Chris94
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1,001 questions about the ASTB (post your scores & ask your questions here!)
- Thread starter edato
- Start date
Finally took my ASTB for the first time yesterday after having to reschedule 3 times due to server errors. Ended up getting a 50/6/9/8, which overall, I think I’m okay with. Would’ve loved to have my OAR a bit higher, but hey, we’ll take it. I studied over the course of about 2 months, making sure to put in at least a little bit of time each day. I used Barron’s book and Peterson’s to get an idea for what to expect, then built upon it with the wide variety of gauge found on this thread, which is by far your best resource.
MST: Consisted of a few probability, DRT, and work problems. I had a bunch of fraction, exponent, and root problems show up as well. Didn’t run into any log or matrix questions. Started out okay here, but quickly got difficult for me. I felt like I was a little too anxious heading into the exam and so I was rushing a bit on this section. Don’t do that, take your time and get the right answer. I ended the section after about 15-20 problems with 15 minutes remaining.
RCT: Was worried heading into this test based on what everyone has said about it, however, I honestly think this was my best section. The passages started out simple, but seemed to bounce around in difficulty. It was mainly boring navy stuff with some astronomy sprinkled in. My absolute best advice would be to read the passage out loud and act like you care about what you’re reading. I wrote out A, B, C, and D on a piece of paper for each question and crossed out which answers I knew weren’t correct. Ended with ~3 minutes left.
MCT: Know your basic physics concepts more than anything. Also, know your formulas and simple machines. I was expecting to see levers and pulleys and that’s exactly what showed up on my test. I had a lot of spring problems, as well as, electrical based questions so don’t disregard this area when studying. Overall not too bad.
ANIT: Felt confident heading into this section but was bugged by some of the questions I was getting. Everything seemed to be based more towards aviation than the nautical stuff. I didn’t receive one nautical question which I was bummed about. Know some aviation history like some of the prominent figures, and WW2 and post WW2 aircraft The cram flashcards floating around were a good for the basics, but I really wished I had read some of the FAA Handbook as I know it would’ve helped immensely.
--PBM—
Hopefully this doesn’t happen to anyone, but my computer closed out of the program 5 or 6 times during this portion of the exam. The MCPO who was administering my exam ended up calling Pensacola and put me on the phone with the "APEX guy". Was very frustrating.
UAV: Use the flashcards everyone posts, it’s just like the test. I hardly prepared for this going in as I wasn’t worried about it. Figure out what works best for you. I tested out different methods during the unlimited practice that you are allowed. Ended up using the compass method and got between 1-3 seconds each time. Missed one.
Dichotic Listening: Not too tough, just read the directions and know what to expect. Leaning your head towards you target ear helps.
Vertical/2D Tracking: Found this fun and challenging. For the former, my advice is to not push the throttle all the forward or all the way back, the cross-hairs are sensitive, and doing this gives you more control. For 2D, make sure you put some elbow grease into it. My Joystick was stiff (no pun intended) so I had to put some muscle into it to be able to cover the screen. Remember, you get points the closer you are to the target, so you don't exactly need to be in the green, but try to be of course.
Listening/2D and Vertical Tracking: Would love to see a video of what my face looked like during this part. I actually had to do this section twice as my computer shut down in the middle of it. I focused on the 2D mainly as I just felt it was the most important. Kept the vertical tracking in the corner of my eye. Tried my best to hit the buttons once this listening filtered in. It’s hectic, there’s no way around that, just do your best. I thought my years of playing computer games helped with getting adjusted. I also bought a joystick and had practiced on flight simulator before testing, definitely didn’t hurt.
Emergency Scenarios: Write down the procedures. Correct the issue as swiftly as possible.
Extra Tips to consider:
MST: Consisted of a few probability, DRT, and work problems. I had a bunch of fraction, exponent, and root problems show up as well. Didn’t run into any log or matrix questions. Started out okay here, but quickly got difficult for me. I felt like I was a little too anxious heading into the exam and so I was rushing a bit on this section. Don’t do that, take your time and get the right answer. I ended the section after about 15-20 problems with 15 minutes remaining.
RCT: Was worried heading into this test based on what everyone has said about it, however, I honestly think this was my best section. The passages started out simple, but seemed to bounce around in difficulty. It was mainly boring navy stuff with some astronomy sprinkled in. My absolute best advice would be to read the passage out loud and act like you care about what you’re reading. I wrote out A, B, C, and D on a piece of paper for each question and crossed out which answers I knew weren’t correct. Ended with ~3 minutes left.
