ASVAB scoring

[Luanne]

My daughter is preparing to join the Navy. She is studying for the ASVAB. She is strong in English and needs work in math. Is it one overall score neded to qualify or one for math and one for English?

[EmseB]

There are actually quite a few sections, unless they have changed it. The overall score is important to get in, but different sections will show different apptitude for different jobs. She should be taking the initiative to talk to a recruiter about all this though, as they will have the best, most current information about what's needed.

[Leav97]

There are a lot of test prep videos and youtube videos made for help with the ASVAB. It's worth making sure your score meets the requirements of the job you want.

[Mergath]

Afaik, it's all dependent on which MOS (not sure what the Navy calls it, but the job you're going to do) you want. Different jobs require different scores in different sections, and if she has an obvious aptitude in one specific area, they might try to push her into it even if that's not what she wants. I maxed out the overall score and had insane coding scores, so the Army was like, "Look, we know you want to do military police, but you're just going to have to be a linguist because we desperately need people who qualify for that." Of course, this was only a couple years after 9/11, so the military had different needs back then. And then with some jobs, there may be additional testing beyond the ASVAB. I had to do another test after the ASVAB to qualify for my MOS.

 

Her best bet is probably to talk to a recruiter, find out the scores for the job(s) she's interested in, and then study in those sections.

[Luanne]

She has been working with a recruiter for the past three months. We just didn't think of that specific question until today when she was working on her math. She has ASVAB flashcards that we have been working on.

[QueenCat]

Check this site. It might help.

 

http://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/asvab-and-navy-mos-jobs.html

[TravelingChris]

Mergath is completely right that depending on your scores, certain jobs may be required.  For example, I know from talking to an optometrist, people who score high in math and wanted a medical career become opticians.  IF they have a need for them, they don't have a choice.   Same with the people who worked in the places my husband worked, they grabbed people with high math scores.   I remember the recruiter who was talking to us when my dh was considering joining.  The deal was that you join but there is no guarantee of a specific job-  unless you are a doctor, chaplain, lawyer, vet, musician and maybe some other very specialized category.  My husband was a scientist and there was no special program for that.  He did get a job as a scientist anyway because that is what the Air Force needed.  

[Katy]

There are usually ASVAB test prep books at libraries here.  The test is totally different than ACT's or SAT's.  You should check out a book and work through the sections, and also practice multiplication flashcards, even if you haven't done so since 6th grade.

[SemiSweet]

There are different ASVAB scores. There is an overall, which each service has a minimum, then there are subtests to qualify for specific jobs. This site should help.

http://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/asvab-and-navy-mos-jobs.html

Edited November 2, 2016 by SemiSweet

[Free Indeed]

As several people have mentioned- you have your over all score, then they break it into sub categories by area. My son, who is the oldest is in the Navy and my daughter who is turning 18 this month is considering it. When my son took the ASVAB they wanted him to go Nuke- but he wasn't interested. My daughter took the practice ASVAB and they are are also wanting her to go for Nuke- so just know if she scores high enough they will try to push her towards that. The only thing I wasn't ready for is the amount of paperwork and information I had to give for his homeschooling. Nothing major- but they wanted more than his highschool transcript even though he had several college classes to back up my homeschool. That may have just been because of his security clearance though. My son is doing well, and enjoying it. His job will not take him out on ships, but he likes it anyways. It's a big adjustment and the Navy Moms Facebook group helped me immensely.