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

[leakyhman17]

For the UAV section in the ASTB, I keep seeing mixed formats of it. Is it the same as the ASTB Prep App, with only target NESW cardinal directions? Or do they ask to target NE, SE, ect buildings?

 

[CoMa]

How does the military calculate GPA compared to normal?

They calculate your cumulative GPA from all colleges you have attended, which is why you are required to submit all college transcripts. This is only a big issue for those who attended a 2-year (community college) and then transferred to a traditional 4-year college. For example, some students who initially perform poorly in community college may transfer and excel at a 4-year school; however, their GPA may still be low once their cumulative GPA is calculated. If you attended the same college for your entire 4 years, there shouldn't be anything to worry about.

 

[CoMa]

Hey guys! I just created an account after recently taking my ASTB for the 1st time. Score 46 4/6/6.

Overall I am happy with my score as it was my 1st attempt and from what my recruiter told me, he was surprised as many of the Aviator candidates do not get "qualifying" score on their 1st try. When I first saw my scores, I immediately wanted to schedule another testing date for the following month, however after talking with my recruiter, he suggests I submit my package with my first attempt as he believes I can be selected.

Background:
I am currently a 25y/o male about to finish my bachelors in Information Systems with a focus on data analytics and data architecture. My GPA is 3.01 according to my University HOWEVER the way the military calculates GPA, I am considered roughly a 2.6 GPA because I have classes where I failed out of at a community college. The reason I failed out was due to a family member I lived with had been placed under Hospice care and I essentially stopped going to school without withdrawing my classes, causing F's or Unsatisfactory grades. (I know I messed up, but to be honest, in that time in my life, I did not care about school and only cared about my family member. I figured this was going to be "my life," a dropout and someone who would just join the workforce. Fast forward a couple years later, my family member passed away and I decided to go back to school. Since going back to school, I accelerated my graduation by taking 5-7 classes a semester and obtaining over a 3.00 GPA from those classes. Now due to my previous grades or whatnot, my cumulative was about 3.01 but as I said above, the military calculates any F's and UN as 0s even if I retook the class for a better grade.

So currently, I will be finishing my last 2 classes this summer by end of August with a "military" GPA of about 2.6. According to my recruiter, he has sent multiple Student Aviators with a GPA between 2.4-2.8 for SNA. I asked him if he recommends I should retake the ASTB and without hesitation, he told me he believes someone like me will be able to be selected for the Pilot's Board even with a lower GPA. Now I am more than willing to retake the test as I know I can get a better score, but since my recruiter believes I have a great shot, then I will try for it.

ASTB:
I will be honest, I know I could have done way better BUT I really disliked my recruiter's setup. For starters, I had no mouse and had to use a laptop trackpad, which put me in a disadvantage for the UAV. I also made the mistake of tapping the touchpad and due to its sensitivity, I answered a question without even reading the question. They also had me in a room where the main printer was so a bunch of people were printing stuff and walking in out of the room I was testing in. Not only the printer, but I had multiple people walk in the testing room and microwave their food. While I understand that little distractions like that should not affect someone who is looking to be a pilot, but I would be lying if I said I was expecting a busy/interrupted testing room especially when I was more nervous about how the test was laid out.

I am happy to answer any questions about my experience/test. I am also more than happy to receive any feedback, constructive or not.

With the 46 OAR and 4 AQR, it's safe to assume you probably didn't do great on either the math, reading, mechanical, or ANIT. There were a few people who got picked up last board with similar scores, so my suggestion to you is, if you feel confident, submit for a board. However, I would highly recommend continuing to study just in case you don't get accepted, so that you can retake it immediately. Also, keep in mind you only took the test once, and typically those who take the test for a second attempt tend to do better. Browse this form thoroughly, as it contains valuable information to help you succeed.

Regarding your issue with the ongoing background noise, I encountered the same problem on my first attempt. After talking to my recruiter to make sure it was cool, I brought in some foam earplugs and wore the provided headphones over them to block out the excess noise. The noise can be distracting at times, so you want to try to minimize it as much as possible.

 

[sumorocky]

How does the military calculate GPA compared to normal?

Well for the most part it is identical to how schools do it, but the major difference is that during COVID many schools offered "S" for satisfactory and "U" for unsatisfactory. From my understanding based on what my recruiter showed me, any "S" grades on your transcript are not counted towards your GPA calculations because there is no real grade, just that you passed. For any "U" grades on your transcript, they are considered 0.00, even if you got a C- in the class. Departments at my University consider C- a failing grade and due to this, any "U" grades are considered 0.00.

Now I have retaken a few classes that were fails and passed which led to my GPA improving as my University replaces the old grade with my new one in the calculations. HOWEVER, due to both the failed grade and new grade being on the transcript, my recruiter has told me that both GPAs will be calculated. So in my case, I had an F in ECON, retook it and got an A. However since both attempts are on my transcript, my GPA is averaged out to a 2.00 for that class.

 

[sumorocky]

With the 46 OAR and 4 AQR, it's safe to assume you probably didn't do great on either the math, reading, mechanical, or ANIT. There were a few people who got picked up last board with similar scores, so my suggestion to you is, if you feel confident, submit for a board. However, I would highly recommend continuing to study just in case you don't get accepted, so that you can retake it immediately. Also, keep in mind you only took the test once, and typically those who take the test for a second attempt tend to do better. Browse this form thoroughly, as it contains valuable information to help you succeed.

Regarding your issue with the ongoing background noise, I encountered the same problem on my first attempt. After talking to my recruiter to make sure it was cool, I brought in some foam earplugs and wore the provided headphones over them to block out the excess noise. The noise can be distracting at times, so you want to try to minimize it as much as possible.

Thanks for the advice! As far as math goes, that was probably my best subject. I only had about 15 or so questions and finished with over 20 minutes left. I struggled big time on the mechanical and ANIT as I will be honest, I did not study at all for.

 

[leakyhman17]

Just got out of taking the ASTB! I only studied for about a month 3-5 hours a week, if that. Highly wish I studied more (it’s a long story)
Score: 39 4/7/5
BA: Communications - 3.2 GPA
Here’s my two cents and I’ll try make it short:

Study like you can’t fail. What do I mean? Take this test as if it’s your only shot (you get 3, but most recent score is taken)

MATH: fractions, what is the car worth after X amount of years, can’t recall much but I’d say ASTB app/Gomez drive will help you.

READING: Use the Gomez drive and honestly really focus on the answers and then read the paragraph.

MECHANICAL: Really simple stuff, no calculations but looking at my AQR, can’t say I passed this haha

ANIT: Used the ASTB/CRAM app but I kid you not, I only had like 3 questions from it on the actual test. Should’ve looked into other materials like others have stated in previous posts. So please do that

PBMs: ASTB app was great, HOWEVER for the UAV portion (maybe because I was mentally getting tired) felt somewhat hard. I did the UAV trick from YouTube but idk, felt off. I also love playing Microsoft flight simulator, so that and the JENTZEN (I think I got that right) website also helped.

Overall, I plan on retaking test but I’ll take my chances with the score for now, since there’s a board in September. So any advice or motivation would be greatly appreciated! Feel free to reach out with any questions.

For the PBM the cockpit simulator specifically, how did you did you just focus on the joystick target and look at the throttle in the perimter? I practiced a lot on my phone and have been doing that but since the screen is smaller its easier. On the laptop when the joystick target goes to the right edge of the screen its pretty difficult to see the where the throttle is going. Does anyone have any advice or differnt tricks to manage?