MCT: Know your basic physics concepts more than anything. Also, know your formulas and simple machines. I was expecting to see levers and pulleys and that’s exactly what showed up on my test. I had a lot of spring problems, as well as, electrical based questions so don’t disregard this area when studying. Overall not too bad.
ANIT: Felt confident heading into this section but was bugged by some of the questions I was getting. Everything seemed to be based more towards aviation than the nautical stuff. I didn’t receive one nautical question which I was bummed about. Know some aviation history like some of the prominent figures, and WW2 and post WW2 aircraft The cram flashcards floating around were a good for the basics, but I really wished I had read some of the FAA Handbook as I know it would’ve helped immensely.
--PBM—
Hopefully this doesn’t happen to anyone, but my computer closed out of the program 5 or 6 times during this portion of the exam. The MCPO who was administering my exam ended up calling Pensacola and put me on the phone with the "APEX guy". Was very frustrating.
UAV: Use the flashcards everyone posts, it’s just like the test. I hardly prepared for this going in as I wasn’t worried about it. Figure out what works best for you. I tested out different methods during the unlimited practice that you are allowed. Ended up using the compass method and got between 1-3 seconds each time. Missed one.
Dichotic Listening: Not too tough, just read the directions and know what to expect. Leaning your head towards you target ear helps.
Vertical/2D Tracking: Found this fun and challenging. For the former, my advice is to not push the throttle all the forward or all the way back, the cross-hairs are sensitive, and doing this gives you more control. For 2D, make sure you put some elbow grease into it. My Joystick was stiff (no pun intended) so I had to put some muscle into it to be able to cover the screen. Remember, you get points the closer you are to the target, so you don't exactly need to be in the green, but try to be of course.
Listening/2D and Vertical Tracking: Would love to see a video of what my face looked like during this part. I actually had to do this section twice as my computer shut down in the middle of it. I focused on the 2D mainly as I just felt it was the most important. Kept the vertical tracking in the corner of my eye. Tried my best to hit the buttons once this listening filtered in. It’s hectic, there’s no way around that, just do your best. I thought my years of playing computer games helped with getting adjusted. I also bought a joystick and had practiced on flight simulator before testing, definitely didn’t hurt.
Emergency Scenarios: Write down the procedures. Correct the issue as swiftly as possible.
Extra Tips to consider:
- Don’t freak out, you’re probably doing better than you think.
- Bring earbuds just in case. My testing area wasn’t noisy thankfully, but It’s easy to see how it could be.
- Do some workouts in between each section to reduce the stress of the test and to keep the mind fresh. I did about 20 push-ups and 20 jumping jacks between each section and I think it helped a lot.
Hey Guys, Quick question if you don't mind pls. For the Reading part, I'm sorry but I'm confused, does it ask you for the summary of the paragraph? Main idea? Or does it ask you a specific question about the passage? I'm sorry I am reading through the thread to get an idea and I already took the test once, but it is so vague to me. Specially it the paragraph mostly about Military terms. Like I said I apologize if this may sound so dumb. hehe
Also, for the Mechanical part, can anyone please explain to me how to read the wiring diagram with 3 switches? Screenshot posted below. Someone told me that it is easier to draw the diagram in a paper to fully understand it? Is there a quicker way to understand it or what's the best way to understand it in your experience.
Thank you so much!
Also, for the Mechanical part, can anyone please explain to me how to read the wiring diagram with 3 switches? Screenshot posted below. Someone told me that it is easier to draw the diagram in a paper to fully understand it? Is there a quicker way to understand it or what's the best way to understand it in your experience.
Thank you so much!
Attachments
peppergunner
ɹǝqɯǝW pǝʇɹǝʌuI
Paragraphs are both comprehension and specifics. They get more mundane as time goes on.
I haven't seen any circuits on any of the practice exams nor my own exam. I've helped a few other people that never saw circuits either.
Is it still the case that CEC applicant do not need to take the ASTB? I've just started this process and my recruiter asked me to schedule for the test. I have seen it come up on here a couple times that it is not necessary. I would like to follow up with him about it and save myself some study time if there is no benefit to taking it for someone only interested in applying to CEC. I used to be really good at math but it's been years. And I don't even know when the last time I took a math test without a calculator. oi!
