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

[her]

Yes that one makes sense and I did get it correct. I'll keep practicing thank you!

What helped me most is to write down the degrees. So draw a compass and at each letter put the degrees of the 360 turn on there. Ex: N is 0 AND 360, S is 180, E is 90, W is 240. And you can fill it in even more if you want but that was about enough for me. Then on the exam it'll tell you, "heading 240", "heading 85", "heading 320" and so on and so forth. And each time you'll turn your compass to fit that heading and decide the parking lot from there. It's just a different way to approach it if you need something like numbers to connect you to the direction.

 

[Mxdamien]

Good Evening Ladies and Gentleman,
I am taking the ASTBE for the firs time a week from tomorrow and have been studying a bit but had a question regarding the verbal section. I know its not a huge section but I want to do good on the entire test. For the section, I know there is a lot of passage and answer type questions, but are their also vocab questions (what definition closely relates to the word?) or verbal analogies (CAT is to KITTEN as WOLF is to CUB)? Thanks everyone

 

[Wildcat15]

Good Evening Ladies and Gentleman,
I am taking the ASTBE for the firs time a week from tomorrow and have been studying a bit but had a question regarding the verbal section. I know its not a huge section but I want to do good on the entire test. For the section, I know there is a lot of passage and answer type questions, but are their also vocab questions (what definition closely relates to the word?) or verbal analogies (CAT is to KITTEN as WOLF is to CUB)? Thanks everyone

There are no vocabulary questions, only a reading comprehension section. Sounds like you have an outdated study guide that is not ASTB-E specific.

 

[Hopeful Hoya]

Good Evening Ladies and Gentleman,
I am taking the ASTBE for the firs time a week from tomorrow and have been studying a bit but had a question regarding the verbal section. I know its not a huge section but I want to do good on the entire test. For the section, I know there is a lot of passage and answer type questions, but are their also vocab questions (what definition closely relates to the word?) or verbal analogies (CAT is to KITTEN as WOLF is to CUB)? Thanks everyone

Yeah nothing like that, from what I remember the questions are all based on paragraph-length passages, which range from simplistic story-type scenarios to dense, legalese-esque Navy regulations.

 

[Mxdamien]

There are no vocabulary questions, only a reading comprehension section. Sounds like you have an outdated study guide that is not ASTB-E specific.

Thats what I thought but I talked to a buddy who took the new ASTBE and he was saying there were a couple vocab word questions on his. They were probably questions pertaining on how the writer used that specific word in the passage instead of an independent vocab question. Nah actually two of my study books are astbe updated and have some independent vocab questions.

 

[Hubber24]

So I took my test yesterday. I got a good OAR, but I am worried about my PFAR. I would rather take it again to try to get a higher PFAR than "submit and see what happens" kind of thing (I'm really ready to get out of this town I live in). I am looking for some feed back. My score was 62: 7/6/7. I have a recommendation letter from a current pilot in the Navy, and I graduated with a 3.7 GPA, but my recruiter said something like they are blocking SNA's from OCS right now because there are too many. He said I have a greater likely hood of getting picked up as an NFO. No hate to those who want to do that, but my first choice is SNA, and I want to do everything I can to ensure that I have the best chance possible for getting that spot. He could have just been saying that to try and recruit me as an NFO, but I am not sure. If anyone could give me some feedback on my score and experience with recruiters in terms of getting an SNA slot, that would be great. I will post a full gouge later with my experience.

Thank you again for all your help on here!

 

[Wildcat15]

So I took my test yesterday. I got a good OAR, but I am worried about my PFAR. I would rather take it again to try to get a higher PFAR than "submit and see what happens" kind of thing (I'm really ready to get out of this town I live in). I am looking for some feed back. My score was 62: 7/6/7. I have a recommendation letter from a current pilot in the Navy, and I graduated with a 3.7 GPA, but my recruiter said something like they are blocking SNA's from OCS right now because there are too many. He said I have a greater likely hood of getting picked up as an NFO. No hate to those who want to do that, but my first choice is SNA, and I want to do everything I can to ensure that I have the best chance possible for getting that spot. He could have just been saying that to try and recruit me as an NFO, but I am not sure. If anyone could give me some feedback on my score and experience with recruiters in terms of getting an SNA slot, that would be great. I will post a full gouge later with my experience.

Thank you again for all your help on here!

AFAIK selection rates have been pretty high for both designators. My recruiter also pushed me into listing NFO first. How old are you? Like you said, list what you want to do. If you don't feel like you'll be an effective leader in the NFO position, only put SNA. If you don't get selected after you put your packet in and realize you just want to be a Naval Officer, retake the ASTB and put your packet in again. Your scores look competitive to me though. Just remember that the newest ASTB scores will supersede your first exam, even if they are worse.

