Size me up

[pensfan341]

Hey guys..got a couple quick basic questions.

I am going to be a Junior in college at John Carroll University. I am pursuing a business degree. My GPA is 3.9 and I am on the soccer team and a president of a club plus some other activites.

I've been thinking about the military and somebody suggested the BDCP, I met with a recruiter a couple weeks ago and would like to proceed.

I am about to depart for 2 weeks on a family vacation. During this vacation I plan to study for the ASTB test. Upon my return I want to take the test. I am only taking the OAR part of the test because I know shit about everything else.


Can somebody give me a rough estimate of what I should get on the ASTB to be accepted?
Is 2 weeks enough time to study or am I way over my head? I will be fine with paragraph comprehension but math and mechanical section might give me some problems.


And finally, assuming I am not accepted for the BCDP, what are my options?
Thanks...I will probably be back with more questions

 

[Picaroon]

If you're only taking OAR, I assume you're not trying to be an aviator or flight officer?

If you have a 3.9 GPA and can't do the math on the ASTB with two weeks of preparation, something is terribly wrong.

Say they don't accept you for BDCP. Then you can re-apply until it's too late, and then apply for a straight shot at OCS.

Also I recommend reading and searching on here.

 

[CUPike11]

First, talk to your recruiter as he/she will have all these answers. Also do a search on this site as all your questions have been answered before.

I took the ASTB like 4 weeks ago and didnt think it was that bad at all, but I also have an aerospace engineering degree, so the majority of the stuff I had seen before.

There are different minimums in each section excluding the OAR, so I would recommend taking the entire thing, because several designators look at other scores from the test too. As far as the minimum, I believe it is a 45 as a minimum. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

As far as study time, that's something that you have to determine yourself. If you're not comfortable with the math and mechanical, then I don't think 2 weeks would really be sufficient study time.....ESPECIALLY if you're going to be on vacation. How much study are you actually going to get done?

If you're not accepted to BDCP, then you an apply for just a Direct Commission instead of BDCP. You'll have to still designate what job(s) you want to apply for within BDCP. But yeah its either BDCP or Direct Commission.

Good luck with everything!

 

[DukeAndrewJ]

search search search...there is TONS of ASTB gouge on here.

http://www.navy-officer.com/astb.html this page gives you an idea of average ASTB scores - do better than average. Also contains some links to study guides and practice questions.

As for how long to study, that really is different for everybody. If standardized tests come easy to you (think SATs), then two weeks is more than enough time. For some people, it takes longer. Take some practice tests while on vacation (don't forget to time yourself) and you will get an idea of what you need to study. Search AW and you will find plenty of sites with free practice tests.

If you don't get in, I suppose you should just keep applying until you do.

 

[Lobster]

you're chances probably aren't too good right now just because your a penguins fan...


...now if you were FLYER'D up it might be a different story

 

[jtmedli]

Hey guys..got a couple quick basic questions.

I am going to be a Junior in college at John Carroll University. I am pursuing a business degree. My GPA is 3.9 and I am on the soccer team and a president of a club plus some other activites.

I've been thinking about the military and somebody suggested the BDCP, I met with a recruiter a couple weeks ago and would like to proceed.

I am about to depart for 2 weeks on a family vacation. During this vacation I plan to study for the ASTB test. Upon my return I want to take the test. I am only taking the OAR part of the test because I know shit about everything else.


Can somebody give me a rough estimate of what I should get on the ASTB to be accepted?
Is 2 weeks enough time to study or am I way over my head? I will be fine with paragraph comprehension but math and mechanical section might give me some problems.


And finally, assuming I am not accepted for the BCDP, what are my options?
Thanks...I will probably be back with more questions

For the math sections just go back and study your basic trig and algebra. If you have a 3.9 this really shouldn't be a problem for you to bone up on. The algebra is really not bad... IF 3a=4b=5c then what does ?a = ?c type stuff. As far as trig goes, just know how the basics. You don't need the crazy identities just some basic sin/cos laws and pythagorean theorem and all angles add up to 180 degrees type stuff. I don't know what to tell you about the mechanical as I was an Elec. Eng. major so after 2 physics and 1 statics class I pretty much knew it. Good Luck.

