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

[dav246]

Yeah it is, look for Kyle’s drive or search it in google “Kyle’s drive airwarriors” then go to ANIT

Okay perfect. Just wanted to be sure.

 

[dav246]

There must be 30 days between each test, this hasn't changed. What has changed is recruiters don't bother to look at source documents to find the the answer.

Retest Policy​

The ASTB-E administered online via APEX is delivered in computer-adaptive format, presenting a different combination of items to the examinee on each administration. After three attempts at the ASTB-E, the examinee will be ineligible for ASTB testing. An ASTB-E retest can be administered only after 30 full calendar days have elapsed between the date of completion of the first full ASTB administration (once all 6 components have been completed) and the start date of the retest. These test interval requirements cannot be waived, so it is important that examinees are aware of these requirements and the amount of time that has passed between administrations.
Examinees who have taken the entire ASTB-E and are being retested must take the entire battery again even though they may be satisfied with their performance on parts of it (i.e. test scores may not be mixed-and-matched from separate ASTB attempts). If you are unsure of your retest date or which form numbers you previously took, please talk to your recruiter.

What is the source? I want to link it into the email I am about to send to my recruiter.

 

[dav246]

How identical were questions on the cram flash cards to the test?

As Anthony said, they aren't exactly the same, but its a pretty good knowledge check. As in if you can get through all of them without getting a single one wrong and understand the answers contextually, then you probably have a decent knowledge base suffient to get a good ANIT score. What else might help you is the 20 dollar app on the apple store.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

What is the source? I want to link it into the email I am about to send to my recruiter.

Department 53OP - Operational Psychology

www.med.navy.mil

 

[Anthony2000]

As Anthony said, they aren't exactly the same, but its a pretty good knowledge check. As in if you can get through all of them without getting a single one wrong and understand the answers contextually, then you probably have a decent knowledge base suffient to get a good ANIT score. What else might help you is the 20 dollar app on the apple store.

Process of elimination worked for me. Find your strategy and stick with it! I knew that x or y or z couldn’t be the answer so it had to be a

 

[dav246]

Okay, so turns out I actually need 1 more point for the PFAR, not the FOFAR. Which turns out is most heavily influenced by the ANIT and the Spatial Apperception test.

Also, officially, I would have to wait 60 days minimum for my next take because I waited 31 days from my first to second attempt. From the OCM:

"All applicants not meeting the minimum ASTB score must wait until the 91st day following their initial attempt before retesting on a different
version of the test. A third and final attempt is authorized on the 91st day following the previous test. An examinee may only take each version of the test once, and will only be allowed to take the ASTB three times during his or her lifetime. Retest waivers on the examination form taken or the amount of times passed will not be granted."

So gonna just keep grinding the sticks and the UAV sim, aim for a little more improvement on the OAR, and be the Marineiest Marine that ever Marined and get me that ground comp slot, because shit is aleady starting to expire (dental exam and HIV test already expired) and I need to get the hell out of here before all my medical shit goes pear shaped.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Okay, so turns out I actually need 1 more point for the PFAR, not the FOFAR. Which turns out is most heavily influenced by the ANIT and the Spatial Apperception test.

Also, officially, I would have to wait 60 days minimum for my next take because I waited 31 days from my first to second attempt. From the OCM:

"All applicants not meeting the minimum ASTB score must wait until the 91st day following their initial attempt before retesting on a different
version of the test. A third and final attempt is authorized on the 91st day following the previous test. An examinee may only take each version of the test once, and will only be allowed to take the ASTB three times during his or her lifetime. Retest waivers on the examination form taken or the amount of times passed will not be granted."

So gonna just keep grinding the sticks and the UAV sim, aim for a little more improvement on the OAR, and be the Marineiest Marine that ever Marined and get me that ground comp slot, because shit is aleady starting to expire (dental exam and HIV test already expired) and I need to get the hell out of here before all my medical shit goes pear shaped.

NAMI is the guidance on the ASTB not the OCM, he might be reading old info or tribal knowledge most likely. See the link above to the NAMI site with the official guidance.

Either A) the OCM has no clue what he or she is doing, B) they are trying to stall you by lying or C) NAMI has changed their policies and forgot to update their own guidance (I doubt this as they have generally been on top of things).

 

[dav246]

NAMI is the guidance on the ASTB not the OCM, he might be reading old info or tribal knowledge most likely. See the link above to the NAMI site with the official guidance.

Either A) the OCM has no clue what he or she is doing, B) they are trying to stall you by lying or C) NAMI has changed their policies and forgot to update their own guidance (I doubt this as they have generally been on top of things).

OCM= Official Commisioning Manual. Its a document. The person managing my application/recruiting process is the OSO, (Officer Selection Officer), who can also be reffered to as an RO (Recruiting Officer).

