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OCS Sept '15 IDC Board

wellia

New Member
23 years old
B.S. Biochemistry & Biophysics (GPA 3.72)
M.S. Biohazardous Threat Agents & Emerging Infectious Diseases (GPA 3.88)
Work experience in nonproliferation project management and lab research at national laboratory and nonprofit
OAR: 66
LOR: Former bosses, professors (one retired Navy Captain), former crew coach and advisor
Former collegiate rower, held multiple leadership positions on team and in other extracurriculars
Applied for Intel (#1) and IW (#2)

I started the application process in December 2014 and submitted my application for this September IDC board. Any questions feel free to shoot 'em my way!
 
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exNavyOffRec

Well-Known Member
23 years old
B.S. Biochemistry & Biophysics (GPA 3.72)
M.S. Biohazardous Threat Agents & Emerging Infectious Diseases (GPA 3.88)
Work experience in nonproliferation project management and lab research at national laboratory and nonprofit
OAR: 66
LOR: Former bosses, professors (one retired Navy Captain), former crew coach and advisor
Former collegiate rower, held multiple leadership positions on team and in other extracurriculars
Applied for Intel (#1) and IW (#2)

I started the application process in December 2014 and submitted my application for this September IDC board. Any questions feel free to shoot 'em my way!

Given your tech degree and GPA, and graduate degree you had a very strong application, not much of a surprise you were selected.
 

Leon

Filthy No-Qual SWO
Just a fun little statistic that I found:

Number of People who got a PRO-REC Y: 13
Number of People who didn't: Some four pages

To put that in perspective, those 13 don't fill half a page (closer to 1/4 or 1/3). Extrapolating from this, that means the rate was around 7-9% (if all pages were full and assuming pages had 40-50 names on them).

I'm really glad I convinced my recruiter to let me take the full ASTB all those months ago.
 

Mnicho53

New Member
23 years old
B.S. Biochemistry & Biophysics (GPA 3.72)
M.S. Biohazardous Threat Agents & Emerging Infectious Diseases (GPA 3.88)
Work experience in nonproliferation project management and lab research at national laboratory and nonprofit
OAR: 66
LOR: Former bosses, professors (one retired Navy Captain), former crew coach and advisor
Former collegiate rower, held multiple leadership positions on team and in other extracurriculars
Applied for Intel (#1) and IW (#2)

I started the application process in December 2014 and submitted my application for this September IDC board. Any questions feel free to shoot 'em my way!
Wellia, congratulations on your selection for INTEL! Good luck at OCS, NIOBC and in the fleet.

For those armchair quarterbacking the selection process out there, the similarities and key differences between Wellia (PRO REC Y) and myself (PRO REC N) illustrate what it takes to get selected in the current budget climate.

Similar age, undergrad and grad GPAs, work experience, OAR scores, letters of rec and involvement with team sports/leadership.
Different bachelors and masters degrees. Wellia has a highly desirable STEM graduate degree, and that makes all the difference.

If you are a current college student and intent on joining the military as an officer, I highly suggest getting a STEM degree. If you are active duty enlisted and using G.I. Bill benefits to get a degree, use those dollars wisely...and get a STEM degree. The days of well-rounded, liberal arts grads becoming naval intelligence officers are, apparently, long gone.
 

jtmhoya

New Member
Wellia, congratulations on your selection for INTEL! Good luck at OCS, NIOBC and in the fleet.

For those armchair quarterbacking the selection process out there, the similarities and key differences between Wellia (PRO REC Y) and myself (PRO REC N) illustrate what it takes to get selected in the current budget climate.

Similar age, undergrad and grad GPAs, work experience, OAR scores, letters of rec and involvement with team sports/leadership.
Different bachelors and masters degrees. Wellia has a highly desirable STEM graduate degree, and that makes all the difference.

If you are a current college student and intent on joining the military as an officer, I highly suggest getting a STEM degree. If you are active duty enlisted and using G.I. Bill benefits to get a degree, use those dollars wisely...and get a STEM degree. The days of well-rounded, liberal arts grads becoming naval intelligence officers are, apparently, long gone.

I don't want to discourage fellow social sciences/humanities majors from applying. I was PRO REC Y for the June IDC board with a poli-sci undegrad degree and area studies masters
 

exNavyOffRec

Well-Known Member
I don't want to discourage fellow social sciences/humanities majors from applying. I was PRO REC Y for the June IDC board with a poli-sci undegrad degree and area studies masters

They do get picked but it is a big uphill battle compared to tech guys and having a graduate degree probably helped a bit.
 

wellia

New Member
Wellia, congratulations on your selection for INTEL! Good luck at OCS, NIOBC and in the fleet.

For those armchair quarterbacking the selection process out there, the similarities and key differences between Wellia (PRO REC Y) and myself (PRO REC N) illustrate what it takes to get selected in the current budget climate.

Similar age, undergrad and grad GPAs, work experience, OAR scores, letters of rec and involvement with team sports/leadership.
Different bachelors and masters degrees. Wellia has a highly desirable STEM graduate degree, and that makes all the difference.

If you are a current college student and intent on joining the military as an officer, I highly suggest getting a STEM degree. If you are active duty enlisted and using G.I. Bill benefits to get a degree, use those dollars wisely...and get a STEM degree. The days of well-rounded, liberal arts grads becoming naval intelligence officers are, apparently, long gone.

Thank you, Mnicho53!

Early in the process, I had assumed that my degree wouldn't matter all that much - it's not quite something that directly relates to INTEL. I am realizing now the value of a STEM degree in this application process (besides loving to study science and math!), though do believe well-rounded liberal arts applicants are just as valuable...which is apparently not the mindset of the boards with the current climate. If you apply again for INTEL or another choice , I wish you the best of luck and hope to serve alongside you one day!
 

HM3 San

Active Member
Hello! I finished my prescreen from SSO San Diego, memo states:

SSO San Diego recommends member for access to SCI pending the completion of his SSBI.

So my questions are:
(1) Am I clear from the prescreen and should be given a FINSEL/OCS class date/order?
(2) What does pending SSBI mean? Is this where they will start to interview my relatives, employer etc?

Anyone else on the same phase?

Thanks for any help.
 

AFChris

Member
I contacted a very educated recruiter, 20 years in the Navy recruiting scene and currently AD naval reserves. He told me that all who applied for this Sept 15 IDC Board were hosed.

I didn't think of it before and I suppose that I should have... There were virtually zero slots open for competition. He didn't have the numbers but guarantees this. Does anyone have the selection numbers?
 

exNavyOffRec

Well-Known Member
I contacted a very educated recruiter, 20 years in the Navy recruiting scene and currently AD naval reserves. He told me that all who applied for this Sept 15 IDC Board were hosed.

I didn't think of it before and I suppose that I should have... There were virtually zero slots open for competition. He didn't have the numbers but guarantees this. Does anyone have the selection numbers?

hosed is when a designator selects on average 50 plus on a board then they go to say 2, but when a designator like Intel gets 60 per FY it is normal for some boards to have few if any spots, especially since if they selected equal for each board we are talking just a handful per board, some IDC designators get only 6 spots per FY.

FYI, if a person has been recruiting 20 years that mean enlisted recruiting, and a career recruiting force person, they are specialist in enlisted, not officer recruiting, some will do a short stint in officer recruiting but the change is often hard for them to make.
 
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