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NEW ASTB Overview

seth_h

New Member
Hey everyone. This is my story....I applied for the Navy and a commission in march of 2009. I scored a 43 overall and don't remember my OAR. I was denied a commission and my recruiter put together a reconsideration packet. In order to be reconsidered, I would have to show some sort of improvement in this packet. so I gathered additional O-6's LORS and my recruiter told me to retake the test. Guess what I scored a 39 EVEN LOWER. Well to make a long story short, we went ahead and submitted the packet anyway. THey lost my paper work it was never processed. I finally got a call last September from a processor in LA and he apologized for losing my packet and had suggested that i retest. Now this is going to be my Third adn Final time. I've studied for months for both tests and I am super scared of taking this my third adn final time and failing. I don't want this to be the end of my Navy Officer dreams! What do you folks suggest I do. is there any other way I can get a commission. I have a BA in Sociology and Minor in Spanish. My GPA was a 3.2. Do you have any suggestions on how to conquer this test guys? Please advise! Thanks and Happy New Year good luck to all applicants.

Are you taking the whole test?
 

CUPike11

Still avoiding work as much as possible....
None
Contributor
Um... Search around here for the gouge and recommended ASTB material...

THANK YOU!!!

Ok newbies to the forum, check this out:

This is a forum with a SHITLOAD of information on it about pretty much damn near anything you could ever, EVER, EVER ask or think about.

Take the time to do a search and stop being lazy asking people to send you gouge or info or just posting a new thread asking for it. If you're coming here, its apparent that you wish to become a Naval Officer. Let's start acting like it a bit more and being proactive FIRST by searching (THOROUGHLY) for your question.

When you get to your follow-on schools, training commands, ships, bases, etc., you're going to be expected to do some legwork before asking a question. No one is going to hand it to you. If you truly do a search and can't find it, then ask and I'm sure one of more of the members will point you in the right direction or answer your question/comment.

/Rant.

This is what happens when you sit in a classroom for 13 hours during instrument ground school. Sorry, just tired of seeing the same posts over and over.
 

VNE

Member
No need to apologize CUPike11. I haven't been around on this forum for long...but long enough to be tired of the same thing.
 

vsalum

New Member
Hey everyone. This is my story....I applied for the Navy and a commission in march of 2009. I scored a 43 overall and don't remember my OAR. I was denied a commission and my recruiter put together a reconsideration packet. In order to be reconsidered, I would have to show some sort of improvement in this packet. so I gathered additional O-6's LORS and my recruiter told me to retake the test. Guess what I scored a 39 EVEN LOWER. Well to make a long story short, we went ahead and submitted the packet anyway. THey lost my paper work it was never processed. I finally got a call last September from a processor in LA and he apologized for losing my packet and had suggested that i retest. Now this is going to be my Third adn Final time. I've studied for months for both tests and I am super scared of taking this my third adn final time and failing. I don't want this to be the end of my Navy Officer dreams! What do you folks suggest I do. is there any other way I can get a commission. I have a BA in Sociology and Minor in Spanish. My GPA was a 3.2. Do you have any suggestions on how to conquer this test guys? Please advise! Thanks and Happy New Year good luck to all applicants.

Become a nurse. Cutoff age is 40.
 

twobecrazy

RTB...
Contributor
Become a nurse. Cutoff age is 40.

Seriously? Where in his/her thread did he/she even mention age? So WTF does your comment do? It provides no help to this individual who is seeking some actual help. Next time read more carefully through a post and if you wish to comment do so in an appropriate manner.
 

twobecrazy

RTB...
Contributor
Hey everyone. This is my story....I applied for the Navy and a commission in march of 2009. I scored a 43 overall and don't remember my OAR. I was denied a commission and my recruiter put together a reconsideration packet. In order to be reconsidered, I would have to show some sort of improvement in this packet. so I gathered additional O-6's LORS and my recruiter told me to retake the test. Guess what I scored a 39 EVEN LOWER. Well to make a long story short, we went ahead and submitted the packet anyway. THey lost my paper work it was never processed. I finally got a call last September from a processor in LA and he apologized for losing my packet and had suggested that i retest. Now this is going to be my Third adn Final time. I've studied for months for both tests and I am super scared of taking this my third adn final time and failing. I don't want this to be the end of my Navy Officer dreams! What do you folks suggest I do. is there any other way I can get a commission. I have a BA in Sociology and Minor in Spanish. My GPA was a 3.2. Do you have any suggestions on how to conquer this test guys? Please advise! Thanks and Happy New Year good luck to all applicants.

I realize you are studying a bunch but you obviously have problems with the concepts. Maybe taking a class or two at the local community college maybe beneficial or getting a tutor. Otherwise study the gouge here and review the recommended material. Make sure you take the practice tests in an actually test taking environment. Answer ever question on the test. If you have questions on a certain problem then ask and we will try to help you out. Good Luck!
 

