Just wanted to say thanks.

[navyboy4415]

I just wanted to say thanks for all the information you guys have provided on this forum for without your help I truly would have been lost. Today I took the ASTB and scored 6/6/6 64 =). Thanks everyone for the help and for the guys that still have to take the test, if have any questions feel free to PM me or reply to this thread.

 

[Brett327]

I just wanted to say thanks for all the information on this forum for without your help I truly would have been lost. Today I took the ASTB and scored 6/6/6 64 =). Thanks everyone and if you guys have any questions feel free to PM me or reply to this thread.

The mark of the Beast. You'll go far.

Brett

 

[PRINCEJUDE]

how was the exam in general? What form did you take? What books did you study?

 

[jtslammin]

Yes, I am thoroughly interested in your choice of study guide(s). I am preparing to retake the exam and am at a loss for where to begin.

 

[badger16]

yeah i agree with prince tell us everything leave out nothing...even tell us what you had to eat before you went in for the test...

 

[navyag08]

I second badger!

 

[navyboy4415]

To start off I am a sophomore engineer in college so I have an advanced understanding in calculus and physics which helped me a lot. If you are still a freshmen and you want to do BDCP and your not an engineer take calculus and physics 1 next semester. Taking those two courses will help you A LOT for this test.

Edit: I took exam 3

Math Section

The math sections contained questions with a difficulty comparable to the marines study guide. If you can do the algebra on the marines study guide the first time without making a mistake on any of the problems I would say you’re pretty set for the test. What I studied first was the marines guide and then used the ARCO guide to double check my understanding. The ARCO is actually harder then the test for the sole reason that the numbers are bigger.

There were only two questions of the same type on the math section that I had difficulty with. The question is similar to this question, if you have 6 masons that can build a wall in 10 hours and they start at 11 AM when the masons finish if you add one person starting at 5 o’clock per hour into they're done.
The other question was the same type that but easier because you didn't have to worry about adding an additional mason each hour. If you have 2 bakers that can create 6 pizzas in 45 minutes how long will it take 3 bakers to create 12 pizzas? Other then that if you have a basic understanding of algebra and geometry you will do fine. A question like 2x=5z 4y=6x, solve for y in terms of z. The ARCO and marines guide cover it well.

Verbal Section
I can't stress how important it is to reread the answer you picked twice. They try to trick you, trust me. DO NOT use any information that you know to be true that is not in the passage. If they say Mount Everest is not the biggest mountain, then it isn't. Of course they won't say something ridiculous like that but you get my point. If you use those basic tips and if you can read and comprehend you will do fine on this part. I'm not going to lie some of the questions were tricky and I felt like two answers could work.

Mechanical Section
Even though I am an engineer I would say this was the hardest part of just the OAR section. The hardest part of the mechanical section is the mechanical advantage of pulleys and the difference between fixed and movable pulleys. I still don't know what strings you include in the calculation of the tension and which ones you don't use and if it moves does it change how far you pull it etc. If you can get someone to explain how that works to you that will help A LOT. Know every concept on the marines mechanical study guide and know how to apply those concepts to different problems. The problems are similar but they are not all the same as the mechanical test for the marine study guide. There were actually a few questions on the test that were on the marine study guide so make sure you know how to do every question inside and out on the marines and ARCO study guide and explain HOW and WHY these concepts occur. Again if you have taken physics 1 and physics 2 you will do fine on this section.

Spatial Awareness

I would say this is the EASIEST portion of the test. Take your time on the examples that they give you in the beginning to understand how the banking, the pitch of the plane, and out to and into sea pictures look. If you practice the ARCO guide and get a routine down you'll be fine.

Nautical / Aviation Test

The aviation / nautical sections were the toughest parts of the entire exam for me. I skipped around 10 or so questions because I did not know the answer and I would say about half that I did answer were educated guesses. The ARCO and Marine guide do have a lot of information that is useful but in my opinion just knowing those practice exam questions is not enough. Make sure to read a beginners pilot and beginners boat guide because they will help a lot. On exam 3 the one that I took there were no space history questions and John Paul Jones was not on it (don't know if that helps). It was more geared to the understanding of flying and boating.

Supplementary

A mixture of questions and I’m not sure that this section counts. It had a portion of everything and I would not be surprised if this tests to see if they should put a question on the test. I'm not sure if it counts or not but I wouldn't worry about studying for this section for the other sections encompass it.

I hope this write up helped, if you need anything else let me know!

 

[badger16]

was there any questions about aircraft engines? if so just simple engines or jet engines or both?

 

[themongol]

6/6/6

Satan favors you. you'll do well in the navy. j/k. congrats on the good score. What r u applaying for?

 

[PacBeachDr]

I've been hangin around here the past couple months soaking up as much info as I can. I just wanted to ditto the original topic and say thanks for all the great info that is available on this site. I got my astb scores back today. I'm pleased with them and I know I wouldn't have done as well without finding this site.

 

[navyboy4415]

I am applying for SNA and NFO. Badger, there were no questions about aircraft engines, just simple engines. One question asked about turbocharged, supercharged, or NOS and which one used a chemical component.

 

[Vector]

If I'm not mistaken, exam 3 is only given in written form...and I think they'll be doing away with that format shortly.

Just so everyone knows I'm not full of it, I scored an 8/7/7 68 the second time around on the ASTB. It's not a spectactular score, but I knew practically nothing about Aviation or military knowledge about 3 months ago...so I basically went from 0 flight knowledge to a score of 7 on the ASTB in a span of 2 months from my first ASTB exam.

I've taken both the exam 3 written and exam 5 on computer, and the spatial apperception on the computer format was A LOT harder. I had to retake the test since I scored a 5 in piloting the first time because of the Aviation/Nautical information section.

I think form 3 had 35 spacial apperception questions and form 5 had 25. I could take the practice tests, make a perfect 35/35, and still have time to go over it again in 10 minutes, but it took me all 10 minutes to do 25 questions on the new form 5. So the study guides out there right now pretty much reflect form 3 and below for spacial apperception, but the newer forms take the difficulty up a notch or two.

As far as the rest of the test goes, if you have an engineering or mathematically oriented background in college you should do fine on the math, verbal, and mechanics parts of the test. If you don't, then study some of the guides available...I can't really recommend anything since I don't have any hands on experience with these portions of the guides. But don't worry...you just need a 4 on the AQR to qualify (for the Marines anyway), so reviewing the study guides will probably get you there.

The Aviation/Nautical information portion was, for both tests, the hardest part for me. Following my first test, I read through a piloting handbook (about 200+ pages) and was able to get most of the flight questions right. After studying the Arco and Marine Gouge Aviation/Nautical info section and a few other internet sources I was up to about 75% accuracy on that portion of the test. If you have never been on a naval vessel or don't know much about the dynamics of flying, be sure to spend plenty of time studying for this section...it will heavily influence your piloting score.

 

[Vector]

edit: double post

 

[toadgod33]

Thanks

Hello all,

I just wanted to thank everyone on here for your help. The information you all provided helped me do well on the ASTB. I am applying for non-pilot occupations, but I am not a great test taker. The Gouge and other information provided assisted me in getting over the hump and attain the score I needed.