So I took the AFOQT last August, and I am already a pilot, so most of the aviation/joystick content was second nature. I am also a mechanical engineer, so that gave me a leg up on the math and the mechanical. Ultimately I spent a lot of time on quizlet reviewing the nautical terms and such, like ship decks and parts of a ship. There are so many ASTB documents I found, but I spent almost all of my time on mechanical comprehension and naval terms. Unfortunately I am in Austin, otherwise I would offer more help!
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1,001 questions about the ASTB (post your scores & ask your questions here!)
- Thread starter edato
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So I took the AFOQT last August, and I am already a pilot, so most of the aviation/joystick content was second nature. I am also a mechanical engineer, so that gave me a leg up on the math and the mechanical. Ultimately I spent a lot of time on quizlet reviewing the nautical terms and such, like ship decks and parts of a ship. There are so many ASTB documents I found, but I spent almost all of my time on mechanical comprehension and naval terms. Unfortunately I am in Austin, otherwise I would offer more help!
Just took the OAR for a second time yesterday and I improved my score from a 47 to a 57! I'm definitely happy about that score and i'll be keeping it. A little about myself: I have a BS in Poly Sci from UCF (3.9 GPA) and Masters in International Affairs: Security and Intel major from the University of Pittsburgh (3.8 GPA). I am applying for Intel but considering IW and SWO also. While my GPA's are solid a 47 is meh, so my recruiter thought I would be better served by retaking and i'm glad that I did. Here is a breakdown of my experiences with the test:
Math: I'm not a math person so this is where most of my studying time was spent. The best advice I have is to use the gouge posted here. Go back through at least the last 100 pages of this thread and read/work through the problems posted by people. I guarantee you stand a good chance of seeing some of them on your test. I saw at least three and it definitely helped. I had a ton of word problems so I can't remember specifics but I saw things such as adding square roots, a car depreciates in value 10 % a year what is its value after 3 years, high level factoring including negative exponents, averaging test numbers but the tests had different weights associated with them, and a matrix multiplication problem. The first time I took the test I saw none of this. I knew I was doing well because the math was exponentially harder this second go around.
Use the study guides others have made, they are life savers. Use the ARCO book, Peterson's, Khan Academy videos, and GRE math books. Work through every practice test you can get your hands on and after those use GRE practice tests (it's not the same, but the problems are closer to the difficulty of the OAR problems.) I would stay away from the Accepted Inc. and Mometrix math, they are just way to simplistic.
Reading: pretty straightforward as others have said. Really boring, dry passages that you really have to concentrate on. I found myself reading them aloud just so I could stay focused on their content. My best advice here is to manage your time well. Don't get bogged down on one problem because you will regret it later as the time starts narrowing down. Eliminate answers you know to be wrong and make an educated guess if you can't decipher the right answer. Stay focused and you will do fine.
Mech: I only lasted about 7 minutes in this section before the computer ended my test. Mostly conceptual questions but I did have to compute some basic math. I saw pulleys, a circuit with a switch, heat transfer with conductivity, a pendulum problem, and kinetic energy. But I also had to find the weight of somebody on mars with their weight in kg and different measurement of gravity given to me, and I had to know the formula for work.
Overall: Study the gouge posted here. I credit finding this site for my improvement. Start studying weeks before the test, don't cram. I started studying off and on five weeks ago. Take the test "strategically" and by this I mean don't spend an overwhelming amount of time on one problem. Some guessing will almost naturally be involved just make sure to eliminate some wrong answers ahead of time. I think this was my problem the first go around. I let the timed aspect get to me, I spent too much time on a few problems, and ended up blindly guessing towards the end. If you can avoid doing this, you will improve your scores.
Good luck everyone!
Math: I'm not a math person so this is where most of my studying time was spent. The best advice I have is to use the gouge posted here. Go back through at least the last 100 pages of this thread and read/work through the problems posted by people. I guarantee you stand a good chance of seeing some of them on your test. I saw at least three and it definitely helped. I had a ton of word problems so I can't remember specifics but I saw things such as adding square roots, a car depreciates in value 10 % a year what is its value after 3 years, high level factoring including negative exponents, averaging test numbers but the tests had different weights associated with them, and a matrix multiplication problem. The first time I took the test I saw none of this. I knew I was doing well because the math was exponentially harder this second go around.