My OSO just read the OCM and provided me a copy so I could read the relevant passages. Now it itself could be wrong or outdated(It does say 2022 on the cover), but I can't in good conscience argue with physical print, especially as the web has provided me with conflicting information throughout this whole journey.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

OCM= Official Commisioning Manual. Its a document. The person managing my application/recruiting process is the OSO, (Officer Selection Officer), who can also be reffered to as an RO (Recruiting Officer).

My OSO just read the OCM and provided me a copy so I could read the relevant passages. Now it itself could be wrong or outdated(It does say 2022 on the cover), but I can't in good conscience argue with physical print, especially as the web has provided me with conflicting information throughout this whole journey.

For the USN OCM is officer community manager, I didn't realize you were going for USMC.

The guidance for the ASTB from NAMI is quite clear, you could go see a USN OR and take the test and it would be valid, not sure what the USMC is doing but it doesn't jive with NAMI, and you can argue it as NAMI is the organization that sets the rules for the ASTB testing times not the USMC.

It could very well be wrong, for the USN AD guys the 1420.1 is the document they are supposed to follow, but it has many errors.

 

[madiego]

Could anyone here recommend what subjects in math to study? I understand the basics of college level math but I'd like to know what specifically within that field is recommended.

 

[Anthony2000]

Could anyone here recommend what subjects in math to study? I understand the basics of college level math but I'd like to know what specifically within that field is recommended.

Everything lol, probability, rules of exponents, geometry, logs, arithmetic reasoning…

 

[flyORdie]

Could anyone here recommend what subjects in math to study? I understand the basics of college level math but I'd like to know what specifically within that field is recommended.

Probability (including Binomial), radicals/roots, exponents, logs, weighted averages, drt (distance = rate x time), proportions, etc. etc. Be quick with mental math including dividing complex fractions, multiplying numbers, solving exponents. Read as many posts as you can because people get specific problems that tend to reappear on others ASTB. Use Kyle's guide to get an idea of the concepts that may be covered and FIND practice problems to do on google. Just doing the practice problems in Kyle's guide probably isn't enough. Good luck.

 

[jman504]

I just took the ASTB today and got a 57 8/9/8. This forum really helped me out, so I thought I would share my insights on it. Everyone has a different experience with the ASTB, so mine will not be the same as others. But threads like this really helped me, so I hope this can help someone the same way. Thank you to everyone who has posted information about the test.

Background: I am a junior in college with a business degree and not much experience with any of the information on the test except a little bit of math. I spent about 100 hours studying using Baron's, Kyle's drive, and other various study guides that I found on this forum. Everything I used I'll post below.

Math: It felt really easy for me. I had one matrix problem, and it kicked me out after about 10-15 questions. I'm not sure if that's good, but I felt confident. I recommend taking a lot of practice tests and using Kyle's drive. Any info you don't know, you should look up on YouTube. But overall, the more math problems you do, the more prepared you will be for this portion. There's also a formula page only for this section.

Reading: Make sure to read the instructions at the start because I didn't, and I wasn't sure what answer I was really looking for because of it. I didn't really study for this part, and I paid for it. Ensure you can read long and boring passages and retain that information well for this portion.

Mechanical: This was mostly knowledge about mechanical information rather than formulas and equations. I sucked at this part because I didn't allocate enough study time to this information, and the little time I did study was in areas about mechanical advantage equations, which I had like one question on in the test. Kyle's drive has some really helpful information that I should've spent more time on, and I recommend checking that out.

Aviation and Nautical: Probably spent the most time studying this section, and it only asked me about 15 ish questions and kicked me out. I think that means I did well, but very underwhelming. For this section, just study as much info as you can. The cram cards were probably the most useful tool I had. I'll post the link at the bottom. Study this as much as you can, and any info you don't know about, look up on YouTube.

PBM:
The UAV part was pretty easy. I messed up a few times because I was nervous, but overall, it was not bad. I used UAV flashcards on Quizlet (which I'll link below) and timed myself like 4 times a day. If you do this every day, you'll be fine for the test. The compass trick helped me a lot.
The dichotic listening wasn't bad; just do what people have said and lean to the ear that is the target ear and make sure to read the directions.
The stick and throttle weren't bad, either. I highly highly recommend buying a stick and throttle on Amazon and using Jantzen's sim every day. I got one for about $100 dollars, and it took me a while to set it up on my computer. If you do get one, check out the Jantzen sim forum; it'll help you if you struggle to set it up like me. I did this every day for about 30mins-1 hour, and it was pretty easy for me on the test. The test says to allocate your time between the vertical part and the vertical+horizontal part equally; don't do that. It was way easier for me to be looking at the vertical+horizontal plane while keeping just the vertical one in my peripheral. Also, the emergency procedures were easy but when I did them, I thought I was just doing the practice part - only when I finished did I realize it was the real deal. Luckily I did fine, just make sure to write down the procedures.
NATI: No tips, just pick what you think is best.

For about 2 months, I lived and breathed ASTB every day. I'm not that smart, so I'm sure other people could do better with less time studied, but what worked for me was just grinding every single day. If you do that, I'm sure you can do better than me, you just gotta grind. Good luck!

