Have you ever wondered how the lean fighting men-in-uniform are chosen for the army? Well, before they engage and survive military training, army recruits must first pass the ASVAB.

So, what is the Average ASVAB Score? The ASVAB, or Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, is series of tests designed by the military and government to assess the person’s skills and psychological well-being. A person’s ASVAB score aids the military in identifying a person’s Military Occupational Specialty (MOS)-that is, whether he should be in the navy, the air force, special ops, etc.

The ASVAB has 200 multiple choice questions about General Science, Arithmetic Reasoning, Word Knowledge, Paragraph Comprehension, Numerical Operations, Auto and Shop Information, Mathematics Knowledge and Mechanical Comprehension. Within 134 minutes, the test taker must not only reach the average on each individual test section, but he/she must also reach certain “cumulative scores”-Verbal, Math and Academic–which describe the over-all proficiency of the test taker.

What is the average ASVAB score needed to be fit for the military? First, a good ASVAB score will ebb and flow, depending on which branch of the military you are focused on. Second, the ASVAB is rated on a percentile basis. Hence, the highest score is 99 while the lowest score is 1. The nationwide and across all branches average ASVAB score is between 42 and 50.

A “genius” rating in the ASVAB is anything near 92 and above. A whopping score of higher than the previously mentioned “blowout” ASVAB scores will help secure access to the best MOS available—special ops, nuclear work for the navy, or work as a Ranger in the army.

It is worth mentioning, however, that the military is not required to place an individual in a specific program on the basis of high school. More often than not, when a branch of the military has a great need in a particular area, they will fill the vacancy in spite of one’s MOS capabilities.

Indeed, it is no easy feat to be part of the elite team of men and women who defend the country. They do not only need to survive hell-like training camps and missions, but first and foremost they must first survive hell in the screening process—the frontier of such a process being occupied by gaining the average score on the ASVAB. Hence, it is understandable for them to be asking: “What is Average ASVAB Score?”

That’s because we’re talking about the honor and privilege of being heroes of the country here.