donkeh
Well-Known Member
Hey everyone, it's finally time to give my 2 cents back to the website that saved me and gave me the materials to pass the ASTB.
For my first ASTB attempt I entered woefully underprepared and with a very weak math foundation and it reflected in my scores. My first attempt was a 50 5,6,4 and I absolutely bombed the UAV portion. I watched the compass trick the night before but didn't think it was worth practicing all that much and let me tell you, it absolutely killed my score. I was feeling way too sorry for myself and decided to actually use the resources I had at my disposal and comb this website for all the information I could use and find to help me pass.
I just got out of my second attempt today and I scored a 47 6,8,6. Yup, thats right, my OAR actually went down 3 points somehow but my subscores all improved to where I needed them to be and ultimately these are the scores that matter the most in pilot selection (according to my recruiter). In preparation for my second run at the exam, I did numerous practice tests from Kyle's Google Drive folder and did a ton of private sessions for math tutoring with Kieno Thomas, read the entirety of the Barron's book, and hundreds of math generic math practice problems. If you have a weak foundation in math, there is NO ONE I could recommend more than him. He keeps an active timeline with each client and exposes your weaknesses and makes you work to turn them into your strengths, and all at what was a very reasonable hourly rate. He also hosts 2-3 weekly facebook/youtube livestreams that you can attend for free and ask any questions you may have about the exam and I would highly recommend attending as many of those as you can and participating. His facebook/youtube/business pages are all Stemwithkieno.com.
Math
Kicked my ass again despite all the studying I did that focused on different math concepts. The best thing I can recommend is relearning and mastering as much algebra as you can. My exam was very heavy on algebra and very little geometry, no DRT, lots of fractions, systems of equations, and that sort of stuff. You can tell when you get a question right or wrong and I knew that the second time they were significantly harder than my first attempt so that was a good sign. I got booted out pretty early with a decent amount of time left so it was most likely my weakest area but I am still happy with the score I got. There will always be 1-2 answers that are blatantly wrong if you have a basic understanding of what you should be looking for. This section is incredibly important. You HAVE to know this stuff to succeed.
English
Boring and really odd questions and passages that will make you want to rip your hair out. But it is also not that difficult. Just long and boring. Definitely prepare somewhat with the passages in the Barron's book, but don't stress this section too much.
Mechanics
Mostly conceptual and I got off pretty easy on this section compared to my first attempt. I was doing well enough to have questions requiring calculations in Ohms and Amperes thrown my way though so it's good to know those concepts and equations. Don't slack on mechanical studying, it's shorter than math and english but can be just as difficult.
ANIT
A lot of people struggle with this section due to the sheer volume of information that can ask you about. This was actually by far the easiest for me though, since I have been obsessed with aviation since I was 7-8 years old and have learned a ton about it over the years. I practiced with the flashcard set found on others posts in this thread and went through all 400+ flashcards at least 3 times. I know for a fact that I killed this section and it reflected in my score with an 8.
NATFI
There is no real preparation or way to "game" this section. Be true to yourself.
UAV
Learn the compass trick. And then practice it a couple of hundred times, it will pay off on the test. I went from probably getting 70% of them wrong my first time to getting all of them right on my second time and most of them answered in under 2 seconds. I averaged about 3 seconds while practicing at home.
Stick and Throttle
Good luck. Write down your procedures. Tilt your head to the side they are asking you to listen to. Don't expect to do well tracking the two targets at the same time. Just try your best. Seriously, good luck.
Conclusion
Use all your available resources and don't be discouraged when you see people post their insane scores on this thread and say "ehh it wasn't so hard" or "I feel like I could have done better", worry about you and you alone. Don't compare yourself to others, just work on yourself and improve every single day that you can. Do some DRT problems, practice a couple of UAV flashcards, watch videos on airplanes and flight. Be willing to learn and ready to make mistakes. It will be worth it when you get the score you desire.
Oh, and when they give you a 15 minute break, USE IT. I was almost ready to piss myself during the stick and throttle portion because I didn't take my break and had been drinking water prior to and during the exam.
