Thank you, I appreciate the help. Have a good one.
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1,001 questions about the ASTB (post your scores & ask your questions here!)
- Thread starter edato
- Start date
Been lurking here for a while and just wanted to thank everyone for the information and tips. Just got out of the ASTB and got a 73 9/8/9.
I studied off and on for about 3 months using the app and Jantzen's sim and ramped up over the week leading up. The app was a life saver, easily the best $20 I've ever spent.
Math has always been my strong suit, so I was pretty confident going in. Nothing too surprising, mostly exponents and a few log and trig questions. I'd recommend brushing up on the unit circle and log substitutions.
Reading was probably where I messed up the most. Very dry content and the answer choices are much more similar too each other than I was expecting and I ended up getting timed out. Can't really offer any advice other than taking some practice tests and being ready for the questions to be slightly harder than advertised.
Mech. Comp. felt like a blur but I'm pretty confident I got most of them right. Lots of inertia, force/KE, and work problems with a few electrical problems.
ANIT was what I was most worried about. Used the Cram notecards and felt very confident in my answers overall with one exception (question regarding VFR nighttime flight rules).
UAV/Terrain Recog - Identical to the app. Be sure to turn on compass rose when studying for the Terrain on the app, missed a question in the practice portion just because I wasn't totally used to the format. Key is to not let mistakes get to you, brush it off and move on. Had a miss on UAV that hurt my time on the next prompt because I got flustered. Time starts as soon as the audio prompt does, so choose the target as soon as the direction is called. I read somewhere on this board that the terrain is easier than the app. I disagree, it felt very equivalent.
Tracking felt a bit different than the Jantzen sim, but that may just be the way I have my HOTAS set up. (Use JoyToKey to map if you are having trouble, took me forever to find.) I was scoring ~150 on the hardest difficulty before the test, probably could have been better but whatever.
Listening wasn't bad. Same story as UAV, don't let a mistake get to you and put you on a bad streak and you'll be fine. Very different compared to Jantzen (Sim doesn't have target ears) and slightly different than the app (If I remember correctly the odd/even left/right are swapped).
Emergency was a walk in the park. Don't know who said it earlier but the biggest thing to remember is that Fire/Engine/Prop. happen in that order so set the knobs and forget about them until the audio goes off. Write down the setting on scratch paper.
I know a lot of, probably all of, this information is not new, but I figured I'd throw down what I felt helped me out the most. Thanks again, could not have done this without y'alls help.
I studied off and on for about 3 months using the app and Jantzen's sim and ramped up over the week leading up. The app was a life saver, easily the best $20 I've ever spent.
Math has always been my strong suit, so I was pretty confident going in. Nothing too surprising, mostly exponents and a few log and trig questions. I'd recommend brushing up on the unit circle and log substitutions.
Reading was probably where I messed up the most. Very dry content and the answer choices are much more similar too each other than I was expecting and I ended up getting timed out. Can't really offer any advice other than taking some practice tests and being ready for the questions to be slightly harder than advertised.
Mech. Comp. felt like a blur but I'm pretty confident I got most of them right. Lots of inertia, force/KE, and work problems with a few electrical problems.
ANIT was what I was most worried about. Used the Cram notecards and felt very confident in my answers overall with one exception (question regarding VFR nighttime flight rules).
UAV/Terrain Recog - Identical to the app. Be sure to turn on compass rose when studying for the Terrain on the app, missed a question in the practice portion just because I wasn't totally used to the format. Key is to not let mistakes get to you, brush it off and move on. Had a miss on UAV that hurt my time on the next prompt because I got flustered. Time starts as soon as the audio prompt does, so choose the target as soon as the direction is called. I read somewhere on this board that the terrain is easier than the app. I disagree, it felt very equivalent.
Tracking felt a bit different than the Jantzen sim, but that may just be the way I have my HOTAS set up. (Use JoyToKey to map if you are having trouble, took me forever to find.) I was scoring ~150 on the hardest difficulty before the test, probably could have been better but whatever.
Listening wasn't bad. Same story as UAV, don't let a mistake get to you and put you on a bad streak and you'll be fine. Very different compared to Jantzen (Sim doesn't have target ears) and slightly different than the app (If I remember correctly the odd/even left/right are swapped).
