Posted on Jan 10, 2019
Thomas O'Hear
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I am currently trying to apply for OCS with the Army. I have a 3.47 GPA in Political Science, National Security Studies from Virginia Tech (I was not in the Corps of Cadets or ROTC). I talked to a recruiter, and he is saying i'm not a competitive applicant. This recruiter's suggestion is that I go enlisted, and then do Green-to-Gold. I took the ASVAB and got a 122 GT, then they really pushed the enlisted route. My GPA could have been higher and I have a Liberal Arts Degree, I get that. Am I really that uncompetitive? What can I do to get competitive? Should I try a different branch? I want to serve as an officer, as sacrilegious as it may sound the branch is secondary to that objective.
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Responses: 11
CPT Cadre
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Your recruiter is being a lazy turd and you can quote me. My former Sniper section leader was a recruiter and said the paperwork required for OCS was way more than for a regular enlisted contract and recruiters are all about the numbers. I got in with a 2.8 GPA for my undergrad and a 3.55 for my graduate and that was during the drawdown. It’s all about how the board interview goes, but let’s get the paperwork done first. Bottom line, your recruiter is being lazy, a 3.47 and a 122 are competitive and the Army doesn’t give a damn about your degree, very few of us have degrees that relate directly to our careers until later in our service. Go back and tell the recruiter that you want to do OCS and don’t let him convince you otherwise if that’s what you have your mind set on. If he’s unwilling to work with you, go to a different recruiting station, but don’t let him tell you that you’re not competitive.
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LCDR Naval Aviator
LCDR (Join to see)
6 y
Preach it.
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Thomas O'Hear
Thomas O'Hear
6 y
Will do, thanks!
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Randy Holdsy
Randy Holdsy
3 y
#AOT
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Maj John Bell
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I was a Marine Officer 25 years ago. So my "theory" may be completely off base. But If you were asking me this question 25 years ago...

1) Recruiters are trying to fill enlistment quotas. They don't get any credit for contacts that get commissioned.
2) The recruiter in question is putting his goals in front of the Army's

Locate the nearest ROTC unit and ask to speak to the Officer in Charge. He/she may not be the correct person to get the job done, but certainly knows who is. My guess is that the "recruiter" will get a little "corrective" counseling as an added bonus.
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Thomas O'Hear
Thomas O'Hear
6 y
Got it! Yes, everyone seems to be on the same page regarding the recruiter. Doesn't sound like anything has changed since your time.
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1LT Information Systems Specialist
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Edited 6 y ago
What your recruiter is telling you is absolutely false!!!

I was just accepted a couple days ago. My GPA and GT was lower than yours, and I know other soldiers that were accepted with lower scores than mine. I don't know if recruiters are being pushed to get a certain amount of enlisted in, or if what CPT Sleight said about your recruiter being lazy is true, but you are very competitive.

If you really want to be an Officer I'd suggest you apply. Another route you could take is to enlist as a SPC then apply later on like I did. Doing this you get to experience what it's like to be a junior enlisted soldier first. If that's not something you're interested in, just apply now.

As long as you're in shape, do good on your structured interview, have a good essay and LORs, you should be fine.
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Thomas O'Hear
Thomas O'Hear
6 y
The enlisted route is an option, mainly for to the experience you mentioned. But, I have a crap ton of student loans and I'm 28. I just feel like the clock is ticking ya know
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LTC Hardware Test Engineer
LTC (Join to see)
5 y
To the best of my knowledge, Recruiters don't get credit for commissions, only enlistments and OCS packets require a lot more effort and paperwork. This recruiter is just being lazy and trying to get an enlistment to meet his quota
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