I just took the ASTB this afternoon and scored a 40 on the OAR. I'm extremely disapointed because I studied very hard for it (clearly not enough), but I plan on retaking it. I'm applying for Intel, and I just want to know where I stand at this point, with a 40 on the ASTB, 3.7 cumuluative GPA (degree in psychology), extensive extra-curricular involvement and leadership experience, and very strong letters of recommendation?
Better qualified folks than I can parse your numbers and give you good advice. All I wanted to say is that your degree in Psychology will serve you well. A lot of "nut cases" in most Ready Rooms....
Intel has manning issues right now, goal of 7 this year and they had already selected around 50 so don't count on any Intel boards for a while, look at something else if you want to be a Navy officer
A bit tired from the whole process, so any help, advice would be great and much appreciated. Info: I graduated a few months ago from a top tier school with a 3.35 GPA in Economics and International Relations. Have volunteered in community since High School. Some of which include; teaching ESL to immigrant parents, building homes for people who are homeless, fundraising money for orphans in China and rape victims in Congo. When it comes to leadership, I have managed a business since I was 14 which lead to great success. I have also opened up my own business in college where most of the proceeds went to charity to help rape victims in Congo. I have also countless internships in investment management and marketing (abroad and locally). I have about 8 LORs. One from a colleague, manager from past internship, mentor of 5 years (president of a international company), friend from college, executive director from non profit organization, 1 professor, 1 former Director of NATO and one from a Navy 3 star Admiral. I know my LORs are pretty solid, my leadership skills and volunteer experience are pretty strong but......the ASTB.... So here is the bummer. I am not good at taking tests. I took the first test, had a week to prep in between 2 volunteer jobs and scored a 39 (form 5). I retook it and got a 44 (form 3). During the second test, I did not manage my time wisely with the MATH which kicked my bum and then my computer froze which took up more time. Anyways, I am not a dummy considering I got into a good school and graduated with a good GPA. But I do recommend studying real hard. I'm happy for all who did so well on their ASTB but I definitely will stick with the 44 for now and hope they look at the full package and see my potential to serve. If not I will be retaking it again. But for those who did not do well on their ASTB, honestly, you are not the only one out there. Keep trying!!! But anyways, I'm not going for Pilot so definitely not an Air Warrior, I'm more looking for Intel, Information Warfare, SWO, Logistics. What do you guys think of my chances of making it? But no worries, I will update. Best of luck to all. I'm just happy to get this mess of my chest.
I feel your pain. Hang in there. Honestly, from what I have read through the threads intel seems to be DAMN competitive but I talked to my recruiter and he said just submit and resubmit with a test retake if they reject you. Good luck!!!!
Your recruiter is not getting the info from NRC, they are NOT accepting Intel applications, they are auto rejecting them, several on this forum have already been auto rejected (not being seen by the board)
Danin, While volunteering is great, may want to consider no volunteering and serious studying and retake the test for a much stronger score. They are not taking apps so concentrate on the test until they reopen the pipeline. Intel is great but really tough to get in the door right now. May want to look at other options to get in, then maybe do a lateral transfer at a later time. Nothing is guaranteed however (that you could and would get in). Either way, good luck
Hey! Thank you for the advice. I definitely have other options that I am also interested in. Intel is definitely number one but I got 6 other options that I am also very happy with. Either way, if it does not work out, I will retest and hope that I get something much better. Thanks again.
That probably explains why I haven't heard back from my recruiter in a while. Are they auto-rejecting for both active duty and reserves?
Here's the thing about the Astb It's an equalizer and levels the playing field. Same with GRE and LSAT which i also did. I scored a 44 the first time. I went back and studied and came back with a 55 And got selected the second time around with the better score. I had to go to the navy college office and hire a math tutor to help me. No shame in it, I had a masters degree and was getting taught math by a 19 year old kid, but hey it got the job done.
Each board looks at it a bit different, I have seen 2 selected for intel in the past 3 years with OAR's in the 40's, but they had significant work history and good GPA's.
Oh I understand that. I know it's not just the test score but I guess I was saying that there is ways to up the score if need be I.e. hire a tutor like I did
So word from my recruiter is that it might be easier to go for active duty intel than reserves, that seems to contradict what I've read here and elsewhere. Anybody have any input? From NavyOffRec's statements in May it sounds like active duty intel officer is going to be off the table for a while. Could things have changed that quickly? Trust but verify, as they say. Appreciate the help guys.
Things have changed, the backlog is cleared out so there will be a board, but it will be for FY14 selects and the numbers compared to applicants will be low. in addition they are looking at selecting 60% tech degrees now. Intel selects generally also have very high GPA's
Got it. I don't have a tech degree (BA International Relations) but I've got a 3.65 GPA and 4 years of full-time work experience (not intel community though). Also I took the ASTB and got a 53 for my OAR. Not my greatest test performance and might retake. I was looking mainly at the reserve before but if there are real opportunities for active duty I'm seriously considering that. Thanks again.
Reserves look highly on work experience and graduate education, so that is probably why he said to look at active, not sure if you meet age requirements but I would say if you do to look at SWO as well, sometimes Intel selection can be very low, I think one board it was like 2%, it really depends what is more important, being a Navy Officer or a specific job in the Navy, I know many people that only wanted a specific job in the Navy many never were accepted, but at least when they applied with me they knew their options.
NavyOffRec, do you have any advise about interviews for the intel board? Is that something I should be trying really hard to chase down or does it tend to not have a large effect on the package?
None of the people I have had selected for any active duty IDC field had an interview with an IDC officer, we had one OR that always found IDC officers for her candidates to interview with and she had a very low selection rate, the problem is what these IDC officers believe the board is looking for and what the board actually looks for are not necessariy the same thing, so you could shoot yourself in the foot. The biggest thing you can do is have a good GPA in a tech field.
So while I don't have a tech degree I do have a BS in econ policy but I have spent the last couple years running a high profile robotics program for NASA do you have any idea if they would give partial credit for that?
