Need Advice

[edensvj]

It won't make you more competitive, and will in fact add more hurdles to the process.

My local recruiter (former officer recruiter supposedly) who I had to speak to find this page seems convinced that it will make this process easier and make me more competitive and I understand that it’s his job to enlist people but I’ve got several people telling me the opposite of what he is so admittedly I’m a bit turned around.

 

[Uncle Fester]

My local recruiter (former officer recruiter supposedly) who I had to speak to find this page seems convinced that it will make this process easier and make me more competitive and I understand that it’s his job to enlist people but I’ve got several people telling me the opposite of what he is so admittedly I’m a bit turned around.

You kind of answered your own question there. It's a recruiter's job to get people to enlist, and he's trying to get you to enlist. Anybody else will tell you that enlisting in order to become an officer isn't advisable. Once the Navy has you, your dreams/goals become secondary to what the Navy needs.

Having said that, based on your thumbnail outline in your first post, kinda sounds like you have a pattern of start strong-don't quite finish or good intentions/not much follow-through. A board for OCS or NROTC scholarship wants to see demonstrated, consistent ability to handle responsibility, especially in positions that require it. So if your bosses at work think you're trustworthy, go for a manager position. You say the cops at your program think highly of you, great, so pursue a volunteer police reserve/auxiliary program if your town has one. You get the idea.

Above all, get those grades up, and show you can hack a challenging academic program, because think of Navy flight school as equivalent to a fast-paced grad school. Stay in shape - sports or even a physically demanding job is good. You're not trying to convince a board that you're a good bloke and deserve a shot; there are only so many spots per year, and you're trying to convince them that you would be a better pick than any of the other candidates.

Good luck to you.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

My local recruiter (former officer recruiter supposedly) who I had to speak to find this page seems convinced that it will make this process easier and make me more competitive and I understand that it’s his job to enlist people but I’ve got several people telling me the opposite of what he is so admittedly I’m a bit turned around.

It doesn't, the aviation board looks at your professional background (ASTB, GPA, Degree). It doesn't matter if you were the captain of the football team, the guy that went to class and played computer games at night, or the person that has been on AD/Reserves for several years, those 3 items are what really matters.

What you said about the recruiter is odd, OR's are either Officers or senior enlisted, Officers don't recruit enlisted and the only time a senior enlisted would go from officer to enlisted recruiting is if they are a career recruiter and even that is rare, if the person is a career recruiter they are looking our for number 1, here is a tip it isn't you.

 

[Swanee]

I've always wanted to be a military pilot sense I was child (Currently 19), and the Navy is where I feel I belong. Unfortunately, I was very late on acting on that dream and need some advice.

Background: I graduated high school in 2023 with a very unimpressive transcript with a 2.856 GPA, SAT score of 1080 (Math: 530 R&W: 550) and Ranked 267 out of 379 in my class. To save my image just a little bit all my teachers loved me, and I was in Symphony Band, Marching Band (Section Leader), Eco Club and Key Club. I was working on getting my private pilot's license but ran out of funds. I've worked in a movie theater for about two and a half years though I don't officially hold a leadership/manager position all of the current managers will confirm they feel really confident in leaving the place under my watch while they step away.

Current: Now I am a freshman attending Community College and am member of the Police Explores and trying to get into the Police Cadet program where I already hold a good reputation among the officers. I can often be seen helping members of the community such as helping strangers with car troubles, helping my older neighbors with yardwork or shoveling and picking up trash. My first semester of college also wasn't too impressive with a 2.75 GPA mainly due to me becoming irresponsible with these new freedoms and getting Covid followed by a lung infection didn't help either. After rediscovering my motivation, I am prepared to work my butt off this semester, if I get all A's I will end this semester with roughly a 3.6 GPA. Now I have applied to the Naval Academy twice with the first time during my senior year of high school and that that went as well as you'd expect. I applied again late last summer but withdrew my application due to me feeling that there were no major changes. I also applied to NROTC but didn't qualify and it was recommended that I enlist in the Navy Reserve and apply again at the end of boot camp for USNA and NROTC.

With everything in mind, I ask you guys what you would do in my situation because I don't want to waste a recruiter's time and I don't want to go down a not optimal path for my situation. Any advice or ideas is very much appreciated.

