Earning a Commission with TESC

[at2nfo]

I am planning on completing my BSAST in Technical Studies within the next year. I was wondering if there are any members here currently applying for Officer Candidate School. I am also curious if anyone knows of any previous members who got picked up for OCS with a degree from the big three. I've heard mixed things that OCS doesn't focus to much on the degree as long as it's accredited and you have a decent GPA. Any information would be greatly appreciated and would further add to my motivation.

[MA2]

OCS is highly competitive now because more people are joining. What's a degree in "technical studies?" The Navy won't really even look at you if you don't have a "hard" degree, like engineering, physics, math, accounting, etc. I can't say much about the other branches, I do know some Marine Corps officers that are infantry or artillery with a criminal justice degree. GPA is a big factor too, and your enlisted service counts big, assuming you're in now. I know a guy that had an underage drinking NJP when he was an E-2, he's an E-5 now and has his Bachelors degree but they denied him for OCS because of the NJP.

It's not that one NJP makes him a horrible person, it's just that when 500 qualified people apply for one commission slot, you have to find a way to eliminate someone.

[at2nfo]

I can see what you mean with your opinions because generally I would assume the same as well. However, I have read and heard from various sources that the type of degree does not hold as much weight as people assume it does. Reason being the Navy wants well rounded individuals from different backgrounds that can sometimes promote out of the box thinking. This too makes a lot of sense when you think about it. I'm just trying to see what kind of percentages of people are getting accepted into OCS with degrees through the big three. I am an E-5 with six years of service, multiple deployments under my belt, awards, dual warfare qualified, and very well rounded with experience. As far as being competitive when submitting my package I believe my character and enlisted accomplishments have a lot of backing. I just need to know if degrees from these accredited colleges are good enough for OCS. The only people I have seen as examples are all prior enlisted nukes. I'm not a nuke by the way. As my username states I'm an AT2 and I want to go NFO (Naval Flight Officer)

[MA2]

I asked my reserves transition officer a similiar question, that's what he told me about the degree thing. He said they look at GPA and that it's regionally accredited, and major. He said the school you graduate from doesn't matter much, unless you went to Harvard, Yale, etc, as long as it's regionally accredited.

The E-5 I mentioned earlier also had a stellar service record and so on, but he got screwed because of a minor slip up years ago, because they have more than enough qualified applicants, so they have to trim up somewhere. A similar story: A buddy of mine applied for a State Police agency. Part of the application process said "make a copy of your drivers license and attach it to your application." He did, and his application was rejected because "it is illegal to photocopy a government ID." It wasn't that he was a crook, it was just that they had to find a reason to exclude SOMEONE out of the thousands of applications, even though he was an ideal candidate. He ended up getting hired on with a sheriffs office a few months later.

NFO's would want an engineering degree or something similar, I highly doubt you'd be able to get in as an NFO with anything besides that, since that is one of the more sought after an prestigious officer jobs.

But as I said from what I was told when it comes to your degree, your GPA, major, and class ranking are the big things they look at, as long as it's regionally accredited.

If I were you I would go around and ask a bunch of young LTJG and LT NFO's what their degrees are in, if 95% say something like physics or engineering, then you know. Maybe half will say criminal justice or psychology and you'll be a shoe in with your service record and so on.

Either way good luck, I was looking at (maybe) coming back in as a supply officer when I finish my degree. Also, what's the age cutoff for NFO?

[at2nfo]

Thanks for the advice again, I'll do some asking around and see what I can come up with. I'm sure I could find other communities if NFO selection does weigh more on engineering degrees. I just have no desire for getting an Engineering degree. I'd prefer to finish my degree in technical studies and pursue a Masters in Project Management. By the time I retire I don't want to be an Engineer, I'd rather be heading projects.

In reply to your question about NFO, the age cut off is 31 with the four year prior service waiver.

Edit- I did some looking around on usnavyocs.com, and found a few examples for final selects as Pilot and NFO. The following non engineering degrees and GPAs led to selection.

-B.A. Applied Linguistics, GPA 3.29- NFO
-BS Air Transportation GPA 3.14 - Pilot
-BS in Workforce Education GPA 3.74 - Pilot
-BA in Music Education GPA 3.17 - NFO
-BA in BS Journalism and Broadcasting GPA 2.88- NFO

So as long as Thomas Edison State College holds some weight it looks as though I may be alright. I hope this post can serve as reference for future forum members inquiring about OCS and Naval Commission. I'll dig this post up and update it hopefully in a year when I am applying for OCS.

Thanks again MA2 for the background info on some of the guys you knew who applied for commissions.

[CLEP101]

I am planning on completing my BSAST in Technical Studies within the next year. I was wondering if there are any members here currently applying for Officer Candidate School. I am also curious if anyone knows of any previous members who got picked up for OCS with a degree from the big three. I've heard mixed things that OCS doesn't focus to much on the degree as long as it's accredited and you have a decent GPA. Any information would be greatly appreciated and would further add to my motivation.

OCS in the Army doesn't really care as long as long as your degree is regionally accredited. One of my Staff Sergeants got picked up with a Liberal Arts degree from TESC with no major. If you want to go signal officer, and your prior MOS is signal, then you will most likely get signal branch, and a CIS degree or "Tech Studies" degree would make sense then.

I've seen many officers with teaching degrees, outdoor forestry degrees, physical education degree end up in a branch that has nothing to do with their degrees. It will be up to you getting selected and cross your fingers that you get the branch you want.

Besides, 30% or so of selected go to support branches, while the other 70% or so go combat arms. And there are no degrees out there that have a major in Infantry or Field Artillery tactics.

[MA2]

-B.A. Applied Linguistics, GPA 3.29- NFO
-BS Air Transportation GPA 3.14 - Pilot
-BS in Workforce Education GPA 3.74 - Pilot
-BA in Music Education GPA 3.17 - NFO
-BA in BS Journalism and Broadcasting GPA 2.88- NFO

How recent were these people accepted? Within the last 2-3 years?

[at2nfo]

Thanks CLEP101, that's more reassuring to hear. I hope that the Navy is generally doing the same still. I know the Navy is going through a lot of force reduction and greater scrutiny on the enlisted side on who they keep, I just hope it doesn't go that way for officer selections.

MA2, when I looked at the Aviation stats on usnavyocs.com, the posts were from about two and half almost three years. I've checked more recent posts where members received selection with non technical degrees also. I'm linking the post below.

NavyOCS :: OCS Foundation Portal - Access Denied

[MA2]

They need to cut more officers, but that will never happen. Saw a full bird Captain O-6 as CO of a little LHD, with another Captain as his XO. And they want to save money by cutting down on enlisted?

Too many chiefs, not enough indians. But they'll never cut themselves down nearly as much since they make all the big decisions.

[CLEP101]

They need to cut more officers, but that will never happen. Saw a full bird Captain O-6 as CO of a little LHD, with another Captain as his XO. And they want to save money by cutting down on enlisted?

Have you ever noticed that all the draw downs have almost always been on the enlisted side of the house. It seems that we are always short handed on enlisted soldiers and over strengthened in the Officer department. We are practically making up staff positions to accommodate them in our unit. But oh well, I'm just glad I survived the chopping block.