BCDP Low GPA Questions

[RyanF]

Hello All,
I just wanted to start off by saying thank you to everyone for the great “gouge” on this site. I have been lurking the forum for a few months trying to learn more about becoming either a Naval or Marine aviator, and have the found the “search” function to be incredibly useful.

Anyways, I have a couple of quick questions in regards to BCDP. To make the long story short, last week there was a career fair at my college where I had the opportunity to meet my area Navy OSO. After talking to him for a bit and convincing him I was not interested in nuclear propulsion (I guess whoever mentioned a nuke draft was definitely correct), he said I should go ahead and apply for BCDP. This struck me as rather odd since I have a GPA of 2.64 which is obviously below the 2.7 requirement. However, my
OSO said I would have a decent chance of getting in for 3 particular reasons:

• I am studying mechanical engineering (currently in my 4th year out of 5 just for reference) so less weight will be given towards my GPA since I am majoring in a technical degree.
• I have great letters of rec and internship experience. I just got back from an awesome 6 month internship in the UK at Rolls Royce Motor Cars Ltd where I worked as an assembly/manufacturing engineer and received a couple of great letters of rec and a job offer.
• I am half Asian/half White which apparently gives me some sort of minority status. This one seems a bit fishy to me.

So my first question is how much of this is true? As in, will I be wasting his and my time by applying for BCDP since I am clearly below the GPA requirement?

Next, if I were to get in and fail a class thus setting me back a quarter, what happens? Will I be dropped from the program and have to serve active duty for 2 years as enlisted or maybe just dropped from a flight contract and forced to go wherever the Navy needs another officer position filled(after OCS obviously)?

I suppose I am just a bit shocked at the moment since my initial thought process was to graduate college and give the corporate world another try as this would allow me more time to decide if naval/marine aviation was really what I wanted and that I am not just doing this all on a whim. Also, with this extra time I could focus on other areas of my application such as volunteer hours, physical fitness, getting flight hours to see if flying is really my cup of tea, etc. so my crap GPA could less of a factor during selection.

Thanks for serving!

 

[Thisguy]

[*]I am studying mechanical engineering (currently in my 4th year out of 5 just for reference) so less weight will be given towards my GPA since I am majoring in a technical degree.

There's a little truth to that...but having a sub 3.0 in a technical degree still isn't good. What happens when other applicants have tech degrees with a 3.2 or 3.3? you see what I'm getting at.

[*]I am half Asian/half White which apparently gives me some sort of minority status. This one seems a bit fishy to me.[/LIST]

I think this is absolute horseshit.

 

[RyanF]

There's a little truth to that...but having a sub 3.0 in a technical degree still isn't good. What happens when other applicants have tech degrees with a 3.2 or 3.3? you see what I'm getting at.

Good point and yes I totally agree with you on the race card thing. Thanks for the response.

 

[PigzFly]

I am going through the application process right now. My recruiter contact has told me similar information. Because I am a Kinesiology major, even though I have a 3.51 GPA, and because of the fact that I am white, I am not a priority candidate, and that basically my best shot is to ace the ASTB. I think its bs that some civ official thinks minorities are superior candidate whether or not they are qualified, just to project a PC front. Im just as motivated and/or qualified as any other applicant.

If the NAVY is what you want to do go for it. Just keep fighting. But make sure you want it. If you select for BDCP and wash out you have a big check to write or you get a pair of white works. Good luck

 

[RyanF]

I think its bs that some civ official thinks minorities are superior candidate whether or not they are qualified, just to project a PC front. Im just as motivated and/or qualified as any other applicant.

I totally agree. I have never really considered myself a minority since I'm hapa.

If the NAVY is what you want to do go for it. Just keep fighting. But make sure you want it. If you select for BDCP and wash out you have a big check to write or you get a pair of white works. Good luck

Thanks!

 

[VetteMuscle427]

I'll throw a couple things out there. I was in BDCP for about a year an a half, but that was 4 years ago so my ideas might be a little dated.

First... it is very competitive. I had over a 3.5 in engineering, and was completing the whole thing in 3 years <spent a year becoming a paramedic>. I had great LORs and a 64 ASTB <old one>. I was still rejected my first time. I would just say, that your GPA is very low. I am thinking it probably won't be competitive. But you can't get in if you don't try.

Next, there is absolutely nothing that makes BDCP a minority program or would give you a head up on anyone else. I'm not even sure there is a place to put your ethnicity on the application.

When you enter BDCP, part of the process is to get a degree completion schedule. You take such and such classes to get you to graduate on time. Your adviser will have to sign off on it. If you fail to complete that, you are theirs to do with. No one at my office failed out, but at OCS they do take people to Great Lakes for non-completion; so I wouldn't be surprised. Then again, if there are extenuating circumstances <death in the family> that adversely affect you, that could be another issue.

