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

[parkerr91]

Only book I used was Barrons. I went through every packet from Kyle's guide. Khan Academy for math concepts I needed work on.

 

[csanfilippo9]

Took my second attempt at the ASTB-E recently. Write up below. This forum and the resources listed throughout were invaluable so thank you all. Going for SNA.

1st attempt(February 2022): 56 6/6/7
2nd attempt(April 2022): 61 8/7/7

Definitely was hoping for all 8s, but this is still a solid score that I'm happy to stick with. Will not be retaking.

MST: felt like I did poorly, but apparently not based on my AQR score. 2-3 questions on probability, a few easy ones involving radicals, some line slope stuff(y=mx+b). There was one that threw me off, something like "the perimeter of a rectangle is 60x^2,. and the base is 2 times the height. What is the area? It was weird and I had to guess after staring at it for about 90 seconds. This section was misleading because the first 2-3 problems were hard, then it got easier and stayed that way the whole time. Was not feeling great after finishing this one. Also, I had almost no word problems aside from probability, and no distance and time ones, surprisingly, which sucks because I studied a lot of word and distance problems.

RCT: I think I did exceptionally well this time around. I was able to successfully eliminate 3/4 answers nearly every time, to get me the right answer. The hardest part, to me, was how dull the topics of reading were. It is boring stuff, for sure. I was just drinking my coffee and staying focused here. I think it's easy to get very bored here and start getting complacent. This time around I was expecting this so I kept myself focused and attentive the whole time. Process of elimination is the name of the game here. A lot of the time, 2 answers will both seem correct, but one word(like an "and" instead of an "or") differentiates the right from the wrong. I studied for this section far less than any others.

MCT: This was one of the ones I studied most for, and I think is the main contributor to my 2 point AQR increase. I knew nearly everything on it, except for a circuit one(don't remember specifics, sorry). Lots of MA, force calculations, pulleys, classes of levers. The MCT packets in Kyle's Guide were incredible for this! Know static and dynamic friction and the basic computations associated with each!

ANIT: I only am aware of one that I might have missed, involving types of flaps on an airplane(smooth flaps, plain flaps, fowler flaps, slotted flaps, and one other one). A few from Popeye's Gouge: dissymmetry of lift, and basic aircraft stuff. I had no historical ones at all which was unfortunate because I studied a whole hell of a lot of dates and aviation history stuff. Key takeaway that you've all head before: PPL stuff is invaluable here. If you've already taken your PAR written exam, this section is pretty damn easy. Know Bernoulli's principle, basic aerodynamics, and parts of the aircraft.

PBM

UAV: average time was right around 1.8-2 seconds. I missed 2 or 3. Not much to say here, it's exactly as described here in the forums.

Dichotic listening: I think I blew it here. I don't wanna blame the crappy speakers/headphones at the testing center, but I wasn't too pleased with the sound quality and inability to increase the volume very much. I think if it weren't for the listening parts, I would have got an 8 PFAR.

Tracking: Jantzen's sim was invaluable here. Some people say it doesn't help very much: I couldn't disagree more. After playing the sim on hard difficulty the last few days before the test, it seemed easy on the actual test because it was slower. Also, I was practicing on a 32" monitor at home, so it is definitely easier on the smaller screen at the testing center.

Dichotic + Tracking: Simply think I blew it on the listening as mentioned above. Tracking was solid with green targets a lot of the time.

Emergency procedures: take your time and memorize the 3 different procedures. I just sat there for about 2-3 minutes writing them down and also just memorizing them. This section was the quickest of them all. Just one of each procedure and you're done.

Good job !

 

[American007]

Only book I used was Barrons. I went through every packet from Kyle's guide. Khan Academy for math concepts I needed work on.

Thanks that's exactly what I'm looking at.

 

[Willfly4crayons]

Just took the ASTB and scored a OAR 53: 6, 5, 6. Unfortunately I did not discover this page until now. My aim is to go back to the Marine Corps on a pilot contract. My degree is Aviation and Aerospace Science. Also have my commercial pilot’s license with instrument rating. I felt like I did pretty well on the PBM, but my PFAR certainly does not reflect. I’ll definitely be using a stick/throttle with the simulator at home till my next test. I’m actually wondering if the missed questions on the ANIT (nautical questions) could have been the larger contributing factor? I can think of at least 4 that I guessed on, I had no idea on any of the questions about ships. Also I know I did poorly on the math section, I guessed on a few and definitely did not finish all the questions. I will be brushing up. I know the Marine Corps will waiver 1 point on any of the three tests if you come in low, but they won’t waiver until after your third attempt. MInimum PFAR for the Corps is a 6. This is uncommon though, my recruiter has said he’s never had to submit one. Just want to see in case I can’t achieve at least a 6 on my PFAR for the remainder of my attempts. Has anyone heard of someone getting the waiver? One thing that was definitely weird was using the stick in my right hand. I’m left handed, and I’ve also always flown from the left seat with my left hand, right hand on the throttle. Considering trying it the other way. Maybe the hand/eye coordination just isn’t there for me…

