Will having a low undergraduate GPA ruin my chances of becoming an officer, even though I'll have a master degree?

PO2 Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 27 May 2018 21:59:13 -0400

I have been pondering around the idea of pursuing a direct commission through the Army Reserve as a 70B or 70A. Currently, I'm a HM3 in the NAVY Reserves serving as a medical liaison and medical readiness representive for a NAVY Construction unit. I oversee a total of about 50 sailors and make sure that everyone in the unit is fully medically ready to deploy. I am the only HM within the unit so this gives me the edge in recieving leadership experience, along with lower competition when it comes to evals. I just graduated with a double major in Public health and Healthcare Management and right now I'm pursuing a Masters in Health Administration from Walden University which I'll be done with by next summer. I currently work for the Veteran Health Administration as a Advanced Medical Support Assistant for skilled nursing and Rehabilitative services. My job entails making sure all the nursing units within the building are up to code,responsible for changing patient movement codes, and handling all work orders through nursing services.

However, currently I have a low undergrad GPA of about 2.5 for my undergrad. I had to work fulltime during my whole college.... which is not excuse but I'm giving you guys an idea on why it's so low. With that being said, I have loads of healthcare experience outside the military which can hopefully give me a edge if I do decide to pursue a direct commission through the reserves. I"m about to receive my healthcare yellow LEAN belt and then soon after I'll go get my green belt which will hopefully contribute to making my officier package more competitive. But heres my question.

will having a low undergraduate gpa ruin my chances of becoming an officier even though I'll have a master degree?

Response by LCDR Robert S. made May 27 at 2018 10:10 PM

LCDR Robert S. — Sun, 27 May 2018 22:10:45 -0400

It might and it might not. Having been on direct commission boards in the Navy Reserve, my experience is that every board that meets has a few people with different ideas of which factors are important, and which ones aren't. Since you can't change your GPA, all you can do is apply and hope that the folks on your board look at the Masters degree and either don't notice the low GPA for your undergrad, or don't care.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made May 27 at 2018 10:21 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 27 May 2018 22:21:33 -0400

If you are pursuing a direct commission, then yes unfortunately, your undergrad degree for 70B is the qualifying degree and the current guidance is a 3.5 or higher. Go talk to an AMEDD recruiter. They can give you advice either way. Best of luck!

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made May 28 at 2018 12:41 AM

COL Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 28 May 2018 00:41:02 -0400

Direct may be an issue, but otherwise-like OCS or ROTC it may not be.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made May 28 at 2018 1:26 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 28 May 2018 01:26:10 -0400

I was a 70B Direct Commission back in 2009, then I was an AMEDD Recruiting Company Commander from 2014-2017 and what HSD and the Medical Recruiting Brigade we’re looking for was between a 3.0-3.5 GPA and prior enlisted service, usally as an E-5 or above. Your Bachelor Degree is your qualifying degree. You want your undergrad to be above a 3.0 or you will not be competitive for LTHET (graduate programs in the AMEDD). The board will try to decide your trainability and future potential as an officer. No one is able to remain a 70B and most of the areas of concentration require a specific graduate degree. All things to consider when applying. But agree with the previous replies that you need to work with a current AMEDD recruiter to get guidance, additionally the 70B Board is only once per year, usally in October.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made May 28 at 2018 7:17 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 28 May 2018 07:17:51 -0400

It honestly might be a rough go. I’m looking to secure a 70B active slot this next FY19 board. I was told by my recruiter that my 3.58 is borderline competitive but my current enlisted experience bodes well. You have great experience, but sounds like your GPA could hurt you.

Response by LCDR Robert S. made May 28 at 2018 4:43 PM

LCDR Robert S. — Mon, 28 May 2018 16:43:12 -0400

Also worth noting is that unless you're absolutely set on doing the Army Reserve, you should probably be considering other commissioning programs. If your experience in the Navy is as good as you describe it, *someone* is likely to give you a shot at a commission, even if the specific policies of the Army Reserve keep you out of the program you want most. And four or six years down the road, as a proven officer, either the policies might have changed, or different policies might apply if you want to go from being (for example) a Navy Medical Service Corps officer to an Army one.

Response by CPT Jeff Reichardt made May 28 at 2018 9:15 PM

CPT Jeff Reichardt — Mon, 28 May 2018 21:15:05 -0400

No.

Response by PO2 Private RallyPoint Member made May 28 at 2018 10:35 PM

PO2 Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 28 May 2018 22:35:13 -0400

Hey guys,

I just want to say thank you for the much appreciated feed back. Most of the responses seem to be from pretty reliable sources so Thank you! On that note; I am going to talk to my career counselor at my NOSC to see commissioning opportunities in HCA in the Navy Reserves. I currently have a decent career pregession at the VA health administration, so I don't want to go Active duty. I'm perfectly fine with staying reserves. With that being said, their has to be a way to overcome this hurdle.

Response by PO2 Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 1 at 2018 8:15 PM

PO2 Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 01 Jun 2018 20:15:45 -0400

Update: spoke with a NAVY medical officier recruiter. She told me that because I'm in the NAVY Reserves, it will help overlook my not so stellar GPA. Also, she told me to me that the board will cumalatively calculate my GPA together with my masters and any other college level courses I have taken. So with that being said, I think the best bet for me is to focus and secure all A's here on out within my masters program. Currently I have like a 3.3 which is fine because I'm still in the early phases within the program. I'm going to dual enroll into certifications programs to receive my green lean healthcare SIGMA belt, medical office administrator certification and HIPPA compliance certification. Hopefully, this can help my my package competitive for selection.