Applying to Jan board 2013

[exNavyOffRec]

My OR told me this board was going to release early - I don't know if that means they are going to convene early or if they are just going to speed things up once they meet. I had originally been told 12/14 or 12/17, but now hopefully sooner. Let's hope he's right, I'd like to know ASAP, especially with this "we-want-to-send-you-all-to-OCS-in-January" stuff that has been floating around.

from a friend of mine at NRD via one of the NRC processors, no intentions on sending anyone from the upcoming board to OCS in January, not enough time, too many people gone for Christmas.

 

[John wright]

What do you mean by a vision Nami- Wammy? Like your uncorrectable to 20/20?

 

[exNavyOffRec]

More info from my contact, looks like the board was not able to start until next monday.

 

[LFCFan]

More info from my contact, looks like the board was not able to start until next monday.

As in this coming Monday as planned?

 

[exNavyOffRec]

As in this coming Monday as planned?

yes, and word is they were flooded with applications so it may take the full week.

 

[LFCFan]

yes, and word is they were flooded with applications so it may take the full week.

Thanks for keeping us posted. Sorry to keep spamming with minute questions, just gotta get some stuff taken care of on my end.

Neither of those bits of information are good news. I just hope the "flood of applications" isn't a flood of applications that are better than the folks in this thread! Or that it is a bunch of people going for SWO haha.

 

[Daspyp]

Thanks for keeping us posted. Sorry to keep spamming with minute questions, just gotta get some stuff taken care of on my end.

Neither of those bits of information are good news. I just hope the "flood of applications" isn't a flood of applications that are better than the folks in this thread! Or that it is a bunch of people going for SWO haha.

Like John Wright said, there's nothing we can do at this point except to keep positive. If worse comes to worse, oh well... Back to the same old same old of pushing on, improving that application, and waiting for the next round.

 

[LFCFan]

Like John Wright said, there's nothing we can do at this point except to keep positive. If worse comes to worse, oh well... Back to the same old same old of pushing on, improving that application, and waiting for the next round.

Very true. I'm not one for old sayings at all, but I do like "Worrying is paying interest on a debt you may never owe."

I am 26 in a few weeks, so if there isn't another board in the spring (my OR says there is, but around here it sounds like there might not be) I'd be cutting it really close if not picked up this time.

 

[Daspyp]

That's a very true point. A friend of mine that actually convinced me to go for a slot and has himself been trying to get a sna slot for the last 2 years balls up his final attempt on the ASTB and pretty much lost any chance, at least concerning his OR (we had the same OR), of getting picked up...
Still kinda bumbed out about that. Keep positive, look at other options (I know I know), and keep trucking on.

 

[WilliamC]

I feel like this board is everyone's best chance. And I like that quote above about worrying, but I can't help it. I've been thinking about this period for ever, and I really need to just exercise and focus on school. I still have FINALS!

 

[LFCFan]

I feel like this board is everyone's best chance. And I like that quote above about worrying, but I can't help it. I've been thinking about this period for ever, and I really need to just exercise and focus on school. I still have FINALS!

Yeah, they are supposedly taking more pilots than normal, so in reality the "flood" of applications may still be proportional to the number of slots.

I remember the worst finals week I ever had (finals + grad school apps due, similar to the position you are in) was made so much better because this had just come out:

SFW if you have headphones.

You could see people in the library with headphones on at their laptops burst out laughing out of nowhere. It was a good stress relief.

So relax, get through it, and when you find out you got into OCS you'll...

 

[LFCFan]

Oh, and if you want to worry about finals less, go get your syllabi out and calculate the minimum grades you need on the exams to get certain letter grades. You might find that you only need a low B to hold on to an A, or basically a pulse to hold on to a B or C. Depends on what you are shooting for. Anyway, I found it to be really helpful in terms of time management and decreasing stress.

 

[Chemystery]

If I recall correctly from elsewhere, you're a fellow hopeful-PhD dropout as well, so I'd imagine your GPA is much better than a lot of applicants, which well help. My ASTB score is similar (54, 6/7/6) but I'm glad that my 7 was on my PFAR since SNA is my first choice.