 

[parkerr91]

Just took the ASTB and scored a OAR 53: 6, 5, 6. Unfortunately I did not discover this page until now. My aim is to go back to the Marine Corps on a pilot contract. My degree is Aviation and Aerospace Science. Also have my commercial pilot’s license with instrument rating. I felt like I did pretty well on the PBM, but my PFAR certainly does not reflect. I’ll definitely be using a stick/throttle with the simulator at home till my next test. I’m actually wondering if the missed questions on the ANIT (nautical questions) could have been the larger contributing factor? I can think of at least 4 that I guessed on, I had no idea on any of the questions about ships. Also I know I did poorly on the math section, I guessed on a few and definitely did not finish all the questions. I will be brushing up. I know the Marine Corps will waiver 1 point on any of the three tests if you come in low, but they won’t waiver until after your third attempt. MInimum PFAR for the Corps is a 6. This is uncommon though, my recruiter has said he’s never had to submit one. Just want to see in case I can’t achieve at least a 6 on my PFAR for the remainder of my attempts. Has anyone heard of someone getting the waiver? One thing that was definitely weird was using the stick in my right hand. I’m left handed, and I’ve also always flown from the left seat with my left hand, right hand on the throttle. Considering trying it the other way. Maybe the hand/eye coordination just isn’t there for me…

You can definitely get your ANIT up with some studying. Check out Kyle's drive(search these forums). It has almost everything you need. Based on your scores, you probably need some work on MCT as well. Kyle's drive has a breadth of study material for everything. Know the parts of airplanes, helicopters, and ships(beam, gunwale, transom, thwart, fore, aft, bow, stern, and MANY more). Obviously you already know everything related to airplanes, I assume based on your flight xp. I practiced a lot with the simulator for the PBM. Bought the exact same HOTAS that my testing center uses(Logitech), then played the sim for 20-30 min almost every day. This definitely helped. I wouldn't be down on your hand/eye coordination, as you mentioned in your last sentence. You're a pilot, I'm sure you've got what it takes. They make the PBM pretty damn difficult in the latter phases. Sure, you probably won't get that PFAR to a 9, but you can absolutely get it up to a 7 or 8. Study hard. Treat it like the SATs or any big test. I studied every day for 2-3 weeks before my retake(nothing crazy, just an hour or two on weekdays and longer sessions on Weekends). Upped my scores from 56 6/6/7 to 61 8/7/7

 

[Willfly4crayons]

You can definitely get your ANIT up with some studying. Check out Kyle's drive(search these forums). It has almost everything you need. Based on your scores, you probably need some work on MCT as well. Kyle's drive has a breadth of study material for everything. Know the parts of airplanes, helicopters, and ships(beam, gunwale, transom, thwart, fore, aft, bow, stern, and MANY more). Obviously you already know everything related to airplanes, I assume based on your flight xp. I practiced a lot with the simulator for the PBM. Bought the exact same HOTAS that my testing center uses(Logitech), then played the sim for 20-30 min almost every day. This definitely helped. I wouldn't be down on your hand/eye coordination, as you mentioned in your last sentence. You're a pilot, I'm sure you've got what it takes. They make the PBM pretty damn difficult in the latter phases. Sure, you probably won't get that PFAR to a 9, but you can absolutely get it up to a 7 or 8. Study hard. Treat it like the SATs or any big test. I studied every day for 2-3 weeks before my retake(nothing crazy, just an hour or two on weekdays and longer sessions on Weekends). Upped my scores from 56 6/6/7 to 61 8/7/7

Thanks for the advice! I will definitely be putting in more man hours until my next test. This is the simulator I have found and have been practicing with since I took the test last: https://jantzenx.github.io/ASTB/
I'm scoring about an 80 or 90 on each round for the throttle and joystick. From what I have been reading people said they were getting consistent 70's and their PFAR scores were 7's or higher. Getting the nautical information down should be no sweat, I am curious to see how much it affects my score. I think there were only about 20 questions on the ANIT, so if I missed 3 or 4 that could have a big effect. I scored 50/50 for the UAV test, but I'm reading here that how fast you answer matters as well. I'll have to be quicker on the draw. Also you're right, I think I missed a few/guessed on the MCT. Simple stuff, that I just was not prepared for.

