OML and Major

Packer

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For Army ROTC does the major play into OML calculations. I understand gpa is a major component but is it treated evenly for all majors? Is a 3.2 for a history major the same as a 3.2 for an engineering major?
 
For Army ROTC does the major play into OML calculations. I understand gpa is a major component but is it treated evenly for all majors? Is a 3.2 for a history major the same as a 3.2 for an engineering major?

Yes, in some cases the major does have an effect on your OML. Just recently Cadet Command has given up to 1 point towards your OMS for certain Engineering majors. I have not seen the list as to which majors are included, the cadet would need to talk to the PMS to get a claer answer as to which majors receive the extra point. I believe the breakdown is .5 to 1 point depending on which engineering major.

The point is added to the OMS, if the cadet is in the 30% t0 60% range that point can boost them up the OML. The amount you move up becomes less the closer the cadet is to the top of the OML.
 
For Army ROTC does the major play into OML calculations. I understand gpa is a major component but is it treated evenly for all majors? Is a 3.2 for a history major the same as a 3.2 for an engineering major?

Yes it does according to the new OML models, .5 points are given to science/math majors (physics, biochem etc) while engineering majors receive 1 point. (According to the FY 12 OML sheet we were shown at LDAC)

Also, engineer and signal slots (up to 50% of allocations) are now being reserved for all engineering majors and information technology/comp sci majors (the list for signal corps is decent sized and revolves around networking and the computer sciences) respectively.

For perspective purposes a point in the OML can be a few hundred slots depending on your current OML percentile.
 
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I have found some info on OMS and OML but haven't really figured out how much 1 point is with respect to gpa. GPA seems to be on a 40 point scale so is 1 point equal to .1 on the 4.0 gpa scale?
 
I have found some info on OMS and OML but haven't really figured out how much 1 point is with respect to gpa. GPA seems to be on a 40 point scale so is 1 point equal to .1 on the 4.0 gpa scale?

No.

The point has no effect on the GPA.

Once a cadet finishes with LDAC all the information is compiled including GPA, PT, Leadership, LDAC and other factors. The cadet is given an overall OMS score, for example 88.72. Once they have this score they then add the .5 or 1 point to that OMS score which will now be either 89.22 or 89.72 depending on which amount is added.

The GPA will remain the same in the overall OMS score, the point is added to the total score.

Like Aglahad said, if a cadet is somewher in the middle of the OML an additional point can bump them up the list 200 spots or so. The higher you are on the OML the less you would move up, just the way the math works out.
 
Jcleppe I understand what you are saying but I am not asking my question very well.
The gpa accounts for 40% of the OMS and everything else 60%. Consider two cadets that have exactly the same score in the everything else category. One is an engineer with a 3.3 gpa and the other is a history major with a 3.5 gpa.

The history major gets 35 OMS points?
The engr gets 33 + 1 = 34 OMS points?

Is the gpa to OMS conversion a direct linear conversion or something else?
 
Jcleppe I understand what you are saying but I am not asking my question very well.
The gpa accounts for 40% of the OMS and everything else 60%. Consider two cadets that have exactly the same score in the everything else category. One is an engineer with a 3.3 gpa and the other is a history major with a 3.5 gpa.

The history major gets 35 OMS points?
The engr gets 33 + 1 = 34 OMS points?

Is the gpa to OMS conversion a direct linear conversion or something else?

No.

Using your example the history major would get 35 points and the engineering major would get 33 points. These point totals would be used to complete the overall OMS. Lets say that both cadets had a score of 50 in the "everything else" category. This is how it would look.

History Major - 85 points
Engineering Major - 83 points

Now that they have that total they just add the 1 point to the overall score giving the Engineering Major a new total of 84 points.

Now to complicate things even more, if the cadet were to get Recondo and Top 5 at LDAC they would then add another 1.5 points to the overall score.

Adding the point to the overall score actually helps the cadet more because the GPA accounts for only 40% of the total score, so a point just added to the GPA would not give as much of a bump.

Think of the extra point for Engineering Majors as extra credit.

Isn't the OML fun.

One thing to remember, while GPA is important it is not the brass ring. My son ended his junior year with a 3.5, another cadet in his battalion ended with a 3.75. My son finished it the 6.4% while the other cadet finished at 11.5%. The "Everything Else" category is very important in the overall OML score. With LDAC being so subjective nothing is for sure. A cadet with a 3.8 and an S at LDAC could wind up in the 28% while a cadet with a 3.45 and an E at LDAC could be in the top 10%. The best these cadets can do is work hard, do their best, and sometimes rely on a little luck.
 
