Long-term study preparation for the ASVAB exam is essential. To perform well, your study must be consistent. It should also be focussed and objective-driven. Here, we review the top 7 ASVAB test prep study tips to help you ace the ASVAB test.
It’s true – failure to prepare leads to failure itself.
There’s no two ways about it. Either you invest the time necessary, or you do not. Let’s not forget how competitive the ASVAB exam can be. Not everyone is going to be chosen to enlist in the military. It’s up to you to prove your salt.
It’s not enough just “to study”.
What “study” means to you is not the same as what it means for someone else. For example, how productive is your study? There are situations in which a person studies three times more than the second person, but studies three times less effectively. Time management, then, is vital – as well as how to maximize that study time.
In other words, it’s not enough to “just study”. That study must be productive and must have a purpose. The top ASVAB test prep study tips we review all coalesce around this key idea. Keep it in mind and build a study plan that works for you. Not everyone studies in the same way.
The military is a broad church.
The ASVAB exam reflects that; an exam composed of many different subject areas. Though you should aim to score the best possible result across the board, never lose sight of your long-term career objectives.
Some want to join the aviation wing of the military, others are more interested in the electronic / technical side of things. You should focus on maximizing the result in whatever area you hope to work in. Of course, don’t compensate on any other parts of the ASVAB exam.
You need to know what you want and work toward the career goal.
It will energize and motivate your study and get you across the line when it matters most.
You should have a specific study zone.
That study zone shouldn’t be just any space. No, instead it must be a defined place free of distractions. You shouldn’t study on your bed, for example, or close to it. You need a zone free of distraction and free of these associations to relaxation.
Disable notifications on your phone and laptop. Turn off the TV or any other distracting device. If you must, place a temporary lock on your laptop to ensure you don’t access Facebook or other addictive forms of social media.
These steps are the foundation of effective study.
Once free and rid of these distractions, you can focus on the task at hand and maximize your study time.
As with everything else in life, you need to plan.
If you have two candidates, one with a plan and another who haphazardly jumps from one topic to the next, you can be sure that the student with a plan will score better every single time.
Planning means you know what to do and when. Make it realistic. Don’t assign too much study time, or too little, based on the topic. You may require more or less time depending on your personal strengths and weaknesses.
It may take some time to get familiar with what constitutes a “reasonable” amount of study time.
Taking breaks is a must, too.
Try to study for 50-minute increments – each with a defined goal. Once those 50 minutes pass, leave the room and take a break. Do anything, whatever constitutes relaxation.
Return to study for another 50 minutes. First, revise whatever you have studied in the previous hour. Perhaps take 3-5 minutes to review the notes you have written. Then, and only then, move onto the next topic.
Breaks are essential. They revitalize your brain and keep it oxygenated. Without breaks, you become fatigued and it compromises your study potential.
Even if you’re the type not to take breaks, do it anyway.
You should always make notes.
Never copy words direct. Instead, re-write words and phrases in your own words. That way, you think about the concept more. The more you think abstractly about a topic, the more memorable that topic becomes.
Notes are essential.
You’ll be preparing for the ASVAB exam for many months. It’s simply not possible to remember everything from every study period. Well, except for some people born with prodigious memories! But most people are not equipped in that capacity.
- Structure your notes. Keep defined headings. If there are specific topics you need to spend some extra time on, make a note of that too.
- Date your notes. That way you know when to revise them – after 1 week, 1 month, 2 months etc. – to ensure the facts don’t slip from your short-term memory.
- Review your notes. It converts short-term memories into the long-term forms that deliver results on exam day. The only way for that conversion to take place is to repeatedly expose yourself to the same detail.
Notes offer you that opportunity. Take the opportunity with both hands. The more you make notes, the better you become at it until it becomes second nature.
It’s paramount that you find your weaknesses; one of the primary objectives of any successful ASVAB test prep study.
The best way to harvest weaknesses is to test your ASVAB knowledge – and the best way to do that is to take ASVAB quiz questions. Through our online course, for example, you can take thousands of ASVAB quiz questions – each question coming with a detailed, explained answer. That way, you know your weaknesses and have the motivation to try and plug that gap.
Eventually, those gaps become fewer and fewer and fewer – to the point where you foster the confidence and knowledge needed to ace the ASVAB exam.
It’s too easy to focus on your strengths.
But you lose out in the long-term; compromising your ASVAB study and skewing the results.
If anything, you should spend less time on your strongest subjects, not more. Don’t ignore your strongest subjects either – that’s just as bad. You need to strike a realistic balance between the time rationed to your strengths and weaknesses. This maintains your strengths and builds the knowledge base needed to translate those weaknesses into strengths.
That way you maximize your study and deliver a better result on exam day.
ASVAB Test Guide is the leading online resource that helps you pass the ASVAB exam. Check back to our blog soon for even more great ASVAB test prep study tips to get you across the line and thrust into an exciting military career.
