Ladies and Gents, just got out of my first attempt of the ASTB. Scored a
55 6/8/7 60, applying for SNA when I become eligible after this upcoming school year.
I utilized the ASTB Prep App, Barron’s, both Kyle and Gomez’s drives, and various gouge found on the forum. I want to give a shoutout and big thank you to
@TwoScoops. Throughout my studying I have had the opportunity to develop a personal relationship with Alex, and his mentorship has been nothing short of amazing.
my breakdown of the test is as follows -
MST: This section was a lot easier than I anticipated. Math is by no means a strong suit for me, and I did 99% of my studying for this section on the app. I encountered questions related to exponents, work, probability, percentages, fractions, geometry, and radicals. I did not see any logs, DRT, systems of equations, or mixture problems but I did prepare for them. I got kicked off this section after about 13-15 questions.
RCT: This section was a lot harder than I expected. I’m very confident in my reading comprehension skills (36 on reading comp on the ACT), but this section wasn’t like any other reading comprehension test I’ve taken. Like others have said, the passages are very mundane, and hard to pay attention to. The answer choices are all very similar, and my strategy was to eliminate the two I knew were wrong, and to pick the one that related most to the passage. I used the app to practice for this section. At the end of the day it’s reading comp, you either get it or you don’t. Reading books definitely helps with success here.
MCT: This section was mediocre in terms of difficult, partly because I prepared for this section least. All my questions were theory based, and I only had to do math for one problem that regarded balancing a lever. I had 3 separate questions about dropping 2 objects varying in mass from the same height and picking which one hit the ground first. I used the Barron’s book to study for this. I would suggest to know newtons laws, and your basic mechanical formulas (work, power, force, MA of various devices.)
ANIT: This section was easy for me. I’m a total nerd when it comes to aviation, but I still prepared using the prep app, barron’s book, and the CRAM flash cards. I had no history questions whatsoever. For me this section included questions about the parts of an airplane and its axes, angle of attack, p-factor, and a couple questions regarding navy ships. I had nothing relating to naval rates, jersey colors, ATC lights, or airspace.
NATFI: This sections sucks. It truly makes you feel like a piece of garage. Just pick the lesser of two evils and get through it. Don’t let it fluster you. Many questions in this section repeat, so try to keep consistency in your answers.
PBM: I was most stressed for this section even after preparing extensively but it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I’m gonna break it down exactly how it went on the test. I purchased an x52 HOTAS to practice with and I’m glad I did as I was comfortable with it during the test.
UAV - Exactly how it is on the app. I drew my basic compass and opted to keep the headphones on. I don’t know exactly how many questions I answered, but I got 3 wrong because the headphones stopped working and I spun myself in a circle. No big deal, I locked back in and answered the rest of them correctly. I’d say I had around 30-40 questions total and averaged around 1.5 seconds per answer.
DLT - This section was easy, just like on the app, and I got maybe 1 wrong. My strategy for this was different than the popular one on the forum. Whatever ear I was targeting, I took the other headphone completely off and only had one source of audio which made it even easier than tilting your head.
Throttle - This section was easy, and I used the rear cockpit simulator on the macOS version of the prep app. It’s not hard to stay on target about 90% of the time, just focus and expect it to quickly change directions.
Stick - This section was easy as well, and I used the rear cockpit simulator to practice. Just follow the target and stay focused. The more accurate you are, the jerkier the target becomes. Just breathe and stay locked on.
S+T - Harder, but not bad. If you practice at home with either the jantzen sim or the RC simulator, you’ll be fine.
S+T+DLT - Even harder, I used the same headphone strategy as I discussed above and did my best to stay on target but I prioritized being accurate on the DLT. I got around 2 wrong.
S+T+Emergency - About as hard as doing the stick, throttle, and dichotic. Write down the emergency procedures on your scratch paper before hand, and preset the knobs. It always goes fire -> engine -> propeller. As soon as I cleared one emergency, I set the knobs for the other and just waited for the voice while staying on target with the stick and throttle.
Terrain ID - This section was easy and I used the app to prepare. I was averaging about 18/20 on the app. I drew a 16-point compass rose on my scratch paper to use as a reference. This section on the actual test was much easier than the app. All my questions had a straight line reference. I just lined it up an turned it clockwise/counterclockwise to get my answer.
Overall, I’m very happy with my score. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit salty that I missed out on auto select by 1 point on my AQR, but I’m ecstatic about an 8 PFAR. My recruiter is also happy with my scores and believes I’ll have no problem getting selected.
I want to thank each and everyone one of you who helped me study for this test, and especially the vets of this forum who take time out of their days to help us newbies out. The gouge on here is fantastic. If you are an aspiring SNA/SNFO…this forum is your one stop shop for acing the ASTB. Thank you for coming to my ted talk