 

[lildudeIII]

I am looking at going SNA for the navy and took the ASTB a year ago. I am currently studying again as I don't feel that my scores were great.
ASTB Scores:
OAR: 42
AQR: 4
PFAR: 7
FOFAR: 5

I am currently in my master's for Public Administration with a GPA of 3.5 and plan on doing some flight hours over the summer break to try and boost my rating as well as trying to get my OAR up. My recruiter has been kind of flaky and so I am not quite sure what I am to do other than just hope that he gets back to me. Any recommendations to do better on the ASTB would or make myself a better applicant would be great to hear! I know my first ASTB scores weren't great so maybe that is why he's not really talking to me but that was when I was first applying for the Marines and realized that wasn't the direction I wanted to take with my military career. They basically told me to just take it a few weeks after getting the study guide so I think I just didn't prepare for it as well as I wasn't mentally prepared for the duration of the questions on it. However, I feel a lot better but just want to be the best I can be for my application. I'm not really worried about the simulator as my father has a good setup at home and I tend to play the simulators he has when I get the chance to go home.

 

[csanfilippo9]

I am looking at going SNA for the navy and took the ASTB a year ago. I am currently studying again as I don't feel that my scores were great.
ASTB Scores:
OAR: 42
AQR: 4
PFAR: 7
FOFAR: 5

I am currently in my master's for Public Administration with a GPA of 3.5 and plan on doing some flight hours over the summer break to try and boost my rating as well as trying to get my OAR up. My recruiter has been kind of flaky and so I am not quite sure what I am to do other than just hope that he gets back to me. Any recommendations to do better on the ASTB would or make myself a better applicant would be great to hear! I know my first ASTB scores weren't great so maybe that is why he's not really talking to me but that was when I was first applying for the Marines and realized that wasn't the direction I wanted to take with my military career. They basically told me to just take it a few weeks after getting the study guide so I think I just didn't prepare for it as well as I wasn't mentally prepared for the duration of the questions on it. However, I feel a lot better but just want to be the best I can be for my application. I'm not really worried about the simulator as my father has a good setup at home and I tend to play the simulators he has when I get the chance to go home.

Your AQR needs to be worked on. Study more for the ANIT section and getting better at the math section will help you. UAV section is the reason why you got a 5 fofar my guess is you got a few of them wrong. study up and retake you should be fine.

 

[elariosa95]

Hey y'all, my third and final attempt at the ASTB got scheduled for May 13, two weeks from tomorrow. In an attempt to improve on my scores from my last try, I've gone back to the drawing board and tried to remember every piece of advice I've gotten from the last few tries:

• The ASTB sim with the X52 HOTAS is about as close as you can get to the actual test.
  • I've been playing at one level higher than the default difficulty and have been averaging in the 90s for stick and high 70s-low 80s for throttle.
  • Higher difficulties will definitely help you improve quickly, but I've found that the X52 is particularly finicky, especially when dealing with the throttle mapping.
• It seems that the test's instructions for the emergency procedures portion don't include having your knobs in neutral during normal operation. In addition, the procedures are given in the order they are listed in the instructions.
  • Based on this, it would be wise to pre-set your knobs to the necessary position before each procedure for maximum points.
• Drawing the compass rose is absolutely essential for the UAV portion.
  • I've also found that placing your compass rose on the table and using the eraser on a pencil to rotate it is much faster/easier than holding it.
• There are plenty of dichotic listening videos on YouTube that can help you, but leaning to the side you're supposed to be listening to helps you focus better.
  • If there are songs where the instruments are panned to one side or the other, maybe you could try playing the sim while only listening to one side?
• The ANIT flash cards will get you about 70%-80% of the information on the actual test. The FAA pilot's handbook will get you to 90ish%. Having your PPL will get you to 100%. Being Tom Cruise will get you to 110%.
• Kyle's study guide and the Barron's book together are enough to guarantee a 54/55 or higher on the OAR.
  • Math is relatively straightforward, but be prepared for exponents, cube roots, probability, etc.
  • Reading is tough, but process of elimination reigns supreme here.
  • Mechanical is probably the simplest because the laws of physics don't change. As someone who has an engineering degree, the concepts were easy enough to understand and study, but I couldn't help but overthink everything and I believe that slowed me down tremendously.
• Bring water and snacks, it's gonna be a long day and your brain will probably be fried before you even start the PBM section.
• In general, try to meditate for a minute or two before each section. This helps me focus on the task at hand, and, most importantly, calms me down when I'm feeling stressed.

