I recently graduated from college with a degree in Finance. I decided to join the Navy and pursue becoming an officer. My gpa out of college was around 3.0. I called the officer recruiters several times realizing that the gpa standards fluctuate based on demand, and every time they told me that my gpa was way too low to even be considered as an officer. They said that the minimum gpa you would need is a 3.4 for some helicopter officer. A 3.5 for supply. The highest was a 3.6 or 3.7 for Nuclear or Seals. Does this sound correct? Because of this, I decided to enlist and take the Enlisted Commissioning Path within the STA-21 program towards becoming an officer. My recruiters told me that I could be OCS eligible in about 1 to 1 1/2 years. Does this sound correct? Does anyone out there know of anyone who graduated from college and enlisted because of their mediocre gpa? I really want to become an officer, and I don't mind enlisting, but everyone tells me "What the hell are you doing enlisting when you have a college degree!" They don't know about the strict gpa requirements. I have finally decided to ignore everyone telling me to avoid enlistment. It seems that most people have a negative attitude towards enlisted service members. I have nothing but respect for them, they're the ones fighting for our freedom.
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enlist or become an officer
- Thread starter cierno31
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Those numbers don’t sound right. The minimum GPA requirement is 2.0. Those numbers sound like competitive numbers. The most stringent requirements I’ve seen are for the instructor positions and they read “B” or better in all technical courses. A low GPA can be countered with high marks on other sections of your kit. At the end of your application, you're given room to write about any shortcomings.
I have a 3.04 GPA (physics) and my recruiter told me to come in and take the ASTB to start the application process. I scored really well on the ASTB and graduated from college in three years (no summer school). Maybe my recruiter would have turned me away if I couldn’t put up some good numbers… I applied for intel/crypto/amdo (the first two are among the most stringent) and my kit was sent on 12/02/03. I haven’t heard anything yet.
You should try to at least take the ASTB.
I have a 3.04 GPA (physics) and my recruiter told me to come in and take the ASTB to start the application process. I scored really well on the ASTB and graduated from college in three years (no summer school). Maybe my recruiter would have turned me away if I couldn’t put up some good numbers… I applied for intel/crypto/amdo (the first two are among the most stringent) and my kit was sent on 12/02/03. I haven’t heard anything yet.
You should try to at least take the ASTB.
I forgot to mention that I want to pursue an officer position in the Nuclear Program (specifically in Nuclear Electronics) despite it having nothing to do with what I studied in college (business/finance). People tell me that I should go into the supply side, but I am sort of turned off to business right now and I want to learn a trade (specifically in electronics/Nuclear Electronics) so I can later apply my business degree with a background in electronics. Plus I want to serve my country.
The recruiters told me that for the Nuclear Program you need a minimum of 1 semester of college physics and 1 semester of college calculus along with a high enough gpa. I don't have the calculus and physics background in my business degree. They told me that if I enlisted in the Nuclear Program, I would fulfill the calculus and physics aspects of the pre-requisites upon completion of "A" school, and since I would already be enlisted in the Nuclear Program I would not need the 3.7 gpa requirement if I were applying directly out of college. If the three different recruiters I talked to were talking out of their asses, then I'm up ****'s creek without a paddle and I will remain enlisted, and will eventually try for the supply side as a distant backup. Otherwise, I'll be eligible to apply to the Nuclear Program upon completion of A school, during the first week of Nuclear Power School (while I am concurrently enrolled in Nuclear Power School). After the 3-4 weeks of application processing time, I'll hopefully be accepted into the program. I'll put down cryptology and supply side as other possibilities on my application.
If push comes to shove, I wouldn't mind going into the supply side, but it's not nearly as interesting or hand's on as some of the more technical officer programs (Nuclear Electronics).
I hope you're successful in your application to the intel/crypto officer programs. Those sound very challenging. Just curious, but with a degree in physics, why didn't you consider going into Nuke? Maybe you want to try something different than your major (like I'm trying). Thanks for replying and I'm sorry If I went too long. I had to get some of this info. off my chest.
