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

tekeje

Member
Finished the ASTB Exam (10/14/2016). Received a 55 6/4/5.
Used the Barron's 3rd edition book to study most of the questions. Felt like it prepared me for the majority of the sections on the exam.

Things that could have gone better.
The UAV and the Pilot control portions.
UAV
I used the technique of finding the site on the left hand of the pointer that chaz2x4 suggested at the top of the page. I did well in the practice but was slower than I hoped and got a few wrong during the exam. Use all the practice time you want. Really prepares you for the exam.

Pilot Control
What an epic disaster. The headphones that were given to me had some "bleed-over" in the ears and the words produced sounded like an ATC Hotmic (haha jk for any ATCs out there). Unlike the UAV Section, the pilot controls only offer you one practice run and it was very confusing when to press each button for the listening section. Make sure you understand the directions completely prior to taking the practice exam. The joystick control was all over the place. Very sensitive and it just sucked in general. Recommend writing down the directions for each ear and the proper maneuvers for the flight controls and the EP section.

In general, I hope my score are decent enough for NFO. I have a 4.0 GPA with a degree in Aeronautics so I hope my college score influences some amount of decisions. Wasn't the happiest with my scores and looking for any advice to improve each section.

Any advice on improving the ASTB???
Hello, do you mind giving me some input about the test? I am scheduled to take it in November
Thanks
 

newbie

New Member
Hello Everyone,

I am a new member here that just recently got approved. I just took my OAR exam today and lets just say that I did bad. Will re-take the exam to get a more competitive score. Plus, the computer I was using kept rebooting while in the middle of my exam.

For my study materials:
Officer Candidate Test for Dummies
OAR Study Guide- from this site
ASTB Personal Study Guide - from this site
Photocopied sections from different other books

I will be taking my second attempt after the 90 day period. Any advice on how I can make sure to get a better score second time around?

Here are the types of questions I saw:

Math - lots on probability especially with deck of cards and roll of dice

Reading Comprehension - basic and just needed to understand what the passage was talking about.

Mechanical Comprehension - I didn't get any questions regarding mechanical advantage or about gears and pulleys. Instead, all the questions dealt with torque and circuits.

Would greatly love to hear from you guys especially those that attempted a second time.
 

exNavyOffRec

Well-Known Member
Hello Everyone,

I am a new member here that just recently got approved. I just took my OAR exam today and lets just say that I did bad. Will re-take the exam to get a more competitive score. Plus, the computer I was using kept rebooting while in the middle of my exam.

For my study materials:
Officer Candidate Test for Dummies
OAR Study Guide- from this site
ASTB Personal Study Guide - from this site
Photocopied sections from different other books

I will be taking my second attempt after the 90 day period. Any advice on how I can make sure to get a better score second time around?

Here are the types of questions I saw:

Math - lots on probability especially with deck of cards and roll of dice

Reading Comprehension - basic and just needed to understand what the passage was talking about.

Mechanical Comprehension - I didn't get any questions regarding mechanical advantage or about gears and pulleys. Instead, all the questions dealt with torque and circuits.

Would greatly love to hear from you guys especially those that attempted a second time.

There is qualifying score and not qualifying score, if you have a qualifying score then apply, if not keep studying. Did you do practice test before the actual test?

The computer rebooting would not affect your score, it would be an interruption and annoyance though.

Your age makes you ineligible for nearly all designators, if trying for Intel it is very competitive so I hope you have a high GPA.
 

Jordan Velez

New Member
Hello Newbie, about the rebooting inconvenience that you experience it happened to me also, but like NavyOffRec wrote that doesn't affect your score. I'm in the same boat as you are regarding the age range and because I will take the test again on January 12 of this next coming year. The resources that I'm using for the second attempt are the following:
- GRE/GMAT Arco book 6th edition
- Military Flight Officer 3rd edition
- How to Solve Algebra Word Problems you can do a search on that one through the web there is a bunch of books.
Tip practice as many algebra word problems as you can there is a big chance that you will encounter a bunch of them on the test especially motion word problems and percentage word problems.
-Second tip: Practice as much as you can on Mechanical advantage problems as you may find those this time more that you will expect.
Third tip: practice, practice, practice as I am doing right now I didn't practice as much I should practice the first time. Don't make the mistake of twking this exam lightly that's if you really want to be a Naval Officer. Good luck on the second attempt.
 

crj021

Member
Hey everyone, so I took the ASTB yesterday and after the test was finished I was given my OAR (scored a 69), but wasn't given my PFAR or FOFAR because I hadn't completed the Biographic Inventory section, which I did right when I got home. Does anyone know long after this will I receive these scores, and how they'll be sent to me?

