SIFT pointers

[Dmurray]

It seems like math is a struggle for most people. I definitely need to brush out all my cobwebs before I take the SIFT.

[jwoft]

 

Both, but I'm at a bit of a crossroads as to what to do. Called the 3 closest Army bases to my house and was told by all that they only serve the "local area." My recruiter said he was working on scheduling one for me on his end, and said that he "got me an appointment, but they cancelled it" at one of the 3 bases I called. Not sure if he's telling the truth, full of it or just not sure on who to contact etc.

 

Got annoyed and called my local MEPS station to find out who the regional flight physician is, Army liaison said he knew who/how to schedule it but didn't want to tell me. Told me to have my recruiter contact him personally to get it done. So tomorrow I'll relay that info to my recruiter and hope to have this annoying mystery solved.

 

I saw an early post somewhere that had a number you could call to find out who all of the Flight Surgeons are as well as schedule a Flight Physical through the same means. I can't remember where I saw that number though. I'll see if I can find it.

[Brian101193]

It seems like math is a struggle for most people. I definitely need to brush out all my cobwebs before I take the SIFT.

 

I used this and it covered basically everything on the test. If you can't do the math portion, it helps explain it how to get each answer. At the very least it'll help you identify which parts you'll need a refresher on.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/361395084418?ul_noapp=true&chn=ps&lpid=82

[Brian101193]

 

I saw an early post somewhere that had a number you could call to find out who all of the Flight Surgeons are as well as schedule a Flight Physical through the same means. I can't remember where I saw that number though. I'll see if I can find it.

 

I'm searching man, got in touch with a local acquaintance of mine who just branched aviation to find out where they got theirs done.

[Dmurray]

 

I used this and it covered basically everything on the test. If you can't do the math portion, it helps explain it how to get each answer. At the very least it'll help you identify which parts you'll need a refresher on.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/361395084418?ul_noapp=true&chn=ps&lpid=82

I actually just ordered one of those off amazon. Damn thing is taking forever to ship out here though.

[Dmurray]

Finally took the SIFT this morning. What a relief to have it over!

 

A majority of my Studying came from the FAA Rotorcraft Handbook. I also used The USAREC military flight study guide to get an idea what I needed to study. I ordered a few of the study guides (Barron's) but none of them shipped out to me in time.

 

If you check out Cram.com or Quizlet.com they have flash cards for army aviation as well as some mechanical stuff too. These flash cards are what I used to study the night before the exam.

 

I was really concerned with the math section because it has been so long since I did anything complex. I used www.khanacademy.org to practice and study math. I felt like I ended up doing more guessing than anything anyway.

 

For the mechanical section I practiced the AFAST and ASVAB mechanical sections.

 

I seemed to have enough time for every section. My advice would be to study diligently and then relax before the test.

 

I scored a 78 which is much higher than I was expecting. Good Luck!

[Lindsey]

Outstanding! Way to put in the work. A 78 is near unheard of.

[Dmurray]

Toward the end of the test I was getting more nervous in anticipation of my score. When I finished mechanical and the score came up I was completely surprised. The Test Control Officer said it was the highest score she had seen. Hard work pays off.

[cofranc]

 

I got a 62, completely bombed the hidden figures.

Same here. I scored a 61 and I think I only managed to get through maybe 4-5 hidden figures questions. When I took multiple practices tests, I did just fine. I am not sure why I thought the actual SIFT hidden figures section was so difficult.

 

As for tips for other applicants seeking to take the SIFT, I recommend plenty of studying. Overall, I probably studied 15-20 hours over a course of 2-3 weeks.

 

The first section I know I nailed because I would say I have a great attention to detail. There is not much studying one can do for this part other than looking at practices exams to get a general feel for how the section will be on the actual exam.

 

The hidden figures section really destroyed me (see my comment at the top of this post). I would say one cannot really study for this section either.

 

The third section, Army Aviation, is where one should spend a lot of time studying unless one has prior knowledge of aviation. I only studied from the FAA manual and I feel I did pretty well in this section. If you know at least the first three chapters of this manual, you should get a good score.

 

The Spatial Apperception section went well for me. Look at examples from SIFT study guides and other aviation exam guides and you will get the gist of what this section will look like. As strange as it might sound, if you have played a lot of video games flying aircraft, you can do rather well in the section. Even just playing a lot of Battlefield 3 helped me in this section.

