Order of Merit List (OML)

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aetosArmy

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Jan 30, 2023
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120
Good morning,
I am unable to find out what are all the elements that make up an ROTC cadet's OML ranking. What can I do to make sure I get as high an OML ranking in college as possible? I want to make sure I get into my intended branch. Any information anyone can provide would be helpful.
 
I don't know all of the factors, but in reading on this board I know that GPA, PFT, and ROTC leadership recommendation/rating are the big three. Basically do your best at school, crush the PFT, and be a big contributor in the ROTC will get you the best chances at getting your branch. Also participate in any events that relate to the branch you choose. The more people in the branch you want that know who you are and what kind of person you are will also be a assist.
 
Get involved and take every opportunity ROTC gives you, get great grades and be in top physical condition. Also it is important to do well at CST because that can make or break you. My cadet graduated top 2% OML, and this is his advice.
 
aetosArmy said:
Good morning,
I am unable to find out what are all the elements that make up an ROTC cadet's OML ranking. What can I do to make sure I get as high an OML ranking in college as possible? I want to make sure I get into my intended branch. Any information anyone can provide would be helpful.
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FWIW, I have read -- I think maybe on this forum -- that with the new "talent-based branching," branch interviews are as important as, and perhaps more important than, anything else in branch selection right now. That is a significant change from my day many moons ago, when we didn't have "branch interviews," but it seems to be where the Army is right now.

That said, having as high an OML as possible is good for many reasons, but my perception is that it is perhaps not as important for branch selection as it used to be. And I only mention that because it was the reason you gave for wanting a high OML.

Finally, my son will be going through branch selection this fall, so perhaps I'll know more after that's done.
 
franknd said:
FWIW, I have read -- I think maybe on this forum -- that with the new "talent-based branching," branch interviews are as important as, and perhaps more important than, anything else in branch selection right now. That is a significant change from my day many moons ago, when we didn't have "branch interviews," but it seems to be where the Army is right now.

That said, having as high an OML as possible is good for many reasons, but my perception is that it is perhaps not as important for branch selection as it used to be. And I only mention that because it was the reason you gave for wanting a high OML.

Finally, my son will be going through branch selection this fall, so perhaps I'll know more after that's done.
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Yeah, I commissioned in 2012 and it's entirely different. Even then they were just realizing that maybe they should give a cadet who majored in petroleum engineering a little boost to their OML over the average ROTC major. It honestly baffled me that there wasn't a solid system for major difficulty prior to that.
 
franknd said:
FWIW, I have read -- I think maybe on this forum -- that with the new "talent-based branching," branch interviews are as important as, and perhaps more important than, anything else in branch selection right now. That is a significant change from my day many moons ago, when we didn't have "branch interviews," but it seems to be where the Army is right now.

That said, having as high an OML as possible is good for many reasons, but my perception is that it is perhaps not as important for branch selection as it used to be. And I only mention that because it was the reason you gave for wanting a high OML.

Finally, my son will be going through branch selection this fall, so perhaps I'll know more after that's done.
Click to expand...
My observation is that OML still matters a great deal and if you are high on the OML interviews don’t matter as much. One of the cadets with my son messed up his interview and only answered the first question, leaving 4 completely unanswered. He still got Most Preferred and is now in that (very competitive) branch. A great interview can put you into a most preferred or preferred bucket but the cadets are still ranked by OML within that bucket, and some branches had more most preferred cadets than they had slots. This is my impression after seeing my son and his friends go through the process recently.
 
tgtl said:
My observation is that OML still matters a great deal and if you are high on the OML interviews don’t matter as much. One of the cadets with my son messed up his interview and only answered the first question, leaving 4 completely unanswered. He still got Most Preferred and is now in that (very competitive) branch. A great interview can put you into a most preferred or preferred bucket but the cadets are still ranked by OML within that bucket, and some branches had more most preferred cadets than they had slots. This is my impression after seeing my son and his friends go through the process recently.
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I was basing my comment on this --

MohawkArmyROTC said:
The biggest factor on whether or not your son gets AD is how well he does on his branch interviews this Summer. Each branch rates cadets, and that influences whether they get selected. He should interview between 5 and 10 of them to increase his chances. The overall OML score is used mostly as a tiebreaker now. You are now able to get Active Duty regardless of OML score.
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To be fair, there could be a difference between getting AD and getting branch of choice in terms of OML, so perhaps I was over-reading MohawkArmyROTC's post. But his post is what I was thinking of when I wrote mine.
 
franknd said:
I was basing my comment on this --



To be fair, there could be a difference between getting AD and getting branch of choice in terms of OML, so perhaps I was over-reading MohawkArmyROTC's post. But his post is what I was thinking of when I wrote mine.
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I will defer to MohawkArmy because he is involved with the cadets and I only have knowledge of what my son and his friends went through. I just don’t want the cadets to think that OML isn’t important anymore and CST doesn’t matter as much as long as you have a good interview. Most cadets probably have good interviews because they know how to prepare for them. In my son’s battalion, all who wanted AD got it, but those lower on OML didn’t get their first choice branch. If interviews are more important than OML, the cadet who didn’t complete the interview shouldn’t have gotten that branch.
 
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