Use the study guides others have made, they are life savers. Use the ARCO book, Peterson's, Khan Academy videos, and GRE math books. Work through every practice test you can get your hands on and after those use GRE practice tests (it's not the same, but the problems are closer to the difficulty of the OAR problems.) I would stay away from the Accepted Inc. and Mometrix math, they are just way to simplistic.
Reading: pretty straightforward as others have said. Really boring, dry passages that you really have to concentrate on. I found myself reading them aloud just so I could stay focused on their content. My best advice here is to manage your time well. Don't get bogged down on one problem because you will regret it later as the time starts narrowing down. Eliminate answers you know to be wrong and make an educated guess if you can't decipher the right answer. Stay focused and you will do fine.
Mech: I only lasted about 7 minutes in this section before the computer ended my test. Mostly conceptual questions but I did have to compute some basic math. I saw pulleys, a circuit with a switch, heat transfer with conductivity, a pendulum problem, and kinetic energy. But I also had to find the weight of somebody on mars with their weight in kg and different measurement of gravity given to me, and I had to know the formula for work.
Overall: Study the gouge posted here. I credit finding this site for my improvement. Start studying weeks before the test, don't cram. I started studying off and on five weeks ago. Take the test "strategically" and by this I mean don't spend an overwhelming amount of time on one problem. Some guessing will almost naturally be involved just make sure to eliminate some wrong answers ahead of time. I think this was my problem the first go around. I let the timed aspect get to me, I spent too much time on a few problems, and ended up blindly guessing towards the end. If you can avoid doing this, you will improve your scores.
Good luck everyone!
Took the astb for the 3rd time yesterday. Started with a 38 3/5/4, then a year later retested and got a 47 5/7/6. Knew it would be a long shot, but still submitted for the May pilot/nfo board (unfortunately was a pro-N). Studied hard for about two weeks and retook yesterday receiving a score of 50 6/8/7. Oar is still a little low but I am pleased with the aviation scores. So here is what I saw:
Math: Had a view geometry questions. Finding height of triangle with only the base and area given
Basic word problems (Rates, Interest, Finding remaining distance of a trip, probability)
Had to find the square root of 216, find the last number in a sequence of 1,2,5,26,__
And two very long order of operation problems.
Wasn’t too bad, didn’t have any logs or matrices
Reading: ughhh yea talk about boring
Mechanical: The first two times I took the astb I made the mistake of studying what was in the barron, Peterson books, those questions were hardly asked. It was basic intuition stuff, but you still had to understand the principles. I think this section helped raise my Oar
A few questions on potential/kinetic energy of a roller coaster
A few electricity problems (schematics, what is measured in ohms)
Pulley, balancing a lever, work
What is the value of acceleration due to gravity?
Aviation/Nautical
Study what people have posted!!! I went through this thread as well as the apex page and compiled a study guide from that. I would say about 80% of my questions were from what I studied.
NatfI- Basically took it thinking of being a leader and a go getter
PBM:
For the UAV section I used the “click” method and was able to get them all right but one. The joystick and listening parts are tough, but they are hard for everyone so you just have to do your best. Emergency procedures aren’t too difficult if you just write them down before you start.
Fire: Knobs all down
Power: all knobs up
Propeller: one neutral, one up
Grant it I didn’t get a 70 9/9/9 but I am pleased with my results. If anyone needs any help don't hesitate to ask.
Math: Had a view geometry questions. Finding height of triangle with only the base and area given
Basic word problems (Rates, Interest, Finding remaining distance of a trip, probability)
Had to find the square root of 216, find the last number in a sequence of 1,2,5,26,__
And two very long order of operation problems.
Wasn’t too bad, didn’t have any logs or matrices
Reading: ughhh yea talk about boring
Mechanical: The first two times I took the astb I made the mistake of studying what was in the barron, Peterson books, those questions were hardly asked. It was basic intuition stuff, but you still had to understand the principles. I think this section helped raise my Oar
A few questions on potential/kinetic energy of a roller coaster
A few electricity problems (schematics, what is measured in ohms)
Pulley, balancing a lever, work
What is the value of acceleration due to gravity?
