Sad freaking update here- apparently the Navy also includes college courses taken during high school as well. Since I took two years of college courses it has brought my GPA down even lower to a 2.67 if I am calculating it the same way they will. Summarizing a little of what these following quotes say, I shot myself in the foot for trying to over-achieve. It sucks that the actions of my 15-17 year old self is being held against me at 22, but there is nothing I can do to change the past only fix the future. See below responses.
I am considering applying to the community college nearby next semester to take some strategic online classes to bump my GPA. I may wait though to do so after my first board, since the deadline for the application would be mid-semester and those grades wouldn't be relevant. If I get denied from the board in March, I'll 95% likely take more courses. Even a few more A's would help revive it.
Life lessons:
- you're young and motivated... go after what you want, and you'll get it; if you don't get it immediately, keep going anyway
- nobody cares how long you took to graduate, so next time, take as long as you need (this applies to other things, too)
- starting day one of OCS, nobody cares what your GPA was (unless/until they do care, e.g. for grad school, or some misguided employer)
- volunteerism and internships are for you, not for telling someone else (i.e. if the juice isn't worth the squeeze, don't squeeze)
- no matter how much you love your job, your job will never love you back
- nobody here can tell you your chances... but your chances are zero if you don't apply
This may come off as harsh. It's not. It's meant to help you focus on what's important and what isn't.
Not harsh at all. I appreciate the perspective. The finishing in three years was a mix of a financial decision and ambition. I don't regret it, as I was able to always have money in the bank from savings up to my graduation mark and I have already made and saved enough to pay off my loans in full. I also don't regret the grit it developed in me. It was the coin toss and I will live with the consequences whichever it will be. I know my original post sounded a little bit arrogant but I was attempting to display my full picture. It's good to know my GPA will only count in the applications. I plan on getting a Masters in a technical field such as Cybersecurity (I wish to try to transfer to Intel after time served at sea as a SWO) but from previous research a lot of times colleges apply work experience as "GPA".
Also don't regret the volunteerism. Those guys taught me a lot about life (and the military).
I love that job quote, I'll remember that.
I am definitely still going to apply no matter what. I've lost 50lbs so far for this. I went from not being able to jog for more than 45 seconds to being able to do the 1.5 in 18 minutes (still below standards, but I'm getting there.) I will exhaust every opportunity from Civilian to Officer and may even decide to Enlist to get in that way. (Not ideal...)
Clearly you're a very hard worker, but to play devil's advocate: if the primary goal of college is to learn the material, which is measured by grades, why didn't you ever stop to prioritize and take some things off of your plate when it became clear that you were overloaded? How would this approach to your education impact your approach to professional responsibilities? How does your employer know that you aren't someone who's prone to let your primary job responsibilities slip because you take on too many side projects? How will this impact your ability as a DIVO when you're going to have to prioritize about a dozen different taskers at any one time?
Taking 7 classes with a > 3.50 GPA is impressive. Taking 7 classes with a 3.0 GPA indicates you probably shouldn't have been taking 7 classes. I think that you're better off trying to spin this into what you learned about prioritization and work loading in retrospect instead of wearing it as a badge of honor.
Thank you for this insight, it's undoubtfully warranted and I reflected on it. I don't disagree with you completely, however I still reside in the camp that tests don't accurately reflect knowledge. Which, I know is impossible to display through GPA to the Navy as is my knowledge base. I can confidently say that I effectively learned the information in my classes. I have always struggled with tests, but put me in a hands on situation and I can excel.
So essentially, I 100% see your point and I think that's the big conundrum here. On paper I can look more like a risk to a Board of success, but I am confident I will do well once I actually get through the door.
So is your record all Bs but for a couple of Cs? Or a 50/50 split of As and Cs? If so, which classes are the As in?
I had a mixed hand. Handful of A's, mostly B's, and a few C's. I had a single D in Theories of Personality in my Psych degree which was single handedly the most difficult course I have ever taken in my life.
All of my management (theory) courses I got an A in including classes such as management styles and global management (essentially, this one was about managing different cultures). I got mostly A's in my hands on management classes and one B in my business planning course. Two A's in political classes and some psychology. A in my marketing classes. My last semester I got an A in my Strategic Management and an A in my Leading Organizational Change.
I was steady B in almost everything else. Accounting, Corporate Finance, Operations Management, Aggression/Anger/Violence, Psych of Men and Women, Communication courses, and a few other general psych classes and generals. Most of my classes were Bs besides the two above my last semester. COVID hitting mid semester screwed me over big time because professors stopped caring and group members screwed me over.
Not sure if that was too much info.
Others are pointing out an efficiency versus effectiveness argument for your GPA, which by the way is already done and over with so it is what it is. Did you complete college efficiently, yes. Was it as effective? Perhaps not as much as you'd like, hence the question. It depends what the board values. Leadership roles I think pay dividends at the board and you can demonstrate that to them.
The difference between maintaining a 4.0 and a 2.3 is 14%. Some would look at that and argue someone should've tried harder or moved class loads, but not all collegiate courses are made the same. Not everyone has the same college experience. Someone with a 2.97 could have worked harder for that 2.97 with a BS in Theoretical Physics and Applied Mathematics, than someone with a 4.0 GPA BS in Costume Technology...
To compare GPA's and say that a 2.97 indicates you should have done college differently? Nah. I don't buy that mentality, and it seems apparent to me, neither does an aviation board. The thing that really matters if you choose the aviation route is the ASTB. It's the only objective metric on your application that provides insight to the board of your ability to complete the appropriate training compared to everyone else. I would second looking into the aviation community, Naval Aviator or NFO. I think you would find you would be much more competitive there.
Oh BTW, according to the aviation Excel sheets on this forum for the last year of aviation boards, females are selected at a near 100% rate.
Love your username.
I agree with your post a lot, but I would have done it differently if I had the goal of being a Naval Officer in mind. I grew up in a stigmatized household where when my brother served he would tell my brother that he would go in and I should marry in. He's dead now, and I think my brother didn't mean anything by it, and would be proud, but between things like that and my own self confidence issues and fears I had to overcome I always shoved my dream down.
But something happened this July, I said screw it, I'm never going to forgive myself if I never try when I'm young and springy.
And well damn, good to know. At least this vagina has
some benefits... LMAO.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In summary, there's nothing I can do to change my GPA right now. My current plan of action is to apply in March (because MEPS is ffin slow in processing so I'm missing the deadline for January). I am going to score as high as possible in my OAR (I know by reading other threads that this isn't a full on solution, but it may help), and make a KILLER motivational statement.
After this thread, I will look into aviation. I'll do some research (I did a light search and couldn't find anything) but does anyone know if the OAR taken separately from the ASTB counts as an OAR towards the ASTB?
EDIT: Called my recruiter and asked and I can take it in two sessions within a certain amount of time so I will be doing that. I will call the testing center in the morning to figure out the time distance and get it scheduled.
Because next week I have the OAR scheduled, and that's it. I don't know anything about the ASTB and I don't know if that's enough time to study. (I'll look into it ASAP). So if I take the OAR next week, does that count for one of my takes of the ASTB?
My gut says yes, which would mean I'd only get two shots at the ASTB versus three. I may just go ahead and postpone.
Lots of info to process, thank you guys!
Who knows, maybe I'll be the female Quagmire? Giggity.