OCS 03Sep24 SNA/SNFO Board

[23brooks23]

First time applying.
42 5/7/5
legal assistant
No waivers and immediate ship
Virginia Military Institute 3.1
Multiple recs from Flag officers and senior pilots
Multiple ground school classes and around 45 hours in flight sims, helicopter and the T6.

What’s my shot ???
Of course this is not my entire app but just a quick skinny

SNA/SNFO Board List

docs.google.com

I would hop in the spreadsheet, it’ll give you a good gauge of past boards and the scores people are applying with now.

 

[avg_joe]

My recruiter says that the board takes LOR's seriously but then some people on here say that the board does not put much thought into it...I would assume the board would take LOR's seriously....thoughts.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

My recruiter says that the board takes LOR's seriously but then some people on here say that the board does not put much thought into it...I would assume the board would take LOR's seriously....thoughts.

Do the math: The board meets in a single day and they review 200-300 applications. Do you think that’s enough time to review individual LORs?

 

[avg_joe]

Do the math: The board meets in a single day and they review 200-300 applications. Do you think that’s enough time to review individual LORs?

It seems like "most" people do not submit recs and if they do its 1 or 2. I submitted 5 (LOL) I hope they take my recs into account because my scores are average and I'm banking on legacy and Flag aviators to carry me. My recruiter said that from what he has submitted, people who submit recs get pro y significantly more than people who don't. Of course, there're many more variables at play but idk

 

[avg_joe]

Also, since this board is the start of the fiscal year, theoretically, wouldn't this mean a greater demand of spots because Uncle Sam (USN) needs to fill the spots to meet the demand? Idk I'm just brainstorming.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

It seems like "most" people do not submit recs and if they do its 1 or 2. I submitted 5 (LOL) I hope they take my recs into account because my scores are average and I'm banking on legacy and Flag aviators to carry me. My recruiter said that from what he has submitted, people who submit recs get pro y significantly more than people who don't. Of course, there're many more variables at play but idk

The don't, aviation is one of the boards they don't care what people think about you it is your abilities and chances to complete flight school. The exception would be if you have a moral waiver then you might have someone look at them.

The boards that do look at LOR's first look to see if the person says how long they have known you and if they have seen you perform over time, if it doesn't list either one of those things the LOR's aren't worth anything. Like several board members said that I have talked to, a person can blow smoke for 30 minutes to get a good write up.

Also, since this board is the start of the fiscal year, theoretically, wouldn't this mean a greater demand of spots because Uncle Sam (USN) needs to fill the spots to meet the demand? Idk I'm just brainstorming.

Nope, not how this works at all, they have been picking FY 25 since about April and they average the number of spots the board can give over all the boards scheduled, if anything changes they recalculate and get the new average.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

It seems like "most" people do not submit recs and if they do its 1 or 2. I submitted 5 (LOL) I hope they take my recs into account because my scores are average and I'm banking on legacy and Flag aviators to carry me. My recruiter said that from what he has submitted, people who submit recs get pro y significantly more than people who don't. Of course, there're many more variables at play but idk

Not everyone knows a flag, so it would be disadvantageous to those who didn’t know one.

The ASTB is meant to be the biggest indicator of one’s success in flight school. You can have the most connections but it is all moot if you don’t have the right potential to succeed in flight training.

 

[GoBoilers25]

Not everyone knows a flag, so it would be disadvantageous to those who didn’t know one.

The ASTB is meant to be the biggest indicator of one’s success in flight school. You can have the most connections but it is all moot if you don’t have the right potential to succeed in flight training.

Does your OAR score or difficulty of college degree matter for SNA or SNFO?

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Does your OAR score or difficulty of college degree matter for SNA or SNFO?

Not really either.

 

[yourtmate]

My recruiter says that the board takes LOR's seriously but then some people on here say that the board does not put much thought into it...I would assume the board would take LOR's seriously....thoughts.

not sure why your recruiter was emphasizing importance of LORs. the consensus on here is that LORs are not needed. my recruiter also said it didnt matter for aviation unless you needed a waiver for something.

i submitted this past board with no LORs. scored 60 8/8/8 on astb and was accepted.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

not sure why your recruiter was emphasizing importance of LORs. the consensus on here is that LORs are not needed. my recruiter also said it didnt matter for aviation unless you needed a waiver for something.

i submitted this past board with no LORs. scored 60 8/8/8 on astb and was accepted.