MAAShot12

New Member
Hey everyone. This is my story....I applied for the Navy and a commission in march of 2009. I scored a 43 overall and don't remember my OAR. I was denied a commission and my recruiter put together a reconsideration packet. In order to be reconsidered, I would have to show some sort of improvement in this packet. so I gathered additional O-6's LORS and my recruiter told me to retake the test. Guess what I scored a 39 EVEN LOWER. Well to make a long story short, we went ahead and submitted the packet anyway. THey lost my paper work it was never processed. I finally got a call last September from a processor in LA and he apologized for losing my packet and had suggested that i retest. Now this is going to be my Third adn Final time. I've studied for months for both tests and I am super scared of taking this my third adn final time and failing. I don't want this to be the end of my Navy Officer dreams! What do you folks suggest I do. is there any other way I can get a commission. I have a BA in Sociology and Minor in Spanish. My GPA was a 3.2. Do you have any suggestions on how to conquer this test guys? Please advise! Thanks and Happy New Year good luck to all applicants.

I've heard that studying for the GMAT or GRE will help you out on the OAR. The level of difficulty of the questions will simply the verbal and mathematic sections of the ASTB.

Also, dig up some of the gouge around here and study the mechanical comprehension info like it's your main goal in life. I know a lot of people have trouble w/ that section, but if you go through a couple study guides and info packets the physics concepts will become second nature, or at least a little easier to comprehend.
 

GreenLantern330

Active Member
I've heard that studying for the GMAT or GRE will help you out on the OAR. The level of difficulty of the questions will simply the verbal and mathematic sections of the ASTB.

Also, dig up some of the gouge around here and study the mechanical comprehension info like it's your main goal in life. I know a lot of people have trouble w/ that section, but if you go through a couple study guides and info packets the physics concepts will become second nature, or at least a little easier to comprehend.

The verbal on the GRE is ridiculous. There's no verbal on the ASTB or OAR, if you're taking just the OAR. It's simply reading paragraphs and answering questions about the paragraphs. The ARCO MFAT book will really help you on this section. GRE vocabulary is just nuts and totally not necessary for this test. The math could probably help out to get you used to speedy calculations/tricks of figuring out answers faster, though.
 

Bruiser

Tally WSO RAG. High TA.
Hey, it's not advanced physics, just simple mathematics. They key to doing really well at a fast pace is this: do not work the problem all the way through. I believe this is a tip recommended in one of the study guides (arco, etc.). Immediately eliminate the two answers that are incorrect, then keep working until you can eliminate the third. Viola! The choice is your answer. This technique applies to about 30% of the math q's, and it works great. Be prepared to use this technique alongside rounding, and estimation. Being able to determine which method to use at the beginning of a question will come with practice.
If you're taking the complete test (or if you just want to expand your vocabulary), check out vocabulary.com. I just found said website, and I think it's got potential.
Practice.
That is all.
 

Sonog

Well-Known Member
pilot
The verbal on the GRE is ridiculous. There's no verbal on the ASTB or OAR, if you're taking just the OAR. It's simply reading paragraphs and answering questions about the paragraphs. The ARCO MFAT book will really help you on this section. GRE vocabulary is just nuts and totally not necessary for this test. The math could probably help out to get you used to speedy calculations/tricks of figuring out answers faster, though.

Practicing math on any standardized test I think helps with the ASTB.

Agree with the verbal aspect.

I think the thing that will help out most with the ASTB verbal is just reading scientific or technical articles on a regular basis. It shouldn't even be considered studying. If you enjoy aviation then you should have some interest in science or engineering, or at least mechanical stuff. Just add some extra minutes to your day to read some tech blogs or science blogs on a regular basis.
 

Travis Cabe

New Member
Hello, I am preparing to take the ASTB this Friday. I feel quite confident in my aptitude, and have been taking practice tests. My recruiter has informed me that I will only be needing to take the OAR sections of the ASTB, so I have been focusing there. I only have two questions:

a) I saw the bell-curve with the distribution of the ASTB scores for the past decade in the pdf file at the top of this thread, but I'd like to know what percentile the scores are. For instance, if I score a 75, am I in the top 95 percentile? top 99 perecentile? etc. and

b) am I scoring my practice tests properly?: Here's how I did it:

My recruiter told me the minimum score was a 20, so I started there, then there are three sections: Math, Reading, and Mechanical, so I assume 20 points possible for each section to get a total of 80. I took three separate practice tests.
Through three practice tests, wife timing me to ensure I don't take too long, I got 104/107 math problems or 97.1%. 0.971*20 = 19.439

I also got 80/81 reading problems correct for 98.7%. 0.987*20 = 19.753

I also got 71/96 mechanical comprehension correct for 73.9%. 0.739*20 = 14.791

So I took the given 20 and added 19.439, 19.753, and 14.791 to get 73.983, which I then rounded to 74.

Is this similar to how the test is scored? Should I be confident, given this small sample, that after some minor adjustments to my problem areas, (like fully understanding mechanical advantages of pulleys, and how circuits work in the mechanical sections) in expecting to score in that range?
 

ea6bflyr

Working Class Bum
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Your ability to complete all the questions is admirable. Congrats on your first step. What you really need to practice is taking a TIMED test. The pressure of being timed will have an impact to your final score. You not only need to be accurate, but you need to be precise...

-ea6bflyr ;)
 

Travis Cabe

New Member
The practice tests I took were timed. As I noted in the post, my wife was sitting next to me with a timer, I didn't open the book until she started the timer.
 
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