Aviation/Nautical
Study what people have posted!!! I went through this thread as well as the apex page and compiled a study guide from that. I would say about 80% of my questions were from what I studied.
NatfI- Basically took it thinking of being a leader and a go getter
PBM:
For the UAV section I used the “click” method and was able to get them all right but one. The joystick and listening parts are tough, but they are hard for everyone so you just have to do your best. Emergency procedures aren’t too difficult if you just write them down before you start.
Fire: Knobs all down
Power: all knobs up
Propeller: one neutral, one up
Grant it I didn’t get a 70 9/9/9 but I am pleased with my results. If anyone needs any help don't hesitate to ask.
Eric Wentworth
Member
You must be working with senior chief King in KC. He is my recruiter and he told me about you. I take mine tomorrow, I'm no aerospace engineer so I'm hoping I can at least put up a decent score and I can put together a strong packet with prior military experience. What was the hardest part for you? Anything you didn't cover in your studying that caught you off guard? Any specific problems you remember having trouble with?
I just got back from taking the ASTB OAR sections only, on which I scored a 57, and wanted to share my experience. In anticipation of taking the OAR sections only, I read through the last 50 pages of this thread and found a posting by user Ryan Ensor on pg. 230 with a bunch of study guides posted. Of those study guides, this one was the most helpful for me:
OAR_Study_Guide.pdf
https://www.airwarriors.com/community/index.php?attachments/oar_study_guide-pdf.15644/
I just met with my recruiter for the first time last week Friday and was made aware of the Supply Board dates for submission and had to take the test ASAP - so I had one week to study. I checked out GRE test prep, Master the Officer Candidate Tests and AFOQT test prep books all by Peterson's since that was all the local library had. I took all the practice tests in those books (2 per night) multiple times and focused on understanding the mechanics of each type of question. After four days of studying the math section and feeling comfortable with my level of proficiency (how to manually find square roots, properties of logs & exponents, probabilities, and basic algebra simplification) I moved on to reviewing high school physics and the mechanical questions.
When taking the actual test, the math section was definitely my strong point. Similar questions all appeared in the study guides posted here and in the practice tests...so practice those until you know how to compute them without thinking too much. I thought I would ace the reading comprehension portion of the test, but it was much tougher than any of the practice tests - you really have to pay close attention when reading the passages and answers. The type of questions are also presented in a different manner than any of the study guides/practice tests.
The mechanical portion of the test also caught me slightly off-guard as I was studying more computations than applying concepts. Make sure you know how to apply the concepts and not just how to compute numbers. While I was taking the mechanical portion, I felt like I wasn't advancing to the harder questions (that I presumed involved the computations I studied for) and knew I could have done better studying for that - but then again I wasn't comfortable with one day of studying physics to begin with!
Overall, I'm happy with my score given the time constraint. I want to thank all those who posted a treasure trove of information here and the after-test thoughts which help you prepare for the type of questions you might encounter.
OAR_Study_Guide.pdf
https://www.airwarriors.com/community/index.php?attachments/oar_study_guide-pdf.15644/
I just met with my recruiter for the first time last week Friday and was made aware of the Supply Board dates for submission and had to take the test ASAP - so I had one week to study. I checked out GRE test prep, Master the Officer Candidate Tests and AFOQT test prep books all by Peterson's since that was all the local library had. I took all the practice tests in those books (2 per night) multiple times and focused on understanding the mechanics of each type of question. After four days of studying the math section and feeling comfortable with my level of proficiency (how to manually find square roots, properties of logs & exponents, probabilities, and basic algebra simplification) I moved on to reviewing high school physics and the mechanical questions.
When taking the actual test, the math section was definitely my strong point. Similar questions all appeared in the study guides posted here and in the practice tests...so practice those until you know how to compute them without thinking too much. I thought I would ace the reading comprehension portion of the test, but it was much tougher than any of the practice tests - you really have to pay close attention when reading the passages and answers. The type of questions are also presented in a different manner than any of the study guides/practice tests.
The mechanical portion of the test also caught me slightly off-guard as I was studying more computations than applying concepts. Make sure you know how to apply the concepts and not just how to compute numbers. While I was taking the mechanical portion, I felt like I wasn't advancing to the harder questions (that I presumed involved the computations I studied for) and knew I could have done better studying for that - but then again I wasn't comfortable with one day of studying physics to begin with!
