Yes you would need to contact and work with an officer recruiter. There is no magical destination where you send your package to without the endorsement of a recruiter regardless of if you are military or civillian.
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1,001 questions about the ASTB (post your scores & ask your questions here!)
- Thread starter edato
- Start date
bryandreis
New Member
Thank you.
Yup anytime.
NEVFR
Member
Currently in the BDCP process but feel that I have way too much going on at once to really study and smoke the ASTB. I have two more chances at the ASTB but I am burning the candle at both ends trying to maintain my 4.0 and working.
I know only I can make the decision but wanted to hear from other people about my plan. I was thinking of politely telling my recruiter I would like to remove myself from the process but would like to begin the OCS process when I graduate. I have seen some crazy good score not get selected for BDCP because it is very competitive. Smart move?
I know only I can make the decision but wanted to hear from other people about my plan. I was thinking of politely telling my recruiter I would like to remove myself from the process but would like to begin the OCS process when I graduate. I have seen some crazy good score not get selected for BDCP because it is very competitive. Smart move?
Why not just wait until you are a year out from graduation to submit your package? That’s the route I’m taking. Currently studying for ASTB and working with a recruiter already which puts me on track to be eligible to submit at the start of May 2025.
NEVFR
Member
Wait, forego BDCP, and apply OCS you mean? If that was the case, I would be able to seamlessly transition when I graduate and give me more time to study. I would be looking at a year compared to 3 weeks.
Yes. Anyone can apply to OCS as long as they are 1 year out from their bachelors graduation (or less.) This must be 'proven' as my recruiter told me by having your academic advisor write up a course planning sheet and sign off on it affirming the fact that you are on track to graduate in 1 year (or less.) If selected, you get an OCS report date that is after your graduation from your bachelors program.
BDCP is ungodly competitive and in my opinion not worth the hassle unless you have fantastic ASTB scores and an almost perfect GPA.
yourtmate
Member
The hardest difficulty on the Jantzen sim does not reflect the same behavior of the actual test. The difficulty of the actual test is probably 1 or 2 levels higher than the default difficulty on the jantz sim. I was able to keep my crosshair on target on the actual test for the majority of the allotted time. My advice is to practice on the hardest difficulty and in particular, get used to how fast the target changes direction in the sim. By the time you take the actual test, following the target will be a piece of cake.
I just took the ASTB today. First want to thank all the people here who have posted study materials here and especially the creator of the ASTB prep app. That app is a must get, not an option.
My score was 59 7/8/7.
For some background, I have an applied math degree but I am 4 years out of college and have an established career as an accountant so I am still somewhat familiar with the mathematical concepts needed. I also have a Private Pilots License so that probably helped me with the aviation portion.
I studied for about 2 weeks, doing the lessons on the ASTB prep app and using the PBM tests on the app multiple times a day.
The math section for me was not too difficult. I happen to get a lot of rates, probability, and system of equations questions. Just study the concepts in the app. There were no questions that were not covered in the app lessons. I took 2 practice tests in the app before the actual test and scored a 75% and then 100%.
Reading section you can’t prepare for but honestly I probably missed more here then I’d like to admit. It was boring reading, no real advice here, just read and answer the best you can.
Mechanical questions were pretty difficult but mostly conceptual. I knew I would struggle here and was counting on my math skills to pick up my score.
Aviation and navy knowledge for me was pretty simple but as stated above I have a slight advantage by already holding a PPL. I think that the ASTB prep app covered things great, if you are still struggling then there is another app called Private Pilot Test Prep by Sportys. Buy the app for $5 and go to the learning mode and select the sections that you think will be on the ASTB. There is a lot of information there that will be for private pilots that you don’t need to know but try to weed that out, such as and legal requirements or NTSB reporting, aircraft maintenance requirements, or things like that. Also no weather related questions in the ASTB.
I missed two on the UAV portion of the actual test i believe due to stress in the moment. It’s exactly like it is in the ASTB prep app. You need to use that app and be scoring 20/20 every time with the compass trick. No excuses there.
For the tracking I did use the Janzen simulator thing a few times. I don’t have a x52 or joystick or anything like that so I just used my mouse. Hardest difficulty scoring under 100 is good I think. If you are decently coordinated then I think just practice with a mouse is fine. There is no getting around the fact that this will be a difficult part of the test. Just stay focused and talk to yourself to not get frustrated.
When it comes to the listening portion, I didn’t realize eventually in the test you would have to do the tracking and listening at the same time so that was new. My tips are to lean to the target ear to adjust your focus to the ear and then talk to yourself if you can as you are tracking. If the target ear says right, tilt your head and say “right ear” then with each callout you should say “even” “odd” or “letter” to help you for the connection. Don’t get frustrated, it’s designed to get harder as you keep going.
Emergency procedures were simple once I got there. Write them down, you’ll be fine.
