FormerRecruitingGuru
Making Recruiting Great Again
I would apply as is and retake if you don’t get the PROREC
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1,001 questions about the ASTB (post your scores & ask your questions here!)
- Thread starter edato
- Start date
I would apply as is and retake if you don’t get the PROREC
Thank you! I appreciate the response, and will continue with my application process then.
elariosa95
SNA (A-Pool)
Got home from my third and final ASTB attempt about an hour ago, and I'm happy to report that the third time was most definitely the charm.
OAR: 73
AQR: 9
PFAR: 7
FOFA: 7
To be completely honest, I surprised myself with how well I did, but I'll try to break it down to the best of my ability.
Before the exam - I woke up at 5am this morning to study some material, practice the flight sim, and read some manga to relax before heading out; this has been my morning routine for the last few weeks. If you have a specific morning routine you do, don't break away from it just because of the exam. Having the right mindset is just as important studying the material, if not more important. Also, make sure you leave early! There was an accident on the highway on my way home from the exam, but that easily could've happened on my way there and delayed me a good hour or so.
MATH - My degree is in Mechanical Engineering, so I didn't think I would need to prepare for this again. WRONG. I got almost entirely exponent and logarithm questions, some of which I had to brute force thru, but nothing I couldn't have prepared for; I eventually figured them out but it was a struggle to remember those rules. The rest of the questions were probability, simplifying expressions, and solve for x.
READING - I'm almost 100% sure I had the same questions from my last attempt, but it was still a pain to get through. Easiest way to deal with this is process of elimination: get rid of answers that clearly are wrong, look at the answers that may be right, and pick the one that makes the most sense given the information in the paragraph. They get really tricky with wording here, so say each answer out loud and make sure you understand what they mean.
MECHANICAL - I spent a lot of time overthinking this section, but it's worth the effort to get the question right since it's the shortest section. I had some pretty simple kinematics problems that touched on projectile motion, momentum, and kinetic energy, but a lot of the questions were conceptual. For example, if a guy on a motorcycle drives around in a circular path, what is he experiencing? (Answer: centripetal acceleration)
Break time - You get 15 minutes, so make the most of it. Drink some water, eat some snacks, and USE THE RESTROOM.
ANIT - Barron's prep book, this audiobook playlist of the FAA Pilot's Handbook, and the flash cards definitely helped here, but I also had three questions asking me what the elevators on a plane do (two of which I'm pretty sure were worded exactly the same), so that probably helped my score. I had a question about how much fuel you should have in your tank if you're flying VFR at night; I guessed on this one, but that was the hardest question I had so I don't feel too bad about it. I got cut off after 12ish questions.
NAFTI - Check your ego at the door and answer these honestly. It doesn't help to pick what sounds like a good option, so you might as well just be yourself with this.
UAV - DRAWING THE COMPASS ROSE HELPS. Doing this and practicing with the flashcards helped me tremendously. I missed only one and averaged about 1.8 to 2.2 seconds per question.
DICHOTIC LISTENING - There isn't really a good way to practice for this, but I definitely noticed that the sound stage in the headphones I had was very narrow compared to the Grado SR80s I have (great headphones btw, highly recommend if you're an audiophile like me). If I had to suggest a tip, it would be to listen to music that was mixed in stereo and trying picking out instruments and details that you can only hear in a specific ear. For example, in A Cruel Angel's Thesis by Yoko Takahashi (absolutely fire song), you can hear bongos in the left ear during the verses and the guitar solo in the last chorus in the right ear. This translated pretty well to distinguishing which voice was speaking to the target ear, so I'd recommend trying this out with some of your favorite songs.
HOTAS - I don't know if each recruiting station has the same setup, but get the Logitech X52 HOTAS and practice with Jantzen's flight sim. Practice staying on target then bump up the run time and the difficulty gradually. Also, don't forget to write down the information before starting the exam! You'll definitely have to refer to the odd/even buttons and the procedures if you don't have them memorized. Most importantly don't get down on yourself if you feel like you absolutely suck at it, that might end up becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy and you'll sabotage your own performance. It's designed to throw you off to see how well you can keep up, so just take a deep breath and stay focused.