Overall, I'm happy with my score given the time constraint. I want to thank all those who posted a treasure trove of information here and the after-test thoughts which help you prepare for the type of questions you might encounter.
I took the OAR section only for the first time this morning and scored a 60.
A bit about me, I studied at University of California, San Diego as a transfer student, completing a B.A in Sociology and B.A in Psychology.
I was hoping to score closer to 70, but from what I've been told, 60 is a relatively good score.
The scale is from 20-80 points, most people scoring between 30-60.
The test consists of 3 parts: Math, English and Mechanical Comprehension.
The format is all electronic.
You are not allowed to skip or go back to a question at a later time. Thus in order to progress to the next question, you must answer the question
presented on the screen. The test, as I was told, is an adaptive test. In other words, subsequent questions are selected from a pool based on previous answers.
You are also not allowed to bring anything into the test area even water and your own pencils and pens.
The exam is entirely multiple choice.
They do give you a panel of equations on the side that you are able to use (math section only). REMEMBER THIS because I completely neglected it and may have missed a question
that I could have answered correctly had I utilized this.
TIPS:
Do go over the material in the preps.
HOWEVER, much of the material that I've accumulated through searches online were not indicative of the material on the exam.
This is because publishers are often not the people who make the test, although both need to thoroughly proofread their material because I've found multiple errors and mistakes.
Don't spend too much time on each question since you are not allowed to skip or go back.
Math (was given 40min, but section terminated before the time ran out):
included basic computations, simplification, factoring, 1 matrix multiplication
1 summation of series (did not remember the equation, = n( a1 +an )/2 where n is the nth number in the series, a1 is the first number in the series)
English (27min):
This portion was harder than the prep I've gone over in terms of how lengthy and thorough the passages were. You have to make sure you read it carefully
Mech. Comp (30min):
Reiterating what a lot of other people have said. Its mostly conceptual rather than computations.
Would have preferred more questions about pulleys and MA as thats what I studied. In contrast,
there were questions pertaining to pressure and velocity of a liquid (concept) and pressure on gasses
A bit about me, I studied at University of California, San Diego as a transfer student, completing a B.A in Sociology and B.A in Psychology.
I was hoping to score closer to 70, but from what I've been told, 60 is a relatively good score.
The scale is from 20-80 points, most people scoring between 30-60.
The test consists of 3 parts: Math, English and Mechanical Comprehension.
The format is all electronic.
You are not allowed to skip or go back to a question at a later time. Thus in order to progress to the next question, you must answer the question
presented on the screen. The test, as I was told, is an adaptive test. In other words, subsequent questions are selected from a pool based on previous answers.
You are also not allowed to bring anything into the test area even water and your own pencils and pens.
The exam is entirely multiple choice.
They do give you a panel of equations on the side that you are able to use (math section only). REMEMBER THIS because I completely neglected it and may have missed a question
that I could have answered correctly had I utilized this.
TIPS:
Do go over the material in the preps.
HOWEVER, much of the material that I've accumulated through searches online were not indicative of the material on the exam.
This is because publishers are often not the people who make the test, although both need to thoroughly proofread their material because I've found multiple errors and mistakes.
Don't spend too much time on each question since you are not allowed to skip or go back.
Math (was given 40min, but section terminated before the time ran out):
included basic computations, simplification, factoring, 1 matrix multiplication
1 summation of series (did not remember the equation, = n( a1 +an )/2 where n is the nth number in the series, a1 is the first number in the series)
English (27min):
This portion was harder than the prep I've gone over in terms of how lengthy and thorough the passages were. You have to make sure you read it carefully
Mech. Comp (30min):
Reiterating what a lot of other people have said. Its mostly conceptual rather than computations.
Would have preferred more questions about pulleys and MA as thats what I studied. In contrast,
there were questions pertaining to pressure and velocity of a liquid (concept) and pressure on gasses
ocampo1
New Member
The 4 hours from 1300 to 1700 is equal to 1/3 the circumference of a circle(clock). Circumference = (pi)d or 2(pi)r so, if the hour hand(radius)= 3 then C=2(pi)3, divide by 3(because you need 1/3 the circumference) and you get 2pi.