Terrain ID was something I hated practicing. I’d like to think I got a good majority of them right. You have to use the pencil trick in my opinion. But once again, it was almost identical to the ASTB prep app.
Once again, thank you to the recourses here. And a huge shoutout and thank you to the creator of the ASTB prep app. That app is a must get, no excuses.
My score was 59 7/8/7.
For some background, I have an applied math degree but I am 4 years out of college and have an established career as an accountant so I am still somewhat familiar with the mathematical concepts needed. I also have a Private Pilots License so that probably helped me with the aviation portion.
I studied for about 2 weeks, doing the lessons on the ASTB prep app and using the PBM tests on the app multiple times a day.
The math section for me was not too difficult. I happen to get a lot of rates, probability, and system of equations questions. Just study the concepts in the app. There were no questions that were not covered in the app lessons. I took 2 practice tests in the app before the actual test and scored a 75% and then 100%.
Reading section you can’t prepare for but honestly I probably missed more here then I’d like to admit. It was boring reading, no real advice here, just read and answer the best you can.
Mechanical questions were pretty difficult but mostly conceptual. I knew I would struggle here and was counting on my math skills to pick up my score.
Aviation and navy knowledge for me was pretty simple but as stated above I have a slight advantage by already holding a PPL. I think that the ASTB prep app covered things great, if you are still struggling then there is another app called Private Pilot Test Prep by Sportys. Buy the app for $5 and go to the learning mode and select the sections that you think will be on the ASTB. There is a lot of information there that will be for private pilots that you don’t need to know but try to weed that out, such as and legal requirements or NTSB reporting, aircraft maintenance requirements, or things like that. Also no weather related questions in the ASTB.
I missed two on the UAV portion of the actual test i believe due to stress in the moment. It’s exactly like it is in the ASTB prep app. You need to use that app and be scoring 20/20 every time with the compass trick. No excuses there.
For the tracking I did use the Janzen simulator thing a few times. I don’t have a x52 or joystick or anything like that so I just used my mouse. Hardest difficulty scoring under 100 is good I think. If you are decently coordinated then I think just practice with a mouse is fine. There is no getting around the fact that this will be a difficult part of the test. Just stay focused and talk to yourself to not get frustrated.
When it comes to the listening portion, I didn’t realize eventually in the test you would have to do the tracking and listening at the same time so that was new. My tips are to lean to the target ear to adjust your focus to the ear and then talk to yourself if you can as you are tracking. If the target ear says right, tilt your head and say “right ear” then with each callout you should say “even” “odd” or “letter” to help you for the connection. Don’t get frustrated, it’s designed to get harder as you keep going.
Emergency procedures were simple once I got there. Write them down, you’ll be fine.
Terrain ID was something I hated practicing. I’d like to think I got a good majority of them right. You have to use the pencil trick in my opinion. But once again, it was almost identical to the ASTB prep app.
Once again, thank you to the recourses here. And a huge shoutout and thank you to the creator of the ASTB prep app. That app is a must get, no excuses.
Can you please explain the pencil trick for terrain ID? Everyone always talks about it but I can’t ever find an example haha
I’ll try my best but its hard when you can’t see it in person I feel like.
There are two scenarios for this:
1. You are able to identify something like a road or a river or a dock or even a city block, that runs directly south to north on the question map and you are able to find that same object on the reference map. Then, all that is necessary is for you to line a pencil up with the object you identified on the REFERENCE map and whatever direction your pencil is pointing now, that is your answer. So example is, okay on my question map has a long road leading into a mountain range that runs directly north so I’ll use that as my reference object. That same road leading into the mountain range on the question map points SSW so my answer must be SSW.
2. You can identify an object in some cardinal direction but it is not exactly going south to north on the question map. This scenario is much more likely than the one above in my opinion, you won’t be able to always find an object perfectly aligned north. Now what you must do is find what direction that object is pointing on your question map and count how many “turns” clockwise or counterclockwise it takes to get back to North. Then find that object on the reference map and apply the same number or “turns” to whatever direction you pencil is facing in the question map. So example is , I can see a long dock on my question map that points in the direction of ENE when I line it up. From ENE it takes 2 counterclockwise “turns” to adjust back to North. Now on the question map, that long dock that I found points NNW. Now apply the same 2 “turns” counterclockwise and I get West. West is my answer.
I think this makes sense. Also just keep in mind that you can easily flip yourself around and get an answer opposite of what you want. Be mindful of what the tip of your pencil points towards to avoid that confusion.
thank you! I will start practicing this method. Great scores by the way! My first attempt will be around the first weekend of July, hoping to do as good as you!!
Thanks! You do great with that amount of time to study, just really get the concepts down.
And with the terrain ID pencil method just take it slow at first. Once you see what I’m trying to say, then you will be able to apply it fairly quick each time. Also in the actual ASTB you have 6 more seconds so 36 seconds total per terrain ID question