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Torpedo'd my chances for OCS?

swoswooo

New Member
Hey guys,

I submitted my packet for the NOV SWO board, and have been reading up on some of the stats ya'll are posting. When I submitted my packet, my recruiter STRESSED to me that I only needed one letter of rec, and that the board members don't wanna have to shift through a bunch of letters of rec while they have your application in front of them for 1-2 minutes.

I asked her repeatedly about this, and she was pretty adamant that I only should collect and submit one. However, I've been seeing that most people submit 2-4. Am I boned?

As a reference:
Age: 22
GPA: 3.1 Finance - Large State School
OAR: 57
EC: Greek Life, Student Government, some volunteer work in college but I didn't highlight it.
 

exNavyOffRec

Well-Known Member
Hey guys,

I submitted my packet for the NOV SWO board, and have been reading up on some of the stats ya'll are posting. When I submitted my packet, my recruiter STRESSED to me that I only needed one letter of rec, and that the board members don't wanna have to shift through a bunch of letters of rec while they have your application in front of them for 1-2 minutes.

I asked her repeatedly about this, and she was pretty adamant that I only should collect and submit one. However, I've been seeing that most people submit 2-4. Am I boned?

As a reference:
Age: 22
GPA: 3.1 Finance - Large State School
OAR: 57
EC: Greek Life, Student Government, some volunteer work in college but I didn't highlight it.

your GPA is average, so I would be more concerned about that.
 

FinkUFreaky

Well-Known Member
pilot
Never sat on a board, but I believe letters of Rec likely rank below your personal statement, and that ranks pretty low-to-nil on who gets picked. Great spot to throw out there why some things in your record aren't what they could be, or to explain your motivation, but would likely only be used in "tiebreaker" scenarios.

My only couple letters of rec were from civilian bosses, and I'd imagine they were laughed at before being thrown in the trash can. Maybe if you have a Sea-Daddy O-8 or something it would matter "some"....

As mentioned, your GPA, OAR scores etc matter much more. Just like if you get in, your overall competitive rankings will matter a lot more for promotion than the verbiage in your FITREP.
 

Hair Warrior

Well-Known Member
Contributor
You're not sunk. You are young. And of course, you might get selected anyway.

If you don't get selected this cycle, and you are very concerned about your chances next time, go get a job that will make you more competitive for the next application. Maybe they have jobs for small boat or harbor patrol with local law enforcement/ fire dept/ USCG in Florida. Or maybe an entry level project manager job at a naval shipyard. Whatever floats yer boat.

If you don't get selected this cycle, and you aren't very concerned about your chances next time, go have fun and do something you can't do after you join the Navy. Drive a camper van across the Rockies and hit every national park. Be a bartender in the USVI for a couple months. Travel with a friend. Just don't get arrested or otherwise hurt your security clearance eligibility.
 

subreservist

Well-Known Member
I am surprised your recruiter stated you only needed 1 LOR. Generally, for civilian applications, 3 are requested by checklist, with 1 of those being from an employer or school official. I don't think they add much to selectivity, but it's still part of a complete package.
 

exNavyOffRec

Well-Known Member
I am surprised your recruiter stated you only needed 1 LOR. Generally, for civilian applications, 3 are requested by checklist, with 1 of those being from an employer or school official. I don't think they add much to selectivity, but it's still part of a complete package.

There are character references that are often called LOR's, what is actually required are employment references (DD-370), if employment references aren't available you can substitute, however often the OR will send out the employment verification and put a note saying "DD-370's sent employer policy is to not fill out"
 
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