STA-21 Help

[Spekkio]

OP, no doubt you are motivated, but I will 3rd the advice given above: You get no points in life for mediocre results, regardless of how much workload you are taking on. It is not in your best interest to get C's in classes, particularly in pre-calculus classes and English Composition I. The message you send the board by doing this is that you can't write or do math at a college level, since you haven't taken any "real" college-level math or English courses yet. It doesn't matter why you got the C's, your application is going in the trash pile if that is your most recent or only display of academic performance.

Are college courses even a requirement for STA-21? If they aren't, then why pay for something the Navy will pay for once you're accepted?

 

[scoober78]

Are college courses even a requirement for STA-21? If they aren't, then why pay for something the Navy will pay for once you're accepted?

WE GOT A GOOD BINGO!

C work on college level courses is not the standard. Period. Do better.

 

[BackOrdered]

Are college courses even a requirement for STA-21? If they aren't, then why pay for something the Navy will pay for once you're accepted?

They aren't, but some hard chargers knock out there AA or do the Calc/Physics work ahead of time. In one case, a PS2 I mentored did just that and got straight A's; the CO's approval was a formality for her. I PCS'd before her results, but she looked very solid for the effort.

 

[Spekkio]

Does getting A's in college coursework significantly boost an applicant's chance of succeeding if he is otherwise competitive? Again, I'd normally be weary of advising a guy who has EPs and command-level collateral duties to pay out of pocket to bust his ass in their spare time when the Navy will pay them to do it later as their only full-time responsibility. Might be one thing if the SAT/ACT score is mediocre but he can prove success in community college, but if not..? If getting A's in entry level college coursework will put the icing on the cake, then I'll spread the word.

 

[BackOrdered]

Does getting A's in college coursework significantly boost an applicant's chance of succeeding if he is otherwise competitive? Again, I'd normally be weary of advising a guy who has EPs and command-level collateral duties to pay out of pocket to bust his ass in their spare time when the Navy will pay them to do it later as their only full-time responsibility. Might be one thing if the SAT/ACT score is mediocre but he can prove success in community college, but if not..? If getting A's in entry level college coursework will put the icing on the cake, then I'll spread the word.

Like anything else extra, it may not guarantee success and you are right to caution sailors.

The assumption for STA-21 applicants is that you have 0% college work and the Navy is going to send you to college in order to earn a degree. They won't penalize a guy for not taking any college work before hand, they will penalize them for showing that they may struggle. The PS2 I used as an example demonstrated everything but the potential for failure, but her work was not a requirement.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

The sailors at my last sea command that I knew who were picked up all had "some" college and had done well in those classes.

The sailors who arrived at my last sea command that were STA21 drops who came to work for me all went into STA21 with no college at all.

Just what I saw.

 

[scoober78]

My thinking here when talking to my sailors etc...

The first question the board has to answer is "Can this person finish college." There are a couple ways they can answer that depending on the record. First, SAT/ACT scores. Kill them and the board may have its answer. (When I say kill them, I mean 32+ ACT or 2100+ SAT...1430+ for us old foagies.). That said, if you sucked in high school, they're going to ask why and some college with a stellar GPA as well as an explanation in your personal statement may set their mind at ease.

Option 2. If you do well, but don't smoke check the test...well, it's likely you can finish school, but a little proof couldn't hurt. Show them 4-5 classes with an A average and they'll probably worry less.

Option 3. Suck on the SAT/ACT...well, your in a hole. You'll have to show sustained superior performance on your college coursework to prove that you can...you know...handle college coursework. Think a few semesters with an A average...

My .02...although in NO case will college coursework with a B+ or better average hurt you...and well...you'll be getting closer to your degree, which is of course valuable in and of itself.

 

[SkywardET]

Disclaimer: I got picked up for STA-21 back when it was a little more open (FY09), so my advice may be dated.

If you're going to do college while also trying to do your main job and grab those EP's and load up your page 4 with quals, then you better damn well get A's for those college courses. I did NCPACE while deployed and chose classes/colleges that weren't exactly determined challenges to my academic ability, and got straight A's on them. I even remember the course subjects, if not the exact titles--American Cinema, Astronomy, and Exploiting the Weaknesses of Terrorists (actually a pretty informative class). I am positive that getting A's in those classes helped ameliorate any concerns the board may have had about my academic abilities given the length of time it had been since I was last in a non-Navy school (not to mention that I basically dropped out of college my first go at it).

