First, I want to start by giving an enthusiastic THANK YOU to everyone who has posted gouge links and files, study tips, and test tactics! I'd been lurking around these forums for about 4 months before joining last February. Some personal/career stuff came up about March-July, so I had to put my officer goals on the burner for a little bit sorting it all out. I started hot and heavy on the studying again in September, and the last month leading up to my test on Monday included 1-4 hours a night studying. I walked out with a "meh" feeling on the OAR, and had to return the next morning to receive my other scores (tech difficulties). In the end, my first attempt at the ATSB was: 64 with a 9/8/9.
Gouge in general: I had numerous copies of atrickpay's gouge (on my tablet at work, paper copies in my bag when the tablet ran out) as well as two practice tests with about a dozen blank bubble sheets. For books used I had a hard copy of Master The Military Flight Aptitude Tests (8th Ed) by Peterson's Publishing. They can be found in just about any Barnes and Noble (or similar) store.
In general, multiple-choice question test-taking involved spending some time on a question, until you start feeling hair raise on your neck and you move on to try and make the most of your time. You could always come back and double check if you were unsure, or finish open questions at the end, right? Wrong. Every section of the ASTB-E that I took showed me one question at a time, and I could not move on until I answered the question. There would be no going back, and you can't double check your inputs. Another note, it tells you in the instructions that your answer will than drive the test's logic in choosing the next question from it's pool. For that reason, I felt very unconfident after several tests because the difficulty would start ramping up, and then all of a sudden I'd hit a few softballs in a row. Not a confidence builder if you expect correct answer inputs to result in hard questions. Feather for your test-cap, I guess.
Studying Math: I studied hardest with this section, as it's been almost 6 years since I've graduated college. I focused mainly on formulas in regards to acid solutions, time spent on certain questions during a test, and the old standby of high school tests: if A can complete a job in this time, and B can do the same job in THIS time, how long will it take to complete the job together? How long if A quits after such-and-such time?
ASTB Math: With my test, I was WAY over-prepared. A vast majority of my questions involved test scores and averages (first three scores given, fourth score is 9/8 of third score, what must he score on test 5 and 6 to have an average grade X?). There were a few perimeter to volume (or vice versa) questions. Those were simple enough. I had only one statistics question, and it was a softball of a question (715 kids gave Y answer, there are X number of students in the class. What is the probability of a random person's answer being Y?). There was one question about two cylinders having the same volume, please describe A's relationship to B if A is twice as tall, and the formula was given WITH the problem. Another question tested my knowledge of exponents and how to multiply them. Honestly, after all the studying I did, I was disappointed there wasn't ONE question about acid solutions.
Studying Reading Comprehension: There really wasn't a lot of traditional "studying" for me to do here. Half the time these questions can go one of two ways after eliminating the two LEAST likely answers. I just did my best to identify the two worst answers on my practice tests, and move on from there. Paper tests were nice here because I could cross out the bad answers and my eyes wouldn't be drawn to them. The other half of my studying habit here was developing a little timer in my head to help judge how much time was lost thinking too hard.
ASTB Reading Comp: This went just about how I expected, with one caveat. Being on a computer, I couldn't line out bad answers. I went cross-eyed a couple times and lost precious moments re-reading the whole question.
Studying Mechanical Knowledge: This was my worst subject at first, but I was pretty quick picking up a lot of the common principles. Remembering pulley-related issues (distance traveled, mechanical advantage, speed of revolving pulleys) was my biggest sticking point for some reason, but I wasn't going into that test with such a large weak spot. Between pulleys, electric schematics, cam/RPM questions, I slayed myself studying Mechanical Knowledge.
ASTB Mechanical Knowledge: I think this is where a large portion of my study-blinder-related problems occurred. It wasn't until I got the same question two or three times that I remembered that Newtons (force) = Kilograms (mass) X Gravity (acceleration). I felt really stupid. Also, I had practically the same question asked of me three times about constant force on a horizontal plane (with negligible friction) equaling what change in acceleration? I stuck to my guns/first answer because if force and mass are constant, than so is acceleration.