You're not too late. I didn't start the process until I was 25 and had been out of college for a few years.

Do well in school. Don't get into trouble. Don't do drugs. Have some leadership in a club or a sport.

Take a flying lesson. Tons of people say they want to be a pilot but then have never been at the controls of an airplane. Take a discovery flight and give yourself a goal!

And think about other services than the Navy. Every service has pilots, to include the Guard and Reserves. Don't discount a great opportunity because you *think* the Navy is right for you.

 

[TLC90]

The Naval Academy Prep School, NAPS, is worth checking out. I don't know how competitive it is to get into NAPS but it seems like a bunch of kids that didn't quite make the cut but are showing dedication to earn a spot.

The age cut-off for aviation is 32, so you have plenty of time to figure out what works for you. In 2019, the Navy bumped it up from 27. I was not the best student, but I kept on learning and improving. There's probably 5 out of 1000 people a year that are perfect in every category. Be aware of the areas you're weak in, and work on them. The most important things are attention to detail and ability to learn.

 

[cfam]

The Naval Academy Prep School, NAPS, is worth checking out. I don't know how competitive it is to get into NAPS but it seems like a bunch of kids that didn't quite make the cut but are showing dedication to earn a spot.

The age cut-off for aviation is 32, so you have plenty of time to figure out what works for you. In 2019, the Navy bumped it up from 27. I was not the best student, but I kept on learning and improving. There's probably 5 out of 1000 people a year that are perfect in every category. Be aware of the areas you're weak in, and work on them. The most important things are attention to detail and ability to learn.

NAPS isn’t something you can apply to directly. You have to apply to the Naval Academy and not be offered direct admission and then be offered a slot at NAPS. NAPS is intended to prepare you for the curriculum at USNA and implies that you are signing up for a five year program, one at NAPS and then four at USNA.

Considering the OP wasn’t offered a slot at NAPS during his initial application to USNA and his academic record hasn’t significantly improved since then, I don’t think he would be a good candidate. Also, the age cutoff for NAPS is 23, so he would have to sufficiently beef up his academic resume to the point where he would be competitive for USNA before he aged out.

I would recommend focusing on the advice offered earlier in the thread of transferring to a four year college and trying for an OCS slot or hopefully picking up an NROTC slot as a sophomore or junior at a school that has a unit.

 

[IRfly]

I feel like the police explores and police cadet program will achieve roughly the same result seeing as they both care about my performance in and out of the classroom.

Not the same.
*You* can think it's the same, but it's not. the. same.

If you want to get into Naval Aviation and do well, playing cop is not the way to do it.

 

[edensvj]

Not the same.
*You* can think it's the same, but it's not. the. same.

If you want to get into Naval Aviation and do well, playing cop is not the way to do it.

Unfortunately I’m having a hard time understanding both the advice and the context behind this. To elaborate on the reference to the police explore program and the cadet program they both help me keep a good standing in my community and introduce me to people in high positions in my community along with holding me accountable for my physical fitness, equipment, uniform and actions and school performance. Which have helped me mature and grow up which is what my original response was about instead of complicating my process by enlisting in the Navy Reserves to do the same.

 

[IRfly]

Unfortunately I’m having a hard time understanding both the advice and the context behind this. To elaborate on the reference to the police explore program and the cadet program they both help me keep a good standing in my community and introduce me to people in high positions in my community along with holding me accountable for my physical fitness, equipment, uniform and actions and school performance. Which have helped me mature and grow up which is what my original response was about instead of complicating my process by enlisting in the Navy Reserves to do the same.

Kid, I spend enough of my life arguing with teenagers so I'm not going to do it here, too. This is it:

Your focus should be doing well in community college, then transferring to a four year university and finishing your degree with a great college GPA. OCS boards don't care about your SAT score nor do they even know or look at your high school GPA.

Once you're within 12-18 months from graduating college, contact a local officer recruiter.

You want context? I just saw this on the front page of AW here:

ASTB: 63 8/8/7 (Second Attempt)
Major: Mechanical Engineering (SUNY FARMINGDALE)
GPA: 3.46

That's your competition. And, while competitive, that's not even the best profile I've seen on here.