I hinted at it a few times, but I'd argue MENTALLY preparing for the exam is more important than physically preparing. Going through your morning routine, having a solid breakfast, and meditating during the breaks in between sections all go a long way in making sure you're on top of your game when you step into that exam room and have to sit and take a 4-5 hour exam that will determine your career path.
I'm more than happy to answer any questions you guys have, but it'll be a while before I answer since I'm currently a few drinks into my Memorial Day/birthday weekend. Thank you guys for reading, and have a fantastic Memorial Day weekend ????????
Edit: another tip I got from someone at my Toastmasters club is understanding that being nervous is normal. In fact, being nervous about the test means you actually deeply care about how you’ll do on it. If you feel your heart racing like I did during the HOTAS section, just take a few deep breaths and channel that energy into focusing on the task at hand. I apologize for the philosophical advice, I just wanted to relay that to you guys in case you find it helpful.
OAR: 73
AQR: 9
PFAR: 7
FOFA: 7
To be completely honest, I surprised myself with how well I did, but I'll try to break it down to the best of my ability.
Before the exam - I woke up at 5am this morning to study some material, practice the flight sim, and read some manga to relax before heading out; this has been my morning routine for the last few weeks. If you have a specific morning routine you do, don't break away from it just because of the exam. Having the right mindset is just as important studying the material, if not more important. Also, make sure you leave early! There was an accident on the highway on my way home from the exam, but that easily could've happened on my way there and delayed me a good hour or so.
MATH - My degree is in Mechanical Engineering, so I didn't think I would need to prepare for this again. WRONG. I got almost entirely exponent and logarithm questions, some of which I had to brute force thru, but nothing I couldn't have prepared for; I eventually figured them out but it was a struggle to remember those rules. The rest of the questions were probability, simplifying expressions, and solve for x.
READING - I'm almost 100% sure I had the same questions from my last attempt, but it was still a pain to get through. Easiest way to deal with this is process of elimination: get rid of answers that clearly are wrong, look at the answers that may be right, and pick the one that makes the most sense given the information in the paragraph. They get really tricky with wording here, so say each answer out loud and make sure you understand what they mean.
MECHANICAL - I spent a lot of time overthinking this section, but it's worth the effort to get the question right since it's the shortest section. I had some pretty simple kinematics problems that touched on projectile motion, momentum, and kinetic energy, but a lot of the questions were conceptual. For example, if a guy on a motorcycle drives around in a circular path, what is he experiencing? (Answer: centripetal acceleration)
Break time - You get 15 minutes, so make the most of it. Drink some water, eat some snacks, and USE THE RESTROOM.
ANIT - Barron's prep book, this audiobook playlist of the FAA Pilot's Handbook, and the flash cards definitely helped here, but I also had three questions asking me what the elevators on a plane do (two of which I'm pretty sure were worded exactly the same), so that probably helped my score. I had a question about how much fuel you should have in your tank if you're flying VFR at night; I guessed on this one, but that was the hardest question I had so I don't feel too bad about it. I got cut off after 12ish questions.
NAFTI - Check your ego at the door and answer these honestly. It doesn't help to pick what sounds like a good option, so you might as well just be yourself with this.
UAV - DRAWING THE COMPASS ROSE HELPS. Doing this and practicing with the flashcards helped me tremendously. I missed only one and averaged about 1.8 to 2.2 seconds per question.
DICHOTIC LISTENING - There isn't really a good way to practice for this, but I definitely noticed that the sound stage in the headphones I had was very narrow compared to the Grado SR80s I have (great headphones btw, highly recommend if you're an audiophile like me). If I had to suggest a tip, it would be to listen to music that was mixed in stereo and trying picking out instruments and details that you can only hear in a specific ear. For example, in A Cruel Angel's Thesis by Yoko Takahashi (absolutely fire song), you can hear bongos in the left ear during the verses and the guitar solo in the last chorus in the right ear. This translated pretty well to distinguishing which voice was speaking to the target ear, so I'd recommend trying this out with some of your favorite songs.
