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November 09 Boards

Why'd you give up on the law thing?

Everything depends... have you been working in an intel-related field?

At least it looks like you've got experience in the right sport!
 
tlane2 said:
Is that just for Intel, or all boards?
Click to expand...

That's for all people who take the ASTB, not for any particular board.

EDIT: That is at least form the FY04 scores. Here is a link to the ASTB Overview and some FAQ's. The overview has the histogram from the test participants, as well as a few sample questions:
http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/navmedmpte/nomi/nami/pages/astbinformation.aspx

All of this information has been covered in many of the ASTB threads in the ASTB section of the forums.
 
Not really looking to give up the law thing, just want to broaden my horizons. Have always wanted to serve my country in some capacity and see this as a solid means of doing so. Unfortunately, Navy Reserves don't have any JAG openings, so this seems like the next best thing. Plus, I've always had an interest in working in the intelligence field. The current stats look pretty daunting...11/91? Pretty crazy. I wonder if there is anything the board is looking for in particular or whether it's a package deal?
 
cdb26 said:
I wonder if there is anything the board is looking for in particular or whether it's a package deal?
Click to expand...

I was at district this morning going over some things with my Processor. While we were discussing I was eavesdropping on an interesting conversation going on with another OR in the adjacent room. From what I could tell of the conversation, a recent UM law graduate was applying for intel, had experience overseas and previously worked in a field requiring a security clearance. He had a number of attributes, be it work, training, or personal experience, that appealed to the intel community. The OR went out of her way to tell him that he sounded like an excellent candidate for intel, which could simply be a sales tactic. However, I haven't heard of many ORs telling their candidates they would "likely be picked up and would be highly recommended for the field." So, from this conversation and others I've had personally, it would appear that the board is looking for a range of particular qualities. Education beyond the bachelors level and experience in a foreign language seem to be some of the more common qualities I've heard. This is all speculation though.

In other news, my package went out today. Good luck to everyone here. Hope to see you all in Newport!
 
I'm definitely in the same boat. One of the communities I applied for is intel, but I'm certainly not letting my hopes run high. As far as the OAR, you'll do fine if you've been studying and practicing. Inasmuch, if you don't score as high as you'd like, chances are that you'll score higher the second time you take it.
 
Hopefully I just take this puppy once...did you take it yet? If so, how'd you do? What has your OR been telling you, if anything? Seems like they maintain their distance until they find you to be 'competitive' and then try to see where they can place you for purposes of upping their own recruiting stats.
 
I have taken it. Scored a 52 on the OAR. I'm only O.K. with that. But, given the amount of time I spent preparing (not as much as I probably should have) if I end up as a non-select I'll retake it and resubmit. My OR has been cooperative but distant. Great guy and informative when I have questions, but beyond that I've been pretty proactive in forcing this through and he's been responsive in the same way so there hasn't been a whole lot of discussion between us. He never really had to "sell" me anything since I came in knowing generally where I wanted to go. He's also the kind of guy who makes you figure most things out for yourself, which I like. You're right though, once you appear competitive they seem more attracted to you. I think the aloof nature of most ORs stems from the volume of candidates making them ridiculously busy. In fact, one of the things that has been weighing heavily on my mind since my OR and I first started chatting was the fact that there are so many applicants coming in because of the market crunch and subsequent job loss (worsened by the fact that not as many people are "jumping ship" into the private sector) that they are overloaded and we are, unfortunately, facing a larger competition pool.
 
Yeah, it does get frustrating, but I'm hoping for things to turn around once I take the OAR. Speaking of, how recently did you take? Regarding the mechanical section, I haven't taken HS physics in a long time (just like most people on these threads)...do you honestly feel that studying the gouges and what the OR sends you is sufficient? I realize most of the questions are conceptual in nature (no really focused on problem solving), but just would like to get a better feel for certain concepts, such as electrical. Are we talking anything crazy? Do you recall seeing any questions in this section and were just like WTF?!? The reading and math seem more or less straight forward, really just comes down to Time Management - same thing everyone else talks about.
 
