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1,001 questions about the ASTB (post your scores & ask your questions here!)

Meyerkord

Well-Known Member
pilot
Hello everyone, first time poster. I'm trying to get in for SNA and on my first ASTB attempt I got 54 5/5/6. I only studied for about 10 days beforehand, so going into the retake I know what I need to study for the OAR and ANIT portions of the test to improve. The real reason for this post is because I was wondering what I can do to improve my PFAR score (5)? Is the PFAR score solely calculated from the NATFI (the personality test), or do other sections of the ASTB contribute to this? Are there any tips/suggestions for the NATFI portion of the test? Thanks to anyone who can help out!
https://www.usnavy.vt.edu/documents/astboverview.pdf

According to the link above, the PFAR takes into account all portions of the test, but places emphasis on the ANIT and PBM (spatial) parts of the test.

As for the NATFI, just do your best to answer honestly. Not really any way to study for it. You get two choices of things that make you feel like crap, so pick the one that makes your feel like a small turd rather than a big one.
 

WilliamCarrick

Active Member
https://www.usnavy.vt.edu/documents/astboverview.pdf

According to the link above, the PFAR takes into account all portions of the test, but places emphasis on the ANIT and PBM (spatial) parts of the test.

As for the NATFI, just do your best to answer honestly. Not really any way to study for it. You get two choices of things that make you feel like crap, so pick the one that makes your feel like a small turd rather than a big one.

Got it, thanks for the info!

One more thing, does anyone know if you can apply to OCS a year before graduation? I'm graduating in May 2020 however I'd like to apply for the upcoming October 2019 board. Is this possible, or should I wait until I'm closer to graduating?
 

FormerRecruitingGuru

Making Recruiting Great Again
Got it, thanks for the info!

One more thing, does anyone know if you can apply to OCS a year before graduation? I'm graduating in May 2020 however I'd like to apply for the upcoming October 2019 board. Is this possible, or should I wait until I'm closer to graduating?

Yes you can apply 12 months out.
 

Boston2512

New Member
I took the ASTB today for the second time. I want to first thank everyone on this forum for contributing, and ultimately helping me obtain a higher score. I studied for about 2 weeks my first attempt (studying here and there), and about a month (2-3hours a day maybe more some days) for my second attempt.

--First attempt: 43:3/4/3
--Second attempt: 50:6/8/6.

-Math

I had one log problem, a couple geometry questions (gave the area of a field, find the surface area of the track surrounding it, and finding the arc length), a couple factoring problems, several rate problems, and a couple difficult weighted average problems. I ran out of time on this section.
I am by no means good at math. I did the 140 problems packet several times/Organic chemistry tutor/Khan academy/ any practice problems I could get my hands on, practice practice practice.
-Reading
Honestly thought I did horrible on this section. It would go from hard to easy to hard, through me for a loop. Just choose the answer that you can only get from the paragraph. Stay focused, it will pay off. I practiced this section for maybe 3 hours total. I was kicked out of this section with about 2 minutes left.

-Mechanical
This section was much different than when I first took the ASTB. I had a couple easy computational questions, but the rest were medium difficulty problems. Levers, pulleys, know gas laws/properties, had an ice cube question (what does it mean when it floats on water), had a spring question, potential/kinetic energy, kinematics. I ran out of time on this section.

-ANIT
I believe I absolutely smoked this section. Know which plane was changed into a tanker during OIF, sidewinder designation, side of a carrier that planes launch from, your heading is 360 degrees with a 15 knot crosswind from 270 what is your correction in direction, what parts control pitch/roll. I breezed through this and got cut off early.

-UAV
I studied the flashcards (only the satellite ones they are similar to the test the other ones wont help you) like my life depended on it. I didn't use the compass method, I just saw a heading and thought about how many "clicks" it would take to get back to North. Only missed 2, and averaged around 2 seconds. Also, word of warning, the flashcards give you nice angles (45) where the parking lots in the test are more like 30 degrees.
-PBM
Doing this for a second time definitely helped. For the dichotic listening I leaned towards the target ear. Joystick/throttle tracking, I actually bought a cheap one to practice with playing the game War Thunder (it is free on steam). I believe it helped some, and make sure that you play with inverted controls.