Thanks!
 

zboy

Well-Known Member
None
Hey everyone, so I took the ASTB yesterday and after the test was finished I was given my OAR (scored a 69), but wasn't given my PFAR or FOFAR because I hadn't completed the Biographic Inventory section, which I did right when I got home. Does anyone know long after this will I receive these scores, and how they'll be sent to me?

Thanks!
Once you finish the BIRV section those scores become instantly available for your recruiter.
 

newbie

New Member
There is qualifying score and not qualifying score, if you have a qualifying score then apply, if not keep studying. Did you do practice test before the actual test?

The computer rebooting would not affect your score, it would be an interruption and annoyance though.

Your age makes you ineligible for nearly all designators, if trying for Intel it is very competitive so I hope you have a high GPA.

Thank you for your response. I did take practice tests before the actual test. The tests I was doing rarely had anything about torque or specifics on circuits. The practice tests had more on mechanical advantage, gears, pulleys, and buoyancy. I will be re-taking this exam again.

As for my age, I completely understand that it is a concern as I am already 29 years old. However, my recruiter said that I can go for Personnel/HR and Intel.
 

newbie

New Member
Hello Newbie, about the rebooting inconvenience that you experience it happened to me also, but like NavyOffRec wrote that doesn't affect your score. I'm in the same boat as you are regarding the age range and because I will take the test again on January 12 of this next coming year. The resources that I'm using for the second attempt are the following:
- GRE/GMAT Arco book 6th edition
- Military Flight Officer 3rd edition
- How to Solve Algebra Word Problems you can do a search on that one through the web there is a bunch of books.
Tip practice as many algebra word problems as you can there is a big chance that you will encounter a bunch of them on the test especially motion word problems and percentage word problems.
-Second tip: Practice as much as you can on Mechanical advantage problems as you may find those this time more that you will expect.
Third tip: practice, practice, practice as I am doing right now I didn't practice as much I should practice the first time. Don't make the mistake of twking this exam lightly that's if you really want to be a Naval Officer. Good luck on the second attempt.

Thank you Jordan for all the tips. Most likely I will also be taking my exam in January of next year. My recruiter just couldn't set a date for me yet because she doesn't know what her calendar will look like in 90 days.

I've heard almost everyone here were using the Military Flight Officer 3rd edition. I will check that one out.

I really hope that I get more questions on Mechanical Advantage because that's the information that appeared the most on my materials that I reviewed. I will definitely do more and more practice questions. I really do want to be a Naval Officer and that's why I will be going for the second attempt.

Good luck to you as well.
 

exNavyOffRec

Well-Known Member
Thank you for your response. I did take practice tests before the actual test. The tests I was doing rarely had anything about torque or specifics on circuits. The practice tests had more on mechanical advantage, gears, pulleys, and buoyancy. I will be re-taking this exam again.

As for my age, I completely understand that it is a concern as I am already 29 years old. However, my recruiter said that I can go for Personnel/HR and Intel.

HR is a lateral transfer designator, so Intel is really your only shot, a high GPA and some praying is often involved to get selected.
 
Hi, there! I'm applying for INTEL and just took the OAR. I applied from outside the US this year and had no access to study material (like the prep books) and scored a 45, so I retook it in the U.S. last week and scored a 56. Those assisting my application have encouraged me suggesting that the score, along with my other credentials, should push me through the next Board in December. Here are the resources I used which were helpful:

  • the attachments provided on Pages 228 and 230 of this forum (they were the best)
  • the Barron's 3rd edition book
  • the math section of a GRE prep book
  • the ProProfs flashcards online (You can Google them. Be aware: There are some mistakes in them.)

I had a retired Navy Captain walk through the flashcards with me, which was super helpful! Keep pushing and studying. Don't give up!
 

