On Monday, January 11th, Mt. Greylock offered sophomores, juniors, and seniors the ASVAB, or Armed Service Vocational Aptitude Battery, exam. According to the official site of the ASVAB, the test is “a multiple-aptitude battery that measures developed abilities and helps predict future academic and occupational success in the military. The test is administered annually to more than one million military applicants, high school, and post-secondary students.” It consists of questions about general science, arithmetic reasoning, word knowledge, paragraph comprehension, mathematics knowledge, electronic information, auto and shop information, mechanical comprehension, and assembling objects. In total it contains 225 questions and lasts 149 minutes.

Caitlyn Durant, a Mt. Greylock alumnus, is currently a member of the Vermont Air National Guard. Speaking about the ASVAB, she said “I didn’t take it at Greylock but I did take a version of it.” Durant explains that the test was “confusing but really the ASVAB wasn’t too stressful.” She reported that it was “tricky in some parts and other parts it was just common sense” and “it wasn’t so much about the score. It was more about what jobs you qualified for and where your strengths and weaknesses were.” Durant said that she is pleased with how the test placed her and which job opportunities it provided. In planning for the future, the ASVAB can be a useful tool in deciding which paths to take.