Overall, I am really happy with my improvement. I put a ton of hard work into it, and saw the results. Special thanks to guys like Dalaslayman and other high scorers that put together study guides. I literally scoured this thread (page 200+) collecting guides/info from other members. Thank you, if you have any questions feel free to pm me. Have a good one.
 
I took the astb today for the first time, was supposed to start at nine but the first computer took a dive and I had to wait an hour for my OR to go to the local NROTC unit to get a backup lap top. I started studying the Barrons book and multiple ANIT Quizlets and math Khan acadmey vids right after I graduated on 4 May for 2-5 hours each day with one day off a week and I did only a cursory glance of flashcards the night before the test.

I got a 56 7/8/8
Finance and Real Estate grad
GPA: 3.01

Math: Basically Identical to the the post above, Boston 2512. I remember what is the cube root of .27, If Jimmy ran at 8mph for two hours and sally started from where jimmy started, how far would she have to drive in order to pick him up? A few factoring problems and one where I had to find the area of a track when given the area of the field around it. I spent far too long I ran out of time and thats when my morale took a big hit. I was sure I had bombed this test.

Reading: Boring but cake. Just look for the buzz words like Never or always and I eliminated that answer. Try not to use the answer that necessarily makes the most sense using prior knowledge, rather which answer concurs with the info from the passage (tho they could be the same). I studied using the Barrons book and expected to have some word equivocation, Beautiful most nearly means A. Pretty B. Ugly C. French, but it was all reading passages. I had a few that stumped me but I was done long before the timer said zero.

Mechanical: Simple physics class could cover most of the questions I had. One about four springs holding a 100 kg mass, how much mass is spring B supporting, If paul can only supply a torque force of 60 lb ft, how long does his wrench have to be to turn 80 lb ft nut (forgive me if its the wrong units), showed two barrels filled with different liquids surrounded by water, which one was more dense. I only had prob 3 to 5 questions that required calculations, the rest were physics concepts. I did well but my mood was still bad from the math portion and I was salty.

ANIT: I used this study set on Cram https://www.cram.com/flashcards/astb-aviation-nautical-information-test-anit-comprehensive-8330117 . My father was a Naval Aviator and Im a history buff so this was hella easy for me. I have been reading about the stuff since I could read. Questions I remember what aircraft did the navy modify to be a tanker during Desert Storm, what was the first plane to escort bombers into Germany, what creates vortices behind the wing, how do you "lean" an aircraft, I think a question about the first fly by wire too was on there. Thats all I can remember on the question front. I had all the confidence in the world coming out of this cuz I knew every answer (or thought I did). I did this part in less than 10 minutes.

UAV: Use the compass rose.
. Only reason I got any of these wrong was because A. I was rushing or B. I didnt use the compass rose for some reason. I missed maybe 4 but I got on a roll and slammed through this section. I did suffer a morale loss tho cuz all my wrong ones happened towards the end when I thought I could do it without the rose. If you watch the video and take a second to use your compass rose, you'll do better than I did, and I did alright.

PBM: This one really killed my mood at the time, after it was I certain I failed and looked at the results screen for a good 60 seconds dreading what score was in store for me. The listening, I like everybody else learned towards target ear. I missed a few cuz twitchy fingers but not many. Next came the vertical tracking, I often overshot the aircraft but once I dialed it in, cake. Next came the 2D tracking, that was much harder. I have used a stick before and have very limited flight time in a Cessna 172 but I still hated this one. I barely ever got my pip on the aircraft and thiis slowly made me angry. So when the vertical and 2D came about, I focused on the vertical tracking while following 2D out of the corner of my eye. When it came for the emergency procedures, write them down. You have 10 seconds to do the correct response and it helped not trying to remember do i put it to half power or full power? Over all this and the math made my confidence waver.