Lastly, I would say, if you are not 100% sure that this is for you... you probably want to hold off on applying. Go try to corporate world, OCS is still here. And building some professional experience to offset a low GPA couldn't hurt.

My .02

 

[Tom]

I believe Wink would know this for sure, but I think BDCP was created primarily to bring minorities into the military. Having been at OCS I know that the majority of the OC's there are white males, so maybe it is just a goal of the past.

As for your GPA, it is pretty low. Try harder in school and apply. Your chances for getting accepted are 0 if you don't apply. If applying might be "wasting your time" maybe you should think real long and hard about joining the military. If you truly want in don't let your nervousness restrict you.

As for failing a class I would bet that the worst outcome would be an ass chewing. Nothing is for sure though because if you do get set back you are failing to meet your end of the contract. Never heard of it happening though. Just don't fail anything.

 

[jwebster412]

This is right up alley. I have been BDCP for nearly two years. Going to OCS one pay period shy of two full. When I started, I was at around 3.25, graduated with a 3.02. Had TWO!! semesters below the 2.7 standard, and never even came close to washing out. In fact, I didn't even get a talking to by anyone other than a Chief at my NRD. The CO just didn't care. Granted, that's just MY experience, but still, I would say that if the Navy accepts you for OCS and you eff something up, but not so bad you aren't still viable, then they aren't going to boot you. They have paid too much money for a decent candidate. The last thing they want is high attrition rates. To address the initial question, it never hurts to try. Apply, then apply again if you don't get it. The "whole person" concept means that you have a good shot if you have just a couple weaknesses. I know I did, but I had a lot of strengths to make up for it, i.e. good ASTB scores, varsity athletics, etc. That said, don't do it if you aren't committed. If you are only 95% sure, then that's not sure enough. The price tag is too high for failure, and if you want to be an officer, then washing out to the fleet is not going to be fun.

 

[BACONATOR]

I'll throw a couple things out there. I was in BDCP for about a year an a half, but that was 4 years ago so my ideas might be a little dated.

First... it is very competitive. I had over a 3.5 in engineering, and was completing the whole thing in 3 years <spent a year becoming a paramedic>. I had great LORs and a 64 ASTB <old one>. I was still rejected my first time. I would just say, that your GPA is very low. I am thinking it probably won't be competitive. But you can't get in if you don't try.

Next, there is absolutely nothing that makes BDCP a minority program or would give you a head up on anyone else. I'm not even sure there is a place to put your ethnicity on the application.

When you enter BDCP, part of the process is to get a degree completion schedule. You take such and such classes to get you to graduate on time. Your adviser will have to sign off on it. If you fail to complete that, you are theirs to do with. No one at my office failed out, but at OCS they do take people to Great Lakes for non-completion; so I wouldn't be surprised. Then again, if there are extenuating circumstances <death in the family> that adversely affect you, that could be another issue.

Lastly, I would say, if you are not 100% sure that this is for you... you probably want to hold off on applying. Go try to corporate world, OCS is still here. And building some professional experience to offset a low GPA couldn't hurt.

My .02

100% agree. Well Said VM. While it may have been more competetive in the above time frame, it still remains relatively true.

When I applied, I was a 3.5 in Aerospace Engineering and finishing my degree in 3 years with campus jobs, martial arts experience, charity work, leadership positions, and my ASTB was top notch as well. Does it take all this to get accepted? Who knows but I got picked up my first time applying so it probably helped.

Just because you have a technical degree doesn't give you a free pass on a low GPA. Plenty of people (myself, MB, VM and various others on here included) had tech majors, did very well in them and even graduated early who apply all the time, so they aren't hurting for well-qualified applicants.

The race issue is also total shit. I am 100% white and got accepted first time. Why? Because I was qualified (or at least was at the time, obviously). It's as simple as that. If you're still in school, improve your GPA. Be shit-hot on the ASTB. Get some activities going to make your package look good and get some people who know you well to write some LORs. Then you'll be in a good place to apply. Being a sub-par applicant with a tech major isn't going to get you a pilot slot.

Not intending to be condescending, just trying to get rid of your misconceptions. Now go pump up your stats and get going!

 

[RyanF]

Hey Guys,
Thanks for all your comments. I really appreciate all of you taking the time to respond to my post. To follow up, I spoke with my OSO today and I will be meeting with him later this week to talk more about the program and figure out my next move. Thanks again!

 

[BENDER]

Does BDCP count "W" on the your school transcript as "F"?

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Your chances are 0 if you don't apply. With that being said, go for it and if you don't get it go at it again! Don't quit.

 

[Goob83]

Does BDCP count "W" on the your school transcript as "F"?

no

 

[HeyJoe]

Hello All,
I just wanted to start off by saying thank you to everyone for the great “gouge” on this site. I have been lurking the forum for a few months trying to learn more about becoming either a Naval or Marine aviator, and have the found the “search” function to be incredibly useful.

+1 for that. Wish we had more like you!