ASVAB or Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery Testing will begin on May 9th for Juniors and Seniors! To apply, simply meet Mr. Haynes in the counseling office.

Now, what is the ASVAB for? The ASVAB is a standardized test that reveals everyone’s strengths in core topics: science, math, and language. This is the first step for enlisting in any type of military career. The higher you score, the more jobs you qualify for in the military. However, the ASVAB is open to anyone who is interested in taking it.

When Sg. Carlos J Martinez, a Marine recruiter, was asked for advice, he stated, “My advice on the ASVAB is to not study for it. The reason is, it was never created to be a military entrance test. It is essentially a personality test that was created to see what categories students are naturally good at. So when you take the ASVAB in school, it allows you to get an honest baseline of your interests.”

After you make the decision to enlist, the test comes in. You’ll meet up with a recruiter representing your military branch and schedule a date and time for you to test. Then you’ll go to the testing area, or MEPS (Military Entrance Processing System) to test.

“Different scores allow you to have more opportunities within topics you have a genuine interest in or are naturally better at. A low score in certain sections doesn’t mean you fail it, it just means you may not have been exposed in those areas,” Sgt. Martinez said.

The test does require studying, but it’s all your basic math, science, history, and language knowledge. The better you do, the more jobs you could qualify for. Taking the test does not mean you have to enlist, so you could do it just to see how you score.