Honestly, I don’t think there’s any “best” way to study for it. All of the documents I got were random navy documents taken out of context with extremely poorly worded answers. You really can’t study to answer the questions but you could definitely practice reading official documents to improve your comprehension. I had quite a few questions where I struggled to answer them simply because the passage didn’t make any sense to me.
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1,001 questions about the ASTB (post your scores & ask your questions here!)
- Thread starter edato
- Start date
bcal
Well-Known Member
The best way to prepare for the reading section is by reading. Read all kinds of books, articles, etc. I would read aviation articles, read the book “infinitesimal”, just random books. However, the best thing IMO is the reading section on the practice ASTB the recruiter gives you. That’s the closest thing to the real thing that I’ve found
elariosa95
SNA (A-Pool)
I've heard that looking up GRE and LSAT reading comprehension sections is a good way to prep for that part.
piper56M
Well-Known Member
yes, I second that. Personally, I found LSAT reading comp questions to be formatted most similarly to the reading portion of the ASTB.
ladyxrogue
New Member
Hi.
I was recommended to this forum. I do remember taking the OAR back in 2019 and 2020. I believe the first time I took it I got a 35 and then a 38. I didn't really study at all and I kind of just decided to take it. This time will be the last time I am able to take it. Do you guys have any recommendations for study material? I did a few practice tests. I am fine with Math. Mechanical Comprehension is what is messing me up. I am trying to get into the SWO community. I do have my BS in Computer Information Systems and MS in Cybersecurity. GPA was 3.8 and 3.7 respectively. My age will need a waiver for SWO since I just turned 31. I am worried because this is definitely something I have been wanting to do since before I enlisted. My main concern is that my spouse is also in the Navy, so I am worried about colocation and if our lifestyle would change.
I was recommended to this forum. I do remember taking the OAR back in 2019 and 2020. I believe the first time I took it I got a 35 and then a 38. I didn't really study at all and I kind of just decided to take it. This time will be the last time I am able to take it. Do you guys have any recommendations for study material? I did a few practice tests. I am fine with Math. Mechanical Comprehension is what is messing me up. I am trying to get into the SWO community. I do have my BS in Computer Information Systems and MS in Cybersecurity. GPA was 3.8 and 3.7 respectively. My age will need a waiver for SWO since I just turned 31. I am worried because this is definitely something I have been wanting to do since before I enlisted. My main concern is that my spouse is also in the Navy, so I am worried about colocation and if our lifestyle would change.
I keep seeing people talk about age waivers, what exactly is a bad age to join? Thought the cut off was 36 years old? I turn 23 in June.
Send me your email and I’ll send you a whole folder of study materials. I can’t speak to the navy side as I am going marines but I know for a fact my OSO has given out age waivers for air contracts. I also know that on the marine side GPA doesn’t seem to be very important as I know student aviators as well as current pilots who had low 3 GPA’s in non-technical degrees.
Last edited:
exNavyOffRec
Well-Known Member
Here is some info for planning purposes, you have to commission by age 32, that means the latest you can be in OCS is 31 and 9 months, using that you should be seen at the August board, the last board you could go to would be November.
Took the ASTB around 2 hrs ago and received a 63 with an 8/6/8. This was my first attempt, and I'll probably stick with it as I plan on goin' NFO (cuz of mi eyes).
MATH: I didn't really study for this part as I'm pretty good at math to begin with. What I did study was some basic log -> exponent conversion and the arc length formula. Only question that confused me was one dealing with an arc, but you needed to know the section of a circle's area (like a pizza slice area. I probably overthought, ended up just takin' an educated guess. There was also a probability question that asked something along the lines of "If there were 8 teams, how many combinations can there be for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place?" Was very unsure on that one. Wasn't too bad of a section though.
READING: It was really just a bunch of paragraphs centered around the Navy, and you had to pick the truest statement. I hardly studied for this, but I could see how answers were made to trip you up. I didn't finish this section which seemed weird to me as it seemed I had answered so many questions when the time expired. If you are gonna study for this, I'd recommend Barron's and focus on the passages rather than the word-meaning question.