HOTAS - I don't know if each recruiting station has the same setup, but get the Logitech X52 HOTAS and practice with Jantzen's flight sim. Practice staying on target then bump up the run time and the difficulty gradually. Also, don't forget to write down the information before starting the exam! You'll definitely have to refer to the odd/even buttons and the procedures if you don't have them memorized. Most importantly don't get down on yourself if you feel like you absolutely suck at it, that might end up becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy and you'll sabotage your own performance. It's designed to throw you off to see how well you can keep up, so just take a deep breath and stay focused.
I hinted at it a few times, but I'd argue MENTALLY preparing for the exam is more important than physically preparing. Going through your morning routine, having a solid breakfast, and meditating during the breaks in between sections all go a long way in making sure you're on top of your game when you step into that exam room and have to sit and take a 4-5 hour exam that will determine your career path.
I'm more than happy to answer any questions you guys have, but it'll be a while before I answer since I'm currently a few drinks into my Memorial Day/birthday weekend. Thank you guys for reading, and have a fantastic Memorial Day weekend ????????
Edit: another tip I got from someone at my Toastmasters club is understanding that being nervous is normal. In fact, being nervous about the test means you actually deeply care about how you’ll do on it. If you feel your heart racing like I did during the HOTAS section, just take a few deep breaths and channel that energy into focusing on the task at hand. I apologize for the philosophical advice, I just wanted to relay that to you guys in case you find it helpful.
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Damn, congratulations that's an amazing improvement!
Really nice improvement from your first attempt. 9/7/7 that's an interesting score distribution.
Tandrews12
Pro Y SNA
Hi everyone,
I recently took the ASTB and scored a 62 7/6/7 and was wondering if I should retake the test before I submit my package. I also just finished my degree in Mechanical Engineering with a 3.9 gpa.
For some context, my recruiter had me take the exam with only 3 days' notice and I didn't even find this forum page until after the test. Since then I have bought the Logitech X52 HOTAS and have used the Jantzen's flight sim and I feel like I have improved in the pfar section a good amount.
I feel like my scores are borderline or slightly below the cut off so I'm debating whether to submit and see what the response is or just retake to get a better score and submit. I was curious if it looks bad to reapply multiple times or if the board doesn't really care how many times you apply?
If anyone has any info on this or advice I would love to hear it, thanks!
I recently took the ASTB and scored a 62 7/6/7 and was wondering if I should retake the test before I submit my package. I also just finished my degree in Mechanical Engineering with a 3.9 gpa.
For some context, my recruiter had me take the exam with only 3 days' notice and I didn't even find this forum page until after the test. Since then I have bought the Logitech X52 HOTAS and have used the Jantzen's flight sim and I feel like I have improved in the pfar section a good amount.
I feel like my scores are borderline or slightly below the cut off so I'm debating whether to submit and see what the response is or just retake to get a better score and submit. I was curious if it looks bad to reapply multiple times or if the board doesn't really care how many times you apply?
If anyone has any info on this or advice I would love to hear it, thanks!
The2ndworst
Active Member
I am applying to NFO with your exact scores, and if you want NFO you have a solid shot. However, for SNA I think the six probably won’t cut it.
The2ndworst
Active Member
I’m going for it primarly out of an interest in being an EWO.
FormerRecruitingGuru
Making Recruiting Great Again
A variety of reasons not just those who were DQ for SNA.
I understand there are a variety of reasons; I was just interested in the thought process that would make someone pick one path vs the other as the marine corps no longer has those options.
What are the cram cards? I see so many sets. Which one in particular did you use?
FormerRecruitingGuru
Making Recruiting Great Again
This is a great question to ask your officer recruiter