 

The last three sections of Math, Reading Comp., and Mechanical Comp. can be aced by simply studying and having the knowledge. I thought all three of these sections were basically like the ASVAB, but more difficult. Remember, the Math and Mechanical sections are adaptive so don't just guess answers without using some sort of logic to eliminate wrong choices.

 

Other than this, make sure you don't just cram studying in the night before. Spread your studying out a couple of weeks prior to your exam and it won't feel so daunting. Good luck to all future testers!

[Dmurray]

I didn't spend much time on hidden figures. If I saw a shape right away I selected it. If I didn't I just guessed.

[jwoft]

 

Both, but I'm at a bit of a crossroads as to what to do. Called the 3 closest Army bases to my house and was told by all that they only serve the "local area." My recruiter said he was working on scheduling one for me on his end, and said that he "got me an appointment, but they cancelled it" at one of the 3 bases I called. Not sure if he's telling the truth, full of it or just not sure on who to contact etc.

 

Got annoyed and called my local MEPS station to find out who the regional flight physician is, Army liaison said he knew who/how to schedule it but didn't want to tell me. Told me to have my recruiter contact him personally to get it done. So tomorrow I'll relay that info to my recruiter and hope to have this annoying mystery solved.

 

Any luck with your Flight Phys, dude?

[Jconn87]

I feel like I just screwed my chances, I took the SIFT and scored a 41, I choked hard and forgot the spatial apperception. I was doubting myself and started regretting that I took the test. Then I felt I studied the wrong stuff for AAIT, the AFAST was generally what I used...I just found the FAA guidelines and that was such a nice read but doesn't help that I found it after. Are my chances literally dead in the water now?

 

 

AGE: 27

GT: 113

SIFT: 41

APFT: 263

EDUCATION: Bachelor’s Degree, 1 National Techinchal Certidication in Radiological Imaging

LORS: 1 BC(COL), CO, 1 LTC (flight surgeon), 1 CW4 (non-pilot), 1 CW4, and 1 CW5 (both pilots)

OTHER INFO: UPL, WLC(CL all exceeds with 95%), Multple board wins, 2 NCOERs (both 2/2), 5x AAM

 

After that SIFT test I feel I have screwed myself. Worst thing they can tell me is no, but if they are going to tell me no everytime I apply.... Then yea

[Brian101193]

 

Any luck with your Flight Phys, dude?

 

Yes I did have some luck! I just stayed persistent and called bases that were further and further away from me trying to find something. I ended up getting all the way up to Fort Drum (I live in Tampa, Florida) and they said they could see me in two weeks. I scheduled the appointment and then booked a flight up. Completed phase 1 and 2 on November 4th and am now just waiting for a stamp from Rucker. Fingers crossed for the January board!

[jwoft]

 

Yes I did have some luck! I just stayed persistent and called bases that were further and further away from me trying to find something. I ended up getting all the way up to Fort Drum (I live in Tampa, Florida) and they said they could see me in two weeks. I scheduled the appointment and then booked a flight up. Completed phase 1 and 2 on November 4th and am now just waiting for a stamp from Rucker. Fingers crossed for the January board!

 

You got both phases done in one day? Way to take the initiative and make things happen!

[Brian101193]

Yep, got to Drum at 0645 and didn't leave until 1600. A fun filled day of dilated eyes, blood work and an EKG, totally worth it though!

[Dmurray]

That's awesome dude!

[Insights_STG]

Hmmmm.... Didn't they need to wait on your lab data to get back to them before scheduling part 2? Ya know... like they do with everyone else??

 

If you really got both parts done in one day, I am quite jealous..

[Brian101193]

Hmmmm.... Didn't they need to wait on your lab data to get back to them before scheduling part 2? Ya know... like they do with everyone else??

 

If you really got both parts done in one day, I am quite jealous..

Went for labs after Opto, they were all back by 1300 except for the HIV test.

[Insights_STG]

Probably 75%, or more of the sift scores people are reporting on this site are bullshit.

 

 

I scored a 95pilot/91navigator on the AFOQT, blew the asvab out of the water, and I studied very hard for the SIFT. Very hard..

 

And I found it to be the hardest test I've probably ever taken. The test format, which penalizes you hard for an incorrect response puts you in a very difficult situation.

 

I can just slam the vast majority of the math questions that these military tests ask.. Slam them... The AFOQT gives you 25 questions, and you have a set time to complete them.. Like a normal test...

 

 

The sift however, will vary your questions based on how are doing. Every time you get one right the question gets slightly harder. vice versa. The penalty for getting a question wrong weighs so heavy, that you have no idea when you should just STOP doing these math questions. I got through the first 15 questions, and i knew I was at 100%. The questions got progressively harder, and at 16, I was not positive about my answer.