MECHANICAL: Although I have an engineering degree, this was my 2nd most studied section. Some of the things I had were:
ANIT: This was my most studied. As most have said, the cram cards will get ya 70% of the way. I had nothing on helicopters and no history (go figure). My best recommendation would be to study those cards (and maybe some other sources) and focus on the parts of the ship and airplane. I had one question on airspace, and it just asked what are the most common airspaces in the U.S. with only one answer being obviously the correct one.
PBM: If you're looking to do well on this, I would definitely get the HOTAS eqpmt. I did not, and I 100% think if I had practiced on it that my PFAR would've at least hit the 7 mark. I'm not sure if my joystick and throttle were 'jank', but the joystick was stiff and the throttle felt like if you gave an inch, it'd take a mile. Again, I can't stress enough to get the equipment and practice if you want a high score in this section. (It's also important to note that they also had newer eqpmt but it wasn't up and running so I used the HOTAS, so I'd ask what kind of stuff you'll be using).
All in all, I studied for about a week and a half, took a few days break, and then studied three-ish days before the test. Probably not the best way, but I was relatively comfortable with my abilities. I'm grateful for this forum, especially all the posts that outline how their ASTB tests went to get a gauge on what I need to focus.
MATH: I didn't really study for this part as I'm pretty good at math to begin with. What I did study was some basic log -> exponent conversion and the arc length formula. Only question that confused me was one dealing with an arc, but you needed to know the section of a circle's area (like a pizza slice area. I probably overthought, ended up just takin' an educated guess. There was also a probability question that asked something along the lines of "If there were 8 teams, how many combinations can there be for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place?" Was very unsure on that one. Wasn't too bad of a section though.
READING: It was really just a bunch of paragraphs centered around the Navy, and you had to pick the truest statement. I hardly studied for this, but I could see how answers were made to trip you up. I didn't finish this section which seemed weird to me as it seemed I had answered so many questions when the time expired. If you are gonna study for this, I'd recommend Barron's and focus on the passages rather than the word-meaning question.
MECHANICAL: Although I have an engineering degree, this was my 2nd most studied section. Some of the things I had were:
- Pulleys
- Levers
- 2 questions on "If both are dropped at the same time..." or "what is there acceleration at the same height..."
- No mechanical advantage which was disappointing
ANIT: This was my most studied. As most have said, the cram cards will get ya 70% of the way. I had nothing on helicopters and no history (go figure). My best recommendation would be to study those cards (and maybe some other sources) and focus on the parts of the ship and airplane. I had one question on airspace, and it just asked what are the most common airspaces in the U.S. with only one answer being obviously the correct one.
PBM: If you're looking to do well on this, I would definitely get the HOTAS eqpmt. I did not, and I 100% think if I had practiced on it that my PFAR would've at least hit the 7 mark. I'm not sure if my joystick and throttle were 'jank', but the joystick was stiff and the throttle felt like if you gave an inch, it'd take a mile. Again, I can't stress enough to get the equipment and practice if you want a high score in this section. (It's also important to note that they also had newer eqpmt but it wasn't up and running so I used the HOTAS, so I'd ask what kind of stuff you'll be using).
All in all, I studied for about a week and a half, took a few days break, and then studied three-ish days before the test. Probably not the best way, but I was relatively comfortable with my abilities. I'm grateful for this forum, especially all the posts that outline how their ASTB tests went to get a gauge on what I need to focus.
Thaatonegirl
New Member
Hey guys, I am starting my studying for the test, & wanted to try the flight simulator that is on this forum, but every time I click in to it, it gives me a white page & says loading. What am I doing wrong? (I am using Chrome as my browser). Thank you.
Firefox has worked well for me. I had the same white screen as you on everything else
csanfilippo9
Well-Known Member
Use google chrome , safari doesn’t work.
Thaatonegirl
New Member
I have only been using chrome. Is it because my laptop is an HP?
csanfilippo9
Well-Known Member
Try Firefox I switched from safari to chrome and it worked for me.
Anthony2000
PRO-REC Y SNA
How do you configure the joystick. I plug it in and it doesn’t pick it up? Do I have to configure it?