Understanding the ASVAB scores

I've been considering joining the military after HS, and part of the process I believe, is taking the ASVAB. I'm curious about what's the typical ASVAB score for each branch. Any insights?

The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test is indeed an important step if you're considering military enlistment after high school. The ASVAB is composed of ten sections, and your scores on both the four subtests comprising the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) and all other sections are crucial as they will impact your eligibility for enlistment and in determining your MOS, or Military Occupational Specialty.

Now, to the question on the typical ASVAB score for each branch. The AFQT score, which is derived from four sections of ASVAB (Arithmetic Reasoning, Mathematics Knowledge, Word Knowledge, and Paragraph Comprehension), is presented as a percentile score. A percentile score of 50, for instance, means that you scored better than 50% of all other test takers.

Each military branch has different minimum accepted AFQT percentile score for enlistment:

1. Air Force: 36 for high school diploma holders and 65 for GED holders.

2. Army: 31 for high school diploma holders and 50 for GED holders.

3. Coast Guard: 40 for high school diploma holders and 50 for GED holders.

4. Marine Corps: 31 for high school diploma holders and 50 for GED holders.

5. Navy: 35 for high school diploma holders and 50 for GED holders.

6. Space Force: As per the information available, since Space Force is an independent service under the Department of the Air Force, it's likely they would require a score similar to the Air Force's minimum of 36.

It's important to keep in mind that these are the minimum scores, and scoring higher obviously gives you more options in terms of occupations within the chosen branch. That being said, it's always recommended to aim for a high score, ideally above 50 to keep your options open. If a specific job within a branch catches your interest, you can check the needed ASVAB line scores (calculated from specific subsets of the ASVAB) for that job. It's all about match-making: finding your strengths and aligning these with the service and role that best suits those strengths.