Studying Aviation/Nautical Information: A little background here first. My degrees (Associate's in Applied Science and Bachelor's of Science in Flight Operations, Commercial Concentration), my licenses/ratings (Commercial, Instrument, and Multi-engine being the big ones), and 6 years enlisted aircrew on USMC aircraft all gave me a pretty secure sense of aviation knowledge. I focused primarily, then, on nautical information. I studied aids to navigation, nautical right-of-way rules, general Lat/Long coordinates (at X degrees N and Y degrees W, where are you?), and some shipping-related terms (freeboard, draft, etc). I felt really, REALLY confident about this part.
ASTB Aviation/Nautical Info: This was humbling. The first few aviation questions were pretty generic (how do you "lean" the aircraft, how are runways labeled, control about what axis is actuated with X surface). As far as aviation history, I got hit with a few change-ups. Best example: which aircraft broke the sound barrier first? (STOP! I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING) Bell X-1 was not even an option. Instead, I feel that of the options given, you had to choose the first one to break the barrier. Hint: The XS-1 is a space plane. I am dumb. There were several questions focusing on WWII aircraft. In that sense be prepared to identify an aircraft by its power plant, intended role, and/or major accomplishment. (What aircraft entered service just before Midway and was a torpedo bomber? What aircraft was a high performance piston driven fighter?) On the nautical side of the house, know the difference between Orlop and quarterdecks. Know what certain number of bells/blasts signify when ships are underway. I can't remember much past those things. My mind was hurting after that part....as I said earlier: humbling.
Performance-Based Eval: I had not checked the forums on this part prior to taking the test. A buddy in the squadron told me about this part, and said it was nothing like any flight sim I'd ever experienced. (Just do your best and have a sense of humor, he said).
UAV: Prior experience with on-board systems and whatnot GREATLY affected my abilities here. The one or two questions I got wrong is because I got click happy and didn't mouse over enough to the right lot. If you feel you MIGHT need the homemade compass, by all means, use it. I feel that without my prior experience, I would have needed the visual aid.
Target ear/hearing: I did the same thing here I do during annual audiograms: tilt towards the sound, and take your time. Beware, some letter/number sounds are VERY similar (2-Q, 3-DEGV, 5-IY, etc). There's a reason that you annunciate numbers differently on the radio in the plane. It really showed here.
Joystick/Sim: Read the instructions carefully. Crack a smile. Try your best to keep cursors close to the target icon, and don't focus on one control for more than a second. Keep a constant flow checking between two targets. You don't lose points for chuckling because you know your tongue is poking out of your mouth while you concentrate. BREATHE. On the Emergency part, take your time. The first emergency I spent about 5-6 seconds correcting and got it right the first time. The second emergency I thought I had it in 4 seconds, and put the plane into duress. So, TAKE YOUR TIME.
At the end of the test, my proctor showed me his clipboard. There were tally marks for every time I muttered a "what the fu..", "are you kidding", or just laughed to myself. There were quite a few. According to him, all proctors on base are required to take the test before being eligible to proctor that exam, in order to -and I quote- "sympathize with the applicant". I felt ridiculous in the end. My OAR was available right off the bat, but since my BI-RV expired about a week earlier, I had to re-do that test. Since someone else had to take a proctored exam I couldn't go back in after the BI-RV to get my letter. I spent all night thinking that the OAR was an optimistic score, and the other 3 would be VERY dismal. In the end, my advice would be to stay humble, stay hungry, and CONSTANTLY look for new study materials. My nautical info scope was pretty bare, and I'm sure my test answers were affected negatively (most of the nautical part turned into a coin flip between the two best-looking answers).
....And that's about it, I guess. Sorry for the wall of text. I really hope this helps you out if that's what you're looking through this forum for. I plan to apply to OCC 223 (if my addled memory serves me correctly, at this point) once my in-grade resident course is complete in March. While I wish you all the best of luck, the little selfish voice in me wonders how I'll fare against the rest of the applicants. If you have questions for me, feel free to send them. I'll answer to the best of my ability.