 

But the test had just started, and i was kicking the sh*t out of these problems.. I wanted to demonstrate my math skills by doing as many of these questions as i could.. I knew I was getting 8/10 correct so my score HAD to be improving since I was completing so many.... Nope.

 

I should have just stopped at question 15. And sat out the remaining time doing nothing.

 

Its a bullshit test design... Complete bullshit. I got through a lot of questions and did very very well with my % correct. But negative responses do too much damage. The strategy is too not do a lot. ( So can I get first 3 right, and stop??? No penalty?? Obviously 3 questions total completed, would be just f*cking stupid. So where is the cut off?!? Maybe 3 questions right/0wrong WOULD WORK! I don't f*cking know. Gayest test ever.

 

 

Anyways.... For as prepared as I was I felt I should have scored much better than I did. I still did fine... It just kinda irritates me seeing soooo many people post scores of 75+.

 

Anyways, congrats to all who did well. I guess I'm just being a baby because I suck at Sift tests apparently.

 

Any questions about sift/woft process please feel free to ask, Id be happy to help if i can.

[Lindsey]

There's not "sooooo many people" reporting scores over 75. There's been like 3. You need to chill out; by calling other people here liars you come across as a jealous teenager. Come on. There's no reason to lie here. People work hard for their scores.

 

Plus, one of the key strategies for this test is knowing how to take it. Knowing, for example, that it's a more beneficial strategy in the math section to get the questions right than to answer more questions.

 

I thought the test was very fair. I studied my ass off over a month's time and got a 73. I don't have any issue whatsoever with others scoring higher than me. You need to relax.

[Seth G.]

I saw the SIFT as a "Pass/Fail" type of exam. I studied hard for 2 months, mostly focusing on math and principles of flight. I knew my mechanical was weak, and math was difficult for me. I think I got about 12 or 13 questions into the math portion? I knew I bombed mechanical, and I still had 15 hidden figures left before time ran short. I'm sure at least 15 of the 35 I answered were incorrect. I pulled off a 54 (slightly above average). To those who are reading this and feel a little intimidated by someone scoring higher than you, don't be. I was selected last September, first time go. It's the "Whole Soldier/Person" concept. To those who scored very high, you earned it!

Edited November 8, 2015 by Seth G.

[AFmarksman]

Insights, you only mentioned the math portion of your test. Maybe one or more of the other sections impacted your score in a way you didn't anticipate?

 

You seem extremely sure of your math skills ("SAT math crushing...blew the ASVAB out of the water...I can just slam the vast majority of the math questions that these military tests ask...Slam them...the test had just started, and i was kicking the sh*t out of these problems..."). Perhaps, dare I say, you were overconfident going into the test?

 

Most of my study time was dedicated to the specific test sections. However, I did spend some time researching the test itself. Putting everything together is what enabled me to score well, and I assure you my score is not bullshit.

 

That being said, Seth G. is absolutely right about the whole person concept. The board wants to see that you are the entire package, not just a high score. Will a high score help? Definitely, but your score is only a very small part of what the board considers.

[StockTrader]

 

Yes I did have some luck! I just stayed persistent and called bases that were further and further away from me trying to find something. I ended up getting all the way up to Fort Drum (I live in Tampa, Florida) and they said they could see me in two weeks. I scheduled the appointment and then booked a flight up. Completed phase 1 and 2 on November 4th and am now just waiting for a stamp from Rucker. Fingers crossed for the January board!

Someone get this kid an LOR cause that is sheer dedication lol

[Brian101193]

Someone get this kid an LOR cause that is sheer dedication lol

 

Haha thanks, but I was lucky to be in a situation where I could afford to pay for a flight to get up there. I saw it as an investment in myself.

[Dmurray]

Listen, I knew well before I took the SIFT that I was going to have trouble with math. I didn't even plan on taking the test until I returned to the states but I started studying anyway. I opened the handbooks/ manuals, tried to brush up on math, and reviews various test guides. When I switched camps I found out the education center administers the test. I made an appointment a week out and went for it. I had a comfortable study schedule over the course of a couple months. The only cramming I did was the week prior to the test. This is something I've wanted to do my whole life and I'm the only one that will ensure my success.

 

Regardless of my high score, I'll still be evaluated on a whole. Just like was mentioned before, your score doesn't necessarily reflect you. I could still look like a sh*tbag, who knows....