• Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?

    Go here:

    Edit Account Details and Profile

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

dav246

Well-Known Member
So in Kyles link, is it accurate? For instance, reading one of the things in the math folder says there won't be any trig or calc
 

chunkylver99

New Member
Hey people, new here. I am planning on going the Marine Corps Aviation path, and just took the OAR portion of Barons practice ASTB test cold turkey to see what I could do fresh with no study. I got a 50 on the math portion, as in 15/30 correct, an 89 on the reading comp as in 24/27, and a 73 on the physics/mechanics, as in 22/30 correct. How close to the real thing is Barons, should I be concerned with that math score, how do I get a better math score, and with these scores, what would I get on the OAR portion? If anybody can answer any of these questions I would appreciate it.
I went from a 48 5/6/5 to a 50 7/8/7 for my ASTB. I feel pretty good about my "ASTB" portion of the scores. I know I killed the math section on the OAR. From my experience, Barrons is a little easy compared to the actual test.

For math, do as many practice problems as you can, specifically for Geometry (what is perimeter, given area and length/width, and vice versa), Probability (I had like 5 of these problems, choosing from deck of cards, marbles, etc.) and Work problems (If Suzy can paint a house in 6 hours, and Sam can paint a house in 8 hours, how long would it take for them to paint a house together?). Figure out what you are the weakest at and grind.

Same deal for Mechanical comprehension, I had a ton of the AC vs DC, light problems, a problem involving Centripetal force and one pulley problem. The flashcards that are posted everywhere here do a great job.

For reading comprehension, I did not really study this section, which probably explains why my OAR is decently low, and it took me the longest on the actual ASTB :(.

Best advice I can offer for getting better at math: Literally practice every chance you get. If your schedule allows it, dedicate a few hours a day to work practice problems. Don't limit yourself to the practice problems on the ASTB related study material. Do worksheets found in the google drives. Then go scour the internet clean of any practice problem you can find. If the problems start feeling easier, go find harder ones, there are always harder ones, keep challenging yourself.

For Aviation portions, know what the 5 main components are on an airplane, know the 3 axes that a plane works with, do the ANIT flashcards, learn the basics of charles and boyles law, and bernoulli's principle. Idk if the marine version of the ASTB is different than navy, but know all parts of a boat too.
 
Just took my final attempt and went from a 4-3-4 to a 6-9-7 really recommend investing in a HOTAS and using Jantzen and mikes ASTB trainer, and sifting this thread page to page for tips and study guides. Thanks for everyone's help, and good luck to everyone!
Where is mikes trainer? cant find it
 

dav246

Well-Known Member
I went from a 48 5/6/5 to a 50 7/8/7 for my ASTB. I feel pretty good about my "ASTB" portion of the scores. I know I killed the math section on the OAR. From my experience, Barrons is a little easy compared to the actual test.

For math, do as many practice problems as you can, specifically for Geometry (what is perimeter, given area and length/width, and vice versa), Probability (I had like 5 of these problems, choosing from deck of cards, marbles, etc.) and Work problems (If Suzy can paint a house in 6 hours, and Sam can paint a house in 8 hours, how long would it take for them to paint a house together?). Figure out what you are the weakest at and grind.

Same deal for Mechanical comprehension, I had a ton of the AC vs DC, light problems, a problem involving Centripetal force and one pulley problem. The flashcards that are posted everywhere here do a great job.

For reading comprehension, I did not really study this section, which probably explains why my OAR is decently low, and it took me the longest on the actual ASTB :(.

Best advice I can offer for getting better at math: Literally practice every chance you get. If your schedule allows it, dedicate a few hours a day to work practice problems. Don't limit yourself to the practice problems on the ASTB related study material. Do worksheets found in the google drives. Then go scour the internet clean of any practice problem you can find. If the problems start feeling easier, go find harder ones, there are always harder ones, keep challenging yourself.

For Aviation portions, know what the 5 main components are on an airplane, know the 3 axes that a plane works with, do the ANIT flashcards, learn the basics of charles and boyles law, and bernoulli's principle. Idk if the marine version of the ASTB is different than navy, but know all parts of a boat too.
If you don't mind answering another question, how many minutes and how many problems is the math section? Baron said 25 mins for 30 questions, and I was definitely rushing and making dumb mistakes. Other people/places have said 30 problems in 40 minutes. I ask because I want to know what speed to practice for.
 

afies

New Member
I had my first attempt of the OAR last month and got a 48 for SWO and my recruiter wants me to retake it. I used a lot of the study guides on here but I feel all of the mechanical study material didn't prepare me at all for it. I was expecting more mechanical stuff but was met with heavy physics definitions and didn't have a single mechanical question. Does anyone know of good study guides for the mechanical portion. I also feel reading was a downfall for me due to the content and format of the section. I believe I did good on the math question due to only having to answer 10 or so questions before it cut off after I got a math problem I have never seen in my life. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks
 

chunkylver99

New Member
If you don't mind answering another question, how many minutes and how many problems is the math section? Baron said 25 mins for 30 questions, and I was definitely rushing and making dumb mistakes. Other people/places have said 30 problems in 40 minutes. I ask because I want to know what speed to practice for.
I feel that. The test is adaptive. So the amount of questions you do are based off how good you do. I think I only had 11 problems for the math section and I believe I had 40 minutes.
 

Dboom85

Banned
If you don't mind answering another question, how many minutes and how many problems is the math section? Baron said 25 mins for 30 questions, and I was definitely rushing and making dumb mistakes. Other people/places have said 30 problems in 40 minutes. I ask because I want to know what speed to practice for.
It’s adaptive, people won’t have the same time or number of questions. Frankly if you’re counting questions on the different portions of the test, I’d say that’s a poor strategy. That’s just brain power not focused on getting the questions right in a timely manner. Barron’s is just a reference to help you prepare and wasn’t similar in format when I took it but the knowledge required was similar.
 

AHeintz

New Member
Does anyone have a good rough scale for NFO? Like what a good score to be safe is? I ended up as 53 6/8/7 and don't know if I'm good or not.
 

Dboom85

Banned
Does anyone have a good rough scale for NFO? Like what a good score to be safe is? I ended up as 53 6/8/7 and don't know if I'm good or not.
You’re golden as long as you don’t have any extenuating circumstances. I’ll point you to @Mouselovr’s profile for previous board data in spread sheet form
 
Just retook two days ago. Went from a 57 7/6/6 to an 60 8/9/8.

OAR/ANIT

I'm not going to beat the dead horse here but I used Holly's, Kyle's and Gomez's guides for the OAR as well as reading every post on this site from page 300 up.
I am a criminal justice major that had not done any sort of math since 2019, the guides and YouTubing sections I was struggling with got me where I needed to be.
Now I do have my pilots license so that gave me an edge on the ANIT, as well as knowing the cram cards inside and out. There were still some questions that I totally guessed on. Just get you hands on as many practice tests as you can.

PBM/UAV
If you can afford an stick and throttle (specifically the X52) buy it and put the hours in to Jantzen's. Increase the difficulty every couple days until you are at the max (I was doing it at 90 second intervals). I put in around an hour a day for two weeks leading to the exam. I struggled with the listening portions on my first go, but it turns out my headphone settings were messed up and playing both sides of audio in both ears at the same time. Got it fixed for the second go and made a huge difference. I leaned into the target ear, and focus on listening way more than tracking. The ASTB prep app made by @TwoScoops is worth every penny for the UAV section alone. Get it and practice up, using the compass trick.

This sounds ridiculous but visualize yourself doing well leading up to the exam every day, it seriously seriously helps.
Message me with any other questions you might have. Good luck
 
Last edited:
Anybody know the ideal settings for the Jantzen sim that best replicate the test? For me the default deadzones and acceleration feels more sluggish than the actual test. I'm using AntiMicro
 

FlyingGamecock

Well-Known Member
. I struggled with the listening portions on my first go, but it turns out my headphone settings were messed up and playing both sides of audio in both ears at the same time. Got it fixed for the second go and made a huge difference. I leaned into the target ear, and focus on listening way more than tracking.
How did you get the headphone settings fixed? I’ve been having the same issue
 

Connordl1120

Pro Rec Y - NFO
Hey guys, I just recently took the ASTB for my first time and was a bit discouraged but at the same time it gave me some insight on what was on the test and what to expect with the stick and throttle portion. Right off the jump I got a bit down on myself because I know I bombed the math section. People have said it's between 20-30 questions. I wasn't counting but I know that it kicked me out after about 15 questions and there were some pretty intense math problems. I got back into it with the reading comprehension and the mechanics where I was in until about 20-25 questions. I started the ASTB and the ANIT asked questions that I've never seen before. I was expecting some of the material that I've been studying for the past few months and only got a few of those questions. I would say I did so so but not what I was hoping for. The UAV and hearing section I believe that I killed that. The challenge was when it came to the stick and throttle. I was hoping to do better since I think that plays a huge factor on your ASTB scores but I'm still not 100% sure what calculates those scores. The thing I dislike about the stick and throttle is that the throttle I used at one point would not follow the plane on the screen to the top, it stopped like half way so I started yanking it to try and fix it. The stick isn't the best either because it is not mounted to the table so at times it will move. With all that being said I scored a 51 5/5/5. I wasn't completely bummed with the 51 because I told myself as long as I get in the 50s I'll be happy. It was the triple 5s that really crushed me because I know that those numbers are the minimum for Pilot and it has always been my dream to be a Naval Aviator. If anyone has any advice for material on improving my knowledge on the math portion and also if anyone knows exactly what tests weigh the most on your ASTB scores. I'm planning on taking my second attempt in January. I don't finish my degree until the end of February so I have time. Does anyone have information on the FY23 board schedule?
 
Top