It could be a variety of reasons. Perhaps the recruiter is new and that is what the school house is teaching them, it's been a hot minute for me but I do remember being taught "include LORs, jam pack the APSR, etc." as if every single OCS board is a "whole person concept". It wasn't until seeing the results of actual boards and identifying trends consistently that really painted the way with how to set up applicants for success.

 

[avg_joe]

It could be a variety of reasons. Perhaps the recruiter is new and that is what the school house is teaching them, it's been a hot minute for me but I do remember being taught "include LORs, jam pack the APSR, etc." as if every single OCS board is a "whole person concept". It wasn't until seeing the results of actual boards and identifying trends consistently that really painted the way with how to set up applicants for success.

I'm not sure why. He has been doing it for a while and actually just got an award from a flag for being the best in the region. All he said was that people who submit LOR's get pro y more than people who don't...what that means idk... i have a feeling they are important because there is no fit rep to go off of unlike in the military.....LOR's are, what he said, the best way to gauge someone as a leader blah blah blah especially when the person is in the military or in the same pipeline I.E Aviation/NFO. He told me a lot of people who submit use teachers and coaches, but the boards don't hold them to the same weight as officers/pilots/NFO in the military. He told me that my recs which are 1 ADM 1 GEN 2 o6's, pilot and NFO and a RET o5 Marine, all of which I've known my whole life, will help greatly because they are in the profession I want to do and that it raises an eyebrow.... whatever that means....... either way I would speculate that the answer is somewhere in the middle.

 

[23brooks23]

I'm not sure why. He has been doing it for a while and actually just got an award from a flag for being the best in the region. All he said was that people who submit LOR's get pro y more than people who don't...what that means idk... i have a feeling they are important because there is no fit rep to go off of unlike in the military.....LOR's are, what he said, the best way to gauge someone as a leader blah blah blah especially when the person is in the military or in the same pipeline I.E Aviation/NFO. He told me a lot of people who submit use teachers and coaches, but the boards don't hold them to the same weight as officers/pilots/NFO in the military. He told me that my recs which are 1 ADM 1 GEN 2 o6's, pilot and NFO and a RET o5 Marine, all of which I've known my whole life, will help greatly because they are in the profession I want to do and that it raises an eyebrow.... whatever that means....... either way I would speculate that the answer is somewhere in the middle.

Take my opinion with a grain of salt since I don’t have nearly as much background and experience in the selection/ recruiting game as some other members do. But to me having those LORS aren’t going to hurt you. If they help you get selected awesome and if they don’t this board I would keep adding them the next time you apply. I applied with LORs too because I wanted to turn in the most competitive packet that I could. And looking at these past boards there are people getting selected with lower scores than you. So if it’s a whole person concept great you have the good LORS to back you up. If they’re just looking at astb and gpa you have scores that some members last board got selected with. Throw your packet in and make them tell you no. If they do tell you no you can always retake the test. Also do you have actual flight hours or is it all sim time?

 

[avg_joe]

Take my opinion with a grain of salt since I don’t have nearly as much background and experience in the selection/ recruiting game as some other members do. But to me having those LORS aren’t going to hurt you. If they help you get selected awesome and if they don’t this board I would keep adding them the next time you apply. I applied with LORs too because I wanted to turn in the most competitive packet that I could. And looking at these past boards there are people getting selected with lower scores than you. So if it’s a whole person concept great you have the good LORS to back you up. If they’re just looking at astb and gpa you have scores that some members last board got selected with. Throw your packet in and make them tell you no. If they do tell you no you can always retake the test. Also do you have actual flight hours or is it all sim time?

Good take. and yes, technically a whopping 1 hour of ACTUAL flight time

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

I'm not sure why. He has been doing it for a while and actually just got an award from a flag for being the best in the region. All he said was that people who submit LOR's get pro y more than people who don't...what that means idk... i have a feeling they are important because there is no fit rep to go off of unlike in the military.....LOR's are, what he said, the best way to gauge someone as a leader blah blah blah especially when the person is in the military or in the same pipeline I.E Aviation/NFO. He told me a lot of people who submit use teachers and coaches, but the boards don't hold them to the same weight as officers/pilots/NFO in the military. He told me that my recs which are 1 ADM 1 GEN 2 o6's, pilot and NFO and a RET o5 Marine, all of which I've known my whole life, will help greatly because they are in the profession I want to do and that it raises an eyebrow.... whatever that means....... either way I would speculate that the answer is somewhere in the middle.

You can be Time Magazine Person of the Year but it is all moot if you don't have the potential to succeed in flight school. The ASTB is just that.