Good luck, it really isn't that bad!
For my first ASTB attempt I entered woefully underprepared and with a very weak math foundation and it reflected in my scores. My first attempt was a 50 5,6,4 and I absolutely bombed the UAV portion. I watched the compass trick the night before but didn't think it was worth practicing all that much and let me tell you, it absolutely killed my score. I was feeling way too sorry for myself and decided to actually use the resources I had at my disposal and comb this website for all the information I could use and find to help me pass.
I just got out of my second attempt today and I scored a 47 6,8,6. Yup, thats right, my OAR actually went down 3 points somehow but my subscores all improved to where I needed them to be and ultimately these are the scores that matter the most in pilot selection (according to my recruiter). In preparation for my second run at the exam, I did numerous practice tests from Kyle's Google Drive folder and did a ton of private sessions for math tutoring with Kieno Thomas, read the entirety of the Barron's book, and hundreds of math generic math practice problems. If you have a weak foundation in math, there is NO ONE I could recommend more than him. He keeps an active timeline with each client and exposes your weaknesses and makes you work to turn them into your strengths, and all at what was a very reasonable hourly rate. He also hosts 2-3 weekly facebook/youtube livestreams that you can attend for free and ask any questions you may have about the exam and I would highly recommend attending as many of those as you can and participating. His facebook/youtube/business pages are all Stemwithkieno.com.
Math
Kicked my ass again despite all the studying I did that focused on different math concepts. The best thing I can recommend is relearning and mastering as much algebra as you can. My exam was very heavy on algebra and very little geometry, no DRT, lots of fractions, systems of equations, and that sort of stuff. You can tell when you get a question right or wrong and I knew that the second time they were significantly harder than my first attempt so that was a good sign. I got booted out pretty early with a decent amount of time left so it was most likely my weakest area but I am still happy with the score I got. There will always be 1-2 answers that are blatantly wrong if you have a basic understanding of what you should be looking for. This section is incredibly important. You HAVE to know this stuff to succeed.
English
Boring and really odd questions and passages that will make you want to rip your hair out. But it is also not that difficult. Just long and boring. Definitely prepare somewhat with the passages in the Barron's book, but don't stress this section too much.
Mechanics
Mostly conceptual and I got off pretty easy on this section compared to my first attempt. I was doing well enough to have questions requiring calculations in Ohms and Amperes thrown my way though so it's good to know those concepts and equations. Don't slack on mechanical studying, it's shorter than math and english but can be just as difficult.
ANIT
A lot of people struggle with this section due to the sheer volume of information that can ask you about. This was actually by far the easiest for me though, since I have been obsessed with aviation since I was 7-8 years old and have learned a ton about it over the years. I practiced with the flashcard set found on others posts in this thread and went through all 400+ flashcards at least 3 times. I know for a fact that I killed this section and it reflected in my score with an 8.
NATFI
There is no real preparation or way to "game" this section. Be true to yourself.
UAV
Learn the compass trick. And then practice it a couple of hundred times, it will pay off on the test. I went from probably getting 70% of them wrong my first time to getting all of them right on my second time and most of them answered in under 2 seconds. I averaged about 3 seconds while practicing at home.
Stick and Throttle
Good luck. Write down your procedures. Tilt your head to the side they are asking you to listen to. Don't expect to do well tracking the two targets at the same time. Just try your best. Seriously, good luck.
Conclusion
Use all your available resources and don't be discouraged when you see people post their insane scores on this thread and say "ehh it wasn't so hard" or "I feel like I could have done better", worry about you and you alone. Don't compare yourself to others, just work on yourself and improve every single day that you can. Do some DRT problems, practice a couple of UAV flashcards, watch videos on airplanes and flight. Be willing to learn and ready to make mistakes. It will be worth it when you get the score you desire.
Oh, and when they give you a 15 minute break, USE IT. I was almost ready to piss myself during the stick and throttle portion because I didn't take my break and had been drinking water prior to and during the exam.
Good luck, it really isn't that bad!