HelpWithAFOQT
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Posts posted by HelpWithAFOQT
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3 hours ago, CharlieHotel47 said:
What would your PCSM score be at 200 flight hrs?
All I can say is that there are over 150 reserve and ANG squadrons out there. All you need is one "YES". keep on getting after it. Cheers
I'll have to see if I can find the PDF of the old PCSM scores. I remember it was in the 90s with 199+ hours.
With the new grading of the PCSM scores, it's 85 at 60+.
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On 4/18/2023 at 10:21 AM, MeekTiger0824 said:
Congrats! It's wild seeing so many competitive applicants with crazy scores. When I interviewed with 2 heavies one had a cutoff of 90 Pilot and 90 PCSM and the other was 80s, even with those cutoffs there were still like 20-30 applicants in the running out of 100+. Then you tack on their work experience (prior enlisted, aerospace engineers...etc). I recall a kid from MIT at 23 with 1000+ hours and a guy with a PhD when I was rushing! I'm at the point where I can only apply for units open to an age waiver, but it really is about who you know. There's a loadmaster in the local squadron at my flying club and I didn't even know they were having a board (didn't see on BogiDope) until she told me, so I sent over my packet and was fortunate enough to get invited to rush.
Were you part of the AW prior to getting the pilot slot?
Congrats once again and hopefully it's a quick and smooth journey to UPT.
By the sounds of of, I think we might have rushed some of the save heavy units. I think I meet some of those same people like the MIT kid and a few others you mentioned.
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Awesome to hear OP. It does give me hope. I'm in the same boat as you were. 31 and a Pilot score of 83. I have visited a few units (some more than once) only to get TBNT letters and told my pilot score is the reason.
I've been attempting networking the civilian way, getting a contact in the squadron (usually one of the pilots) asking if I can come and visit. Asking if I can return and visit again. Usually they say yes, I get told everyone likes having me around and then don't get interviews.
But I'm going to keep trying. Congrats on the interview!
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Hey everyone. I'm still trying to chase this dream. I've been rushing Heavy Units across the country. A lot of heavy units told me I am a great guy and that they like me, but my AFOQT scores are preventing me from getting an interview.
My original AFOQT scores are:
Pilot: 70
Nav: 37
Amb: 43
Acad: 48
Verb: 70
Quant: 32
PCSM: 41
My retake are:
Pilot: 83
CSO: 55
AMB: 63
Acad: 58
Verb: 72
Quant: 45
PCSM: 70 (with 32 flight hours)
GPA: 3.80 with Master of Science
Age: 31 (another thing that hurts)
Work in IT, Junior Admin
Hobbies: Ice Hockey, Snowboarding, Surfing, Baseball, guitar and motorsports.
I know every section has gone up. But every heavy unit I have rushed so far now has a 90 pilot score cut off. That's the feedback I keep getting from the units them selves, that they liked me but everyone they interviewed has a 90 Pilot score. I'm trying to finish my PPL. It's just difficult to afford. I'm stunned at all of these 21-24 year old kids that not only have their PPLs but their CPLs. I'm struggling to afford it, working two jobs!
I don't want to give up but it's hard spending time and money rushing, to not even get interviews. I've shotgunned out a few apps too but TBNT from them as well. I'm not sure what else to do other than try to finish my PPL and I guess keep rushing and applying. I know it's been asked before but is there a better way to stand out during rushing (other than be yourself and don't be a jerk)?
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On 11/15/2022 at 8:32 PM, ryleypav said:
If they're inviting you to play hockey, they probably like you. Unless you invited yourself to hockey. Or they just needed a body so guys can get fresh legs (jk). Sounds like you're doing the right things. Just dont be the guy thats overly friendly, or is butting into conversations. If none of the places you've visited have had boards yet, you really dont have any way to validate if you're doing things correctly or incorrectly. Otherwise, sounds like you're doing it right. When I was hanging out at interview weekends I basically did the same. Tried to have a conversation with whoever wasn't busy and didn't look like they'd be annoyed that I wanted to talk. Don't overstay your welcome, but if people are there hanging out, be there. Persistence is key in some cases.
I kind of invited myself. They mentioned they had a team and I asked if I could come and play. They said sure. They seemed to like that I played though. We chilled and had beer afterwards in the locker room. I guess I just have to keep being persistent.
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I know there are old threads on the subject and I've read them. Most don't go into too much detail and simply say "Don't be an idiot" "don't be an @ss" "have a firm handshake." I'm an older applicant and I know time is not on my side. There are a few units I have rushed, non have had interviews yet but two have told me to turn in an app to keep it on file. One of the units, I have visited them three times. All three times, I just walk all around the squadron and try to make myself known by everyone. I shake hands, I talk to pilots and non-pilots alike, I try to bond over the military, aviation and even non-flying things like music, cars or literature. This unit, I even got to play hockey once with the unit hockey team (which was awesome)!
Is there any other little things I should do or overlooked things to show that I really want to be apart of the unit?
