Considering Navy OCS - Any Advice on These Points?

Caroline Aston — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 01:02:43 -0400

Dear Rally Point Community,

Recently I've started looking into Navy OCS, and researching requirements and details that will help me decide whether this is the right (and feasible) path for me. Since I'm not quite ready to visit a recruiter, I'd really appreciate insight from this community about the following:

- I'll be going out of state for six to nine months on a freelance job. If I decide to apply to OCS, would an NRD outside my home state be willing and able to work with me? Because of age limits, it wouldn't be practical to wait until I return.

- Due to how long ago it occurred, I no longer have medical records for a broken bone I sustained when I was a kid. The treating hospital can't provide them either for the same reason. (They purge old patient records after ten years.) Full recovery, no surgeries, no subsequent issues. Will MEPS disqualify me because I can't produce those records? Or would they accept a current eval by an approved physician instead? There wouldn't be much point going through the application process if I can't get medical clearance because of this.

- I have a bachelor's degree, but am currently taking additional undergrad and postbaccalaureate courses as prep for grad school. Although all are credit-bearing courses from accredited schools, I'm taking them as isolated classes, not as part of a degree. Would they still be factored into my cumulative undergrad GPA for OCS? Additionally, does OCS processing recognize credits from postbac courses? (Since postbac exists between undergrad and grad, their acceptance and classification depends on the receiving institution.)

A very sincere thank you to those who took the time to read this long post. I look forward to your advice.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 24 at 2018 1:18 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 01:18:39 -0400

If you have no plates or screws in your body, I think you'll be okay with your broken bone issue. Let me see if I could get two naval officers give some feedback to you. LT Brad McInnis CDR Private RallyPoint Member

Response by CPT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 24 at 2018 6:44 AM

CPT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 06:44:47 -0400

Consider going Army and doing Army OCS. Both are challenging but Army will provide you with a wider scope of initial officier training.

Response by LT Brad McInnis made Sep 24 at 2018 1:36 PM

LT Brad McInnis — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 13:36:43 -0400

I was not OCS, but had many friends that were. Any of my statements, take with a grain of salt, as it has been a few years. Your local officer recruiter can always give you the most up to date info.

Point 1- why not start the process with your local recruiter? Then you can finish with the out of area. Also, if the local gives you an answer you may not like, the out of area may have a different answer.

Point 2 - You will get a full physical, and they will note any problems. Just tell them where the break was so they can take a good look at it. If you don't have any issues with it, they shouldn't either. I had eye surgery when I was young, didn't have the records, didn't cause a problem.

Point 3 - I have no idea. I would suspect that it actually works in your favor that you are not in an actual program, as that would probably mean they would need to get you a waiver to complete. If it helps your case by increasing your GPA, then they will probably add them. Again, the recruiter will have the most up to date info.

Now, for the part that most won't believe... Why limit yourself to just Navy OCS? I would apply to all services, especially as it seems you have an age limit issue. If you get 3 acceptances, then you have the option to turn down others. Also, each service has different req's that might lead to different career options. Just a thought...

Best of luck to you!

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Sep 24 at 2018 1:54 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 13:54:00 -0400

What do you know about the requirements for entrance into OCS?

Response by MAJ Grant Gutkowski made Sep 24 at 2018 4:04 PM

MAJ Grant Gutkowski — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 16:04:54 -0400

I had the same issue. I obtained all the records that I could, for several issues. Dealing with MEPS is your very first exercise in both patience at military bureaucracy, and also your very first exasperating exercise in dealing with military idiots. After a long medical interview and exam...I was approved.

About the only thing that is critical through the MEPS process is patience.

Response by SN Greg Wright made Sep 25 at 2018 1:08 AM

SN Greg Wright — Tue, 25 Sep 2018 01:08:44 -0400

MEPs will make their own determination about your bones, but it doesn't sound like there's anything disqualifying. And OCS doesn't give 2 shits about your GPA - only that you have at least the first bachelors. Don't sweat that.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 25 at 2018 1:22 AM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 25 Sep 2018 01:22:09 -0400

Caroline Aston Great advice from other Rallypoint members. Please keep us informed after talking to a recruiter.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 29 at 2018 6:42 PM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 29 Sep 2018 18:42:21 -0400

I did Navy OCS about 11 years ago.

Point 1 - I would look up the recruiter in the new place. You may be able to do that by going to the local officer recruiter and asking them where the officer recruiter is at the new place. They've drastically cut officer stations; for instance, I accessed through Oklahoma City, but that is now gone and you have to go through Dallas.

- I had an issue with nose surgery where the doctor went out of business and there weren't records. I had to show due diligence that I tried to find the records, but ultimately had to write a memo for the record with an endorsement from the recruiting office. I wouldn't spend a huge amount of time on this. I can't count the number of prospective military who could get through the exams perfectly, but got themselves sent home because they gave away too much info. Let the doctors ask the questions. Don't lie, but only give the information requested. If you think you'll be able to get through 1 to 1.5 hours of strenuous PT six days a week in OCS for 12 weeks, and you can pass the tests, then you'll be fine.

- I hate to say this, but OCS just want a degree and your GPA from that degree. You can put in your extra courses as part of your application package, and it'll certainly be a factor in whether they select you, but once selected for OCS, you're not going to get any extra credit for these courses. At best it might make you eligible for better grad schools once you get to that level.

As a member of one of those designators who allow higher ages, feel free to PM me for more info if needed.

Response by LTJG Edward Bangor Jr made Oct 1 at 2018 12:38 PM

LTJG Edward Bangor Jr — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 12:38:19 -0400

For what it's worth, I started the OCS process with a recruiter in Philly. I had moved back in with my parents after college, and thus had to move to North Carolina when my dad got PCS'ed there. I had no issues continuing to work with the recruiter in Philly. About a week after the board results came out (the recruiter was briefly out of town) I got the call that I was in, and that I had gotten selected as an SNA, which was my first choice. One piece of advice I'd give is to ensure that you're familiar with the communities you're interested in, and apply for all of them. I believe you can pick and rank 5.

I had wisdom teeth removed and reconstructive surgery on a broken nose as a kid. I don't think I had actual copies of my records from the surgeons. But the lack of any complications and a clean physical at MEPS made this a non-issue for me.

Also, my GPA wasn't that great. But I had an engineering degree from Penn State and had 8-7-7-67 of the ASTB (before the simulated flight control portion was added, although I'm not sure if that portion is still there; I was part of the control group for that testing while stationed in Pensacola.) I had letters of recommendation from two pilots as well, an active CDR and retired CAPT. It all goes to show that selection is a holistic process. Your background, motivation (in form of personal statement), past performance, and assessed abilities all factor in to your selection board.

Good luck. Newport will be the best 12 weeks that you'll never want to do ever again. I sincerely hope you make it. And feel free to ignore anyone trying to convince you to go Army. It's only Navy and Fleet Marines that get to go to all of the cool, historic, and bizarre ports out there. Everyone else is just jealous.

Navy owned, Marine Corps trained.