Emergency was a walk in the park. Don't know who said it earlier but the biggest thing to remember is that Fire/Engine/Prop. happen in that order so set the knobs and forget about them until the audio goes off. Write down the setting on scratch paper.
I know a lot of, probably all of, this information is not new, but I figured I'd throw down what I felt helped me out the most. Thanks again, could not have done this without y'alls help.
Seckzyna172
New Member
Just took the ASTB a few hours ago.
1st attempt 05 April - 4 / 3 / 4
2nd attempt 07 May - 5 / 7 / 6.
Not sure if i should retake...
I'm prior navy enlisted, 3.26 GPA and 100 flight hours.
1st attempt 05 April - 4 / 3 / 4
2nd attempt 07 May - 5 / 7 / 6.
Not sure if i should retake...
I'm prior navy enlisted, 3.26 GPA and 100 flight hours.
bcal
Well-Known Member
You’re good
devo23g
New Member
Thank you for all the resources! With a couple days of studying I was able to pass my OAR today on the first attempt (scored a 48).
For the Math portion I used this: https://www.docdroid.net/xt2a2gy/oar-math-guide-docx
And for the Mech portion I used this: https://www.docdroid.net/b2Q2Ras/oar-study-guide-2-pdf
For the Math portion I used this: https://www.docdroid.net/xt2a2gy/oar-math-guide-docx
And for the Mech portion I used this: https://www.docdroid.net/b2Q2Ras/oar-study-guide-2-pdf
Stingray902
New Member
This is correct
Stingray902
New Member
I just took the ASTB today for the first (and last) time and scored a 69 9/9/9. I studied a little bit at a time with the ASTB Prep app over the last couple months, but wasn't able to do as much as I planned due to final exams. I found the ASTB Prep app to be very helpful, especially for terrain identification and UAV, but there are many different things that can be on the test, so the app doesn't cover everything. It is great for the general things you need to know though. I also studied some of the mechanical stuff with the videos linked by user mattdavid123 on post #5129. I studied for a couple hours a day the last few days to brush up on math, ANIT, and mechanical comprehension concepts. I used the cram flashcards, but could never get through all of them. I also practiced with an X52 using the remade jantzen sim: https://jomo1-1.github.io/ASTB-remade/
General Advice:
Do not worry if the questions seem harder than expected. That is a good thing and means you are doing well. The key is to stay focused and keep working and do not panic. I got cut off for time on the math and reading sections, so I think correct answers may hold more weight than speed, but you still want to get through as much as possible.
Math:
KNOW ALGEBRA WELL
You should be able to add, subtract, multiply and divide any numbers relatively quickly.
The geometry concepts were less involved and mostly were about finding areas. I did not find any need to use the formula tab. I ended up getting a lot of logarithm questions, but no matrices. You should know how to convert between exponential and logarithm form and have a good understanding of exponents, specifically exponents with fractions ex. x^(3/4).
Reading:
There is really nothing to note here studying-wise because it is just reading. The passages were very boring and were all related to naval procedures and instructions, but you wouldn't need to know any naval jargon. It is difficult to stay engaged and focused in this section because of the way the passages are, but you just have to keep working and choose the answer that is most consistent with what is in the paragraph.
Mechanical Comprehension:
Most of these questions are purely conceptual, so it is important to know the concepts behind things like flow rate, particle motion, momentum, simple machines, etc. Solving problems will help understand these concepts, but knowing the relations between variables and having a general understanding of physics concepts is sufficient.
ANIT:
This section is tough because there are so many things that can be on it. Some things you definitely need to know of course like which control surfaces control what motion over which axes because you are pretty much guaranteed to have questions on this. There were a couple questions on parts of a ship. There were definitely questions that were covered on the cram flashcards, so if you can go through those, it would be helpful.
NAFTI:
As others have said, just pick the option that you think best describes you. Definitely a weird section because it feels like the answer choices aren't really relevant to each other and there is no right answer.