That said, I also did some NRTC's which may or may not have been a factor in my selection. I would recommend you do the Non-Resident Training Courses for your rate and then try some that are from your target community--i.e., I was an ET and wanted to be a pilot, so while putting together my STA-21 package I did a bunch of ET NRTC's and then did some ones that I thought might be applicable to pilots, such as the giant 600+ page weather one.

To crystalize everything that's been said, really your personal statement and the initiative you take are probably the most important factors in selection. Shore up any weaknesses or perceived weaknesses you may have, and realize that the board is looking to pick Officers out of the enlisted ranks and not to pick enlisted personnel to become Officers. The board seemed very goal-oriented about that. In my experience, no single weak area or set of weak areas is likely to sink your chances so long as you shore them up as best you can, and show that you have shored them up.

 

[ea6bflyr]

It's been said before and I'll repeat it. If you are going to take college courses, you have to get good grades (B- or better). No excuses. If the Navy sees that you are balancing work and school and doing well at both, then they know you have what it takes to succeed. I know, I've been there. I was taking 12 credits at junior college (night school), plus working 60 hours a week at work, family, and Sailor of the quarter.

I didn't see it mentioned above, but did you qualified for a warfare pin? Most people picked up for the program have one if not two. You would do better earning a warfare pin than wasting your time on NKO courses.

Good luck!

 

[jus2mch]

Well as you all know, even doing random NKO courses can get you a good eval, It is the same as navy advancement study books, if you send the answers to the navy from the study book, that gives you extra points for the test and also goes to your Eval. Also NKO courses can give you college credits, and who don't want free college credits for taking a 1hour course from NKO. Like BigBadBoJenkins said the more college credits the better.
I am currently taking college courses, I finished
-English Composition I (got a C)
-College Algebra (Missed Final exam and got a C, otherwise an A)
-Precalculus ( pretty hard with courses online, about to finish this month, will probably get C)
-World Geography (doing good as of right now, will probably get a B or higher)
And about to take Physics I, might try to take Calculus a month after that, depends how hard Physics going to be.
College online is pretty hard, i Took precalculus in HS, normal College and had As in both, im taking it now again with probably a C.
There is no one that can really explain you so i have to learn on my own. But doing my best to pass.
My first Eval i got an EP, this year looks like its going to be an EP too. Doing bunch of community services and should get my Ribbon by the end of the year.
Will probably sign up to take ASTB and SAT test tomorrow. Studying, but not that hard, going to take the test before going on deployment to see how is it, and study hard after that while on deployment. I also have to go for Physical exam to see first if i qualify to be a Pilot or not.
I think i'm doing pretty good, we will see.

EN3,

It looks like you're trying, and if that's your best then just keep plugging away. However, if you know you can do better (in math for example) then try to beef up your scores. Next, you should really review the FY 13 STA 21 brief if you haven't already.

From the brief under Selection Board Comments: "Most important part of package is CO endorsement (consistency, comments, leadership experience)."
http://www.sta-21.navy.mil/fleet_brief.asp.

Additionally, you may want to consider CORE as your primary option. This sends a message to the board that if commissioned you are willing to designate based on needs of the Navy. Sometimes there are strong packages that aren't selected for specific primary designators because of too many bodies and not enough slots, but no CORE option is requested, so the package gets thrown out all together. Just an option you may want to consider if your primary objective is to commission and you know you are weak in certain areas.


Lastly, another quote from the Selection Board Comments: "Applicants personal statement should explain any weaknesses or special circumstances (deployment, poor HS grades, etc.) . Must specify option(s) applying for."


If you get a good Commanding Officer's endorsement and pay attention to the details required to create the package you may have a chance. Good Luck.

 

[Renegade One]

Well as you all know, even doing random NKO courses can get you a good veal...My first Eval i got an EP, this year looks like its going to be an EP too. Doing bunch of community services and should get my Ribbon by the end of the year...
I think i'm doing pretty good, we will see.

...I might not be the best worker, but because i take time to do NKO, USMAP, community services, collateral duties on my own time, i get EPs every time.

Um…these self-assessments bother me. Probably not as much as they bother the "better workers".

Tough Love...but two things:

• What is your perception of being an officer/leader?
• You might want to add an "English Composition" course to your list of things to do.