It seems like a lot of us are getting conflicting gouge on the board timing. NavyOffRec has said in the past that some NRDs are really bad about passing on info to the recruiters, so I wouldn't be shocked if some of our ORs weren't told about this. My OR originally said that only pilots were going to get early decisions (so if I get SNFO instead, I'd find out around the 15th) which might explain some of the conflict if people on here are not applying for SNA. I emailed my OR about it last night since I need to get a leave of absence rolling at school in case I get NAMI-whammied or something, and I don't want to have to show up right we go into our holiday break and say "hey, I'm not coming back next semester!" If he sheds any light on the situation I'll pass it on to you all.

Howdy fellow graduate slave!

Quick question for you: What are you planning on telling your school when you get selected for OCS? I have not started on this issue, but figured it would be best to not wait until xmas break to start the ball rolling. Even if I don't get SNA or SNFO, I will still pick up SWO and run with it (providing I get selected for SWO).

Is it best to keep it quiet and just ask for a semester of leave/absence or should I mention OCS?

 

[LFCFan]

Howdy fellow graduate slave!

Quick question for you: What are you planning on telling your school when you get selected for OCS? I have not started on this issue, but figured it would be best to not wait until xmas break to start the ball rolling. Even if I don't get SNA or SNFO, I will still pick up SWO and run with it (providing I get selected for SWO).

Is it best to keep it quiet and just ask for a semester of leave/absence or should I mention OCS?

So my advisor is totally onboard with it. He wrote me an LOR as a work supervisor.

Your school probably has an LOA policy that includes military service. I'd be surprised if you could be granted one, no questions asked, and keep OCS under wraps. Factors as to why it is granted might include things like progress in your program: are you ahead of or behind schedule to finishing on time? I'm a bit behind due to an unexpected lab switch over a year ago, and would kind of prefer to leave for OCS in the spring so I don't have to do comps/quals/whateveryoucallit for nothing if I leave in the summer. I couldn't imagine trying to study for those without the right motivation.

The big issue is holding on to funding, and holding on to whatever lab you are attached to right now. If your advisor is cool with it AND is your funding source (federal grant or whatever) you are probably good to go if the department/college (grad or otherwise) is on board with you leaving. If you are a TA like me, then you need to REALLY have everyone on board. I have no idea what other funding sources (NSF fellowships, etc) do with this situation.

What is the atmosphere like in your department? I hear that chem departments are universally terrible places to be a grad student, but your mileage might vary. My impression of chem departments is that you'd be tossed to the wolves for even saying you wanted to leave, and that your advisor would put arsenic in your coffee or something. My first advisor is like that (we're still working on a paper together, and I can't WAIT to tell her if/when I'm pro-rec'd! gonna give the old battle axe a heart attack!) but my current guy is awesome. When I told him he said "....so if you get jets, can I get a backseat ride?!" he was disappointed to hear me say no.

What earliest start date did you put down on your application? If you think you could be at OCS at any point next semester (either because of this January thing that probably won't happen, or your start date) I'd get the ball rolling now so that all parties involved can be prepared for your leaving. This might mean adjusting teaching/TAing positions, or figuring out who is going to take over your projects after you leave.

**PhDs suck, there is a reason why we'd rather be at sea than grad school. Friends don't let friends get PhDs. Even if I lose my funding or have to completely quit, I'm still going.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Yeah, they are supposedly taking more pilots than normal, so in reality the "flood" of applications may still be proportional to the number of slots.

I remember the worst finals week I ever had (finals + grad school apps due, similar to the position you are in) was made so much better because this had just come out:

SFW if you have headphones.

You could see people in the library with headphones on at their laptops burst out laughing out of nowhere. It was a good stress relief.

So relax, get through it, and when you find out you got into OCS you'll...

Yes there is another board in the spring actually it looks like Feb from what I was told today, however the more pilots than normal is misleading, yes the numbers went up, but they had thought goal was already going to be made, so the number of spots is actually not abnormally higher than any other board.