Also, quick question: My recruiter said these were competitive scores for aviation, and I shouldn't retake this test, but I also see a lot of scores on here that are better than mine. So I'm just wondering if these scores are good enough to become a pilot?


UAV Flashcards:
https://quizlet.com/820247402/flashcards?funnelUUID=5a829890-e7a3-4309-a657-a160cc73c2c2
Kyle's Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1b-2Y3kiM95m1I59z87IkX7pHPkeCDfrG
Cram cards:
https://www.cram.com/flashcards/astb-aviation-nautical-information-test-anit-comprehensive-4718163
Jantzen Sim REMADE:
https://astbsimulatorupdated-jantzen.github.io/ASTB-remade/

I just took the test for a second time and got a 68 9/8/9, up from my first score of 53 6/7/6. I studied almost exactly the same way as this guy, with the added thoughts below.

I am a Senior Computer Science major with no flight experience outside of 1-2 hours in professional flight sims. I was somewhat familiar with aviation knowledge from video games like Microsoft flight sims, DCS, Xplane, etc. I did not study before my first test, and studied for roughly 60 hours over the course of 6 weeks before my second test. I used Jantzen's ASTB trainer, Barron's study book, and the ASTB app with the ensign shoulder board logo.

Math: I saw algebra, matrix multiplication, derivatives, logarithms, complex fractions, and exponent rules on the math section. I heard there would be a ton of questions on percentages and unit conversion based on the number of practice questions in Barron's, but I didn't get any. I found khan academy was better than barron's book and the app, partially because some of the math on the test wasn't in the app or Barron's, so being able to take it a second time and knowing there were other topics I needed to study harder was helpful. I recommend brushing up on calculus especially.

Reading: SAT English prep videos on Kahn Academy were the best way to study for this section. Barron's and the app are okay, I thought SAT reading questions provide the most detailed reasoning for answers.

Mechanical Comprehension: This is where Barron's and the app were worth it. I found them extremely helpful on this section. I also watched some Youtube videos on resistors in sequence and series, and looked up a video on pulleys as well. I got a question on binary numbers as well (something like what is the result of 4 + 6 in binary). Being in computer science I wasn't caught by surprise but I mention it because I haven't seen binary on any study sheets before. It wasn't that hard if you know the basics though.

Aviation and Nautical: Again, the app and Barron's were pretty comprehensive on this subject. Any flashcards or other study sheets you can find on here are helpful as well. This section is tough because it is 100% memorization. I got pretty lucky that of the 15-20 questions I got, I knew all but maybe 1 with 100% certainty, but it's luck of the draw on whether the harder, more obscure questions were on stuff you studied or not. Just find as many resources as you can, but Barron's and the app will get you 80-90% there IMO.

PBM: This is where I spent the most time studying. Jantzen's trainer was a game changer for the throttle/joystick/audio portion. I used a cheap joystick and throttle, but I started out with just a keyboard and mouse. Joystick is better, but if you can't get one, practicing with a mouse is still worth your time because at the very least, you'll get used to the vertical axis being inverted. Headphones are extremely important as well. I focused the most on the audio portion, second most on the joystick target and watched the throttle with my peripheral vision and would directly glance at it once every 10 or so seconds. On the trainer, go to settings and try to raise the difficulty 2-3 bars as you get better. I would average mid 60's for throttle and joystick score and miss 1-2 listenings per round with the difficulty slightly above default. I found setting the timer to max time was beneficial because my focus slipped on the actual test the first time around. I found that scoring in the 60's on a 30 second practice test was way easier than for the max time the trainer allows (5 minutes).

I saw Jantzen's trainer was updated since I last used it and I don't know what the update contains, but when I last used it you would press the trigger for even numbers and the throttle for odd numbers, but it was opposite on the test. That almost threw me off on test day, so keep in mind there may be differences.

I did the paper compass method for the UAV section instead of flashcards because I felt it was just as fast. I averaged less than 2 seconds and didn't miss any. I tried memorization, but I personally preferred the compass. The ASTB app's practice test for this was excellent practice.

Overall I studied 1-1.5 hours a day and spent half my time on PBM and half my time on everything else. Being in STEM was an advantage for the math and mechanical comprehension sections and allowed me to spend more time elsewhere. Hope this helps someone, and good luck to whoever reads this.

 

[dav246]

I saw Jantzen's trainer was updated since I last used it and I don't know what the update contains, but when I last used it you would press the trigger for even numbers and the throttle for odd numbers, but it was opposite on the test. That almost threw me off on test day, so keep in mind there may be differences.

MotorCookie fixed the knobs for the emergency portion so that they emulate the actual test, in the most recent update of Jantzens.

 

[dav246]

For the USN OCM is officer community manager, I didn't realize you were going for USMC.

Man what are the odds that the Navy and the Corps have the same exact acronym for two different but related things.