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ASTB - Prep/Study Guide feedback

Vegas

AH-1Z
pilot
Ok, first off I want to thank everyone on these forums for being more help to wannabe's like me than anyone or any book could ever be. I took the ASTB about a month ago and pulled off an 8/9/8 61, so I want to try to pass on the help I was given.

First of all, buy the study guides. I bought the ARCO Military Flight, ARCO Officer Candidate, and Barron's Military Flight test books. The information in these books is very valuable. They may not cover exactly what is on the exam, but you can't expect that. What they do is give you an idea of what kind of questions to expect. The practice tests are the best way for you to put yourself in the scenario of what the actual test will be like, and one of the only ways to see if you're working at too slow of a pace.

Second, use the Marine gouge website and all of the files that they have available. The information on this website is very very similar to what the test questions are. The questions may not be the same, but most of the concepts are. If something seems vague to you while studying, look it up online. Try to think 'how else could they ask this question?'. There is a lot of information to know, and 90% of it won't be on your test, so don't focus too much on one thing if it is bothering you.

Third, if you have any questions feel free to PM me and (without giving you exact test material) I will try to help. I have attached my personally compiled study guide. It consists of information gathered from all 3 study guides, this forum, and many miscellaneous things that I thought might help. Keep in mind that I am not going to tell you what stuff is 'more important' than other things. I used this to keep myself organized, so it might be useful for some of you to add or remove things as you please. Also, I'm human so some of the information in this document may not even be correct. I tried to make sure it was, but I may have made a few mistakes without noticing them.

If you use this to study, let me know after you take the test if it was helpful at all. Good luck to everyone that is yet to take it, try not to stress too much.

Patrick


Dude that is an exceptional piece of gouge, and congrats on your scores those are worthy of being proud of!!
 

LazersGoPEWPEW

4500rpm
Contributor
Ok, first off I want to thank everyone on these forums for being more help to wannabe's like me than anyone or any book could ever be. I took the ASTB about a month ago and pulled off an 8/9/8 61, so I want to try to pass on the help I was given.

First of all, buy the study guides. I bought the ARCO Military Flight, ARCO Officer Candidate, and Barron's Military Flight test books. The information in these books is very valuable. They may not cover exactly what is on the exam, but you can't expect that. What they do is give you an idea of what kind of questions to expect. The practice tests are the best way for you to put yourself in the scenario of what the actual test will be like, and one of the only ways to see if you're working at too slow of a pace.

Second, use the Marine gouge website and all of the files that they have available. The information on this website is very very similar to what the test questions are. The questions may not be the same, but most of the concepts are. If something seems vague to you while studying, look it up online. Try to think 'how else could they ask this question?'. There is a lot of information to know, and 90% of it won't be on your test, so don't focus too much on one thing if it is bothering you.

Third, if you have any questions feel free to PM me and (without giving you exact test material) I will try to help. I have attached my personally compiled study guide. It consists of information gathered from all 3 study guides, this forum, and many miscellaneous things that I thought might help. Keep in mind that I am not going to tell you what stuff is 'more important' than other things. I used this to keep myself organized, so it might be useful for some of you to add or remove things as you please. Also, I'm human so some of the information in this document may not even be correct. I tried to make sure it was, but I may have made a few mistakes without noticing them.

If you use this to study, let me know after you take the test if it was helpful at all. Good luck to everyone that is yet to take it, try not to stress too much.

Patrick

+1 for you. That's a great piece of stuff right there. I'd recommend a sticky for that work.
 

AGonxAV8R

HAMPS
pilot
I got a 53 6 7 5 after about 10 total hours of studying some material. I would have done a lot better if I would have practiced more math problems (I only completed about 55% of the Math section, which I know killed me)
My advice, study hard!
 

PA44pilot

New Member
ASTB, frustrations.

Hey all. I have read the barrons, ARCO test prep books on the ASTB test. I feel that I have over prepared for the test next week. And was wondering what those who have done the same in the past, did to calm the nerves.

Should I just avoid the book(s) all together?

Thanks for your help all!


SR
 

atrickpay

BDCP SNA
I thought the books were great, mainly the practice tests. If you have those answers down and are confident that you understand them (and don't just have the answer memorized), then you are doing well. Take a look at the marine gouge ( http://marinegouge.com/mediawiki-1.6.6/index.php?title=Aviation_Selection_Test_Battery ) for information that the books don't cover. There isn't such a thing as being over-prepared in my opinion. The more you know, the less you don't!
 

theblakeness

Charlie dont surf!
pilot
Back when I took the ASTB (and that was years ago), I felt that the ARCO book had much harder questions than the actual test and that the gouge from this site better prepared me. The only thing I fel that the ARCO book really excelled with was the Spatial.

The bottom line is to relax. The test really isnt THAT hard and as long as you put a commitment into studying for it somehow, Im sure you will do fine. good luck, and stay motivated!
 

Lobster

Well-Known Member
Should I just avoid the book(s) all together?


I wouldn't avoid the books all together but just tone it down a bit if you feel comfortable with all the material. You can still stay fresh for the test if you just do a little review everyday until you actually take the test, good luck!
 

ea6bflyr

Working Class Bum
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
PA44,
Your worst enemy is time. Have you practiced under the gun? To releive some of your anxieties, make sure you get a good nights rest, eat something the morning of the test and relax. Chewing gum during the test should also get you to relax. Don't sweat it too much, you have 3 tries to get it right.

Unlike the SAT or other tests, wrong answers do not count against you....so if you are running out of time, move quicker or fill in the dots.

-ea6bflyr ;)
 
Great stuff. I really appreciate the fact that you didn't hint to any questions on the test. If I receive your permission, I want to throw this on my website.
 

atrickpay

BDCP SNA
Great stuff. I really appreciate the fact that you didn't hint to any questions on the test. If I receive your permission, I want to throw this on my website.

Yeah man no problem. Nice website by the way, you gonna get a promotion for that? :icon_wink
 

attilathescott

New Member
ASTB, Helpful advice

I know that many people will tell you not to get the ARCO, BARRONS, etc. books to study. On one hand this is correct, on the other hand it is not. For those of you who do not have a technical degree that requires a lot of math, you may have been out of practice for the last two years of your collegiate careers, so head my advice and start practicing. I was personally able to complete all questions in the arithmetic and math knowledge portions of the test, but it took a lot of practice.

The spatial aperception section didnt seem very difficult, they really dont try to trick you that much on this section. The rest of the test is much like this...the standard reading sections that you will remember from any standardized test. So if you are going to use ARCO, make sure you are using it for the practice sections that the book subscribes for the force that you are applying for be it the USAF, USMC, USN, etc. If you gt the Barrons book, dont worry about the word recognition, though I did add about 200 words to my vocabulary, not a total waste. Look through the mechanical knowledge section also, but most of this will in order to guide you principally. Make sure you pay attention to the Nautical terms, for those of you whose parents do not own a sailboat, this will be more difficult, just make sure that you have a general knowledge of what goes on in and around the ship, dont get too specific and you'll be fine I'm sure.

Time and effort will be the top reasons why people did well no the test. So practice, practice, practice, and you should be fine.

I put in a decent amount of work and wound up with a 7,7,7 67. Maybe not the best grades ever scored, but the key is that they are certainly good enough.

If you need any advice, feel free to write back.
 
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