My math section was EXCLUSIVITY "systems of linear equations" an engineering major helped me in that area, but you should easily study and become lightning quick at solving them.

for instance: (find x and y)
2x+4y=25
8x-3y=5


I consider myself very quick and accurate at all kinds of math, but was 2 short of finishing the math section on the astb. Study Study Study, and get your speed as fast as possible. They are going to throw more at you than you can handle. I studies for 2 solid weeks, at least 3 hours a day. Plus my Mech. Eng. degree and made a OAR 65. The place i spent most of my studying was areo/naut information, and it help tremendously as my supplemental was all areo/naut.

I had no electrical circuits on my mech comprehension. This section was cake. I think most problems are pretty intuitive, thats not to say skip studying, familiarize yourself with all the question types you can find, but this was deff the most intuitive part of the test.

Let me know if you have any more questions.
 
cdb26 said:
Yeah, it does get frustrating, but I'm hoping for things to turn around once I take the OAR. Speaking of, how recently did you take? Regarding the mechanical section, I haven't taken HS physics in a long time (just like most people on these threads)...do you honestly feel that studying the gouges and what the OR sends you is sufficient? I realize most of the questions are conceptual in nature (no really focused on problem solving), but just would like to get a better feel for certain concepts, such as electrical. Are we talking anything crazy? Do you recall seeing any questions in this section and were just like WTF?!? The reading and math seem more or less straight forward, really just comes down to Time Management - same thing everyone else talks about.
Click to expand...

The info you OR sent you is a great start, if not all you need. Also check out How Stuff Works and the Ford Diesel Mechanics site for supplemental information. I took the ASTB on Tuesday and felt adequately prepared after reviewing the gouge and the previous sites. As I mentioned before however, all this information can be found all over the ASTB forums.

How Stuff Works:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/gear-ratio4.htm

Diesel Technician Society Mechanical Aptitude Test:
http://www.forddoctorsdts.com/quizzes/MechanicalAptitude/

I upped my score from 48 5/5/4 to 59 7/7/6 so I'm living proof that you can and should review/study for the mechanical portion, aviation/nautical portion, as well as basic math review for various shortcuts to improve time management.

On a side note I just got cleared for MEPS! Looks like I’ll be having a jolly good time next Friday! Can't wait!

EDIT: One other helpful tip regarding time management is knowing when to make an educated guess, and move on to another question. This can be held true for most portions of the test. If you can't solve the problem in whatever amount of time you feel comfortable (i.e. 45sec to 1min 15 sec) by then you should have a basic idea of which answer choices are at least close, and pick on and move one. Then come back to it at the end with your remaining time. Spending more time on a question that you are unsure of can be detrimental by giving you less time to answer questions that you actually know how to get correct. Just my $.02
 
cdb26 said:
Regarding the mechanical section, I haven't taken HS physics in a long time (just like most people on these threads)...do you honestly feel that studying the gouges and what the OR sends you is sufficient? I realize most of the questions are conceptual in nature (no really focused on problem solving), but just would like to get a better feel for certain concepts, such as electrical. Are we talking anything crazy? Do you recall seeing any questions in this section and were just like WTF?!?
Click to expand...

I was in the same boat as you - I took the ASTB back in June and had not taken physics in probably 6-7 years and the mechanical section was what I was most worried about. What helped me most was reading up on everything on howstuffworks.com. They have excellent reviews of almost everything you will see (levers, pulleys, circuits, hydrolics). I spent a couple days going through that and then retried the practice tests and they were much easier.


edit - someone beat me to it

good luck to everyone on this board. waiting is tough, but once you get pro-rec'd you get to wait some more!
 
Waiting does suck! At least i have school to keep me busy and my mind on other things than November boards.

Good luck to everybody.
 
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