FAQ
Questions about the ASVAB
Everything students ask us about the ASVAB and about how our practice tests work.
- What is the AFQT, and how is it different from my ASVAB score?
- There is no single 'ASVAB score'. Four sections — Arithmetic Reasoning, Mathematics Knowledge, Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension — combine into the AFQT, which is a percentile from 1 to 99 and decides whether you can enlist at all. The remaining sections feed line scores, which decide which jobs you qualify for. This works identically on both forms: the same four sections produce the AFQT whether you sit the CAT or the paper version. If you only have time to prepare for part of the exam, prepare for those four.
- What AFQT score do I need?
- The published minimum is 31 for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force, and 36 for the Coast Guard, if you hold a standard high school diploma. Those are floors, not targets — branches routinely admit well above them, and a higher score opens more jobs and more bonuses. Your recruiter is the authority on what is currently being accepted.
- Is the AFQT a percentage?
- No, and this trips people up constantly. It is a percentile. An AFQT of 50 does not mean you got half the questions right — it means you scored better than 50 percent of a reference group of test takers. That is why a 31 is a pass rather than a fail.
- Which form should I practise, CAT or paper?
- Whichever one you will actually sit, and your recruiter knows which. At a Military Entrance Processing Station you sit the CAT-ASVAB on a computer. At a Military Entrance Test site, usually a National Guard armory nearer to you, you sit the paper form. They are the same exam pitched at the same level, but the paper form gives you 225 questions in 149 minutes and the computer form gives you 135 in 197, so the pacing is completely different. If you genuinely do not know yet, the Both Forms bundle covers you for less than buying either twice.
- Are your CAT tests adaptive like the real thing?
- No, and we will not pretend otherwise. The real CAT-ASVAB chooses each question from how you answered the last one, so no fixed practice test can reproduce it. What our CAT tests do reproduce is everything else that changes your score: the ten-section blueprint, the question counts, the timing, and the rule that matters most — an answer is final the moment you submit it and you cannot go back. That last one is not a cosmetic difference, and practising without it is how people get caught out.
- Can I use a calculator?
- No. Calculators are prohibited on every section of the ASVAB, including both maths sections. Our tests work the same way, which is deliberate — practising Arithmetic Reasoning with a calculator teaches you nothing about how it will feel on the day.
- How long does the ASVAB take?
- That depends on the form. The paper version is 225 questions and 149 minutes of testing time, plus administration. The computer version allows 197 minutes for 135 questions, though in practice it often finishes early because it stops once it has measured you accurately. Counterintuitively the paper form is the rushed one: forty seconds a question against about ninety on the computer.
- How many times can I retake the ASVAB?
- You can retake after one calendar month, again after another month, and after that the wait is six months between attempts. Your most recent score is the one that counts, which means a retake can lower a good score as well as raise a poor one. Do not sit it again casually.
- What happens when I finish a practice test?
- You get an immediate breakdown by section showing correct, incorrect and skipped counts alongside the time you spent, your estimated AFQT contribution from the four sections that produce it, and a question-by-question review with a written explanation for every item.
- Can I get a refund?
- No. All sales are final. You receive every question, answer and explanation the instant you pay, and digital material cannot be handed back — a refund would simply be a free copy of the product. This is why we give away a free test and answer any question before you buy. Subscriptions can be cancelled at any time and access runs to the end of the period you have paid for, but payments already taken are not refunded.
- Do I need to install anything?
- No. Everything runs in your browser on a laptop, tablet or phone. Your answers save automatically as you go.