Hey everyone,
Just wanted to share my journey with the ASTB for anyone feeling stuck, or unsure if they should keep going.
I want to start by saying that I am no one special, honestly just a pretty average student. I graduated in May with a degree in psychology, and I haven’t taken a real math class since high school… where I definitely wasn’t paying attention. I’ve never taken physics, and never flown anything. So trust me when I say I was starting from ground zero.
When I first took the test, I surprised myself with a 51 6/8/7. Was stoked thinking I was good; however, because this is the absolute hardest time to get in, I decided to retake it and try for immediate select. I studied what I thought was the proper material and retook it and got a 52 6/8/7 again. It felt like I had hit a ceiling. I was aiming for that 7/7/7 to be competitive for immediate select and I honestly questioned whether I even had it in me.
But I wasn’t done.
I went back, studied harder and smarter, focused on my weak spots, and most importantly trusted that consistency would pay off. On my third attempt, I walked out with a 63 9/9/9.
I’m sharing this because if a psych major who forgot how to do long division can turn it around, trust me, you can too.
Your score does not define your potential. It only reflects your preparation at that moment. If you’re willing to show up again, push past your frustration, and put in the work, you’ll be shocked by what you’re capable of.
A few tips; I took it 3 times, and my brother took it twice, and neither of us saw a single work/rate/together or DRT problem. So know the basics of these, sure, but for some reason, all the old textbooks and worksheets push these concepts when the current tests don't seem to have any.
The AQR was the biggest hurdle for me, and math is where I spent the majority of my time studying since I knew nothing.
The ASTB prep app, online worksheets, and practice tests are a solid starting point, but they recycle the same types of questions over and over—and a lot of those never showed up on the actual exam.
My favorite resource was ColfaxMath on YouTube. He walks through a bunch of good questions, and they are so much easier to digest than the textbooks from years ago.
Once you’ve got the fundamentals down, start hitting the more niche math topics such as logs, matrices, every type of exponent (fractional, negative, you name it), and complex square roots. I saw all of those on my final attempt, and being able to crush them felt amazing. On the ASTB it gives you multiple choice. Half the time, you can plug the answers in or eliminate wrong ones based on partial steps.
Reading absolutely blows and was honestly the hardest and most frustrating part of the whole test. Do your best to stay focused and eliminate bad answers, also be ready to use the full time. Every time I took it I went right down to the last minute.
Mechanical was completely new to me too. The best resource by far is the ASTB tutoring prep app (blue icon). There were questions on there that showed up almost exactly on my test. The online practice tests arent bad either.
ANIT – At minimum, study the cram flashcards. Those will cover 90% of it, though every test threw a few curveballs at me.
PBM – Use the compass trick for UAV. Practice it until it’s automatic. For throttle/stick, I bought the cheapest throttle I could find online, but honestly, it’s worth getting the X52. Then just grind the Jantzen/mike simulator until you’re consistently scoring 90+ on both throttle and stick. For terrian practice a bunch on the prep app and use the straight line method or compass.
If you’re sitting there debating whether to retake it, feeling discouraged, or thinking your goal is out of reach, I’m telling you: it’s not. You might be one more attempt away from the score you’ve been chasing.
You got this!
are my chances of getting into OCS done??? I recently scored a 40 4/5/6 and was gonna retake it but too scared to ask my recruiter about my misdemeanor. Someone pls let me know.
