NROTC or OCS for a High School Junior

[Sean Fox]

Hi, I'm a High School Junior I've always wanted to be a helicopter pilot, but I've also loved the ocean (growing up near it helps) s0 I guess becoming a naval helicopter pilot has always been my calling. I just wanted to know what is the easiest way to get into the elusive helicopter pipeline for a high school junior?). NROTC or OCS?

Sorry I'm kind of new here and I just wanted to sort of extend my search a little. Also if there is somewhere else I should have posted this tell me thanks.

(Ps I'm going into senior year with a 4.05 GPA and a 30 on the ACT and most of the colleges I'm looking at offer NROTC)

I have a ton of more questions but I have no idea where to ask them

 

[Picaroon]

I've always wanted to be a helicopter pilot

Smart man.

People will probably chime in with better responses than mine but here's some food for thought. If you go NROTC there's no guarantee that you'll get a pilot slot. You will, however, get at least some of your school paid for, if not all. You'll also be guaranteed a shot at trying to get pilot, and if you do well in school and in your unit you'll have a decent chance of getting it.

If you go OCS you have to pay your own way through school. At the end of college you then have to apply and hope that you did well enough to get a slot. Maybe it's a bad year and they take barely anyone, or maybe it's a great year and it's easy to get in. You know you will go to OCS with a pilot contract, but you don't know if you'll get an OCS contract at all.

As for actually getting helos, that is pretty far in the future for you. We have a lot of helicopters, need a lot of pilots, and generally people who want it have a good chance of getting it out of primary. But that's a ways off. Focus on getting good grades and being competitive for pilot first, as well as making sure you don't get an ARI. This site has a wealth of information so definitely search around. And make sure you also want to be an officer in the Navy, not just a pilot, because you'll be spending a lot of time doing non-pilot things.

Anyway, sounds like you're on the right track so far. Keep it up.

 

[Mr Spenz]

Smart man.

People will probably chime in with better responses than mine but here's some food for thought. If you go NROTC there's no guarantee that you'll get a pilot slot. You will, however, get at least some of your school paid for, if not all. You'll also be guaranteed a shot at trying to get pilot, and if you do well in school and in your unit you'll have a decent chance of getting it.

If you go OCS you have to pay your own way through school. At the end of college you then have to apply and hope that you did well enough to get a slot. Maybe it's a bad year and they take barely anyone, or maybe it's a great year and it's easy to get in. You know you will go to OCS with a pilot contract, but you don't know if you'll get an OCS contract at all.

As for actually getting helos, that is pretty far in the future for you. We have a lot of helicopters, need a lot of pilots, and generally people who want it have a good chance of getting it out of primary. But that's a ways off. Focus on getting good grades and being competitive for pilot first, as well as making sure you don't get an ARI. This site has a wealth of information so definitely search around. And make sure you also want to be an officer in the Navy, not just a pilot, because you'll be spending a lot of time doing non-pilot things.

Anyway, sounds like you're on the right track so far. Keep it up.

I don't understand your "You know you will go to OCS with a pilot contract, but you don't know if you'll get an OCS contract at all" statement. I was PRO-Y SNA and am looking at helos, how can you have one without the other. I mean don't you have to have an OCS contract/date in order to go to OCS with a pilot contract? (Still waiting on my final select been PQ'd and NASIS is open).

 

[JollyGood]

I don't understand your "You know you will go to OCS with a pilot contract, but you don't know if you'll get an OCS contract at all" statement. I was PRO-Y SNA and am looking at helos, how can you have one without the other. I mean don't you have to have an OCS contract/date in order to go to OCS with a pilot contract? (Still waiting on my final select been PQ'd and NASIS is open).

You are correct in what you stated, but what Picaroon was referring to was the comparison between NROTC and OCS and the differences. As you said, with OCS, you know you have the pilot slot if you are accepted, but being accepted is the big "IF" since there is no guarantee that there will be slots available when you graduate.