Hman4

Member
Hey Guys and Gals, I just want to pay it forward because this site has been incredibly useful to me over the last few months. I just took my full ASTB for the second time on 11/22/2016:

First Score: 48 5/5/4
Second Score 55 7/8/7

SWO/SNA/NFO

The first time I took the test I did not do well at all. I used Atripays Study Guide, which was incredibly useful, but I also used Accepted Inc. ASTB Study Guide and it was pretty lame compared to the real test. I am a finance major and use math a good bit but I have always had trouble in math. Algebra has been a weak point for me and that is really what I focused on preparing for my second attempt. I was aiming for 58 on my second attempt for my OAR but I am pleased with the results and I still have a third attempt if need be. I will be submitting my application for the SWO board in February with my second attempt scores. Here is a list of study items I used for my second attempt:

MATH:
This was the section that I really geared up for the most. I legit rebuilt my entire base of algebra knowledge and relearned everything. I used Forgotten Algebra to do this and was really able to do much better math wise. I saw some D=RT word problems, multiple functions, I got a graphing questions that I thought was weird but was only asking about a quadratic function graph. I got a few logs and then of course some fractional exponent work. This part again was challenging for me but I felt much more confident with it than my first attempt. *Systems of Equations can be applied to so many aspects of this section.

READING:
I ran out of time... This should be an easy section for me and I was so bored I kept rereading things. I really felt like this was my weakest part of my second attempt. It is very dense reading that has sentences that run for multiple lines. I am an avid reader but this was pretty dense for me. Only advice to prepare is to read regularly and try not to get bored during the section.

MECHANICAL COMPREHNSION:
This section was probably the easiest for me. UNDERSTAND the simple equations like force, work and power. Once you know the variables and you stumble upon a question that requires a calculation you'll be able to see exactly what needs to be solved for. There is a lot of great gouge on this site and useful study material across the web for this section. Don't underestimate this section for you need to put time into studying for it. It is something that just came a lot easier and natural for me.

AVIATION AND MARITIME KNOWLEDGE:
I studied for this portion of the test very hard on my first attempt. I did not give it too much restudying my second attempt because I was really only focusing on my OAR. I come from a strong sailing background so this was really not too tough for me. This section is all facts that are memorized. There is a lot of great flashcards out there and Atripays Study Guide was a big help. Comb through this forum and you will find everything you need.

EVERYTHING ELSE:
Again, I was really focusing on my OAR so really was not too stressed for these sections. I feel I did well because I was not stressed. The UAV section you can prepare for a little but once you get into a grove you will be fine. Keep in mind you are not supposed to do well. If you are not tracking the target the entire time you will still be all right. It is tough but my only suggestions are READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS AND UNDERSTAND THEM and stay calm. The directions for each section are tiny yellow font and they are super easy to breeze by. Read everything thoroughly and pay attention!


If you are not good in a certain area on this test just practice practice practice. What you score on your practice tests is a strong indication of what you will score on the real test. There are not test day miracles. Good luck to all looking to gain a commission into our great fighting force. Keep going, you got it!


Reach out if you have any questions at all. Always happy to help. This test has been a good portion of my life for the past few months.
 

Triumph4life

Well-Known Member
I was just looking for some clarity on the ASTB. I have heard rumors that the OAR does affect your overall score on the ASTB, but when looking at the NOMI website and how the test is broken down it looks like the OAR and the ASTB are separate from each other. I have looked through this forum and many others for tips and tricks. Really wishing I would have done so before I took the test the first time. I am retaking the test 14DEC. Looking to bump my scores. After looking on here and actually getting my hands on the test I feel I can do much better than last time.
 

Ryne

Well-Known Member
I'm also looking to clear up some curiosity when it comes to the test. When I took the ASTB my first time, it felt like some segments were shorter than others. I feel like I only maybe did 8-10 questions on the Math portion, and 15-20 questions on the Reading. I read on AW that the shorter that particular segment is, the better you performed. Is there any validity to this? or is this false?
 

zboy

Well-Known Member
None
I'm also looking to clear up some curiosity when it comes to the test. When I took the ASTB my first time, it felt like some segments were shorter than others. I feel like I only maybe did 8-10 questions on the Math portion, and 15-20 questions on the Reading. I read on AW that the shorter that particular segment is, the better you performed. Is there any validity to this? or is this false?
The test is adaptive so depending on your performance the computer gauges how you're doing. It works both ways if you're doing really well it could end and vice versa if you're doing poorly it can end as well.
 
Yes the gpa does factor in but ASTB is king, seen people with 2.8 and ASTB of 8 get in and people with gpa in high 3's and ASTB of 6 not get in and they were div 1 sports team captain

Perfect, I have a University GPA of 2.8, D1 swim team captain, held 4 jobs including running my own wedding film business and LOR's from Mil and Civ pilots.

That's somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but pilots need to be at least a bit cocky, so that's what I'm workin' on today.
 
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