion but I guess when your questions become difficult, you’re doing good.

Mechanical is something I did not really focus on during my studying time. I found it to be mostly “common sense” problems but there were a few that required some basic math.

I did not study at all for reading. You can’t really study for this I think. I’ve always been pretty good at reading and writing so this portion of the test came naturally to me.

For the ANIT I just used the ASTB flash cards from Cram and maybe did some reading from Barron’s book.

There’s a couple of documents I found from Reddit that I also used that I think helped me in all portions of the OAR. I’m on my phone right now so I’ll link those later.

Awesome improvement! Congrats!

 

[dav246]

just finished my second attempt and by some miracle I went from 50 5/6/5 to 57 8/9/9. Completely unexpected and extremely happy right now.

The biggest improvements I noticed that I made was I got all UAV questions correct with a reaction time of about 1.8 to 2 seconds. First time, I got maybe 5 or 6 wrong with a reaction time of about 4 seconds. Even though I can get all UAV questions right with a speed of 1.2 seconds on the ASTB Prep app, i found the actual to test to be more difficult because of the nervousness. So during this second test attempt, I used the paper compass with a pencil through the middle. This makes spinning the compass a lot faster.

Another improvement was that I only got 2 or 3 audio cues wrong during the dichotic listening. What I did this time was to repeat the odd or even numbers I heard in the Target ear out loud. During my first test attempt, I probably got about 5 or more audio cues wrong.

Math is definitely my weakest. For context, during my freshman college placement exams, I did so terribly on the math test that I had to take an Elementary Algebra class. And the only other math class I took in college was a financial math class which was fairly easy. What I used to study for the math test was Gomez’ Drive. In the “worksheets with answers” folder, I made it a goal to complete all of the worksheets which is honestly doable in like a week or so. Other than that I used the Organic Chemistry Tutor’s Algebra II Udemy course. It’s $10 and provides a structured curriculum to follow. Better than watching random YouTube videos in my opinion. I honestly thought I was doing terrible during the math portion but I guess when your questions become difficult, you’re doing good.

Mechanical is something I did not really focus on during my studying time. I found it to be mostly “common sense” problems but there were a few that required some basic math.

I did not study at all for reading. You can’t really study for this I think. I’ve always been pretty good at reading and writing so this portion of the test came naturally to me.

For the ANIT I just used the ASTB flash cards from Cram and maybe did some reading from Barron’s book.

There’s a couple of documents I found from Reddit that I also used that I think helped me in all portions of the OAR. I’m on my phone right now so I’ll link those later.

Way to go cookie

 

[dav246]

Even though I can get all UAV questions right with a speed of 1.2 seconds on the ASTB Prep app, i found the actual to test to be more difficult because of the nervousness. So during this second test attempt, I used the paper compass with a pencil through the middle. This makes spinning the compass a lot faster.

I just tried this a few times, its gonna take a little practice (I got a few wrong on my 3 runs just now), but I totally see the benefit, as using this method allows one to use the mouse in one hand and position with the other.

I am consistently getting a 1.5 second average myself on the prep app

 

[MotorCookie]

I just tried this a few times, its gonna get a little practice (I got a few wrong on my 3 runs just now), but I totally see the benefit, as using this method allows one to use the mouse in one hand and position with the other.

I am consistently getting a 1.5 second average myself on the prep app

I would only use this method if you aren't confident in doing the UAV mentally. Like I said, I am able to do UAV questions perfectly and quickly using the app but when it came to the test, it's like I forgot how to do it and became very flustered.

I would also recommend taking off the headphones during this portion. If you wait for the audio voice to tell you which direction to target, you will have already wasted 2 or 3 seconds. There is text at the bottom that will instantly tell you which direction to target so focus on that text instead.

Here's what it looks like on the test:


Notice how under the parking lots, it says "Image the North parking lot." I highly recommend just reading the text displayed there and ignore the voice.