MasterBates
Well-Known Member
OCS = You have designator before going in.
ROTC = You select at the end.. No guarantee
ROTC = You select at the end.. No guarantee
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Your chances are....(penalty box for those who can't help asking about their chances)
- Thread starter chelu55
- Start date
oh.. heres what i really have to decide should i apply because i have 28 credits and if i do not accept will i have a black mark for ocs
i thought i could apply as a sophomore according to this https://www.nrotc.navy.mil/scholarships_application.cfm
i thought i could apply as a sophomore according to this https://www.nrotc.navy.mil/scholarships_application.cfm
It is apparent that you don't get it. This should clear it up.
OCS, NROTC, USNA are all commissioning sources. At the completion of each program, you get a commission. For NROTC and USNA you go into it not knowing what designator (career field: NFO, pilot, nuc, etc) you will have when you are commissioned at the end. You submit a dream sheet in your senior year and get your award based on competition for open quotas between classmates from the USNA or if an NROTC guy, all NROTC grads that year.
OCS is very different. When you apply for OCS you apply specifically for a designator, like pilot or SWO. You compete on a nation wide level before routinely convened boards. You are accepted or reject for your chosen career field before you go to OCS or commit to anything. So, a guy going to OCS knows he will be a NFO, intel weenie or what ever, before he gets his hair cut. That isn't true for midshipman. You really can't compare OCS to the other programs directly when talking about "chances" of selection. An OCS applicant can reapply for his designator of choice many times until he gets what he wants or gets the hint. Midshipman get one bite at the apple. How many slots are available for NROTC compared to OCS? It varies a lot. What are your chances of getting your first choice? That varies as well, but the vast majority get what they want. The better you do in school and NROTC determines how likely you will get what you want. OCS candidates on the other hand will all be satisfied with what they have because they had a choice to accept or decline. Even if it wasn't their first choice, they took it so they had better be satisfied or they were just plain stupid. Bottom line. You can not choose between OCS and NROTC simply based on what your chances for selection a specific designator are. Clear as mud?
Someone is probably going to disagree, but just from casual observation it seems like picking up a pilot slot through OCS/BDCP is a bit more competitive. Don't NROTC and the Academy traditionally have more seats to fill? (ie they provide people first, and OCS fills the rest)
Basically when you apply for OCS you apply to a certain designator. If you want pilot you apply for pilot and pilot only. If you also would like to be a FO or a SWO (God forbid) then you can also apply for those too. Once you get selected you go to OCS and as long as you make it through you then got to flight school or a boat.
Not really sure how the NROTC works but I assume it is leadership based with ASTB scores and GPA thrown into the mix as well. Somebody with experience in that department will chime in sooner or later.
EDIT: What wink said...
I won't comment on general comparative competitiveness. It is really all speculation. It is true, however, that the USNA and NROTC quotas for aviation, anyway, are greater then the yearly allotment for OCS nation wide. That hasn't always been the case, but certainly so for the last ten years or more, and will likely continue to be so for a long time.
Great summary! +1 after reload
This may have changed in the last few years, and Wink, you would probably know the validity of this, but in the past, OCS was used to fill the requirements needed based off of what ROTC and USNA didn't fill. So the slots would vary from year to year depending on how many Mids came through and who got what.
To bumper and joman, if you search for various "NROTC vs OCS" type threads, you'll see the pluses and minuses. There is no one good choice, it depends on what you "get," and your particular reaction to the accession process.
Yes, your chances of getting a pilot slot are greater by going through NROTC than they are with you sitting on your couch watching porn.
If you're asking if NROTC pilot slots are easier to come by than OCS/NA, then that is up for debate. NROTC/NA slots are applied for after taking the leap into a commission, while your SNA slot is guaranteed before signing anything for OCS. So I guess you could say IF ACCEPTED TO ALL COMMISSIONING SOURCES, your chances of getting a pilot slot are better with OCS/BDCP, and by better I mean 100%.
If you're asking if NROTC pilot slots are easier to come by than OCS/NA, then that is up for debate. NROTC/NA slots are applied for after taking the leap into a commission, while your SNA slot is guaranteed before signing anything for OCS. So I guess you could say IF ACCEPTED TO ALL COMMISSIONING SOURCES, your chances of getting a pilot slot are better with OCS/BDCP, and by better I mean 100%.
Yup, still true. In fact, the goal will sometimes change throughout the year to make up for attrites in the pipline or better then expected retention.
My point of view: If your package is strong enough to be selected for OCS/BDCP you would probably get a pilot slot through NROTC as well. I don't think the opposite is true.. I know people that have been selected for aviation with packages that wouldn't make it past a recruiter in the BDCP route. It is all about performance, if you perform well academically and physically in NROTC, it is difficult to not get a spot in aviation (depending on needs of the Navy). The only hinderance is that you don't know until the December before you commission (I'm waiting now). Good luck!
Also- I started NROTC with 38 credit hours as a transfer student, they explained to me that I had to begin my application with less than 30 hours complete so get that application rolling!
Also- I started NROTC with 38 credit hours as a transfer student, they explained to me that I had to begin my application with less than 30 hours complete so get that application rolling!
May or may not be true. But it is a worthless observation to anyone looking at a 4 year NROTC ride or the USNA (sightly less worthless for a college transfer to ROTC). They have no way of knowing how their BDCP/OCS app will look in 2-3 years what will be competitive or what the number of available quotas will be when the time comes. As stated above, the Mids essentially get first shot at all designators. The OCS numbers flex accordingly. Therefore, the Mids will always have a good number of quotas, the OCS app significantly less.
