Sift Preparation OCT 2021

[Macharmon1]

I’m projected to take my sift test next Thursday 10/28/21 and am really nervous. I feel pretty confident in Reading comprehension, mechanical comprehension, army aviation, special apperception and simple drawings but am really uneasy about math and hidden figures. My question is how’d you guys go about prepping from A-Z all steps taken and if you’ve already taken, what’d you get and were you selected. I feel like I’m going to go in and get a 60-70 but still uneasy. Extra info I have 40 flight hrs on fixed wing and wondering if that matters at all. 

[Lumin]

3 hours ago, Macharmon1 said:

I’m projected to take my sift test next Thursday 10/28/21 and am really nervous. I feel pretty confident in Reading comprehension, mechanical comprehension, army aviation, special apperception and simple drawings but am really uneasy about math and hidden figures. My question is how’s you guys go about prepping from A-Z all steps taken and if you e already taken, what’s you get and we’re you selected. I feel like I’m going to go in and get a 60-70 but still uneasy. Extra info I have 40 flight hrs on fixed wing and wondering if that matters at all. 

For the math portion you should focus your studying on college level algebra but also make sure you know simple things like long division as you do not have a calculator. You more than likely won't answer too many hidden figures questions before the time runs out (for reference I'm pretty sure I answered less than 10). I had zero aviation experience and still scored a 59 and was subsequently selected. I wouldn't stress, especially with the timeline you have to work with - I'd focus a bit on the stuff you feel uncomfortable with but I would spend more time reviewing your aviation knowledge. 

One really great resource that helped me along was the youtube channel "Helicopter Lessons in 10 Minutes or Less".

Good luck with your SIFT and the board to follow! 

[Macharmon1]

10 minutes ago, Lumin said:

For the math portion you should focus your studying on college level algebra but also make sure you know simple things like long division as you do not have a calculator. You more than likely won't answer too many hidden figures questions before the time runs out (for reference I'm pretty sure I answered less than 10). I had zero aviation experience and still scored a 59 and was subsequently selected. I wouldn't stress, especially with the timeline you have to work with - I'd focus a bit on the stuff you feel uncomfortable with but I would spend more time reviewing your aviation knowledge. 

One really great resource that helped me along was the youtube channel "Helicopter Lessons in 10 Minutes or Less".

Good luck with your SIFT and the board to follow! 

As far as knowing what each military helicopter is used for such as the AH-64, UH-60 and CH-47. What specifically is the test looking for (knowledge on all military helicopters or just a certain few) more so should my attention be on all helicopters or a few. 

[18C]

Selected: Yes, SIFT: 71

 

This is only how I prepared, and obviously is not the only way. I have not taken a college level math course in about 12 years, and only a few other college courses since that time.

Overall: I had three different SIFT books. Trivium, Barons, and some other one I forgot. I ignored all the prep sections in them and used them solely for the practice tests. The books are not well refined or edited. One of my answer sheets only had 50 questions for the simple drawings. It just skipped every other number.

I think it is most important that you are ready for the speed and layout of the test more than anything else. I think it was extremely beneficial to have taken 5 or 6 test condition practice tests to get a feel for the exam.

Math: After I took the tests under test conditions, I studied the questions that I got wrong and went to google to find more examples of similar questions. I also went online and downloaded official SAT prep tests, which are much harder questions than you will get from the SIFT. Make sure you pick the no calculator section of the SAT prep. 

Hidden Figures: I completed all of the hidden figures during the test. I thought the hidden figures in the test prep books were much harder than the actual SIFT. On my SIFT I had the same shapes to choose from for almost the whole section. They would just take them and rotate them or make a minor change. It actually felt weird, since the practice tests switched shapes every 5 questions or so.

[Lumin]

18 hours ago, Macharmon1 said:

As far as knowing what each military helicopter is used for such as the AH-64, UH-60 and CH-47. What specifically is the test looking for (knowledge on all military helicopters or just a certain few) more so should my attention be on all helicopters or a few. 

Think less specifically. More about the principals of how helicopters fly; which is why I suggested that YouTube channel. I don't recall anything that was aircraft specific other than something generic. Also make sure you study a bit about night flying, there were a few questions related to NVGs that stumped me. 

18C brought up a very good resource - SAT test prep for math would be an excellent resource and should be easy to find one cheap. 

[Macharmon1]

7 hours ago, Lumin said:

Think less specifically. More about the principals of how helicopters fly; which is why I suggested that YouTube channel. I don't recall anything that was aircraft specific other than something generic. Also make sure you study a bit about night flying, there were a few questions related to NVGs that stumped me. 

18C brought up a very good resource - SAT test prep for math would be an excellent resource and should be easy to find one cheap. 

What specifically would you study for math, polynomials,algebraic expressions,linear systems of equations..ect? Also how did you study for mechanical comprehension? Sorry for the bombardment of questions, just really stressing as I take it in a week. 

[Lumin]

15 hours ago, Macharmon1 said:

What specifically would you study for math, polynomials,algebraic expressions,linear systems of equations..ect? Also how did you study for mechanical comprehension? Sorry for the bombardment of questions, just really stressing as I take it in a week. 

From what I recall you basically hit the nail on the head with your examples. Truthfully I did not study mechanical comprehension or math as I have found that section is generally more common sense stuff - for example this is taken off a SIFT Test prep website - 

1. Heather and Joan are sitting on a seesaw which is balanced. Heather weighs 140 lbs and Joan weighs 107 lbs. If Joan is seated 5.5 feet away from the pivot of the seesaw, how far away is Heather from the pivot?

4.2 ft

140 ft

5.85 ft

5 ft

 

there were a few extremely specific questions thrown in that there really wasn't a way to study for. I had one question that had to do with how nuclear reactors function - something to do with fission.

I mostly studied the stuff I knew I didn't know as well such as the aviation stuff, hidden figures, and spatial apperception.

Three study resources I utilized most heavily were the Helicopter Lessons in 10 minutes or less on Youtube, FAA rotary handbook, and a SIFT test prep book. If you feel uncertain of your ability to do as well as you expect then you should probably delay taking the test by a week or two to give yourself more time to feel prepared. 

Sorry that I don't remember more specific examples - good luck!

[Twadd]

Score: 66

For my prep I got the 2020 SIFT study guide, watched all the videos from the  Helicopter Lessons in 10 Minutes or Less YouTube channel, and did the Algebra section from Khan Acedemy to brush up on math. I took the test two weeks ago. I only got through 13 hidden figure questions and still managed a 66. 

[kow10120]

When I took the SIFT in 2017 they still had questions pertaining to the Kiowa, even though it is no longer a current airframe. I would recommend looking into it as you look over the other airframes too for the Army aviation portion.