NROTC the "IF" is will I get a pilot slot. OCS the "IF" is based more around will I get accepted at all/will there be any slots (pilot, NFO, SWO, Intel, etc.) available after NROTC and Academy fills out the needs of that FY.

 

[Mr Spenz]

Ok. Well I was Pro-Y for SNA and NFO so I hope there is a slot for me.

 

[LFCFan]

Ok. Well I was Pro-Y for SNA and NFO so I hope there is a slot for me.

There is. He means that the OP might not get in to OCS period if there are no pilot slots.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

 

[wink]

Ok. Well I was Pro-Y for SNA and NFO so I hope there is a slot for me.

I don't understand your "You know you will go to OCS with a pilot contract, but you don't know if you'll get an OCS contract at all" statement. I was PRO-Y SNA and am looking at helos, how can you have one without the other. I mean don't you have to have an OCS contract/date in order to go to OCS with a pilot contract? (Still waiting on my final select been PQ'd and NASIS is open).

Really? You are pro-rec, have been on this board since last Nov, have 375 posts and you don't know how this works? Are you sure you know what you are getting into? Get to know your recruiter better.

 

[AllYourBass]

Ok. Well I was Pro-Y for SNA and NFO so I hope there is a slot for me.

If you got Pro-Recced SNA/SNFO for OCS, then you're going to be a SNA or SNFO upon completion of OCS, whichever you selected (make sure that's cleared up with your recruiter). The only exception is if you get to OCS and get medically DQed after your Week 1 medical and any follow-ups, if applicable. In some cases, a SNA candidate is DQed and has to become a SNFO instead (due to vision or something), and in other cases a candidate can be DQed from aviation entirely, which means they'd become a SWO or something (depending on what's available...in some cases, people have to wait at OCS after commissioning for something in the fleet to open up).

As for the medical DQing, some people find out fairly early if something DQs them, and others don't find out until toward the end of OCS. Not to make you nervous, but just talking about it for the sake of detail.

 

[RiseR 25]

Hi, I'm a High School Junior I've always wanted to be a helicopter pilot, but I've also loved the ocean (growing up near it helps) s0 I guess becoming a naval helicopter pilot has always been my calling. I just wanted to know what is the easiest way to get into the elusive helicopter pipeline for a high school junior?). NROTC or OCS?

Sorry I'm kind of new here and I just wanted to sort of extend my search a little. Also if there is somewhere else I should have posted this tell me thanks.

(Ps I'm going into senior year with a 4.05 GPA and a 30 on the ACT and most of the colleges I'm looking at offer NROTC)

I have a ton of more questions but I have no idea where to ask them

In hind sight, if I could have done it again I would have done NROTC or the Naval Academy. Ultimately, a lot of it doesn't matter as all tracks lead to becoming a Naval Officer. However, there is a substantial financial advantage to going to NROTC or the Academy. Although I am Professionally Recommended to be a Student Naval Aviator through OCS, I would have loved to have the opportunity to get into the Academy. Just my 2 cents

 

[RiseR 25]

Hi, I'm a High School Junior I've always wanted to be a helicopter pilot, but I've also loved the ocean (growing up near it helps) s0 I guess becoming a naval helicopter pilot has always been my calling. I just wanted to know what is the easiest way to get into the elusive helicopter pipeline for a high school junior?). NROTC or OCS?

Sorry I'm kind of new here and I just wanted to sort of extend my search a little. Also if there is somewhere else I should have posted this tell me thanks.

(Ps I'm going into senior year with a 4.05 GPA and a 30 on the ACT and most of the colleges I'm looking at offer NROTC)

I have a ton of more questions but I have no idea where to ask them

If you're already in a High School ROTC program go for OCS, you'll not like starting out at the bottom of Cadet/Midshipman ranks for 4 years with the HSROTC experience already. If you don't have the High School ROTC experience, go with the Academy.

 

[AllYourBass]

I'd like to hear others weigh in on this, but I think your commissioning choise also depends on what you're hoping to do with the Navy. If you want to be a naval officer first and foremost, but aviation would be good, then NROTC/Academy might be an awesome route. If you would absolutely hate the idea of doing anything other than flying, and naval aviation is absolutely your end goal, then an OCS package is a more promising route (that is, you won't get forced into SWO or something). Again, I'd like to hear others weigh in on that, because I'm only intimately familiar with the OCS track.

