ATP written at ATP...??

[Catnhat]

Is the written prep at ATP all self study? Is there actually any instruction or review with an instructor, or are you just paying for access to their computers and sorted questions?

For anyone with experience with both, better than Gleim? Why?

 

[NYCPilot]

ATP will get you a pretty decent score but those tests are almost rigged. You can walk in with never having looked at an ATP prep book and still pass in the high 80's or 90's after a few hours of study. THey narrow down questions and from what Ive heard, the answers are in some of the books penciled in. You wont learn a thing, except memorize the exact questions you'll get on the test.

 

[Tram]

ATP takes the ATP test bank and throws out anything that's not a 121 question..

We try to clean out the books so there are no penciled in answers, but the book is thick - hard to find some of the stuff..

Tankerpuke - I have had several ATP guys - they all passed.. I have seen a few not.. It just depends on your ability to fly the plane.. I know 3 examiners who do the ride and each one focuses on something totally different than the others..

 

[dash8driver]

there are no instructors. they've taken out all the questions that you wont be asked (dispatcher questions, etc). then you just sit in front of the computer and run through the questions, rote is the operating principle here. so yes, you're just getting access to their computers and sorted questions.

its true that sometimes there are things circled in the book. however, as on any test its not a good idea to trust the anonymous idiot that took the test before you. you dont know why he circled it or if he was even right.

 

[Tram]

Yeh, he's right.. there are no instructors..

Basically it goes like this... You show up at 8am.. pay for the prep and then are shown a computer, how to use it, where the coffee can be found, where the bathrooms are, how to click a mouse.. from 8am until 6pm you are free to study..

At 6pm an instructor will appear out of no where and let you take your test..

 

[NYCPilot]

its true that sometimes there are things circled in the book. however, as on any test its not a good idea to trust the anonymous idiot that took the test before you. you dont know why he circled it or if he was even right.

If you're using the book as you go along the practice questions, you'll know which answers circled are the correct ones.

I kind of question the legitimacy of the ATP method of passign that test. I actually studied for that exam and went throguh all of the questions including the formulas until I knew them. This took a few weeks of part-time studying, but I felt like I earned my score of 99.

I also do realize it is meaning less too. All of these FAA tests are a joke.

 

[dash8driver]

If you're using the book as you go along the practice questions, you'll know which answers circled are the correct ones.

that works if you get to keep the same book you studied with. i see here many people took the test in the same day. when i did mine (atp and fe) they had you study all day and come back the next morning to take the test, then study for the next test only to take it the next day as well. i dont know if its just the way they do it at that location (SEA) or what.

 

[Tram]

NYCPilot - I understand what your saying completely.. I totally agree that one should know the information and understand the subject matter..

However - if ATP's legitimacy should be questioned, so should Gleim's Prep, King's Prep and Sheffields Prep.. Afterall, they are all the exact same thing - they tell you the answers to the exact questions you will be asked, except ATP and Sheffields Prep take out the questions you don't need to study..

Writtens are a "hoop" or a "box" that we must all either jump through or check...

As far as circles in a book, it happens, but like someone else said - who's going to follow the advice of some random guy who writes in a book, and if the answer is circled and you know it's the correct answer - then you must have learned something to know that the other person chose correctly..

The only information that needs to be "learned" are the loading questions and some of the performance stuff - of which, I think these are the smaller covered subjects on the test..

 

[NYCPilot]

The question bank provided by ATP is much narrower than one you might encounter at a Laser or Cats vendor. I took the 121 and got almost all 135 perfomance, IFR trip, w/b and aircaft questions. Very few 121.

All I'm saying is that they do you a favor by being able to eliminate a large chunk of questions for the actual test. This is soemthing you're not afforded elsewhere.

For those who want to get it out of the way, go to ATP. You're assured a passing score.

 

[millhouse21]

Actually, I believe the test itself is the same one no matter where you take it. The difference is that ATP goes through the question bank and sorts out only those questions that ever get asked on the test. Like someone else said, it like 30% of them. That's what you're paying the $290 for.

 

[Tram]

So you took the 121 and got 135 questions? That's odd..

The prep at ATP is ATP prep, but the test taken is a Cats vendored test..

What millhouse said is 100% correct.. The tests are all the same.. ATP cannot mess with "what questions you are asked on the test.."

 

[Lopaka]

Took it about 4yrs ago in JAX and scored in the 90's. My friend taking it at the same time scored in the low 70's. He claimed that his test was completely different from anything that we had been practicing. ATP's gave him a voucher to come back and take it over again later on.
At that time you would study all day & night and take it in the morning. Now it's changed so you show up at 800 and take it at 1800.

 

[NYCPilot]

So you took the 121 and got 135 questions? That's odd..

The prep at ATP is ATP prep, but the test taken is a Cats vendored test..

What millhouse said is 100% correct.. The tests are all the same.. ATP cannot mess with "what questions you are asked on the test.."

Yeah, apparently its not uncommon to get 135 questions on a 121 and vice versa. Accordingto Gleim, 30% of tests contain cross questioning. My advice for those studying on their own, study everything except the regulations section.
If taking the 121 don't study the 135 regs. - but DO look over all 135 IFR trips, AC and performance charts.

That test blows anyway.

Also, if you have the Gleim CD, you can isolate questions just like at ATP and have it to use down the road to practice for the written given during most regional interviews.

 

[BritishGuy]

Well thanks for all the replies, just to fill you in, went to ATP Orlando yesterday. Started at 8am and took the test at 5pm. Me and my friend both got a 94%. Was chuffed! Hmmmm....went over he 121 questoins before I turned up (wanted to make sure I passed). That really helped I think. If you need it done quick, I'd recommend it.