High school Senior Enlisting first and then Navy Officer Advice?

C

Cobra198

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Aug 16, 2017
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Hello, first of all I'd like to say that this is an amazing community and I come here very often to read about all things related to the Navy/Marine Corps. I have been wanting to be in the Military for a long time now, and I really do feel like this is the branch for me.

First thing to point out is...academically, I haven't been exactly the best. As of matter of fact, I've been incredibly lazy my whole high school career due to a lack of motivation, yet whenever I took tests, i would do just well enough. As a current Senior in highschool, My highschool GPA is a 2.1, and my SAT scores are 1030 first time taking it (without studying). I am Planning on retaking it to get a higher score. Nevertheless my passion for being an officer is huge.

The major I am going for when i go to college is whether in Business or in criminal law. My plans after high school is to enlist in the Navy (ASVAB score 52) and live out my life rather than go to college instantly. My question really is...what would be the best option in terms of going from enlisted to officer in the Navy?

My first option is to instantly go to college so i can apply to Navy OCS, but once again, I don't know if college is something I'd do atm, and I'm not sure if my major would be good enough to get accepted (I want to get a Criminal Law/Business degree).

Second option is to enlist in the Navy, get out after 4 years and go to college to get my major and then apply for OCS (since i would be much more competitive and have military experience.)

Third option is enlist and afterwards go to NROTC...but financially, it's a burden.

Anyone with experience or knowledge on enlisting first and afterwards becoming an officer is appreciated.
 
Enlisted to the wardroom? Can it be done? Yes but it is definitely a harder climb than going the college first route and skipping enlisting. With current optempo getting in the way along with the plain daily routine of shipboard life, you become severly limited. Easier maybe if you can score a rate that rotation is mainly ashore.
 
Cobra198 said:
Hello, first of all I'd like to say that this is an amazing community and I come here very often to read about all things related to the Navy/Marine Corps. I have been wanting to be in the Military for a long time now, and I really do feel like this is the branch for me.

First thing to point out is...academically, I haven't been exactly the best. As of matter of fact, I've been incredibly lazy my whole high school career due to a lack of motivation, yet whenever I took tests, i would do just well enough. As a current Senior in highschool, My highschool GPA is a 2.1, and my SAT scores are 1030 first time taking it (without studying). I am Planning on retaking it to get a higher score. Nevertheless my passion for being an officer is huge.

The major I am going for when i go to college is whether in Business or in criminal law. My plans after high school is to enlist in the Navy (ASVAB score 52) and live out my life rather than go to college instantly. My question really is...what would be the best option in terms of going from enlisted to officer in the Navy?

My first option is to instantly go to college so i can apply to Navy OCS, but once again, I don't know if college is something I'd do atm, and I'm not sure if my major would be good enough to get accepted (I want to get a Criminal Law/Business degree).

Second option is to enlist in the Navy, get out after 4 years and go to college to get my major and then apply for OCS (since i would be much more competitive and have military experience.)

Third option is enlist and afterwards go to NROTC...but financially, it's a burden.

Anyone with experience or knowledge on enlisting first and afterwards becoming an officer is appreciated.
Click to expand...

Enlisted Sailor at USNA
https://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php?threads/Enlisted-Sailor-at-USNA.58831/

You may find this parallel thread interesting.
 
BTCS/USN said:
Enlisted to the wardroom? Can it be done? Yes but it is definitely a harder climb than going the college first route and skipping enlisting. With current optempo getting in the way along with the plain daily routine of shipboard life, you become severly limited. Easier maybe if you can score a rate that rotation is mainly ashore.
Click to expand...
I apologize since it's been a while since I came on this forum. I decided to Enlist first and am currently speaking to my recruiter as I feel like it's a good option for me since I'll be able to pay for college after I'm out. I am aware that this is not the best nor shortest route...But I'm very limited due to academics and motivation for college instantly.

Is it possible and realistic to Enlist first (age 18), finish your whole contract (age 22), go to college full on until you get your bachelors (age 26) and apply OCS and become a SWO by age 27? Or would applying to Navy OCS at that age being prior enlisted ruin your chances of ever reaching a high rank just like a Naval academy graduate? I really want to make the Navy a career and hopefully excel enough to make my family proud and reach the highest rank I can be.
 
Capt MJ said:
Enlisted Sailor at USNA
https://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php?threads/Enlisted-Sailor-at-USNA.58831/

You may find this parallel thread interesting.
Click to expand...
I read the whole thing...and so far I've already found my answer. I really do need to enlist first as I really can't afford college and my past academic mistakes has prevented me from pursuing a college with NROTC (which is incredibly expensive).

I am hopefully looking to Major in Law enforcement or business.
 
You need to look into the Seaman to Admiral program while yo are enlisted... http://www.sta-21.navy.mil/
They'll pay your college tuition while still paying you a (portion of your) military salary. I know of several sailors who became officers following this route. Work hard. Excel at everything you do and you can make this happen.
 
kinnem said:
You need to look into the Seaman to Admiral program while yo are enlisted... http://www.sta-21.navy.mil/
They'll pay your college tuition while still paying you a (portion of your) military salary. I know of several sailors who became officers following this route. Work hard. Excel at everything you do and you can make this happen.
Click to expand...

Is there a similar thing for the Air Force?
 
So first of all, i love K&P! Also a quick update...I honestly have been evaluating my options really deeply.

My parents apparently can afford to pay for my college along with me Applying for the FAFSA after all. I'm heading to MDC for the first 2 years and move to a 4 year uni to get my degree. So therefore, I decided I should go to college first and apply to OCS with a high GPA, criminal Justice major, and some Army ROTC experience. I found out that being an officer is really what I wana work in...enlisting from what I see makes it very hard to make an officer career.

I'm not sure if I should make another post on this forum or not, but either way I'll ask it here. I looked up on Google the requirements to become a SWO in the Navy...and apparently this website said they require a year of calculus and a year of calculus based Physics. I'm not sure if they are referring Nuclear or normal SWO..I'm going for just a normal SWO contract. Will I need to take those courses either way?

I know no one will know if I could be competetive but I will definitely try my best to research more into OCS using other sources. Thank you btw guys :)
 
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