You think an ASVAB score of 50 is bad?

Question

It's for Air Force

Answer 1

There is no overall "ASVAB Score." When you hear someone saying "I got an 80 on my ASVAB," they are talking about their AFQT (Armed Forces Qualifying Test) score, not an "overall" ASVAB Score.

The AFQT is important. It determines whether or not you can join the military. The AFQT score is not derived from all portions of the ASVAB. Indeed, the AFQT score is determined from only four areas of the ASVAB: Word Knowledge (WK), Paragraph Comprehension (PC), Arithmetic Reasoning (AR), and Mathematics Knowledge (MK).

Minimum requirements for the various service branches are as follows:
Navy: 35
Air Force: 36
Army: 31
Marines: 32
Coast Guard: 40

So you more than meet the requirements for any of the branches. The higher your score the more options you have as to what you can do. What specific jobs you are qualified for depends on your specific sub-scores in the various categories.

The ASVAB contains nine separate sub-tests:
General Science (GS)
Arithmetic Reasoning (AR)
Word Knowledge (WK)
Paragraph Comprehension (PC)
Auto & Shop (AS)
Mathematics Knowledge (MK)
Mechanical Comprehension (MC)
Electronics Information (EI)
Assembling Objects (AS)

The Air Force has four composite score areas made up from the individual ASVAB sub-tests, known as MAGE. The four composite score areas that make up MAGE are:

1. Mechanical Aptitude Score - Determined from General Science (GS), Mechanical Comprehension (MC), and Auto/Shop (AS).

2. Administrative Aptitude Score - Numerical Operations (NO), Coding Speed (CS), and Verbal Expression (VE). (Note: With the elimination of NO and CS from the ASVAB, a "dummy score" is now inserted there, so the Administrative Score is actually determined directly from the VE Score).

3. General Aptitude Score - Determined from Arithmetic Reasoning (AR) and and Verbal Expression (VE).

4. Electronics Aptitude Score - Determined from General Science (GS), Arithmetic Reasoning (AR), Mathematics Knowledge (MK), and Electronics Information (EI).

For a list of jobs in the Air Force and what you need to qualify go here: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/airforceenlistedjobs/a/afjobs.htm

Answer 2

It's not a "bad" score per se, but the higher you score, the more jobs you will have to pick from when you do enlist. If you're unhappy with the score, you can re-take the ASVAB after so many months.

If you want to join the Air Force, you may have a harder time than joining the other branches because the Air Force is having large reductions in manpower, which has affected a lot of people. So there are less jobs open in the Air Force at the moment.

If you're serious about joining, now would be the time to talk to a recruiter, since the "recruiting year" starts and ends in October - we're still in the second quarter of the recruiting year and you may have a better chance getting a job you want now as opposed to a couple of months down the road.

Answer 3

The Air Force is the hardest of the services to get into. If 50 is your overall score, its not a great score, whether or not it is 'bad' for you depends on what job you wish to be qualified for when you go to MEPS and speak to the career counselor. Most (if not all) the jobs require a minimum overall score plus a minimum score in its relevant skill category. For instance electronics jobs will require a certain score on the electrical knowledge portion of the test as well as a certain overall score. Same for mechanical etc etc. The good news is that if you discover your scores are not sufficient for what you want to do, you CAN retake the test, and there are study guides available at any retail book store that will help you greatly if you will take the time to use one.

Answer 4

Before I took the ASVAB I took a practice test at the recruiter station and bombed it, he recommended that I buy one of those study books, so I did and when I took the real deal I scored very high. If you are not happy with your score go out and buy one of those books for a little refresher its worth it, you don’t want to be stuck in a field that was not your first pick, but 50 is about an average score. Buy the book and retest after you study if your not happy.

Answer 5

My AFQT was 99. I scored a little lower in a couple of the MAGE categories. The key to happiness in the Air Force is to do the job you want. If your individaul MAGE score is good enough for the job you want, you should do just fine. I, for example, was a crew chief on F-16 fighters, which only required a Mechanical score of 65 (I scored 85). My score didn't matter much because I did what I wanted to do.

FWIW, you still got twice the minimum score required to join the Marines.

Find out which jobs you can qualify for and pick the one you like the most. Best of luck in the Air Force!

Answer 6

Is that your overall score? The ASVAB scoring is a little more complicated than that.

There is a website http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/l/blafqtscore.htm that gives you an idea of where you stand percentage wise. I think you can also see jobs that you are qualified for based on your scores.

Answer 7

50 is Ok as it is average. At least a 60 would be better. You know you can take it again.

You didn't really know what to expect the first time around and were a bit nervous I'm sure. Maybe it was early. Just get the book and take it again.

Answer 8

No, I got a 42 the first time and they were willing to accept me but you have a better chance of getting more job offers the higher your score is.

I got a 60 the second time.

Answer 9

i don't remeber what i got, but i do remeber a recruit calling me, and saying "let's see here, you ASVAB score was...[omitted]...... WOW, thats good" i think he was trying to tell me what i could be in the Navy.... but i decided to pursue my education, even though i'm poor, cause you know, if a recruit offers a poor man money to join the service, then we'll all be happy to join, and not think of the consequences......

Answer 10

1