Your circumstances for STA-21 acceptance

[kag]

I just have a question for any STA-21 graduates or current Officer Candidates:

What did your academic situation look like when you submitted your application? By this I mean GPA, stuff like that. Is High School GPA focused on more, or is your college GPA looked at if you have college experience (I have an AAS)?

Thank you sir/ma'am for your replies.

 

[FMRAM]

College GPA 3.56
AA General Studies
100 transferable credit hours

 

[Hursel110]

H.S. GPA: 2.6
No college
SAT: 1370

I spent high school fooling around, then finally got my act together after enlisting. Obviously I didn't have much going for me other than my SAT score on that count. More important for me was my track record after enlisting (i.e. evals, awards, CO recommendation, interviews).

You certainly can't go wrong with a proven track record in college though. Having completed or at least started the Calc and Phys requirements is looked on as a plus also. Again, I made it in without, but your mileage may varry.

BTW, I was selected back in '02 for the fy '03 program, so this may be old news that does not apply any more.

Good luck on your application

 

[FMRAM]

kag have you been to basic yet? The reason I ask is if you want to be an officer, it is not a good idea to enlist...no matter what the recruiter told you.

 

[navymech]

kag have you been to basic yet? The reason I ask is if you want to be an officer, it is not a good idea to enlist...no matter what the recruiter told you.

Unless you want to for the right reasons.

 

[FMRAM]

Unless you want to for the right reasons.

And what would those reasons be? He wants to be an officer, enlisting would be counterproductive. He didn't come up with the idea of enlisting, a recruiter did.

 

[Tibmag]

I agree, I fell for this, and now here I am sitting dangerously close to being too old, hoping that I get picked up for STA-21 my first time around. Beyond that I have other plans, and I won't give up until I have finally passed out of the age limits. But, don't go enlisted, unless thats really what you want to do.

Not dogging the enlisted Navy at all, its the heart of the Navy, and I have had some really great experiances, just agreeing with FMRAM.

 

[Scamahmrd]

Whoa FMRAM, I did just that... I enlisted to become an officer. I did it for many reasons. One, I wanted to experience what it what like to be enlisted. Two, I wanted, and needed, to make myself more competitive for a commisssioning program. Three, I needed a way to pay for college. I could go on and on. My point is that everyone's circumstances are different, and that you shouldn't make blanket statments that may or may not be true. I'm sure that Kag has his own reasons for wanting to enlist. While we can tell him what we did, and what we suggest, that dosen't mean that our way is the only way. I wouldn't change a thing about what I did. I had a great time as an enlisted person, and got to do and expereince things differently that I would have as an officer.

Kag, do what you want, just make sure that you get all of the information first (which is, I assume, the reason you are here.)

 

[FMRAM]

I agree, I fell for this, and now here I am sitting dangerously close to being too old, hoping that I get picked up for STA-21 my first time around. Beyond that I have other plans, and I won't give up until I have finally passed out of the age limits. But, don't go enlisted, unless thats really what you want to do.

Not dogging the enlisted Navy at all, its the heart of the Navy, and I have had some really great experiances, just agreeing with FMRAM.

Best of luck...

 

[FMRAM]

Whoa FMRAM, I did just that... I enlisted to become an officer. I did it for many reasons. One, I wanted to experience what it what like to be enlisted. Two, I wanted, and needed, to make myself more competitive for a commisssioning program. Three, I needed a way to pay for college. I could go on and on. My point is that everyone's circumstances are different, and that you shouldn't make blanket statments that may or may not be true. I'm sure that Kag has his own reasons for wanting to enlist. While we can tell him what we did, and what we suggest, that dosen't mean that our way is the only way. I wouldn't change a thing about what I did. I had a great time as an enlisted person, and got to do and expereince things differently that I would have as an officer.

Kag, do what you want, just make sure that you get all of the information first (which is, I assume, the reason you are here.)

DISCLAIMER: Enlisted people are the backbone of the navy. Without them, this machine would quickly grind to a halt. I have nothing but respect for enlisted sailors and I will continue to show that respect once I am wearing gold bars.

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line...going enlisted will only slow his dreams of being an officer...he needs to stay in college.

From what you said about your background, it sounds like you exhausted every available option before enlisting.
You also had difficulties financing college.

From what I have read in his other posts, it is apparent that he isn't having these same dufficulties, only he needs to get his grades up and get into a university.

