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07NOV2022 INTEL BOARD

N

Nil

Member
2know said:
What does matter most? What is the order of importance...OAR, GPA, Degree, Age, etc...
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I hope @exNavyOffRec replies. But from what has been discussed here and over the other threads, it's been pretty whimsical when it comes to the selection. There's no set parameter, they say and it's also been said that the whole person/package concept comes into play quite a bit... I hope someone well-versed will chime in if this is not the case.
 
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E

exNavyOffRec

Well-Known Member
2know said:
What does matter most? What is the order of importance...OAR, GPA, Degree, Age, etc...
Click to expand...
GPA and degree are most important, OAR is an arbitrary number that is set and changes somewhat frequently so no one really looks at it. A person's age can hurt them if you were old enough that you needed a waiver but not really help them, some designators the will look at LOR's, statements, etc..... but for the most part you need to have a great GPA to get that far.
Nil said:
I hope @exNavyOffRec replies. But from what has been discussed and over the other threads, it's been pretty whimsical when it comes to the selection. There's no set parameter, they say and it's also been said that the whole person/package concept comes into play quite a bit... I hope someone well-versed will chime in if this is not the case.
Click to expand...
The whole person concept is said to be politically correct, but what is said and was the data shows are different things. There are always going to be outliers that are less than the average GPA or that had a few waivers that get in but that is not the norm.
 
N

Nil

Member
exNavyOffRec said:
Why? If you want to be an officer why would you enlist? If just desire to serve that would make sense, but realized if you enlist you could very well be looking at staying enlisted your entire enlistment.
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Question: If one can enlist and work in field such as Cyber/Intel/Signals vs working as an SWO/Infantry officer, wouldn't enlisted route be better as one would be gaining relevant skill set to employ on exiting the military @exNavyOffRec ?
 
R

RetroTV

Well-Known Member
Nil said:
Question: If one can enlist and work in field such as Cyber/Intel/Signals vs working as an SWO/Infantry officer, wouldn't enlisted route be better as one would be gaining relevant skill set to employ on exiting the military @exNavyOffRec ?
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E is definitely more guaranteed when it comes to coming into contact with certain fields and gaining technical expirence. If your only goal is to get a clearance or get expirence in a certain field I'd say E is better in that regard. Disclaimer: I only have the perspective of being enlisted in the air force
 
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E

exNavyOffRec

Well-Known Member
Nil said:
Question: If one can enlist and work in field such as Cyber/Intel/Signals vs working as an SWO/Infantry officer, wouldn't enlisted route be better as one would be gaining relevant skill set to employ on exiting the military @exNavyOffRec ?
Click to expand...
Certain designators preferred to select those in specific rates but that time has passed, it can still be a bit of a plus, however the time it would take to have it as a plus would delay you in getting selected. The enlisted route also adds other hurdles, some are just standard in getting an application together while other hurdles could be command imposed such has requiring warfare pin or qualified in all required watchstations.

The bottom line is enlisted will not make you a better candidate, the main things that will help you are your degree and GPA, is your GPA at least 3.5?

There is also the ISPP path for those that are enlisted, so you are aware it is restricted to certain designators and is not guaranteed to be available when you are ready to apply.
 
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2

2know

New Member
exNavyOffRec said:
GPA and degree are most important, OAR is an arbitrary number that is set and changes somewhat frequently so no one really looks at it. A person's age can hurt them if you were old enough that you needed a waiver but not really help them, some designators the will look at LOR's, statements, etc..... but for the most part you need to have a great GPA to get that far.

The whole person concept is said to be politically correct, but what is said and was the data shows are different things. There are always going to be outliers that are less than the average GPA or that had a few waivers that get in but that is not the norm.
Click to expand...
Thank you
 
C

cjd131

Active Member
exNavyOffRec said:
Certain designators preferred to select those in specific rates but that time has passed, it can still be a bit of a plus, however the time it would take to have it as a plus would delay you in getting selected. The enlisted route also adds other hurdles, some are just standard in getting an application together while other hurdles could be command imposed such has requiring warfare pin or qualified in all required watchstations.

The bottom line is enlisted will not make you a better candidate, the main things that will help you are your degree and GPA, is your GPA at least 3.5?

There is also the ISPP path for those that are enlisted, so you are aware it is restricted to certain designators and is not guaranteed to be available when you are ready to apply.
Click to expand...
Is a 3.5 roughly what gets people picked up, or is it more of a bare minimum? The program authorization says 3.0 is the threshold but everything I've seen here seems to indicate that a GPA that low is a nonstarter. However I have seem some contradictory posts about whether a 3.5 would be "great" or just adequate.

Also, do they look at the competitiveness of the school? As in, would a 3.5 from Harvard be treated the same as a 3.5 from any other school?
 
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N

Nil

Member
cjd131 said:
Is a 3.5 roughly what gets people picked up, or is it more of a bare minimum? The program authorization says 3.0 is the threshold but everything I've seen here seems to indicate that a GPA that low is a nonstarter. However I have seem some contradictory posts about whether a 3.5 would be "great" or just adequate.

Also, do they look at the competitiveness of the school? As in, would a 3.5 from Harvard be treated the same as a 3.5 from any other school?
Click to expand...
Also, do they look at the competitiveness of the school? As in, would a 3.5 from Harvard be treated the same as a 3.5 from any other school?

Couldn't help but resist chiming in. I have seen people from American Military University or other military popular schools being chosen. I wish they do see both which school one is coming from and their major... I would be curious to know if they also look/consider Graduate degrees too... Hopefully, someone will comment and shed further light

But from what I have seen, I guess STEM is surely given a bit of leeway. 2.8 versus 3.5 for minimum...
 
C

cjd131

Active Member
Nil said:
I would be curious to know if they also look/consider Graduate degrees too
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I can help with this from what my recruiter told me:

Having a graduate degree, especially in an Intel-adjacent field, is not required but is a big plus. Apparently something like half of selects have one. Your graduate GPA is averaged out with your undergrad GPA (and any other postsecondary GPAs) for board purposes.

Nil said:
But from what I have seen, I guess STEM is surely given a bit of leeway. 2.8 versus 3.5 for minimum
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I wasn't aware that the minimums were different across different majors—that's good to know. It makes sense for those with STEM degrees to be given a little more leeway than those of us in "squishier" fields...
 
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FormerRecruitingGuru

FormerRecruitingGuru

Making Recruiting Great Again
cjd131 said:
Is a 3.5 roughly what gets people picked up, or is it more of a bare minimum? The program authorization says 3.0 is the threshold but everything I've seen here seems to indicate that a GPA that low is a nonstarter. However I have seem some contradictory posts about whether a 3.5 would be "great" or just adequate.

Also, do they look at the competitiveness of the school? As in, would a 3.5 from Harvard be treated the same as a 3.5 from any other school?
Click to expand...

High GPA and high OAR are the best means to make a good impression with the Intel / IWC selection board.

Intel is one of the most competitive OCS programs out there - which is why applicants should be aiming for stellar stats.
 
C

cjd131

Active Member
FormerRecruitingGuru said:
best means to make a good impression
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One more question: has anyone here on the civilian side done an interview? I have seen a lot of older posts (>10 years mostly) talking about tracking down Intel Os for interviews, but my recruiter didn't even mention that as a possibility to me and I haven't seen anything about it recently or in the program authorizations. Is that still an option if you are looking to burnish a packet?

EDIT: distinct from LORs
 
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