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I made a thread a while ago about advice for what to do during a unit visit. Sadly that visit ended up being cancelled due to Delta Variant. I've tried calling the unit back since but no luck. I've been calling several heavy units all across the country, mostly focused on areas I want to live. But it seems that every single one does not allow visits. Either due to delta variant or they say they get too many applicants/visit request they can't have 100+ people come and visit. Or the more common one, the scheduler gives me the number for an officer and their phone always goes straight to voicemail with the voicemail box being full.
Has anyone else had any luck?
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1 hour ago, dogfish78 said:
Your thoughts seem like mine when I was young. You're overanalyzing how to interact in a social situation. Even though they will be military pilots, who are commissioned officers, and also generally older than you, they're still people. Relax and let conversation happen naturally. Be willing to start conversations first.
Haha I do have a very bad habit of overanalyzing everything. I just need to relax. Thanks.
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2 hours ago, dogfish78 said:
Be yourself. Be honest, but that doesn't mean you have to be truthful and say your scores sucked. If they ask, tell them the honest answer, but you don't have to divulge how much you sucked. Get better and re-test. You don't have to just talk about just the military or flying. Let them know what you're like outside of work. A thank you email might be nice to the point-of-contact. If you can ask for feedback in an organic way maybe, don't be a sperg about it. Main thing, don't be a sperg, and those older posts are right, be a bro. Pro-tip: act like they won't hire you anyway no matter what, it'll make you more relaxed. It's what I did.
YES! I meant to ask in my OP about talking about things besides the military or flying. Aside from just the mission, I also love the location the unit is based in. I also wanted to ask about local sports teams, sports fandoms and hobbies. I play baseball and hockey. I'm also a huge car guy and I'm learning the guitar. Should I bring these topics up too?
I know a lot of it, is just reading the room. But if we are in the squadron bar or something, and it's quiet would it be cool to bring up non-flying topics then?
I get your last point, the detachment theory. When you act like you don't care, you tend to be more relaxed.
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So I will likely have an individual visit with a heavy unit next month. Right now they don't have any upcoming boards but are planning on one for likely summer 2022.
As mentioned in my other thread, I have poor AFOQT scores and and TBAS score. I will be retaking before soon. Should I bring up this information at the visit? Or if they ask if casually like say "Hey have you taken the AFOQT and TBAS yet?" and I answer "yes" and they ask "how did you do?" Should I just be honest and let them know I am planning on retaking both to improve? Would this be a good sign that I am determined to correct my mistakes?
Also I see on older threads from circa 2004-2008 on here, that people say visit often. How do you visit often? After the visit should I send a thank you email and ask to visit again? Should I ask for feedback from my visit?
Sorry if this sounds weird but all of the other visit threads, I found were from the mid 2000s and were very vague with answers just like "be a bro." "make sure to visit often" etc. This is my first visit, so I'm kind of in the dark of what to expect.
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I seen a few people mentioned they used a tutor of Wyzant or another website and got great scores on the AFOQT. I want to use a tutor for my retake. Could someone post me the link of a tutor that they used?
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1 hour ago, 1nfrequentF1yer said:
For guard units, it's probably still possible to get picked up with those scores, but if you could do better, then obviously try and do better and retake. What's your GPA and PCSM looking like? With so many more guard/reserve applicants, the bar is also a lot higher now. Are you also interested in being a CSO?
You said on your practice tests you were scoring over 90% of the questions correct. So take a minute and reflect... Did you just have an "off" day during the test? Were the test questions far off from those on the practice test? Was the test misgraded (this is very hard to prove and to contest)? You need to understand the cause so you're not trying the same thing without a new strategy. Taking some portions of the SIFT or ASTB that overlaps with the AFOQT will certainly give you more practice, but again, you need to understand why there's a big discrepancy between your practice scores and actual scores. The Baron book is what I used for practice, and it ended up to be fairly representative of the actual test.
The AFOQT is graded on a percentile, but say, for a 32nd percentile of quantitative, that means you're in the lower third of some reference population that took the test (who makes up that reference population is pretty nebulous to us common folks). So I think it's a bit unrealistic to try and assume that your scores is due to others doing exceptionally well. But with that said, take his/her advice on highlighting other areas of your resume (flight experience... career... leadership/volunteer... passion... tell a good joke/personality?)
I know it's possible to get picked up, I've seen post from guys talking about how they got picked up with worse scores but most of them did in the 2000s before the big rush/covid started. Now even heavy units are getting 200+ apps and many I've tried rushing say they don't allow individual visits and they usually only select the 50 or so top apps to visit and narrow down the interviews from there. So it's more competitive.
I'm only semi interested in CSO. If I get too old and can't get picked up as a pilot, I'll try for it. I would like to do a retake of the AFOQT first.I've been baffled for months on what to do. I am eligable for a retake in a few weeks. But I want to wait until I am sure I am going to ace it this time.
As for the day of the test, I felt fine. I got plenty of sleep, at a light breakfast, arrived extra early, I didn't cram at all. It looked like the Baron's book and the questions seemed similar.