Dalton Taylor
Member
Took the ASTB for the first time and ended up getting a 55/7/6/7.
For the math section, I didn't have anything crazy like logs, but that's likely because I suck at math and the computer adjusted to my skill level. GRE practice tests helped a bunch, and honestly an ASVAB book I had previously bought helped me brush up on a lot of the basic math skills from middle school that I had forgotten. Math has never been my strong suit unfortunatly.
The reading was dense like everyone on here said, but I wasn't expecting it to be THAT dense. Ridiculous! For practice I think reading wikipedia articles on heavy science stuff (black holes, quantum physics, stuff like that) might help. They're usually really hard to read. I found it kind of helpful to break the paragraphs down into easily digestible chunks and piece the idea behind it together that way, rather than my usual tactic of rereading the passage over and over.
The physics was bad but I've never taken a physics course in my life so whatever. Everything I learned was from the ASVAB book and flashcards online.
The rest of the test was what everyone else has already said pretty much. For the UAV/directional part I highly advise you use the compass rose trick. Helped me a ton. The actual flight section with the joysticks isn't like how I imagined it being simply because the throttle was so strange to me. The way it accelerated and everything when trying to keep with the target was impossible for me to get used to. The joystick part is fine.
For the flight simulation portion, everything was going pretty good for the most part up until the emergency procedures section. When I finished reading the screen that comes before the actual emergency procedures, I clicked the trigger on the joystick like I was prompted to, except nothing happened when I did. I clicked it again and nothing happened. I assumed it was frozen, since the program had kicked me out twice already. I clicked the trigger one last time and held it for a second to see if that would do anything. Well, turns out it did, because instead of taking me to the screen with all the procedures on it, it flashed that screen for a half second and went straight to the start of the EP section. I couldn't f'n believe it! Recruiter said there wasn't anything he could do, so I went through that whole section just pressing random buttons whenever my screen turned red because I didn't know what the hell to do.
As I already said, the program kicked me out twice. My recruiter said one due was getting kicked out every few minutes and ended up making a 40. Nothing you can do about it, but just be warned. If you are a person who has to be super zoned in you may be screwed over by technology.
I plan on taking it again after/if my recruiter confirms I'm medically OK to join. Had some knee history back in high school.
For the math section, I didn't have anything crazy like logs, but that's likely because I suck at math and the computer adjusted to my skill level. GRE practice tests helped a bunch, and honestly an ASVAB book I had previously bought helped me brush up on a lot of the basic math skills from middle school that I had forgotten. Math has never been my strong suit unfortunatly.
The reading was dense like everyone on here said, but I wasn't expecting it to be THAT dense. Ridiculous! For practice I think reading wikipedia articles on heavy science stuff (black holes, quantum physics, stuff like that) might help. They're usually really hard to read. I found it kind of helpful to break the paragraphs down into easily digestible chunks and piece the idea behind it together that way, rather than my usual tactic of rereading the passage over and over.
The physics was bad but I've never taken a physics course in my life so whatever. Everything I learned was from the ASVAB book and flashcards online.
The rest of the test was what everyone else has already said pretty much. For the UAV/directional part I highly advise you use the compass rose trick. Helped me a ton. The actual flight section with the joysticks isn't like how I imagined it being simply because the throttle was so strange to me. The way it accelerated and everything when trying to keep with the target was impossible for me to get used to. The joystick part is fine.
For the flight simulation portion, everything was going pretty good for the most part up until the emergency procedures section. When I finished reading the screen that comes before the actual emergency procedures, I clicked the trigger on the joystick like I was prompted to, except nothing happened when I did. I clicked it again and nothing happened. I assumed it was frozen, since the program had kicked me out twice already. I clicked the trigger one last time and held it for a second to see if that would do anything. Well, turns out it did, because instead of taking me to the screen with all the procedures on it, it flashed that screen for a half second and went straight to the start of the EP section. I couldn't f'n believe it! Recruiter said there wasn't anything he could do, so I went through that whole section just pressing random buttons whenever my screen turned red because I didn't know what the hell to do.
As I already said, the program kicked me out twice. My recruiter said one due was getting kicked out every few minutes and ended up making a 40. Nothing you can do about it, but just be warned. If you are a person who has to be super zoned in you may be screwed over by technology.