Battalion91
New Member
Hey everyone,
Hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend and I am confident we all understand the great freedoms we have are because of the brave men and women who serve our country. I take the ASTB-E for the 1st time on July 19th. After doing some research I noticed the TBAS UAV type questions are on the exam. Are the UAV questions in leu of the spatial apperception questions were they have you indicate what the view might look like on the horizon e.g banking, climbing or diving? Are those type questions on the exam as well. Take care and I look forward to hearing from you.
Hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend and I am confident we all understand the great freedoms we have are because of the brave men and women who serve our country. I take the ASTB-E for the 1st time on July 19th. After doing some research I noticed the TBAS UAV type questions are on the exam. Are the UAV questions in leu of the spatial apperception questions were they have you indicate what the view might look like on the horizon e.g banking, climbing or diving? Are those type questions on the exam as well. Take care and I look forward to hearing from you.
Yes the UAV and joystick/throttle portion replaced the spatial apperception questions so there are none of those to worry about. focus on doing well on the dichotic listening and emergency procedures.
Battalion91
New Member
Thank you for the response guys. I am studying my you know what off. This means a a lot to me. I came across an aviation/nautical study guide on future officer.com but I am curious if that is outdated. Does anyone have any tips and insight on aviation/nautical section other than grinding hard to cram in as much as I can.
HMtoCaptHopeful
New Member
Hello. First time posting. I took the OAR today and got a 54. I've seen some numbers floating regarding the max score you could get for OAR (I read 67) vs ASTB (80) I don't know if that's accurate? Also I don't know if my score is competitive or if I should retake.
Aspirations:
USN Active Duty Intel Officer (1st choice) , SWO then Supply
A bit about me:
USNR - 4 years - Hospital Corpsman, do a lot of collateral duties and Funeral Honor Details
Bachelors Psych UCLA, GPA 2.9 (not my proudest moment - my dad got really sick - not an excuse but I will address it on my statement)
Getting my Masters - Homeland Security - Public Health Prep concentration at Penn State, GPA 4.0
Volunteer for Team Rubicon
Work in Emergency Management for a Power Grid - so we do cyber security, natural disaster response etc
Recommendations from an Army Colonel, Navy Captain, Navy Commanders, LCDRs and my manager and department director for my civilian job. (thinking 8 recs in all)
Any suggestions on how to make myself a better applicant? Opinions etc.
This forum was super useful to me in terms of what to expect and study guides and I wish I had found it sooner than a week before my OAR.
Thanks everyone!
Aspirations:
USN Active Duty Intel Officer (1st choice) , SWO then Supply
A bit about me:
USNR - 4 years - Hospital Corpsman, do a lot of collateral duties and Funeral Honor Details
Bachelors Psych UCLA, GPA 2.9 (not my proudest moment - my dad got really sick - not an excuse but I will address it on my statement)
Getting my Masters - Homeland Security - Public Health Prep concentration at Penn State, GPA 4.0
Volunteer for Team Rubicon
Work in Emergency Management for a Power Grid - so we do cyber security, natural disaster response etc
Recommendations from an Army Colonel, Navy Captain, Navy Commanders, LCDRs and my manager and department director for my civilian job. (thinking 8 recs in all)
Any suggestions on how to make myself a better applicant? Opinions etc.
This forum was super useful to me in terms of what to expect and study guides and I wish I had found it sooner than a week before my OAR.
Thanks everyone!
exNavyOffRec
Well-Known Member
Supply, SWO, and Intel will only look at you if you put them as 1st or 2nd choice
Edit: your profile says you are 31, if so you have already aged out of SWO and Supply.
HMtoCaptHopeful
New Member
Oh man. I didnt know that. Thanks for the info. Guess its Intel or bust.
Hey everyone! I'm going through the thread and finding a lot of great info that I'd like to take a look at more. Especially regarding the mechanical comprehension section, which I'm struggling with the most. Wondering, however, if it would be a bad idea to reschedule my exam date as I've done that once already. I'd like to do as well as I can the first time around and avoid having to wait to retake it. Anyone know if that would tick off the recruiter or would he not care? I don't want to make a bad impression.