Wait for boards to open again to apply?

[Brigid]

Hi There,
First off let me just say that I am very determined. I have decided that this is the career path that I would like to take. I know that the Navy uses the whole person concept;however I am worried that my poor college academics will hurt me in the long run. I currently have a 2.2 GPA, but I do speak Russian. I am studying my butt off for the ASTB, and I know I will need a really high oar, but should I wait to apply, I just turned 23, until later, when boards open up a bit more?

 

[Lucy]

For nearly every designator you need at least a 2.5 overall GPA to apply, and around a 3.0 to be competitive (even with a foreign language), so I recommend do whatever you can to get that GPA up if this is what you want. GPA is not everything, but you want to get out of the automatic no pile.

 

[Brigid]

I graduate this december so getting it up is not really feasible, would it make a difference if I waited until after i took some graduate classes ( providing I do really well in those classes)?

 

[Lucy]

You would be amazed what all A's this term could do to your GPA, but yes, having a strong Masters program would be helpful. They look at you GPA for each school, but also your overall GPA, so masters classes would be calculated in that.

 

[Rokovak]

You may have to define "amazed" in this case because if Brigid is say, 15 credits shy of a 120-credit degree and her school uses a weighted average to calculate GPA, then the most that straight As can do is bump up that GPA to 2.43. If that were the best GPA I could hope for, I'd get into a Master's program and bust some rump.

 

[Lucy]

Yes, but a .2 increase is substantial and a lot closer to the 2.5 needed. And a Masters program is only a wise choice if it will help. While getting B's would help with a GPA below a 3.0, A's will be what is needed to make any real improvement.

Another option is also to do post-bac classes, or retake classes you failed/got Ds in.