 

[Hubber24]

AFAIK selection rates have been pretty high for both designators. My recruiter also pushed me into listing NFO first. How old are you? Like you said, list what you want to do. If you don't feel like you'll be an effective leader in the NFO position, only put SNA. If you don't get selected after you put your packet in and realize you just want to be a Naval Officer, retake the ASTB and put your packet in again. Your scores look competitive to me though. Just remember that the newest ASTB scores will supersede your first exam, even if they are worse.

I'm 24, will be 25 in June. I'm close-ish to the age restriction, but I still have a little breathing room. Thanks for your input. I have a meeting with my recruiter next Friday to start my kit. I am putting SNA as my first choice, and NFO as my second. We will see how it goes. That's good to hear about the selection rates, it makes me feel a little better. My plans are to apply for the May/June boards (which ever month they decide to do it in). Thanks for your help!

 

[Hubber24]

I finally have time to post my experience from my test. I used all the links and study guides on here plus the Barron's MFAT book. I wish I could remember more, but the adrenaline was pumping, and my mind went blank right after. I will report what I remember!

Math:
This section was about what I expected. I got a lot of weighted percentage questions, and I neglected to study that. Lots of basic questions, and order of operation questions. I didn't see any matrix or binary questions, but it's good to study that anyway. Lots of D=rt questions. If you are studying the Barron's and Arco books and a the things mentioned in this forum, you'll be good.

Reading Comprehension:
I won't beat a dead horse with this one. It was very dry and boring. Lots of long boring paragraphs and confusing answers. I don't have any strategies for this except answer only based on the information given. Even if you have no clue what the paragraph just said, you should still be able to pick the right answer.

Mechanical:
A lot of conceptual questions on this portion. I think I picked up my pencil twice. No gear questions, some pulley, ideal gas law, and some mechanical advantage. The best that I can suggest is knowing how to find MA for all of the simple machines. That is was what made me feel most comfortable.

If I had to retake the OAR section (which I hope I NEVER have to do), I would definitely buy an OAR practice book to have more specified problems to practice. Overall, the Barron's and the ARCO were easier than the actual test...for me at least!

ANIT:
This was the WORST section for me, even though my scores weren't terrible for it. I studied and focused on history, and it was a lot of questions about more recent events. I got questions that had lots of abbreviations that I had no clue what they were, which I realize I should have known since that's how the military talks. I wish I could help more here, but if anyone has any tips for studying this section, please post them because the FAA handbook, ARCO, and Barron's were almost zero help. Not to sound too negative, the FAA handbook did help me to understand what aspects of physics affect flight and how the plane maneuvers in space.

NATFI:
I can't help you here. There are no good answers, just pick which one most closely applies to you even if they are both wrong.

PBM:
This section was actually pretty fun! USE THE UAV FLASH CARDS!!!! You can use the compass trick if you want, but I found it cumbersome. I did the flashcard set almost every night for about 3 weeks, once before I went to bed, and I only missed 2 or 3. Those were missed only because it was a careless error.
https://www.proprofs.com/flashcards/story.php?title=_36014

Be prepared, unless you have experience with flight simulators, the throttle and joystick section takes a couple tries to get used to. The throttle had a ton of play before the crosshairs start moving, and then it goes really fast. The joystick is inverted, that was difficult for me to get used to, especially once all the other stuff was added in. The dichotic listening wasn't too difficult. It only got hard when it was combined with the tracking exercise.

Now the emergency procedures...I was bad at this, and I think that's what hurt me the most in this section. You do not get a practice run like all the other tests in this section. RED MEANS HIGH & YELLOW MEANS LOW!!! Not at all what I thought so I fiddled with the knobs too much. Definitely pay attention when they are giving you a chance to play with the knobs at the beginning, and definitely write it down along with the emergency procedures. I have seen people suggesting to drop all controls and just fix the emergency first, but I am not sure that is a good idea. I tried it, but I don't think I would do it again. I would say, it is best to mentally run through your plan of action before you hit that trigger. I didn't have any problems with the equipment not working.

OAR: 62
AQR: 7
PFAR: 6
FOFAR: 7

I hope this helps someone. I know it wasn't that in depth as some, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask. I will help where I can. Thanks again to everyone who posts here, I am looking forward to seeing where this takes me!

 

[Mxdamien]

I finally have time to post my experience from my test. I used all the links and study guides on here plus the Barron's MFAT book. I wish I could remember more, but the adrenaline was pumping, and my mind went blank right after. I will report what I remember!

Math:
This section was about what I expected. I got a lot of weighted percentage questions, and I neglected to study that. Lots of basic questions, and order of operation questions. I didn't see any matrix or binary questions, but it's good to study that anyway. Lots of D=rt questions. If you are studying the Barron's and Arco books and a the things mentioned in this forum, you'll be good.