I plan on taking it again after/if my recruiter confirms I'm medically OK to join. Had some knee history back in high school.
hairbair96
Member
took the astb for first time 58 7/6/7.
Math: I thought the math was extremely easy compared to what i thought the difficulty was going to be by others who took the test. Very basic problems, some taking a little more time than others, but nothing that would be considered unsolvable if you have basic algebraic knowledge. One tip that i will give is DO NOT RUSH ON THE MATH PORTION. Although they give you 40 minutes for this section, the test is going to kick you out after about 10 questions. So take as much time as you need on these questions to ensure you are positive you have the right answer, plenty of time to double check your work. I didn't receive hardly any word distance problems like i was hoping for. but its good to study these anyway.
Reading: not too difficult, the questions weren't really difficult to figure out, but it does get very dry and boring 3/4ths of the way in which tempts you to not give your full attention on the questions and you just want to answer faster to get that test portion over with.
Mechanical: Again ,nothing too difficult and i didn't receive a lot of the difficult subjects like others on here did. Almost all mechanical advantage and velocity problems. I don't think i was as prepared for velocity/ physics questions, but i did remember the formula Force= massXacceleration.
you'd be surprised how often you'll rely on that formula. Just really study the relationships regarding mechanical advantage.
ANIT: Again really easy, i even had two repeat questions regarding what part of the plane controls pitch. I really wish i paid more attention on here bc i got the question of who tested the tow hook (something like that), and i remember someone mentioning that question on here. But mainly easy questions regarding airplane components.
Flight simulation was very difficult with the 2D because the Y axis being switched. Meaning if the plane is going up and left, you have to pull the joystick down and left, and believe me, unless you have hours of experience with this configuration, you're gonna have a hard time with this part. You cannot simply pick it up in the one practice session they give you. The Dichotic testing was also very difficult because both ears are being read numbers and letter simultaneously. IT was hard enough distinguishing what they're saying much less trying to figure out which ear it was said in. During the emergency procedures... i don't know, i did what they asked regarding the controls but it still gave me warnings that i wasn't doing it right, when you're tracking two different planes and listening to what number they're saying, somethings gotta give. You don't have to be near perfect to get good scores on this part. video games help... but the only video games that will REALLY help is old arcade games like Xevious and Galaga, since they are 2D like the test.
I Spent over a month going to the library and studying for hours a day because i had plenty of free time. I bought Barrons Flight Aptitude Test And Barrons Mechanical and spacial aptitude test. I felt they had a lot of what you should expect to see on the test and very thorough in ANIT portion. i also checked out books on basic algebra and GRE Prep. Also, VERY good practice is going through MATH, READING and MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL portions of other study guides, such as for the ASVAB, AQAAFT, SIFT. a lot of the questions will be very similar to ASTB. i have included some good study guides as well.
I took the test right before MEPS, but backed out the day of MEPS because i felt that a recent medical concern (External Hemorrhoid) would get me DQ'ed. so i am going to wait until its gone and maybe re-take the astb,
https://www.triviumtestprep.com/sift-practice-test/
SEARCH THESE FORUMS, there are links to full astb study guides, you shouldn't have to spend more than $40 to study for this test, there are many free resources all around you
Math: I thought the math was extremely easy compared to what i thought the difficulty was going to be by others who took the test. Very basic problems, some taking a little more time than others, but nothing that would be considered unsolvable if you have basic algebraic knowledge. One tip that i will give is DO NOT RUSH ON THE MATH PORTION. Although they give you 40 minutes for this section, the test is going to kick you out after about 10 questions. So take as much time as you need on these questions to ensure you are positive you have the right answer, plenty of time to double check your work. I didn't receive hardly any word distance problems like i was hoping for. but its good to study these anyway.
Reading: not too difficult, the questions weren't really difficult to figure out, but it does get very dry and boring 3/4ths of the way in which tempts you to not give your full attention on the questions and you just want to answer faster to get that test portion over with.
Mechanical: Again ,nothing too difficult and i didn't receive a lot of the difficult subjects like others on here did. Almost all mechanical advantage and velocity problems. I don't think i was as prepared for velocity/ physics questions, but i did remember the formula Force= massXacceleration.
you'd be surprised how often you'll rely on that formula. Just really study the relationships regarding mechanical advantage.