Here's some context: my guy, you've got a 2.75 in community college. Consider this your wakeup call: you're not even on the same planet as competitive applicants. If you want to get into this world, you need to learn to work on the things that matter. Mowing old ladies' lawns is nice--but I doubt it will matter. Having members of the Rotary Club think you're a great kid is fine--but it doesn't matter. Grades matter. Test scores matter. Leadership matters. So here's my advice in total:

1) Grades, grades, grades. You're "prepared to work [your] butt off this semester." Good for you. Do it and get the grades or the Navy doesn't care. The board won't care how many strangers with car trouble you've helped.
2) I don't think anyone else has mentioned the movie theater job, but I actually like it. It's something real. *Get the title with manager in it* and practice articulating your responsibilities.
3) You have a "good reputation" with local cops? Others might disagree, but that's a neutral to negative with me. And don't tell me it's helped with accountability for your school performance, not with a 2.75 GPA in cc. Besides that, quite frankly, I'd worry about the culture you'd bring into Naval Aviation (do a search for "lead ensign" if you want to know what I'm talking about). Potential liberty narc. You wanna be a cop, go be a cop. You want to Fly Navy, be a (wo)man--responsible for your own physical fitness, your own grades, your own life.

Last note on enlisting in the Navy Reserve--it might not be the right path to Naval Aviation for you, but understand that it's something that will put you in the no-shit Navy where you'll meet real Naval officers who will see you up close and personal and could write letters supporting your application to OCS. Or not. Again, nobody cares about patrol sergeant Smith. But the opinion of Commander Schmuckatelli, USN, at RTC Great Lakes will be considered.

And finally, your original post is full of excuses and evasions. They probably sound good in your head. But the fact is this--you have a closing window if you want to do this with your life, and you'll excuse yourself right out of it.

I don't think you'll make it.

Get pissed. Hate me. Prove me wrong.

 

[edensvj]

Kid, I spend enough of my life arguing with teenagers so I'm not going to do it here, too. This is it:

You want context? I just saw this on the front page of AW here:

ASTB: 63 8/8/7 (Second Attempt)
Major: Mechanical Engineering (SUNY FARMINGDALE)
GPA: 3.46

That's your competition. And, while competitive, that's not even the best profile I've seen on here.

Here's some context: my guy, you've got a 2.75 in community college. Consider this your wakeup call: you're not even on the same planet as competitive applicants. If you want to get into this world, you need to learn to work on the things that matter. Mowing old ladies' lawns is nice--but I doubt it will matter. Having members of the Rotary Club think you're a great kid is fine--but it doesn't matter. Grades matter. Test scores matter. Leadership matters. So here's my advice in total:

1) Grades, grades, grades. You're "prepared to work [your] butt off this semester." Good for you. Do it and get the grades or the Navy doesn't care. The board won't care how many strangers with car trouble you've helped.
2) I don't think anyone else has mentioned the movie theater job, but I actually like it. It's something real. *Get the title with manager in it* and practice articulating your responsibilities.
3) You have a "good reputation" with local cops? Others might disagree, but that's a neutral to negative with me. And don't tell me it's helped with accountability for your school performance, not with a 2.75 GPA in cc. Besides that, quite frankly, I'd worry about the culture you'd bring into Naval Aviation (do a search for "lead ensign" if you want to know what I'm talking about). Potential liberty narc. You wanna be a cop, go be a cop. You want to Fly Navy, be a (wo)man--responsible for your own physical fitness, your own grades, your own life.

Last note on enlisting in the Navy Reserve--it might not be the right path to Naval Aviation for you, but understand that it's something that will put you in the no-shit Navy where you'll meet real Naval officers who will see you up close and personal and could write letters supporting your application to OCS. Or not. Again, nobody cares about patrol sergeant Smith. But the opinion of Commander Schmuckatelli, USN, at RTC Great Lakes will be considered.

And finally, your original post is full of excuses and evasions. They probably sound good in your head. But the fact is this--you have a closing window if you want to do this with your life, and you'll excuse yourself right out of it.

I don't think you'll make it.

Get pissed. Hate me. Prove me wrong.

You are right even if I don’t like it and I have to thank you for knocking me down. I cannot wait to prove you wrong.

 

[IRfly]

Do it