The recruiters told me that for the Nuclear Program you need a minimum of 1 semester of college physics and 1 semester of college calculus along with a high enough gpa. I don't have the calculus and physics background in my business degree. They told me that if I enlisted in the Nuclear Program, I would fulfill the calculus and physics aspects of the pre-requisites upon completion of "A" school, and since I would already be enlisted in the Nuclear Program I would not need the 3.7 gpa requirement if I were applying directly out of college. If the three different recruiters I talked to were talking out of their asses, then I'm up ****'s creek without a paddle and I will remain enlisted, and will eventually try for the supply side as a distant backup. Otherwise, I'll be eligible to apply to the Nuclear Program upon completion of A school, during the first week of Nuclear Power School (while I am concurrently enrolled in Nuclear Power School). After the 3-4 weeks of application processing time, I'll hopefully be accepted into the program. I'll put down cryptology and supply side as other possibilities on my application.
If push comes to shove, I wouldn't mind going into the supply side, but it's not nearly as interesting or hand's on as some of the more technical officer programs (Nuclear Electronics).
I hope you're successful in your application to the intel/crypto officer programs. Those sound very challenging. Just curious, but with a degree in physics, why didn't you consider going into Nuke? Maybe you want to try something different than your major (like I'm trying). Thanks for replying and I'm sorry If I went too long. I had to get some of this info. off my chest.
The nuclear programs don’t require an ASTB to be taken for application. They fly the candidates they’re interested in to D.C. for interviews. All the nuclear programs require one year of calculus and calculus based physics. Nuclear instructor and reactor engineer programs both require a B average in these courses. They highly prefer majors directly in line with the programs (math, physics, mechanical/nuclear/electrical engr). I don’t see any GPA restriction so my guess is that the 3.7 GPA is just a competitive mark. Some of the people here have gone through the NUPOC program and can give you a better idea.
My guess is that since you’re only interested in the nuclear programs, they didn’t set you up to take the ASTB. Since you’re not yet qualified for the programs, they determined how to get you there. You have two routes to choose from. You can go back to college for a year (part time, at community college or something) and take the required classes or enlist. The enlistment route seems like your best bet to become a nuclear trained officer because you lack a technical degree. I would also guess that enlisting would get you there faster, provided your top quality. Again, some people here have gone from enlisted nuclear tech. to officer and they’ll be more insightful.
I’m not going nuke because I’m currently NPQ for any URL billet. I would apply for SPECWAR otherwise.
My guess is that since you’re only interested in the nuclear programs, they didn’t set you up to take the ASTB. Since you’re not yet qualified for the programs, they determined how to get you there. You have two routes to choose from. You can go back to college for a year (part time, at community college or something) and take the required classes or enlist. The enlistment route seems like your best bet to become a nuclear trained officer because you lack a technical degree. I would also guess that enlisting would get you there faster, provided your top quality. Again, some people here have gone from enlisted nuclear tech. to officer and they’ll be more insightful.
I’m not going nuke because I’m currently NPQ for any URL billet. I would apply for SPECWAR otherwise.
There's some serious BS floating throughout this post. I'm half tempted to delete a couple posts from here for the sake of ridding the rumors. But I won't. Cierno, it appears to me that you have been communicating with the enlisted recruiters about officer programs. Rarely is this a good idea since it often becomes misleading for the person who desires to become an officer. Enlisted recruiters are paid to bring quality people into the enlisted ranks. That is their job. Their job is not to be a referral service for the officer recruiters. What you are most likely to get from the enlisted recruiters is why it is in your best interest to enlist in the Navy.
As I have said in other posts....if you have a bachelor's degree and you want to join the military, seek out a commission. Why would you short change yourself by enlisting if your goal is to be an officer? If your goal is to be a great chief or master chief some day, enlist, enlist, enlist. However, you are going about achieving your goals in a bass ackward way if you want to be an officer. I'm going to address your questions and bogus info piece by piece.
"The highest was a 3.6 or 3.7 for Nuclear or Seals." - I'm gonna have to raise the BS flag on this one. If this was the case, then there would be even fewer people applying for the nuke program than there is already.
"I decided to enlist and take the Enlisted Commissioning Path within the STA-21 program towards becoming an officer. My recruiters told me that I could be OCS eligible in about 1 to 1 1/2 years. Does this sound correct?" - First, the STA-21 program and OCS are separate. STA-21 is for those that don't yet have their degree. This doesn't apply to you, not to mention that it's extremely competitive anyway. While it may be possible for you to be elible for OCS in 18 months, your competition will be greater as a person on active duty than if you applied as a civilian. Personally, I don't think that 18 months is a realistic timeframe to become competive.
"I forgot to mention that I want to pursue an officer position in the Nuclear Program (specifically in Nuclear Electronics)." - No such animal in the officer community. As a nuke officer, you are either a Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) or a Submariner. What you are referring to in the above statement is an enlisted rating within the nuke community (Electronics Technician).
"I want to learn a trade (specifically in electronics/Nuclear Electronics) so I can later apply my business degree with a background in electronics." - don't become an officer then.
"The recruiters told me that for the Nuclear Program you need a minimum of 1 semester of college physics and 1 semester of college calculus along with a high enough gpa." - Pure 100% BS! You probably got this info from the enlisted recruiters. Any officer recruiter giving you info on the nuke officer community knows full well that Naval Reactors won't consider you for an interview unless you have at least taken one academic year (two semesters or 3 quarters of calculus and the same for calc based physics). The physics you take must be calculus based. College physics is usually NOT calc based. However, engineering physics typically is. You'll have to check. As for the GPA, the higher the better, but you're going to need at least a C.
"I don't have the calculus and physics background in my business degree. They told me that if I enlisted in the Nuclear Program, I would fulfill the calculus and physics aspects of the pre-requisites upon completion of "A" school." - Negative Ghostrider. This is purely false. Please refer to my explanation directly above. The requirement of having the year of calc and calc based physics is UNWAIVERABLE and can only be fulfilled by taking it at an academic institution. Of course, if you want to go through enlisted nuke power school, you don't need any calculus or physics. RECOMMENDATION: sign up for these courses at the local community college and study your ass off.
"Since I would already be enlisted in the Nuclear Program I would not need the 3.7 gpa requirement if I were applying directly out of college." - Again, this seems a little high. The nuke community needs people. I know they accept people with GPA's of 2.7
"If the three different recruiters I talked to were talking out of their asses, then I'm up ****'s creek without a paddle and I will remain enlisted." - Please email me their names and I will personally give them a call. If I find out they are giving out this kind of info, I will call their regional Enlisted Programs Officer (their department head).
"Otherwise, I'll be eligible to apply to the Nuclear Program upon completion of A school, during the first week of Nuclear Power School (while I am concurrently enrolled in Nuclear Power School). After the 3-4 weeks of application processing time, I'll hopefully be accepted into the program." - No, this timeline is extremely unrealistic. You will need a minimum GPA (in A school/power school) in order for your chain of command to endorse your app. 'A' School is tough. Power School is just downright hard.
"If push comes to shove, I wouldn't mind going into the supply side, but it's not nearly as interesting or hand's on as some of the more technical officer programs (Nuclear Electronics). " - As an officer, you will be a manager. Unless you're flying a plane or shooting a gun, your hands better not be in anything. That's what the enlisted ratings are for. They are the technicians, and appropriately trained as such.
Eteled stated in his post that the enlistment route seems to be your best choice since you lack a technical degree. While it doesn't hurt to have a technical degree, you won't be penalized by having a degree in Finance PROVIDING that you prove you can handle the physics and calculus. If you show a mastery of these courses you will be able to show Naval Reactors that you have the capacity to make it through Nuke Power School. Enlisting will not get you their faster. Hell, before you even made it through bootcamp, you could have one semester of calculus completed.
I am a prior enlisted nuke (electrician's mate). The whole training pipeline is tough and mentally draining. I did quite well in 'A' school and power school and was the first to qualify at protype. After I got my commission and then later, my qualification as a SWO, I applied to be a SWO-nuke. Even though I had already proven I could make it through the program, my application was denied because I didn't have the full year of Calculus and Calc based physics. Rediculous, yes. But that's the requirement and it's non-negotiable. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.
One final note. Nuclear Power School that enlisted personnel go through is not the same Nuclear Power School that officers go through. There are some differences between the two of them. If for some reason, you were to enlist and went through enlisted power school and subsequently got selected for OCS 1, 2, 3 years or whatever later down the road, you would have to go through the officer version of power school and prototype to be a nuke officer. The pipeline for each is not the same because they each have different objectives. The only way of getting around this is if you were an Limited Duty Officer (LDO).
If you haven't done so already, check out this link. It has contact info on there as well.
http://www.cnrc.navy.mil/nucfield/
Good luck.
As I have said in other posts....if you have a bachelor's degree and you want to join the military, seek out a commission. Why would you short change yourself by enlisting if your goal is to be an officer? If your goal is to be a great chief or master chief some day, enlist, enlist, enlist. However, you are going about achieving your goals in a bass ackward way if you want to be an officer. I'm going to address your questions and bogus info piece by piece.
"The highest was a 3.6 or 3.7 for Nuclear or Seals." - I'm gonna have to raise the BS flag on this one. If this was the case, then there would be even fewer people applying for the nuke program than there is already.
"I decided to enlist and take the Enlisted Commissioning Path within the STA-21 program towards becoming an officer. My recruiters told me that I could be OCS eligible in about 1 to 1 1/2 years. Does this sound correct?" - First, the STA-21 program and OCS are separate. STA-21 is for those that don't yet have their degree. This doesn't apply to you, not to mention that it's extremely competitive anyway. While it may be possible for you to be elible for OCS in 18 months, your competition will be greater as a person on active duty than if you applied as a civilian. Personally, I don't think that 18 months is a realistic timeframe to become competive.
"I forgot to mention that I want to pursue an officer position in the Nuclear Program (specifically in Nuclear Electronics)." - No such animal in the officer community. As a nuke officer, you are either a Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) or a Submariner. What you are referring to in the above statement is an enlisted rating within the nuke community (Electronics Technician).
"I want to learn a trade (specifically in electronics/Nuclear Electronics) so I can later apply my business degree with a background in electronics." - don't become an officer then.
"The recruiters told me that for the Nuclear Program you need a minimum of 1 semester of college physics and 1 semester of college calculus along with a high enough gpa." - Pure 100% BS! You probably got this info from the enlisted recruiters. Any officer recruiter giving you info on the nuke officer community knows full well that Naval Reactors won't consider you for an interview unless you have at least taken one academic year (two semesters or 3 quarters of calculus and the same for calc based physics). The physics you take must be calculus based. College physics is usually NOT calc based. However, engineering physics typically is. You'll have to check. As for the GPA, the higher the better, but you're going to need at least a C.
"I don't have the calculus and physics background in my business degree. They told me that if I enlisted in the Nuclear Program, I would fulfill the calculus and physics aspects of the pre-requisites upon completion of "A" school." - Negative Ghostrider. This is purely false. Please refer to my explanation directly above. The requirement of having the year of calc and calc based physics is UNWAIVERABLE and can only be fulfilled by taking it at an academic institution. Of course, if you want to go through enlisted nuke power school, you don't need any calculus or physics. RECOMMENDATION: sign up for these courses at the local community college and study your ass off.
"Since I would already be enlisted in the Nuclear Program I would not need the 3.7 gpa requirement if I were applying directly out of college." - Again, this seems a little high. The nuke community needs people. I know they accept people with GPA's of 2.7
"If the three different recruiters I talked to were talking out of their asses, then I'm up ****'s creek without a paddle and I will remain enlisted." - Please email me their names and I will personally give them a call. If I find out they are giving out this kind of info, I will call their regional Enlisted Programs Officer (their department head).
"Otherwise, I'll be eligible to apply to the Nuclear Program upon completion of A school, during the first week of Nuclear Power School (while I am concurrently enrolled in Nuclear Power School). After the 3-4 weeks of application processing time, I'll hopefully be accepted into the program." - No, this timeline is extremely unrealistic. You will need a minimum GPA (in A school/power school) in order for your chain of command to endorse your app. 'A' School is tough. Power School is just downright hard.
"If push comes to shove, I wouldn't mind going into the supply side, but it's not nearly as interesting or hand's on as some of the more technical officer programs (Nuclear Electronics). " - As an officer, you will be a manager. Unless you're flying a plane or shooting a gun, your hands better not be in anything. That's what the enlisted ratings are for. They are the technicians, and appropriately trained as such.
Eteled stated in his post that the enlistment route seems to be your best choice since you lack a technical degree. While it doesn't hurt to have a technical degree, you won't be penalized by having a degree in Finance PROVIDING that you prove you can handle the physics and calculus. If you show a mastery of these courses you will be able to show Naval Reactors that you have the capacity to make it through Nuke Power School. Enlisting will not get you their faster. Hell, before you even made it through bootcamp, you could have one semester of calculus completed.
I am a prior enlisted nuke (electrician's mate). The whole training pipeline is tough and mentally draining. I did quite well in 'A' school and power school and was the first to qualify at protype. After I got my commission and then later, my qualification as a SWO, I applied to be a SWO-nuke. Even though I had already proven I could make it through the program, my application was denied because I didn't have the full year of Calculus and Calc based physics. Rediculous, yes. But that's the requirement and it's non-negotiable. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.
One final note. Nuclear Power School that enlisted personnel go through is not the same Nuclear Power School that officers go through. There are some differences between the two of them. If for some reason, you were to enlist and went through enlisted power school and subsequently got selected for OCS 1, 2, 3 years or whatever later down the road, you would have to go through the officer version of power school and prototype to be a nuke officer. The pipeline for each is not the same because they each have different objectives. The only way of getting around this is if you were an Limited Duty Officer (LDO).
If you haven't done so already, check out this link. It has contact info on there as well.
http://www.cnrc.navy.mil/nucfield/
Good luck.
jdtidepride
Registered User
Mr. Wilkins, great reply! I'm sure that'll be of great help to him and many others.
I, too, have a question regarding GPA minimums. I am a graduating senior at The University of Alabama and have the desire to become a Naval Officer. Currently, I have a 2.98 GPA, will that be a concern when I speak to a Office Inforamtion Recruiter about the possibility of obtaining an OCS spot? I'd appreciate any info you could offer.
I, too, have a question regarding GPA minimums. I am a graduating senior at The University of Alabama and have the desire to become a Naval Officer. Currently, I have a 2.98 GPA, will that be a concern when I speak to a Office Inforamtion Recruiter about the possibility of obtaining an OCS spot? I'd appreciate any info you could offer.
If anything in my posts is a rumor, then go ahead and remove/edit. My information source came from some documents my recruiter gave me after I took the ASTB and this site: http://www.cnrc.navy.mil/noru/orojt/ojt.htm
Some of the information on that site is incorrect though.
I didn't realize that the training for enlisted nukes didn't meet the one year calculus and physics requirement. Since that’s the case disregard my opinion on which route would be best.
Some of the information on that site is incorrect though.
I didn't realize that the training for enlisted nukes didn't meet the one year calculus and physics requirement. Since that’s the case disregard my opinion on which route would be best.
Jdtidepride,
First, a 2.98 seems like it would be fine. However, it will depend on what your major is, program you apply for, and most importantly...how badly the navy needs officers. It can all change on a dime.
Go Bama!.....oops...I mean, Go Gators!
First, a 2.98 seems like it would be fine. However, it will depend on what your major is, program you apply for, and most importantly...how badly the navy needs officers. It can all change on a dime.
Go Bama!.....oops...I mean, Go Gators!
jdtidepride
Registered User
Roll Tide and thanks a lot, Wilkins!
Another, if you don't mind. I just called the Officer Information Center in Montgomery, AL, and I told them I was interested in the officer program. The Lt. was very short with me. He asked two questions: Where do you live? and Can you be here on a Thursday? Apparently, I have to take what he called the Navy's version of the SAT before I can speak with anyone.
Does this sound right to you? Thanks
Another, if you don't mind. I just called the Officer Information Center in Montgomery, AL, and I told them I was interested in the officer program. The Lt. was very short with me. He asked two questions: Where do you live? and Can you be here on a Thursday? Apparently, I have to take what he called the Navy's version of the SAT before I can speak with anyone.
Does this sound right to you? Thanks
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