 

[pensfan341]

Thanks for the quick and helpful responses guys.

Yeah, I have been messing around and reading on this site and will continue to do so. It definitley has some solid information.

I think I am beginning to feel more confident about my chances for being accepted. I know I will do well on the paragraph comprehension, and I am going to study hard to brush up on my math. Does anyone have any suggestions to learn some basic physics from anywhere for the mechanical part? I printed off the Marine aviation guidebook supplement and also the one study guide from andtpicky.

I am not interested in being an aviation or flight officer. So the only part of the ASTB I have to worry about is the OAR part, correct?

What score should I get to be confident of acceptance?


I have a phone conference with my recruiter tomorrow, where I will get some additional questions cleared up.

But just to make sure I got it right...If accepted to BDCP I don't to anything until I complete my college degree. During this time period I am paid $2,500+ a month. After I graduate I go to OCS school and then my community school. This is followed by my 4 year active duty commitment.

Do I have the basics down?

 

[JSnake]

I am not interested in being an aviation or flight officer. So the only part of the ASTB I have to worry about is the OAR part, correct?

What score should I get to be confident of acceptance?


I have a phone conference with my recruiter tomorrow, where I will get some additional questions cleared up.

But just to make sure I got it right...If accepted to BDCP I don't to anything until I complete my college degree. During this time period I am paid $2,500+ a month. After I graduate I go to OCS school and then my community school. This is followed by my 4 year active duty commitment.

Do I have the basics down?

ARCO has a pretty good guide for the mechanical sections. 2 weeks is plenty of time. Just don't waste it thinking you have a long time to study.

Yes you need only the OAR section. Do a search around to see what a competitive score should be for whatever you're interested in. I think a score above a 60 is pretty solid.

Depending on where you live, your pay may be higher or lower than that, but it sounds about right.

 

[Picaroon]

But just to make sure I got it right...If accepted to BDCP I don't to anything until I complete my college degree. During this time period I am paid $2,500+ a month. After I graduate I go to OCS school and then my community school. This is followed by my 4 year active duty commitment.

Do I have the basics down?

Yep that's about it. You swear into the Navy, and you make your commitment. We had a guy on here who wanted out and there's no easy way to do that. So pretend you're shipping out tomorrow when you swear in--if you're ok with that, you're good to go.

You need to be hitting good-low or better on the PRT. So if you're 21 like me, that's about ~50 push-ups, ~60 sit-ups, and a 12:00 1.5 mile run. You need that before you swear in. And then bi-annually.

Also I believe you need the full ASTB for intel as well as aviation.

 

[CUPike11]

What score should I get to be confident of acceptance?

There really is no way to tell that if you get X score you are guaranteed acceptance.

If you read some of the board threads, you'll see that some people got selected with lower OAR/overall ASTB scores and those with higher ones didn't get selected and vice versa.

The boards look at the "whole person" concept. Scores are only a small fraction of your entire application. Do your absolute best on the test so you can have that confidence, but dont put it so far on a pedestal that it overshadows the importance of the rest of the application and "overal person"

 

[niktam]

Some designators such as Intel require that you take all of the sections, I wouldn't cut yourself short by not taking them all..


http://www.cnrc.navy.mil/noru/orojt3/generalofficer.htm#4

 

[D_Rob]

...now if you were FLYER'D up it might be a different story

Did you change your username?

 

[pensfan341]

Is it a reasonable statement to say that besides ROTC, BDCP is the best opportunity for joining the military?

 

[Lobster]

Did you change your username?

Yeah...but I'm still FLYER'D up...not like those silly dive artist birds out west...

 

[pensfan341]

3 cups in my lifetime....what do you have to show???

Orange Shush