GPA is 3.52 for undergrad, Master's is about 3.8 or so. PCSM is 70 (I wonder how much my pilot score affects it). I know I missed 4 questions on the UAV portion of the TBAS. I think my reaction time was a little slow too.
So for now it's figuring out what to do.
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1 hour ago, Kiloalpha said:
There’s conflicting info on when the AFOQT scoring algorithm resets. Specifically the question is if you’re being scored by percentile of the people who took the test that day/week or if it’s everyone who has taken the test thus far.
Regardless, something doesn’t seem right. You took every practice section under test conditions and aced them… yet you bombed on test day? That’s impossible unless you’re just a really bad test taker (but even then, you should have seen that in the practice) or the materials weren’t good.
That's what I can't figure out. I did my research and I did everything that everyone told me to do. Yet, I still didn't do well. It honestly frustrates me.
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51 minutes ago, MoonShot said:
Do you have flight hours? TBAS?
Get your PCSM score and then evaluate where you’re at.
I do. PCSM score is 70. I used the simulator I'm wondering if the pilot score hurts it. I know I missed 4 on the UAV section.
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Usually when it comes to applying to guard units, the common advice given is "cast a wide net." This is fine and I understand it. However, I'm very interested in a few regions of the country such as the Northeast, Great Lakes and mountain states. I've been only applying to units in those areas. I have hobbies I love doing and want to continue to do such as playing hockey and snowboarding. I also enjoy having four seasons and I look forward to winter. I've been hoping that maybe having certain hobbies that pilots in those units will too and it shows I can bond or click with them. It seems a lot of groups I am part of, people just apply everywhere and flat out say they don't care where they live but they don't seem to have many interests outside of flying or the military. But to me, location does matter a lot. I'm happy with either heavy or fighters (I actually have a preference for heavies). I'm also biracial and did live in the south for a few years when I was younger and had a few bad experiences, which still bother me.
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I've put off making this thread for months. Back in December I took the AFOQT after almost a year of waiting. I studied my ass off for it and studied the way everyone said too. I purchased the Baron's book, the Trivium Book, the online practice test from AFOQT academy as well as several PDF files of AFOQT, ATSB, SIFT practice tests. To practice I used scan tron sheets to simulate the time and real testing environment. I took two weeks off of work up through the testing date to make sure I was fully prepared and had plenty of time to study. On practice tests, I was regularly getting 90s-100s on each subsection. I went and took the test, felt I did well and three weeks later when I got my scores back, I was stunned.
My line is:
Pilot: 70
Nav: 37
Acad: 48
Verb: 70
Quant: 32
I'm guessing looking at my scores, I did worse on the math than I thought and I'm guessing the only thing that saved my pilot score was likely the Aviation Knowledge and Instrument comp sections. For the Pilot/Nav, the only section I felt I really struggled with was block counting and I had to guess on the last several answers due to time. Perhaps that really hurt both scores?
I've been asking around since I've gotten my scores back and have recieved little help. Usually, when I asked people who have gotten 90s across the board they just give responses like "It's not that hard bro." "There's no way you studied with those scores, you must be lazy" Only one pilot gave me a decent answer he suggested because the AFOQT is graded on a curve, my raw scores may have been good but due to COVID tons of extra people took it and that could have offset all of the scores. He told me just highlight your leadership skills.
I've applied to several guard units but TBNT from everyone. Only a few gave feedback, one told me I had a killer resume and great cover letter but poor AFOQT and TBAS scores. I know COVID has made rushing harder, that several guard units both heavies and fighters, now want everyone to send in an application before visits and if your app isn't good enough they won't even let you visit. There is a KC-135 unit I really want, but to get a visit they need an application. I want to retake the AFOQT to do better on it. But what makes me nervous is I only get one more shot at it. I'm not sure on how to do better. If I get similar or worse scores, I could for ever jeopardize my career.
I have a strategy of maybe taking the Navy's ASTB and the Army's SIFT as practice for the retake of the AFOQT? Has anyone done this? I see some post of people saying they used a tutor. Does anyone know of a good tutor they recommend, one who is affordable? I can do a Google search for AFOQT tutor but I get hundreds of options and I am not sure who to trust. Many charge $100+ an hour.
31 With Low AFOQT Retake Scores. Haven't Had An Interview.
in What Are My Chances?
Posted
It helps some what. Both Heavy units that I got recent TBNT letters from were squadrons in remote cold weather states, that didn't post their hirings on Bogidope (they were done only through their email lists). Both Squadrons kept inviting back only to not get an interview. They both gave me the pilot score is less than 90 as feedback. One of the Captains from the squadron called me and told me the reasoning was that people they liked and hired in the past with pilot scores less than 90 ended up washing out of UPT, so that's why they said it was their requirement.
I've been trying other units. What I am running into a lot now, is a lot of units are doing away with individual rushing and instead just having one big rush right before Apps are due. That makes this a lot harder. Other units have straight up told me my age though within Air Force regulations is too old for them.
Then of course, I've had a ton of units I'm still trying just can't get anyone to answer the phone or respond to an email. Still trying though.