About OCS

I agree with many above that OCS is a chancy way to get a commission.

But if you're serious about the OCS route, there could be several reasons to enlist first.
-You're paying your own way to college. You could go straight from HS to college, incur some heavy debt, then go OCS and pay it off on junior officer's pay. If you enlist first, you can apply the GI Bill and other benefits to cover college expenses.
-You're not quite ready for college. A lot of 18-year-olds can benefit from some discipline and maturity before attending college. That may or may not be true for you.
-There's nothing wrong with being prior enlisted when entering the officer ranks.

As stated above, don't enlist unless you're sure that's where you want to be, but I wouldn't immediately dismiss enlistment as an option.
 
If you want a specific community in the Navy, OCS is the only guarantee. Otherwise, USNA/ROTC is for you.

USNA gets more quotas than ROTC for certain communities. Not a problem if you want to go SWO, Aviation, or submarines.

Recommend doing some research on the public Navy website for requirements and how to prepare for OCS. GPA and officer aptitude rating (OAR) are good initial indicators of how competitive you will be against the pool of applicants. You can find minimum/desired OAR scores on the officer community management pages on MyNavyHR: https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Career-Management/Community-Management/Officer/Active-OCM/.

I don't recommend enlisting with the goal of a commission. Many factors at play and some outside of your control as a junior Sailor--having the time and command support to finish a bachelor's degree is just one of the major obstacles. Enlist because you want to enlist.
I’m a college reapplicant (as surely you’ve gathered from other threads) OCS is my backup plan in the event I’m turned down by USNA again. On the contrary, I’ll have my Associates degree in the spring and have a Baccalaureate degree program ready to complete in mind to boost entry chances as that is a major part of the process. It sure seems like Annapolis the competition is fierce though hopefully not AS tough as the SA route.
 
If you want a specific community in the Navy, OCS is the only guarantee. Otherwise, USNA/ROTC is for you.

USNA gets more quotas than ROTC for certain communities. Not a problem if you want to go SWO, Aviation, or submarines.

Recommend doing some research on the public Navy website for requirements and how to prepare for OCS. GPA and officer aptitude rating (OAR) are good initial indicators of how competitive you will be against the pool of applicants. You can find minimum/desired OAR scores on the officer community management pages on MyNavyHR: https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Career-Management/Community-Management/Officer/Active-OCM/.

I don't recommend enlisting with the goal of a commission. Many factors at play and some outside of your control as a junior Sailor--having the time and command support to finish a bachelor's degree is just one of the major obstacles. Enlist because you want to enlist.
I'm thinking SWO but am not 100% decided yet (though I know commissioning is the end goal) I don't think I can commission via the NROTC route because I'll have my Associates in the spring giving me 60 credits and I think they only take students with <30.(scholarship/non) so I think that door has officially closed. I'll be sure to check out the links you provided!, I have a good feeling about my USNA reapplication this year so here's to hoping that will give me my answer. Otherwise, OCS though it too is not guaranteed might be my last resort unless of course there are other sources I am unaware of.
I’m actually a college re-applicant and as it stands OCS is my backup plan in the event I’m turned down by USNA again. On the contrary, I’ll have my Associates degree in the spring and have a Baccalaureate degree program ready to complete in mind to boost entry chances as that is a major part of the process. It sure seems like Annapolis the competition is fierce though hopefully not AS tough as the SA route.

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I agree with many above that OCS is a chancy way to get a commission.

But if you're serious about the OCS route, there could be several reasons to enlist first.
-You're paying your own way to college. You could go straight from HS to college, incur some heavy debt, then go OCS and pay it off on junior officer's pay. If you enlist first, you can apply the GI Bill and other benefits to cover college expenses.
-You're not quite ready for college. A lot of 18-year-olds can benefit from some discipline and maturity before attending college. That may or may not be true for you.
-There's nothing wrong with being prior enlisted when entering the officer ranks.

As stated above, don't enlist unless you're sure that's where you want to be, but I wouldn't immediately dismiss enlistment as an option.
I’m a college reapplicant (as surely you’ve gathered from other threads) OCS is my backup plan in the event I’m turned down by USNA again. On the contrary, I’ll have my Associates degree in the spring and have a Baccalaureate degree program ready to complete in mind to boost entry chances as that is a major part of the process. It sure seems like Annapolis the competition is fierce though hopefully not AS tough as the SA route.
 
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