So I just got my results back and I passed with a 78, which honestly felt like winning the lottery after bombing my first attempt back in February. I went in way underprepared that first time — figured my nursing background would carry me through the aptitude sections. It did not. The spatial reasoning and abstract thinking parts wrecked me.
Between attempts I spent about six weeks actually studying. Found a solid HAST study guide that broke down each subtest separately, which was a game-changer. I also did a ton of HAST practice test questions — probably 400+ over those six weeks. Timing yourself matters more than I thought; I kept running out of time on the mechanical comprehension section even when I knew the material.
My biggest exam tips: don't skip the vocabulary subtest prep thinking it'll be easy, and practice under real timed conditions from day one. Anyone else here doing a second attempt or just starting out? Happy to answer questions about what the experience was actually like.