ANIT: Again really easy, i even had two repeat questions regarding what part of the plane controls pitch. I really wish i paid more attention on here bc i got the question of who tested the tow hook (something like that), and i remember someone mentioning that question on here. But mainly easy questions regarding airplane components.
Flight simulation was very difficult with the 2D because the Y axis being switched. Meaning if the plane is going up and left, you have to pull the joystick down and left, and believe me, unless you have hours of experience with this configuration, you're gonna have a hard time with this part. You cannot simply pick it up in the one practice session they give you. The Dichotic testing was also very difficult because both ears are being read numbers and letter simultaneously. IT was hard enough distinguishing what they're saying much less trying to figure out which ear it was said in. During the emergency procedures... i don't know, i did what they asked regarding the controls but it still gave me warnings that i wasn't doing it right, when you're tracking two different planes and listening to what number they're saying, somethings gotta give. You don't have to be near perfect to get good scores on this part. video games help... but the only video games that will REALLY help is old arcade games like Xevious and Galaga, since they are 2D like the test.
I Spent over a month going to the library and studying for hours a day because i had plenty of free time. I bought Barrons Flight Aptitude Test And Barrons Mechanical and spacial aptitude test. I felt they had a lot of what you should expect to see on the test and very thorough in ANIT portion. i also checked out books on basic algebra and GRE Prep. Also, VERY good practice is going through MATH, READING and MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL portions of other study guides, such as for the ASVAB, AQAAFT, SIFT. a lot of the questions will be very similar to ASTB. i have included some good study guides as well.
I took the test right before MEPS, but backed out the day of MEPS because i felt that a recent medical concern (External Hemorrhoid) would get me DQ'ed. so i am going to wait until its gone and maybe re-take the astb,
https://www.triviumtestprep.com/sift-practice-test/
SEARCH THESE FORUMS, there are links to full astb study guides, you shouldn't have to spend more than $40 to study for this test, there are many free resources all around you
Last edited:
Politics101
Member
Taking the test for the second time on the 5th!
peppergunner
ɹǝqɯǝW pǝʇɹǝʌuI
Good luck boss!
abctotheabc
Well-Known Member
OAR Study Materials (July 2018)
Just wanted to share everything I've collected from this website in one google drive. This is mainly for the OAR with some ASTB Guides/Practice Tests. I also have my own personal notes in there as well as things I've copied and pasted incoherently from all 289 pages of this thread.
Just wanted to share everything I've collected from this website in one google drive. This is mainly for the OAR with some ASTB Guides/Practice Tests. I also have my own personal notes in there as well as things I've copied and pasted incoherently from all 289 pages of this thread.
Rich Kuya
Active Member
Thank you so much. I have been studying this forum like a madman these past couple of weeks!
Landcastle_19
Member
Hello everybody,
I have been studying for about a month now and my ASTB test date is July 30th! I have been using every scrap of delicious gouge this amazing community has provided but I am having trouble getting my mind around some of the mechanical comprehension concepts.
I just want to make sure I fully grasp the concepts so I can do the problems and calculations with more understanding. I have found I can get practice questions correct but not completely comprehend the theory and reasoning behind it. Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated!
Happy Independence Day!!!
I have been studying for about a month now and my ASTB test date is July 30th! I have been using every scrap of delicious gouge this amazing community has provided but I am having trouble getting my mind around some of the mechanical comprehension concepts.
I just want to make sure I fully grasp the concepts so I can do the problems and calculations with more understanding. I have found I can get practice questions correct but not completely comprehend the theory and reasoning behind it. Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated!
Happy Independence Day!!!
peppergunner
ɹǝqɯǝW pǝʇɹǝʌuI
There are some good playlists on YouTube if you just search for 'ASTB'.
Also, there's a point where you can't really absorb more information before a test. Especially with mechanical concepts, you might need lots of practice with them to have them sink in. Sometimes on the test, its better to look at the question and think about what answer makes sense rather than rushing to throw some numbers down on your scratch paper first thing.
Landcastle_19
Member
Thank you sir! I greatly appreciate it! Some of the videos I have looked up jump right into the calculations and I am like, "Woah Nelly!"
I will definitely think about this!
peppergunner
ɹǝqɯǝW pǝʇɹǝʌuI
Well yeah the videos are to show you how to work things out mechanically. Im talking about on the test itself.