What burns me up is that some enlisted recruiter has been filling his head with ideas of having to put in his time as an enlisted sailor. This is nothing but selfishness on the recruiters part, and is unethical in my opinion.

I just can't stand recruiters that either lie or pull the old bait and switcheroo...

 

[kag]

I'm just worried that I won't be competitive unless I'm able to prove myself in the enlisted arena.

Right now I'm scheduled to ship out as an OS, which sounds like an interesting job. I have no problems with being enlisted, it's just that officer is where I want to go with my career eventually. I am sure I'd have alot of fun while enlisted and have some great experiences. If I get picked up for STA-21 at the end of my enlistment I'll be around 24 years old, not too old for a commission. If I didn't get picked up at the end... Well, I could go to college and then submit a packet to OCS. Either way, I think enlisted service will help me be competitive (and that isn't my recruiter talking, I haven't even talked to them about being an officer).

But I haven't made up my mind yet. I keep looking for the email address of an officer recruiter, but they're never listed.

It's a difficult choice, if I re-take a couple of college classes this fall, I can get into a State college here in Washington pretty easily.

 

[Hursel110]

It looks like all of the sides of this debate have been said fairly well. Kag, the bottom line is this: The final decision to enlist or not is up to you. Just make sure that if you do that it is the right reasons, and that you are prepared to go the distance either way. Good luck in whichever course you choose.

 

[FMRAM]

(and that isn't my recruiter talking, I haven't even talked to them about being an officer).

You really need to make up your mind kag.
If you choose to enlist, best of luck...
If you want to go officer, I hope it works out.

 

[Brett327]

DISCLAIMER: Enlisted people are the backbone of the navy. Without them, this machine would quickly grind to a halt. I have nothing but respect for enlisted sailors and I will continue to show that respect once I am wearing gold bars.

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line...going enlisted will only slow his dreams of being an officer...he needs to stay in college.

From what you said about your background, it sounds like you exhausted every available option before enlisting.
You also had difficulties financing college.

From what I have read in his other posts, it is apparent that he isn't having these same dufficulties, only he needs to get his grades up and get into a university.

What burns me up is that some enlisted recruiter has been filling his head with ideas of having to put in his time as an enlisted sailor. This is nothing but selfishness on the recruiters part, and is unethical in my opinion.

I just can't stand recruiters that either lie or pull the old bait and switcheroo...

I couldn't agree more. There are a couple fallacies floating around that also need to be dispelled. Prior enlisted time does not make you more competitive for officer accession programs and will usually only delay your opportunities in that effort, sometimes to the point of reaching the upper age limits. Second, enlisting doesn't make it easier to finish college. The money you get isn't as much as you think it is and you won't have the time required to focus on school. Part time is the best case scenario you can expect for at least the first 4-5 years in the fleet. If you don't focus on your job in the Navy, you'll never get a good recommendation for officer programs - kind of a catch-22. IMO, you're much better off staying in school and finding other ways to finance your education (grants, scholarships, loans), then thinking the Navy's college money is some kind of silver bullet.

Listen to some of the people who have succeeded at being both enlisted AND officer (that's me if you haven't figured that out yet). If you want to be an officer, stay in school, period.

Brett

 

[fc2spyguy]

My stats:

HS GPA: 2.06
College GPA to that point: 3.96
SAT: 1230?
ASTB: 2 7's and an 8, OAR 56

8 years of fleet experience, including 1 year as an LPO and 2 years as a Firing Officer at White Sands Missile Range.

I think the last part was probably more influential than the previous, but I can't say for certain due to I was picked up the second time, and the major difference was 17 more college credits.

Now, keep this in mind. I had applied for officer programs earlier in my career and was denied. I think many of my earlier aps looked at my hs gpa much more heavily than my experience, why? Because it took time to give them a solid track record. I was accepted when I was 26. I am now 28, and will be commissioning when I am 29. Keep in mind that I joined the Navy when I was 18. So, move your timeline back a few years, condisder that the first couple years of applying for programs will be based heavily on your current situation rather than the one or two years in the Navy. How old will you be? Will the options that you're looking for still be available? (granted no one can truely answer that second question). If you concentrate more now on school will that be better than dropping one pile only to pick up another to work on?

Those are the things that you need to think about and answer yourself. I'm not going to say it is or isn't a good idea to enlist. It was the best decision I have ever made, but that may not be the case for you.