BlondeScholar said:
hey guys... yeah, i just put in my app. in january. i heard that they have a lot of applications right now, and it's taking an acceptionally long time to hear back. also, do you guys know what professionally reccomended means anyway? is there a difference between that and being actually selected or what?
I was selected a long time ago, September, and it took about 3 months to get a pro rec, then only about 2 more weeks for the final selection. I'm active-duty though, so I'm sure it usually takes much longer for civilian apps. We have to submit everything right up front.
There's a big difference between pro rec and final selection, although a pro rec is the biggest hurdle. For civilian applicants, if you get pro rec'd by the community you are applying for, you must still complete your Security Questionnaire(epsq), PRT, Physical, etc. I'm not positive on all these, because some recruiters require civilian applicants to do more up front than others to avoid obstacles later. Anyway, whatever there is left to be submitted is called your Final Documents and gets sent to the Recruiting Command after your pro rec.
Once everything is received and screened to make sure you meet the standards for the community that pro rec'd you, your complete package is considered by the OCS board. They look at everything from the "whole person" concept, as opposed to the community managers which MAY focus more on your technical aptitude for that specific job. If everything looks good, you'll get your Final Selection notice soon after.
Good Luck!