BDCP process

[gusthebus229]

I'm currently working on my BDCP application and i'm scheduled with my recruiter to take the ASTB next week. how does this process work? is it hard to get accepted into? how far does it really take you when you get out? how attached are you to the navy when you're in? someone walk me through this. i wanna know from real people who've done it or are in it

 

[Picaroon]

I'm currently working on my BDCP application and i'm scheduled with my recruiter to take the ASTB next week. how does this process work? is it hard to get accepted into? how far does it really take you when you get out? how attached are you to the navy when you're in? someone walk me through this. i wanna know from real people who've done it or are in it

Hard to get in? Yes. When you get out, most companies won't so much as give you an interview--who wants someone in their 30s with more command, leadership, and/or flight experience than anyone else their age?

You're attached to the Navy in the same way that you're attached to a fake mustache someone super glued to your face. You can remove it, but it really fvcking hurts, so you may as well just learn to like it

 

[gusthebus229]

well i figured all that i meant how attached are you when you're still in school? would i have to report to drill or any kind of work before i finish my degree?

 

[Picaroon]

well i figured all that i meant how attached are you when you're still in school? would i have to report to drill or any kind of work before i finish my degree?

No, just have to take a PRT every few months and keep your grades up. And stay out of trouble.

Do a search of this site. All your questions have been answered many times. Good luck on that ASTB.

 

[WishICouldFly]

Also, you will have to graduate on time as you tell the Navy. None of that fifth year senior stuff.

When you're in school, you're Active Duty but no requirements except a PRT twice a year as Picaroon said. You also have to request leave when you leave the country, but that's about it as far as 'being attached to the Navy' goes.

When you're commissioned after school...well, you're just as 'attached' as any other active duty officer of the Navy is.

 

[bluesig1]

By your eagerness I would say you have a 42% chance of being accepted. All jokes aside, the level of hardness so to speak depends on what you apply for, how good you are, and just plain timing. I had lower scores than some people and got accepted while another person I met at the office didn't. Even though there is probably some mystical formula to getting accepted, plain hard work is all you can do. I haven't gotten past being accepted so I can't tell you what real Navy life is like. I can tell you that being in BDCP is a sweet freaking ride. All the perks and no work. They just take close to a decade of your life though.

 

[WishICouldFly]

As does any other service option...so might as well maximize benefits, right?

Agreed that BDCP is sweet. Active duty pay, medical and dental...

 

[Zego]

I can't wait to finally swear in. Just have to wait for the Med board and Final Select letter.

 

[Lobster]

Did your recruiter not give you much gouge on the program? I go to school in upstate New York and I originally called the OR in Syracuse and he didn't have much to say about it, I am from Philadelphia so I called the OR from there next and he told me everything and anything I needed to know. Make sure you hit the books for the ASTB as well don't make the mistake of blowing it off and having to take it again. Better to knock it out in the first try.

 

[gusthebus229]

yeah there aren't any OR's nearby so the recruiter i've been working with is 2 1/2 hours away and it's all been over the phone i haven't even met the guy in person yet. i know all about the program it just seemed to good to be true wanted to hear it from real people

 

[gusthebus229]

also what are the PRT minimum's? 20 year old male

 

[Bugsmasher]

How about getting yourself some initiative? I'm just a wannabe myself and even I am getting tired of people asking for PRT standards. A hint would be to google "Navy PRT standards" and click on the first link.

 

[nugget81]

I thought BDCP was too good to be true when I first heard about it, but it turns out that the program is all that and a bag of chips! Also, you were told once already so heed the advice- search the BDCP section of AW and use google. All of the information you're looking for is readily available. If you want in bad enough you'll do your own research and supplement it with questions then. Good luck!

 

[m0tbaillie]

also what are the PRT minimum's? 20 year old male

http://www.navy-prt.com/malestandard.html

 

[D_mac05]

They're not kidding when they say BDCP is the way to go. I'm almost a year into my 1st squadron, and I still have 75 days of leave on the book, all the while losing days of leave each year due to not being able to carry over 60 days. Not only that, but if you milk the system right, you can pull 3 years out of BDCP. That means, 4 years after commissioning, you're a LT but you have almost 8 years in service so your pay is MUCH higher, than if you went ROTC/Academy which doesn't count as time in service. So, your pay is that much more, you're that much closer to retirement (if you're looking for it), and you have a ton of leave built up. Not to mention if you do BDCP for 3 years and take advantage of (while in college) the MGI Bill for the last year of school (served 2 years). It's a wise decision as long as you're sure you know what you want to do in the future (for me, it was to fly). Good luck.