How hard is the CADET aptitude test really? Nervous about joining

by Tom W. 11 views3 replies
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Tom W.OP
May 27, 2026

Hey everyone, I've been thinking about joining the Canadian Armed Forces for about a year now and I finally booked my CFAT date for next month. I'm honestly pretty anxious about it — math was never my strongest subject in school and I keep reading conflicting things online about how difficult the test actually is. Some people say it's straightforward, others make it sound brutal.

I've been doing practice questions for about three weeks now, maybe an hour a day. The spatial reasoning section is what's killing me — I can handle the verbal stuff fine but mentally rotating shapes is not my thing. I found the FREE CADET Pilot Question and Answers resource really helpful for understanding the format, but I'm still not sure if I'm aiming for the right score depending on what trade I want. My recruiter mentioned different minimums for different occupations but wasn't super specific.

Has anyone here taken it recently? What sections surprised you most, and realistically how much prep time did you need? I want to go in with a solid cadet portfolio of skills, not just wing it and hope for the best.

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Amanda H.
May 27, 2026
Took mine about eight months ago. The spatial reasoning tripped me up too — honestly just do timed practice every single day, your brain adapts faster than you'd think. I scored high enough for my first-choice trade after about four weeks of focused prep. The problem solving section moves fast so don't get stuck on one question. Skip it and come back.
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Sofia R.
May 28, 2026
The math isn't calculus or anything crazy, it's more like Grade 10 level but under time pressure. Word problems and basic algebra. I'd say the verbal is actually harder to study for because it's more about pattern recognition than memorizing rules. What trade are you aiming for? Pilot and officer trades require higher scores than technical ones. Also check out the FREE CADET Deployment Question and Answers — different angle but helped me with problem-solving format.
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Sarah M.
May 28, 2026
Don't overthink it. I was stressed about the spatial section too and ended up doing fine. Just keep practicing timed sets, sleep well the night before, and trust your prep. You've got this.

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