Need some advice on ASTB-E retest options!

[Burd92]

Hi I am Nicole, I am a 22 yr old student at Cal Poly trying to enter the Marine Corps Officer program in Aviation when I graduate.
I took the ASTB-E on 1/16/15 for the second time.
First scores
QAR: 50
AQR: 3
PFAR: 3
FOFAR: 4

I just retook the test and scored:
QAR: 56
AQR: 6
PFAR: 5
FOFAR: 7

So here is my dilemma, I qualified to be an NFO however not a pilot due to the 5 I received in the PFAR area. My plan was to graduate college this June 2015 and leave for OSC in September of 2015. If I choose to retake the ASTB-E in 90 days I will not be able to leave for OCS until June 2016 pushing my plan out an extra 9 months. However time is not the biggest issue here, I am on my last attempt to take this test since there are only 3 versions and I would just like some input on my chances of getting that PFAR up to ATLEAST a 6. Also on what areas I should focus more on studying given my most recent test scores?

I would greatly appreciate all input and advice!

 

[Gillie1985]

I would say since your only 22, go in as an NFO and switch over to pilot. You got until age 27. This way you don't have to wait other nine months. Trust me I'm not trying to drive you away from your dream of being a pilot. I just want you to do whatever it takes to live your dream. Even as an NFO you will get your Pilots License, so i would say go NFO as of now and with your free time keep loggin in those flight hours. So around your 26 birthday you can still be good for Pilot and you can show them all the flight hours you logged on your own. They would see how bad you want to take the stick in a fighter jet if that's the type of aircraft you want to fly. This would give you a great look. I was active duty Navy in the Aviation field and seen Officer switch from NFO to Pilot. If i was about three years younger I would be trying to go pilot as well, but since I'm 29 already i have to go NFO, but this will not stop me from getting my test pilot qualification while in as a NFO. I really hope I help, if not please let me know. I believe you can get your PFAR up to a 6 or even an 8, The question is do you think you can do it? You want from a 3 to 6 so with that logic you may go up to a 9. What was hard on the test for you..ASTB wise?

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Is your overall goal to become an officer or simply to be a Pilot? Being an NFO and still in the cockpit isn't a bad deal...

 

[Gator Guard]

Before you make a decision, put in the time to learn about what FOs do. I know that at first I just saw FOs as second class citizens in the flight crew, until I put in the effort to learn the facts. You might find the notion of being a FO just as exciting as being a pilot. If you do go FO but find you are in the wrong seat, bust your ass to get a shot at pilot later down the road.

 

[zab1001]

I would say since your only 22, go in as an NFO and switch over to pilot....So around your 26 birthday you can still be good for Pilot and you can show them all the flight hours you logged on your own. They would see how bad you want to take the stick in a fighter jet if that's the type of aircraft you want to fly. This would give you a great look.

Moving from NFO to NA in the USN or USMC is far more involved than what you are describing and is not a given in any scenario. Hoping to do so, and doing everything you can to prepare is one thing (strong FITREPs will mean much more than a logbook of private flight time). Counting on it to happen is another, and is not advisable.

 

[ea6bflyr]

USMC NFO program has a limited shelf life (retiring EA-6B Prowlers and F/A-18D Hornets). My advice is to re-take and go for pilot if that's what you want to do.

Without knowing what you studied before, we cannot tell you how to improve your study habits. Have you reviewed and studied all that is on this forum? There's lots of GREAT study gouge on this site.

 

[ea6bflyr]

I would say since your only 22, go in as an NFO and switch over to pilot. You got until age 27. This way you don't have to wait other nine months. Trust me I'm not trying to drive you away from your dream of being a pilot. I just want you to do whatever it takes to live your dream. Even as an NFO you will get your Pilots License, so i would say go NFO as of now and with your free time keep loggin in those flight hours. So around your 26 birthday you can still be good for Pilot and you can show them all the flight hours you logged on your own. They would see how bad you want to take the stick in a fighter jet if that's the type of aircraft you want to fly. This would give you a great look. I was active duty Navy in the Aviation field and seen Officer switch from NFO to Pilot. If i was about three years younger I would be trying to go pilot as well, but since I'm 29 already i have to go NFO, but this will not stop me from getting my test pilot qualification while in as a NFO. I really hope I help, if not please let me know. I believe you can get your PFAR up to a 6 or even an 8, The question is do you think you can do it? You want from a 3 to 6 so with that logic you may go up to a 9. What was hard on the test for you..ASTB wise?

Bad gouge. Not sure where you heard that NFOs get pilot's licenses? Can you get one? Certainly, but it will be on your own time and own dime.

 

[Burd92]

Thank you everyone for your input. I have been doing my research over the past few weeks, I paid for a flight lesson, and started to get my civilian pilots license. I decided that my stubborn nature and who I am as a person will not allow me to happily settle for being an NFO when I have my mind set on being a pilot. I do not want to be two years into NFO school and realize that I regret not doing everything in my power to qualify to be a pilot. I am going to take the extra time I now have to study more and retake the ASTB-E on July 15th 2015. Meaning I will not have the opportunity to leave for OCS until June 2016, in the mean time I am going to focus on preparing physically and logging civilian flight hours.

As for studying, the last time I took the ASTB-E I focused my main attentions on military and flight information. The questions I know I struggled on were a few of the military history questions, one or two of the math problems, and the flight simulation portion when using the instruments to track the moving planes. Is there anyway to improve on my ability to do that last portion with the joystick and throttle? The only part I have never studied for is the reading comprehension, I have touched on all the other aspects.

 

[ea6bflyr]

As for studying, the last time I took the ASTB-E I focused my main attentions on military and flight information. The questions I know I struggled on were a few of the military history questions, one or two of the math problems, and the flight simulation portion when using the instruments to track the moving planes. Is there anyway to improve on my ability to do that last portion with the joystick and throttle? The only part I have never studied for is the reading comprehension, I have touched on all the other aspects.

Read this ENTIRE THREAD. There's LOTS of great study tips and gouge.