A little backdrop on how the AT-SAT scores stack up. This is first hand knowledge -- I ran off some applicant forms a couple of weeks ago and the ATC district manager (who works down the hall from me) and I had a conversation about it when I told him my score.
The panels are reviewing a referral list. In his experience (he doesn't sit on every panel).. there are actually two separate forms. The first is the WQ list, organized in order of AT-SAT score. If there are 200 names on this list, and your STATE has a vacancy of 150, then 50 individuals will not be selected for that panel. However, if the state in question has a vacancy of 300, and there are 200 people on the WQ list, then the Q list is brought out and the top 100 scores from that are selected. He said that with the overwhelming need for controllers that is often the case.
I asked him specifically about my score, since I made a 85.4, which is just barely WQ. He said that my score is good enough to get picked up.. just not picked up as quickly as someone with a 100. I also have a college degree, and I have a 10 point disabled vet preference.. and even now I'm not sure how that stacks up in the process. On the form that covers each individual employment package it has blocks that assign "points" for degrees, etc. I doubt these would be added to an AT-SAT score, but I could see those points contributing to a final rating that could be a factor when they are actually being reviewed.
As I said, this is from my own conversation with the DM for ATC in this area -- as well as my review of our paperwork here in tech ops. I still have unanswered questions myself, but I can say that AT-SAT is not a "ranged" score, i.e. a 85 buys you a 100, or a 70 buys you a 84. As much as I wish it was the case, it just isn't that way.
A final point that was made to me was -- you have a significantly better shot of getting a slot if you geopref states that have a large need. That geographic preference form isn't a "dream sheet".. it's really a decision of how stiff your competition is going to be to get where you want to go. I realize that some people have gotten picked up for states where they didn't even list one, but how exactly that occured is beyond me.
anic: