March's OCS Board

[DimndDave14]

I had recently applied to the Marine's OCS June 5 class with the hopes of recieving an aviation slot. Unfortunately I did not get in. I had test scores of 7 and an 8. I had recommendations from five O-6's, one O-7 and one O-8, all pilots and all instructors and Pensacola NAS at one point. I also had recomendations from three professors and the provost of my school and two from jobs I had during the summer while in college. Also not to mention letters from two Senators and one Congresswomen. I also have over 50 hours of flight time. I know its not much, but it shows that I would not flip out in the cockpit and have the building blocks for the mental and physical capacity to fly. The only thing that I can see that was holding me back is I had a PFT of only 250; I also had the flu three days before my PFT. I have always been an avid runner and had a stong torso; because I played baseball in High School and three years in college. I had never really worked on my pull-ups, but I did get 13 and have been on the routine given to me by my recruiter. I have been adding atleast one pull-up a week since then. So with the little background I have given you I have a couple of questions:

1. Why do you think I did not get in? My recruiter was a little surprised I did not get accepted and said I could reply for October's class.

2. Was there not alot of pilot slots open for this review period?

3. Are the Marines not hurting for pilots and I was lead to believe?

4. Is there in way on God's green earth or even in hell that I can still get in June 5's OCS class? If its a matter of space I will sleep on the floor or dig a hole outside. If its a matter of money, I will eat whats left at the end of chow, I will reload empty shell casings to use. If the Sergeant Major says I have to take on the meanest, ugliest, nastiest guy to get in, guess what I fell sorry for that guy because after I get through with him he wont walk right for a month.

5. I have also heard that there is about a 10% drop out rate in OCS for what ever reason, So could I go in as regular ground and then see if an aviation slot opens at then take it?

I am just throwing out some ideas, just wondering if you guys have any suggestions .

 

[stevew]

For OCC 188 I had a 278 PFT and still got rejected for an air slot. The main thing is that they want to see that you really want it. Reapply for next class, up your PFT and you should be good to go! Besides, the summer is the hardest class to get into since there are many fewer spots because you are sharing them with the PLC-C guys.

 

[Crowbar]

Having lots of letters from everybody you've ever known doesn't indicate anything about your potential. If I ever sat on a selection board where somebody sent in 15 letters of recommendation, I would think that they were either showing off who they know or lacking confidence in the rest of their application. There's a lot more to the selection process than that.

Also, I agree that PFT is important. More than likely, the board won't know, and certainly won't care that you were sick right before you took your PFT.

Things happen for a reason. Some day you'll look back and figure out why you didn't get in right away. It took me a while to figure out why I tried for three years before I got accepted but now I see it. For now, just relax. If you're worrying this much during the application process, you're really going to turn into a stress fiend once you get in.

 

[Ann Merke]

How many times did you take your PFT? They like to see you try it over and over again, trying to improve your score. I took it 3 times, started at a 252 and a week later scored a 274. THAT made them happy.

 

[skidkid]

[QUOTE/]Other consideration... former/active Marines in the family? That sounds weird but I have heard it means a LOT, only 8% or so who get accepted don't have familial connections to the Marines.[/QUOTE]

Where is this stat from? I seriously question the validity of this, I was the first Marine in my family and got accepted no problem and know many serving officers in the same boat.

 

[Ann Merke]

my OSO- so who knows if its true or not.

 

[skidkid]

Sounds like BS to me

 

[Ann Merke]

I wouldn't be suprised if it was all BS- some sort of OSO mind-f$%#... my bad for not keeping my OSO mind-f$%#s to myself! Sorry!

 

[skidkid]

No worries I jsut dont want people to think they are screwed if they dont have a Marine in the family tree, no big deal, be the first.

 

[bcatcher5]

My OSO is telling me OCC 189 is tough to get accepted right now. My OSO is sending my package this upcoming week (west coast board) for 189 and a option for 190. I could be selected for 190 at 189 board. I hear they are doing that withe some guys. Might want to mention that to your recruiter. Also, I hear the recommendation your OSO writes has a lot of pull at the board. Nevertheless, if you want to be a Marine get the PFT up and re-apply for 190. Your stats are good and you should be selected for 190. We all want the answers to the million dollar question.

BTW- skidkid thanks for calling BS on the 8% figure. I have no familiy in the Marines and I guess I would be behind the eightball if that was true. Somehow I find that stat hard to believe.

/SF

 

[Whalebite]

Dave, Apply for the oct board, you should get in just fine. Let me guess you were east cost? The summer class has more plc combined. Plus i think the flight slots come mostly for the oct board, i beleive it has to do with the begining of the new fiscal year. Don't get discouraged, apply for the fall, you shouldn't have a problem

 

[caeli]

I'll second what bcatcher and whalebite said. From what I understand from my OSO, the June class is mosly PLC-ers, since that's when they have their summer break from college. The October class has a lot more OCC-ers, since those PLC-ers are in college at the time.

 

[DimndDave14]

Thanks to everyone and their replies. I am going to set up a time with my OSO and talk about my options. To Micheal W, my GPA was not the best in the world but a teacher I was talking to said my GPA was competitive enough to apply for a MBA at the local college and they have a respected MBA program. To Whalebite, yeah I am east coast, I live 20 minutes away from Quantico. So we will see what happens.

 

[Carno]

Yeah that's strange man..

I scored a 7/7 on the test, had a PFT of 237, <2.5 GPA, 1280 SAT, all the normal references, but I have 150 hours of flight time.

I thought for certain that I wasn't going to be accepted, but I was. Btw, were you applying for OCC or PLC? I'm doing PLC-A. Also, did you already sign your aviation contract or no? I signed my aviation contract a few weeks before the board even met.

 

[Trackguy]

I signed my contract before my application was sent out as well...did the whole oath to the united states and everything. Is that normal procedure? I figured it would be after i was accepted. Maybe im wrong.