flunked armed forces admission exam

[valsacar]

Thank you. I'm not sur if his LD was discussed or not. It's looking less and less like he'll be making another stab. His mom pretty much has him thinking he'll never pass the real thing. :mad: It's hard for me to keep my mouth shut because determination is very inherent to "my" personality, so I can't comprehend a situation where I'd take no for an answer on a pre-test alone, but I know not everyone feels that way. Truth is- testing for him is very hard. His "3 R's" are not very good, and he has a learning disability due to head trauma when he was a child. His mom tells him (frequently) that he's not smart enough to "pass" and tells me there is "no way he'll get in." Maybe that's true, maybe it's not. I just don't think that way, so I'm pretty frustrated about all of this.

OTOH, I do VERY MUCH appreciate all the advice, encouragement, and suggestions. My son, in 2 years, may pursue the armed forces, so I'm paying attention for him too. Thanks everyone, I'll update the thread if there is any change.

Tell his mother to stop acting like a child and start being a parent, she should be SUPPORTING him, not discouraging him. I'll keep the rest of my thoughts on that subject to myself, but I'm sure you can figure out how I feel about those kinds of "parents."

Seriously, the pre-test is FAR harder than the real one, there was over a 20 point difference between my pre-test and my actual test. He just needs to take his time and he'll do fine, he might not get a super high score, and maybe will get a crap list of jobs he's eligible for... but once in that can change. Once in the military (at least I know for a fact the Army offers it) there are programs that help raise your test score (little more complicated, but I'll try and keep it simple). The FAST program (Army has, not sure about the other services) takes a week and can increase your score, opening up new opportunities to switch (re-train) your job (normally as a re-enlistment option, IE did your initial contract and want to stay but with a new job).

I'd be more than happy to give your nephew some advice and first hand knowledge of the whole process from testing to military life. I served 5 years 8 months in the Army, and spent 4 of those years working under the Air Force. Send me a PM and I'll give you my email and he can contact me if he wants.

[smokey2011]

Thank you. I'm not sur if his LD was discussed or not. It's looking less and less like he'll be making another stab. His mom pretty much has him thinking he'll never pass the real thing. :mad: It's hard for me to keep my mouth shut because determination is very inherent to "my" personality, so I can't comprehend a situation where I'd take no for an answer on a pre-test alone, but I know not everyone feels that way. Truth is- testing for him is very hard. His "3 R's" are not very good, and he has a learning disability due to head trauma when he was a child. His mom tells him (frequently) that he's not smart enough to "pass" and tells me there is "no way he'll get in." Maybe that's true, maybe it's not. I just don't think that way, so I'm pretty frustrated about all of this.

OTOH, I do VERY MUCH appreciate all the advice, encouragement, and suggestions. My son, in 2 years, may pursue the armed forces, so I'm paying attention for him too. Thanks everyone, I'll update the thread if there is any change.

Forgive me, but I can't stand parents who tell their children that they can't do something. I agree with Valsacar, his mom should be supporting his choices, not undermining them. Your nephew should not listen to the detractors and figure out his best path for himself. That being said, if anything else, it never hurts to take the real thing and find out if he does qualify for any of the services.

FYI, if your son is interested in the military, I believe he can take the ASVAB as early as his junior year IIRC. Just remember, it's the recruiters job to fill needed slots, and they sure know how to make the crap jobs sound fantastic!

[Prloko]

In the Air Force (also other branches), there are waivers for almost everything. It you nephew has a recruiter that is good on his quota, he may not work so hard to get your nephew in. Some recruiters will "swap" waivers, by sending a kid to another recruiter who has left over waivers or is short on his quota. My recruiter was located in the middle of times square (lots of foot traffic) and didn't put any work into it, I pretty much recruited myself.

A side note, even if your nephew is the best welder in the world, the air force requires you to be able to read technical manuals (T.O.s) and pass a career specific exam in his field (CDCs) after he's in, he also will have to pass tech school so he needs a minimum ability to be proficient in reading, writing and arithmetic.

[cookderosa]

In the Air Force (also other branches), there are waivers for almost everything. It you nephew has a recruiter that is good on his quota, he may not work so hard to get your nephew in. Some recruiters will "swap" waivers, by sending a kid to another recruiter who has left over waivers or is short on his quota. My recruiter was located in the middle of times square (lots of foot traffic) and didn't put any work into it, I pretty much recruited myself.

A side note, even if your nephew is the best welder in the world, the air force requires you to be able to read technical manuals (T.O.s) and pass a career specific exam in his field (CDCs) after he's in, he also will have to pass tech school so he needs a minimum ability to be proficient in reading, writing and arithmetic.

Thank you, those are excellent comments.

[dcan]

A side note, even if your nephew is the best welder in the world, the air force requires you to be able to read technical manuals (T.O.s) and pass a career specific exam in his field (CDCs) after he's in, he also will have to pass tech school so he needs a minimum ability to be proficient in reading, writing and arithmetic.

This is true. Immediately after basic training is tech school. Immediately after that is enrollment in upgrade training via OJT and correspondence text books, with a year to complete I think.

[Prloko]

This is true. Immediately after basic training is tech school. Immediately after that is enrollment in upgrade training via OJT and correspondence text books, with a year to complete I think.

Yes, it is about a year, but is extendable for legit reasons.