1001 questions (and answers) concerning BDCP

[pmasters]

Best advice is to not doubt yourself. I got in for NFO with 6/6/6 56 with a non-technical degree and no family in the military without a sweat, although I opted for SWO (for the love of God please don't comment on this, its already been covered in other threads).

Apply, do your best, see if you get in, and then apply again if not. The ASTB is an aptitude test. That being said, some parts are hard to study for. There's a section of 'airplane trivia' that covers common flying knowledge that can be easy to study for. There's this great chain called Barnes and Noble that I hear sells study material for officer tests.

Good luck.

 

[BUDU]

Barron's Military Flight Aptitude Tests is a great study guide. I only got about a week of studying in with it and I got a 59 7/8/7.

 

[m26]

Thought I'd tack on to this with another stupid BDCP question:

When you go home for the summer, does your BAH get adjusted from your rate at school to your summer location?

 

[Afterburner209]

Thought I'd tack on to this with another stupid BDCP question:

When you go home for the summer, does your BAH get adjusted from your rate at school to your summer location?

No, there is no change. Whatever your BAH is, it will stay the same.

 

[blarged]

Am I the only person who has saved all of his BDCP money and continued working a normal job while jamming my sweet, sweet government paychecks into an IRA, thrift savings, and savings?

m0tbaillie -

Do you remember how you initially had your TSP set up? I want to take advantage of their matching, but can not find where to "get started".

Thanks!

 

[Picaroon]

Do you remember how you initially had your TSP set up? I want to take advantage of their matching, but can not find where to "get started".

First I went into MyPay and signed up. You put in your addresss and a percentage of your pay that you want contributed.

TSP will then mail you your account info in a series of letters after the first payment goes through to TSP (this will take a few weeks). You can sign in to the TSP website once that info comes and change your asset allocation. Mine's really aggressive because I'm so young.

As far as matching, I'm not sure how that works but I don't think most of us qualify for it.

 

[Thisguy]

m0tbaillie -

I want to take advantage of their matching, but can not find where to "get started".

Thanks!

There's no matching for TSP for active duty military. Treat it like an extra investment account in addition to a Roth IRA. TSP shouldn't be compared to a 401(k) with matching.

 

[Topper Harley]

BDCP Pay

I'm going to be taking the ASTB in a couple of weeks and I'm not sure how the BDCP pay works. Do you start getting paid just the summer before school or as soon as you're accepted into the BDCP program?

 

[acwildcat]

I'm going to be taking the ASTB in a couple of weeks and I'm not sure how the BDCP pay works. Do you start getting paid just the summer before school or as soon as you're accepted into the BDCP program?

After you get your Pro-Rec you will wait for a final select letter. This could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. Once you get your final select letter you can swear in. You start accruing pay from the day you swear in.

 

[Topper Harley]

Awesome information. Thank you for the quick response.

 

[arianjalali]

BDCP Qualifications

Does anyone have a list of qualifications that must be met in order to qualify for BDCP? I'm 22 and already have a bachelor's in psychology (2.9gpa), but I want to get a degree in aeronautical science to strengthen my package for an SNA slot. Would I even qualify for this program or am I entirely misguided here?

 

[blarged]

Does anyone have a list of qualifications that must be met in order to qualify for BDCP? I'm 22 and already have a bachelor's in psychology (2.9gpa), but I want to get a degree in aeronautical science to strengthen my package for an SNA slot. Would I even qualify for this program or am I entirely misguided here?

http://www.cnrc.navy.mil/sanfrancisco/opo/general-information.htm#1

I was accepted with a 2.9 gpa in computer science. There are a number of people on here that will testify to the whole person package, GPA can hurt you, but it isn't a killer.

 

[Shishka]

Does anyone have a list of qualifications that must be met in order to qualify for BDCP? I'm 22 and already have a bachelor's in psychology (2.9gpa), but I want to get a degree in aeronautical science to strengthen my package for an SNA slot. Would I even qualify for this program or am I entirely misguided here?

I don't believe you can apply with a bachelor's already in hand.

 

[flopper]

Does anyone have a list of qualifications that must be met in order to qualify for BDCP? I'm 22 and already have a bachelor's in psychology (2.9gpa), but I want to get a degree in aeronautical science to strengthen my package for an SNA slot. Would I even qualify for this program or am I entirely misguided here?

I'm assuming you would need to do at least two years to get another degree. If you want to compete for a SNA slot I suggest you make the best of what you have and improve in other areas and go for it.

A yahoo search of "BDCP requirements" gave this site as the first hit. http://www.cnrc.navy.mil/miami/OPO/BDCP.htm

Before the internet became available, I would see your first question as a valid one to ask. However, when recruiters give you this website for gouge, I suggest that you search through it, as it truly is a wealth of information for many aspects of the military, especially about naval aviation.

 

[arianjalali]

That website is one I have not encountered yet and it appears to be quite the source of information. My only question is.. Does my already having ascertained a B.A. hurt my chances/prohibit me from being selected for BDCP? Because if you're saying that I can shoot for another degree within two years (I'll even aim for a technical degree if necessary), then that would be very exciting news. Please do clarify if you know the answer to that. I'm going to call the number listed on that site tomorrow morning. Thank you, Flopper.