Reading Comprehension:
I won't beat a dead horse with this one. It was very dry and boring. Lots of long boring paragraphs and confusing answers. I don't have any strategies for this except answer only based on the information given. Even if you have no clue what the paragraph just said, you should still be able to pick the right answer.

Mechanical:
A lot of conceptual questions on this portion. I think I picked up my pencil twice. No gear questions, some pulley, ideal gas law, and some mechanical advantage. The best that I can suggest is knowing how to find MA for all of the simple machines. That is was what made me feel most comfortable.

If I had to retake the OAR section (which I hope I NEVER have to do), I would definitely buy an OAR practice book to have more specified problems to practice. Overall, the Barron's and the ARCO were easier than the actual test...for me at least!

ANIT:
This was the WORST section for me, even though my scores weren't terrible for it. I studied and focused on history, and it was a lot of questions about more recent events. I got questions that had lots of abbreviations that I had no clue what they were, which I realize I should have known since that's how the military talks. I wish I could help more here, but if anyone has any tips for studying this section, please post them because the FAA handbook, ARCO, and Barron's were almost zero help. Not to sound too negative, the FAA handbook did help me to understand what aspects of physics affect flight and how the plane maneuvers in space.

NATFI:
I can't help you here. There are no good answers, just pick which one most closely applies to you even if they are both wrong.

PBM:
This section was actually pretty fun! USE THE UAV FLASH CARDS!!!! You can use the compass trick if you want, but I found it cumbersome. I did the flashcard set almost every night for about 3 weeks, once before I went to bed, and I only missed 2 or 3. Those were missed only because it was a careless error.
https://www.proprofs.com/flashcards/story.php?title=_36014

Be prepared, unless you have experience with flight simulators, the throttle and joystick section takes a couple tries to get used to. The throttle had a ton of play before the crosshairs start moving, and then it goes really fast. The joystick is inverted, that was difficult for me to get used to, especially once all the other stuff was added in. The dichotic listening wasn't too difficult. It only got hard when it was combined with the tracking exercise.

Now the emergency procedures...I was bad at this, and I think that's what hurt me the most in this section. You do not get a practice run like all the other tests in this section. RED MEANS HIGH & YELLOW MEANS LOW!!! Not at all what I thought so I fiddled with the knobs too much. Definitely pay attention when they are giving you a chance to play with the knobs at the beginning, and definitely write it down along with the emergency procedures. I have seen people suggesting to drop all controls and just fix the emergency first, but I am not sure that is a good idea. I tried it, but I don't think I would do it again. I would say, it is best to mentally run through your plan of action before you hit that trigger. I didn't have any problems with the equipment not working.

OAR: 62
AQR: 7
PFAR: 6
FOFAR: 7

I hope this helps someone. I know it wasn't that in depth as some, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask. I will help where I can. Thanks again to everyone who posts here, I am looking forward to seeing where this takes me!

Congrats on your score. When you mention that for the PBM the controls are inverted, what do you mean? Were they set up so when you pull back on the joystick the cursor goes up and when you push forward it goes down, or is it something different?

 

[Hubber24]

Congrats on your score. When you mention that for the PBM the controls are inverted, what do you mean? Were they set up so when you pull back on the joystick the cursor goes up and when you push forward it goes down, or is it something different?

Yeah, that's right. Just like if you pulled back on the controls in a real plane you would climb and if you pushed forward you would dive. It sounds straight forward, but it threw me off when I had to combine it with the other aspects.

 

[Mxdamien]

Yeah, that's right. Just like if you pulled back on the controls in a real plane you would climb and if you pushed forward you would dive. It sounds straight forward, but it threw me off when I had to combine it with the other aspects.

For the Reading Comprehension section, was it strictly read passages and answer questions or did you have vocab questions on there?

 

[Hubber24]

For the Reading Comprehension section, was it strictly read passages and answer questions or did you have vocab questions on there?

I only had passages, but that's not to say vocab should be ruled out.

 

[jdurham]

For the Reading Comprehension section, was it strictly read passages and answer questions or did you have vocab questions on there?

From what i understand the vocal questions are only on the AFOQT. I am taking the ASTB on Wednesday, also from what I was told they did away with the flight simulator, I guess i was mislead about that?

 

[Hopeful Hoya]

From what i understand the vocal questions are only on the AFOQT. I am taking the ASTB on Wednesday, also from what I was told they did away with the flight simulator, I guess i was mislead about that?

No the flight sim is definitely still part of it. Maybe they meant the spatial appreciation section? (it was replaced by the UAV section on the ASTB-E)