 

[Spekkio]

Smart man.

People will probably chime in with better responses than mine but here's some food for thought. If you go NROTC there's no guarantee that you'll get a pilot slot. You will, however, get at least some of your school paid for, if not all. You'll also be guaranteed a shot at trying to get pilot, and if you do well in school and in your unit you'll have a decent chance of getting it.

If you go OCS you have to pay your own way through school. At the end of college you then have to apply and hope that you did well enough to get a slot. Maybe it's a bad year and they take barely anyone, or maybe it's a great year and it's easy to get in. You know you will go to OCS with a pilot contract, but you don't know if you'll get an OCS contract at all.

As for actually getting helos, that is pretty far in the future for you. We have a lot of helicopters, need a lot of pilots, and generally people who want it have a good chance of getting it out of primary. But that's a ways off. Focus on getting good grades and being competitive for pilot first, as well as making sure you don't get an ARI. This site has a wealth of information so definitely search around. And make sure you also want to be an officer in the Navy, not just a pilot, because you'll be spending a lot of time doing non-pilot things.

Anyway, sounds like you're on the right track so far. Keep it up.

This is fairly sound advice.

I will add two things:

1) If you apply yourself in college and get good grades, it's not a matter really of 'if' so much as 'when.' If you start applying as soon as eligible you might have to wait a year or two, but the Navy will always need to pick up pilots via OCS.

2) The financial benefits of NROTC were already covered, but here's something else to consider: being medically qualified for the job. It is a bit of a risk for you to wait for OCS because you want pilot or bust, only for your vision to deteriorate past 20/40 by the time you're 22 or you find out via your flight physical that you have some strange sinus condition that never bothered you before but precludes you from flying. On the flip side, if you absolutely don't want to do anything other than fly in the Navy, then you won't be 'stuck' in another job for 4-5 years.

 

[croakerfish]

Although I am Professionally Recommended to be a Student Naval Aviator through OCS, I would have loved to have the opportunity to get into the Academy. Just my 2 cents

No, you definitely made the right choice. You won't think so while you're actually AT OCS though.

 

[RiseR 25]

This is fairly sound advice.

I will add two things:

1) If you apply yourself in college and get good grades, it's not a matter really of 'if' so much as 'when.' If you start applying as soon as eligible you might have to wait a year or two, but the Navy will always need to pick up pilots via OCS.

2) The financial benefits of NROTC were already covered, but here's something else to consider: being medically qualified for the job. It is a bit of a risk for you to wait for OCS because you want pilot or bust, only for your vision to deteriorate past 20/40 by the time you're 22 or you find out via your flight physical that you have some strange sinus condition that never bothered you before but precludes you from flying. On the flip side, if you absolutely don't want to do anything other than fly in the Navy, then you won't be 'stuck' in another job for 4-5 years.

Spekkio you bring up a good point when it comes to the medical side of things for the OCSers. A number of us always have the concern of whether or not we will make the qualifications medically along MEPS, waiver process, OCS physical, and so on. It seems like they do take care of medical problems that may arise with Mids before they get into the fleet. Although I can't speak for them because I've never been a Mid.

 

[RiseR 25]

I don't understand your "You know you will go to OCS with a pilot contract, but you don't know if you'll get an OCS contract at all" statement. I was PRO-Y SNA and am looking at helos, how can you have one without the other. I mean don't you have to have an OCS contract/date in order to go to OCS with a pilot contract? (Still waiting on my final select been PQ'd and NASIS is open).

He's referring to the fact that OCS is a gate valve for the Navy when Officer Accession Requirements for the Navy are high or low, you never know with OCS is what he's saying. Some years the need could be low, so those years it's super competitive to get into OCS. In cases like ours, although it was still competitive the valve is being opened in our year because of a high demand for SNAs and SNFOs.