I don't want to spread misinformation on here -- especially when everyone else is depending on it -- so please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong or if you have another piece of info that can help us!

 

[enzy24]

Hey y'all, my third and final attempt at the ASTB got scheduled for May 13, two weeks from tomorrow. In an attempt to improve on my scores from my last try, I've gone back to the drawing board and tried to remember every piece of advice I've gotten from the last few tries:

• The ASTB sim with the X52 HOTAS is about as close as you can get to the actual test.
  • I've been playing at one level higher than the default difficulty and have been averaging in the 90s for stick and high 70s-low 80s for throttle.
  • Higher difficulties will definitely help you improve quickly, but I've found that the X52 is particularly finicky, especially when dealing with the throttle mapping.
• It seems that the test's instructions for the emergency procedures portion don't include having your knobs in neutral during normal operation. In addition, the procedures are given in the order they are listed in the instructions.
  • Based on this, it would be wise to pre-set your knobs to the necessary position before each procedure for maximum points.
• Drawing the compass rose is absolutely essential for the UAV portion.
  • I've also found that placing your compass rose on the table and using the eraser on a pencil to rotate it is much faster/easier than holding it.
• There are plenty of dichotic listening videos on YouTube that can help you, but leaning to the side you're supposed to be listening to helps you focus better.
  • If there are songs where the instruments are panned to one side or the other, maybe you could try playing the sim while only listening to one side?
• The ANIT flash cards will get you about 70%-80% of the information on the actual test. The FAA pilot's handbook will get you to 90ish%. Having your PPL will get you to 100%. Being Tom Cruise will get you to 110%.
• Kyle's study guide and the Barron's book together are enough to guarantee a 54/55 or higher on the OAR.
  • Math is relatively straightforward, but be prepared for exponents, cube roots, probability, etc.
  • Reading is tough, but process of elimination reigns supreme here.
  • Mechanical is probably the simplest because the laws of physics don't change. As someone who has an engineering degree, the concepts were easy enough to understand and study, but I couldn't help but overthink everything and I believe that slowed me down tremendously.
• Bring water and snacks, it's gonna be a long day and your brain will probably be fried before you even start the PBM section.
• In general, try to meditate for a minute or two before each section. This helps me focus on the task at hand, and, most importantly, calms me down when I'm feeling stressed.

I don't want to spread misinformation on here -- especially when everyone else is depending on it -- so please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong or if you have another piece of info that can help us!

My recruiter also recommended bringing your own headphones if you have a good pair, judging by some of the complaints here it seems like that was good advice

 

[elariosa95]

My recruiter also recommended bringing your own headphones if you have a good pair, judging by some of the complaints here it seems like that was good advice

I'm gonna ask my recruiter if that's allowed. If it is, I'm 100% bringing my Grado SR80's bc those are the most detailed headphones I've listened to lol

 

[enzy24]

I'm gonna ask my recruiter if that's allowed. If it is, I'm 100% bringing my Grado SR80's bc those are the most detailed headphones I've listened to lol

Hopefully they allow it, definitely want every advantage possible on the third go. Good luck!

 

[elariosa95]

Hopefully they allow it, definitely want every advantage possible on the third go. Good luck!

My recruiter just emailed me back and said that everyone must use the equipment provided so that everyone tests the same.

In other words, no bringing your own headphones. I figured that would be the case but I just wanted to check anyway

 

[enzy24]

My recruiter just emailed me back and said that everyone must use the equipment provided so that everyone tests the same.

In other words, no bringing your own headphones. I figured that would be the case but I just wanted to check anyway

Was worth a shot at least, apologies for the bad info. Apparently I got lucky

 

[Herman_Snerd]

Hi All - new to this forum today. I see a post with links to prior SNA/ NFO boards -link below. does anyone have similar postings from the NROTC boards with data on who from that commission path was selected with various scores / GPA major like the other ones, which are great?

Two added questions:
1. How much does prior flight experience play so to speak in getting a slot as a SNA or NFO? If a person is a commercial pilot, CFI flight instructor, and finishing up NROTC next year, would that help them get selected to go to flight school after commissioning? 21.5 y.o. if that matters - will be 22 at commissioning.
2. Does an ASTB score of 777 or 877 or 887 make the cut for SNA or NFO currently? If you had those scores and were a pilot, would you re-take the exam?

Thanks for your guidance in advance and thanks for hosting this forum - looks great!

Post with prior board results: https://www.airwarriors.com/communi...r-sna-or-snfo-i-am-putting-in-for-both.48352/