PBM:
If you can get a stick and throttle setup to practice, do it, but I don't think it is necessary to do well. I did not find dichotic listening to be very difficult, but I did make a couple mistakes during the part with all 3 (stick, throttle, and listening). I don't think I am particularly outstanding when it comes to tracking the targets with the stick and throttle, so just do the best that you can and try to do well on the emergency procedures and listening parts. For UAV and terrain identification parts I will deviate from what others have said. Practice with the ASTB prep until you can get the right answer quickly pretty much every time. There is no need to use the pencil/compass trick for these sections as I feel that it just takes up extra time. Just practice it until you understand it well.
Lastly, thanks to everyone on here for posting your resources and strategy as it has been very helpful.
General Advice:
Do not worry if the questions seem harder than expected. That is a good thing and means you are doing well. The key is to stay focused and keep working and do not panic. I got cut off for time on the math and reading sections, so I think correct answers may hold more weight than speed, but you still want to get through as much as possible.
Math:
KNOW ALGEBRA WELL
You should be able to add, subtract, multiply and divide any numbers relatively quickly.
The geometry concepts were less involved and mostly were about finding areas. I did not find any need to use the formula tab. I ended up getting a lot of logarithm questions, but no matrices. You should know how to convert between exponential and logarithm form and have a good understanding of exponents, specifically exponents with fractions ex. x^(3/4).
Reading:
There is really nothing to note here studying-wise because it is just reading. The passages were very boring and were all related to naval procedures and instructions, but you wouldn't need to know any naval jargon. It is difficult to stay engaged and focused in this section because of the way the passages are, but you just have to keep working and choose the answer that is most consistent with what is in the paragraph.
Mechanical Comprehension:
Most of these questions are purely conceptual, so it is important to know the concepts behind things like flow rate, particle motion, momentum, simple machines, etc. Solving problems will help understand these concepts, but knowing the relations between variables and having a general understanding of physics concepts is sufficient.
ANIT:
This section is tough because there are so many things that can be on it. Some things you definitely need to know of course like which control surfaces control what motion over which axes because you are pretty much guaranteed to have questions on this. There were a couple questions on parts of a ship. There were definitely questions that were covered on the cram flashcards, so if you can go through those, it would be helpful.
NAFTI:
As others have said, just pick the option that you think best describes you. Definitely a weird section because it feels like the answer choices aren't really relevant to each other and there is no right answer.
PBM:
If you can get a stick and throttle setup to practice, do it, but I don't think it is necessary to do well. I did not find dichotic listening to be very difficult, but I did make a couple mistakes during the part with all 3 (stick, throttle, and listening). I don't think I am particularly outstanding when it comes to tracking the targets with the stick and throttle, so just do the best that you can and try to do well on the emergency procedures and listening parts. For UAV and terrain identification parts I will deviate from what others have said. Practice with the ASTB prep until you can get the right answer quickly pretty much every time. There is no need to use the pencil/compass trick for these sections as I feel that it just takes up extra time. Just practice it until you understand it well.
Lastly, thanks to everyone on here for posting your resources and strategy as it has been very helpful.
Wow what a score; congrats.
Fom
New Member
What are the agreed on definitive ASTB study materials?
Seems like the prep app and jantzen sim are bare minimums. Any other recommendations like Mometrix / Barron's books? There's an overwhelming amount of advice and information on this board which is great, but a lot to sift through.
I scored 50 5/5/6 56 on my first go, really wanting to boost everything and achieve at least 7's across the board.
Seems like the prep app and jantzen sim are bare minimums. Any other recommendations like Mometrix / Barron's books? There's an overwhelming amount of advice and information on this board which is great, but a lot to sift through.
I scored 50 5/5/6 56 on my first go, really wanting to boost everything and achieve at least 7's across the board.
Last edited:
Coastguard1295
New Member
anyone get anything where they had to use the quadratic formula?
I don't remeber using the quadratic equation for the test or practice tests. However, you have to remember that all quadratic equations can be solved using the quadratic equation, but not all of them can be solved by factoring. That's the power of the quadratic equation!
Another tip I recommend for solving quadratic/factoring questions is to expand the answer choices mentally and picking the one that matches the question. This tip is even more powerful when the order of the equation is higher than 2.