I apparently am not understanding the OMS. I came up with 84 and 85 points and you came up with 84 and 85 (with your example of 50 everything else points) but they are not the same.

I am thinking of the OMS on a 100 point basis.
I figured 40 possible percentage points for gpa and 60 possible percentage points for everything else. The one "extra credit" point for being an engineer I considered to be 1 point on a 100 point scale or 1%.

I like the idea of the 1 point being worth more by adding it at the end as my son plans on majoring in engineering but I am just not grasping it. Sometime us engineers are a little slow!

Certainly understand that there is more to success than just academics as there should be.
 
I think you *are* getting it right, Packer.

I agree with J's comment that the "everything else" category can make up for a lesser GPA, and it *is* subjective... that is the 45 points that are not for PFT.
 
I think you *are* getting it right, Packer.

I agree with J's comment that the "everything else" category can make up for a lesser GPA, and it *is* subjective... that is the 45 points that are not for PFT.

Funny you mention the APFT, while in nature it is not subjective, the grading of the APFT at LDAC certainly is. Cadets often find that the PU's and SU's they did at their battalion counted just fine, at LDAC they find that they do not. When I last spoke to the NCO's at my son's battalion they told me they would love to see the grading done by NCO's and not the fresh LT's. The grading is all over the place and subjective to the grader you happen to get. A cadet can average a score of 320 their entire junior year only to get a 270 at LDAC or worse not pass at all. It sort of takes the wind out of a cadet that has 30 PU's not count only to have the NCO standing next to the testing apologize and say they all looked pretty good to me.

This happened to a lot of cadets last LDAC and is a pretty common theme. Yep my son was one of them, both recorded APFT's were above 330 junior year, got a 285 at LDAC, went to CTLT the day after LDAC and got a 340, go figure.

Point is even the APFT can be a bit subjective and have an element of luck depending on which grader you get.
 
I apparently am not understanding the OMS. I came up with 84 and 85 points and you came up with 84 and 85 (with your example of 50 everything else points) but they are not the same.

I am thinking of the OMS on a 100 point basis.
I figured 40 possible percentage points for gpa and 60 possible percentage points for everything else. The one "extra credit" point for being an engineer I considered to be 1 point on a 100 point scale or 1%.

I like the idea of the 1 point being worth more by adding it at the end as my son plans on majoring in engineering but I am just not grasping it. Sometime us engineers are a little slow!

Certainly understand that there is more to success than just academics as there should be.

This is assuming that the GPA is counted on a straight 40 point scale meaning a 3.5 is equal to 35 points.

There has been a lot of debate and talk that the GPA points are not exactly equivalent to the 40 point scale. Son has been told one thing by his PMS, others have said differently, I wish someone could say for sure.

That is why it was explained that the extra points added to the over all OMS score do more to help on the OML.

The best any cadet can do is to not worry about all the OML details this early, talking about freshman, in the game. Keep your GPA up and have a good PT score, the rest will start to take shape during your sophomore year. There is a lot that is out of the hands of the cadets. Battalions only have so many summer training slots, some cadets will never go to one. To get one it is a mix of GPA and APFT. Larger battalions are at a disadvantage sometimes due to the sheer number of cadets, some will not get leadership positions, Ranger Challenge becomes more competitive. The best thing is to control what you can, GPA and PT, and don't stress to much about the rest this early.
 
Funny you mention the APFT, while in nature it is not subjective, the grading of the APFT at LDAC certainly is. Cadets often find that the PU's and SU's they did at their battalion counted just fine, at LDAC they find that they do not. When I last spoke to the NCO's at my son's battalion they told me they would love to see the grading done by NCO's and not the fresh LT's. The grading is all over the place and subjective to the grader you happen to get. A cadet can average a score of 320 their entire junior year only to get a 270 at LDAC or worse not pass at all. It sort of takes the wind out of a cadet that has 30 PU's not count only to have the NCO standing next to the testing apologize and say they all looked pretty good to me.

This happened to a lot of cadets last LDAC and is a pretty common theme. Yep my son was one of them, both recorded APFT's were above 330 junior year, got a 285 at LDAC, went to CTLT the day after LDAC and got a 340, go figure.

Point is even the APFT can be a bit subjective and have an element of luck depending on which grader you get.


Exactly, I got in the 270s at LDAC and the day I got to CTLT (combat arms unit) my PT score jumped even after a month of no PT. Granted, AD standards didn't even touch LDAC status but I thought the rise in score after a month of not working out was funny.
 
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