NAFTI: I dont remember where this came in the line-up but it was either first part of the ASTB portion or the last I feel like. Just a bunch or questions that may not necessarily describe you but, if given between those two choices and no other alternatives, which would you choose. I saw a lot of repeat options but in different combos like I like to eat ham or Im vegan then a few questions later would be like I like to eat ham or I get angry when my curtains catch fire (obvi not real choices but I literally remember none of these questions). I feel like theyre looking for what you choose and if you make consistent choices.

When I finished this test, I had done it way too fast I felt and I had totally expected to get a non-qualifying score. But like another poster said, dont count yourself out until you get the results. I was preemptively looking for dates I could retake the test before the next board in my mind and how much better I planned on studying for round 2. Believe in your abilities. I normally dont get so down on myself but I was definitely feeling the pressure. I clicked that button to see the results and I got a 56-7-8-8, I couldn't believe it. I learned to better trust myself next ime. I am waiting to see when the next auto-qual board is, I think I scored well enough for it though correct me if Im wrong. I look forward to serving with yall and let me know if yall hear any good scuttlebutt about the next board, even though my OR says Im probs going for the August one regardless. Good Luck and God speed.
 

WilliamCarrick

Active Member
Hello, about 6 months ago I took the OAR (just this portion, not the whole ASTB) and 2 weeks ago I took my first ASTB. Does anyone know how many more times I am allowed to take the ASTB?
 

Justice22293

Active Member
Thank you, Dallas! I saved your Google Drive files and plan on studying them soon. On my first OAR exam attempt last week I scored a 42 when I need a 45 to complete my Navy OCS applicant package to sit for the August board. I can't wait to get this over with July 8th on my retake. Thank you so much!
 

gabriellehale

Well-Known Member
Hey guys I am taking my OAR wednesday and am so nervous! I have done the practice pro profs and they seem to be riddled with errors and then I have been on cram, bought an OAR book (its red), and one that is yellow and the Barrons mechanical comprehension booklet. I am worried on the reading, my books have either been full lengthened passages with questions about the passage or just sentence description from the passage. I do not know what to do or think or feel!!! Someone send some good thoughts and advice :(
 

Snydercl

New Member
Just finished my ASTB-E and thanks to this everyone that has contributed on this thread I did alright.
51 7/8/7
BS History Oregon State 3.02 GPA
AD Navy Diver

The ProProf Flash cards may have been the most helpful for me.
All that aside, the software for the ASTB kinda sucks. I ended having to retake the first 3 sections multiple times, and the computer lost network numerous times. The mechanical section was a breeze but the program froze as I selected around my 9th-10th question, and once the computer was restarted it just spit out an OAR score which was frustrating.
Thanks again to everyone that continues to contribute.
 

gabriellehale

Well-Known Member
Just finished my ASTB-E and thanks to this everyone that has contributed on this thread I did alright.
51 7/8/7
BS History Oregon State 3.02 GPA
AD Navy Diver

The ProProf Flash cards may have been the most helpful for me.
All that aside, the software for the ASTB kinda sucks. I ended having to retake the first 3 sections multiple times, and the computer lost network numerous times. The mechanical section was a breeze but the program froze as I selected around my 9th-10th question, and once the computer was restarted it just spit out an OAR score which was frustrating.
Thanks again to everyone that continues to contribute.


What sort of math did you primarily have?
 

gabriellehale

Well-Known Member
Took my OAR, bunked it with a 37, recruiter said take it in a month and not to be discouraged cause he’s seen worse. I got kicked out of the math with 14 minutes and felt confident on the mechanical. Only issue for me really was the reading, never been strong at reading but will focus on all sections now rather than just the math and mechanical. Did not know how to study for reading, any tips or pointers?
 
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