I wish it had been like that. I rocked calc with two ridiculously easy A's, but I definitely went the "C if for commission" route in physics.
-
Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?
Go here:
Edit Account Details and Profile
County/Community College First
- Thread starter RighteousMile
- Start date
I wish it had been like that. I rocked calc with two ridiculously easy A's, but I definitely went the "C if for commission" route in physics.
I think the answer is that it totally depends on the person. I hated calc, all 3 of them, but I did well and actually enjoyed physics.
Definitely true. Everyone has different academic abilities and learning styles.
RighteousMile
Cry Freedom
High School Slacker
I didn't do well in high school at all, in fact I did horrible by my standards. I'm just concerned that I won't be accepted into the NROTC college program because of my low h.s. GPA. Of course I'm attending Community College first, but I was just wondering if I only do one year at a Community College and get into a University with NROTC (i.e. Embry Riddle at Daytona Beach), will my community college GPA lurk in the shadow of my low high school GPA and not allow me to participate in NROTC? Or will my c.c. GPA stand out if I get a 3.0 or higher?
I didn't do well in high school at all, in fact I did horrible by my standards. I'm just concerned that I won't be accepted into the NROTC college program because of my low h.s. GPA. Of course I'm attending Community College first, but I was just wondering if I only do one year at a Community College and get into a University with NROTC (i.e. Embry Riddle at Daytona Beach), will my community college GPA lurk in the shadow of my low high school GPA and not allow me to participate in NROTC? Or will my c.c. GPA stand out if I get a 3.0 or higher?
Just because you got "two ridiculously easy A's" doesn't mean you understood the math.
I would say I did, especially considering I consistently scored well above the class average. I've actually been pretty good at math my entire life, science classes, not so much. It's all a matter of application. I'm majoring in econ and history and there is actually a good bit of calc involved in econ and I get that and how to apply it and construct models. For some reason though physics has always been beyond me.
PM me, I was in the same boat as you a few years ago and I'd be glad to share details
Share with the class. I'm sure more than one person would benefit.
I agree, once upon a time I was in the same boat save the fact I didn't have this site. Long story short, I have a year of BDCP to go. Please share the wealth.
Wilco, sir
To the OP, I was the type that never took hs too seriously...I managed to graduate but not by much. I don't specifically remember my GPA but it was well below 3.0, and my SAT score wasn't much to brag about (probably should have not been hung over when I took that). Anyhow, it was a pretty competitive year (2001) for admissions for whatever reason and the University in my hometown rejected my app. It turned out that there was a great part 141 flight school also nearby through the local community college, and so I ended up there during the fall of '01.
My first flight was the day they lifted the blanket flight restrictions following the 9/11 attacks interestingly enough. While earning my private license, and later my commercial w/ IR ticket, I was also taking classes. For a number of reasons I decided that I would rather fly for the Navy, and to get where I really want to go (TPS), I needed an engineering or hard science degree. My buddy was in his first year of mechanical engineering school so he convinced me that this was the route to go, so I started taking transfer classes by the end of my first year of comm college in preparation for this.
I was in cc for a total of two years, and by the end I had accumulated a bunch of credits, including a year of calc and one of the calc based physics classes. Mind you I was never a math oriented person, but I taught myself because it was what I wanted to do (see above). I think I walked out of there with around a 3.5 cum GPA when all was said and done. My spring term of my second year was when I started talking to the NROTC unit at the school I planned to attend. They looked a little bit at my high school grades, but I had so much college under my belt already that the LT didn't really care that my hs grades had been $hit. He recommended that I apply for the scholarship, but I elected to wait and try out the program first. In hindsight, this might have been a waste of time (since I obviously stuck with it). Even so, getting into the program was no problem at all once I had been accepted into the university.
I had some exracurricular activities to add to my NROTC app, but nothing crazy. I wasn't an Eagle Scout, nor had I been a varsity football player. When it came down to it, a couple years of hard work in cc paid off, and I think spoke for itself. Don't get me wrong when I say this, as well-roundedness is definitely something that the NROTC program looks for, but to be honest the Navy and NETC has a huge hard on for good grades. It doesn't end at the gates of NROTC either, as I have seen probably a dozen folks commission in my time who were way substandard in terms of aptitude, but very book smart.
So to summarize, do well at cc, apply, and there is a damn good chance that you will get what you want. That said, if you do get accepted, it is only the beginning. You had better be ready to work your butt off when you do start the program! Let me know if you have any questions....I hope that was more than one big run on sentence!
Oh yeah, almost forgot to add that during the fall of my second year in cc I applied to ERAU Daytona and was accepted. I ended up opting to stay in state, and go to school with some of my friends, but it was an option, in spite of my hs grades. I can't speak for what the selection board standards are this year, or what it is that they are looking for, but I will say that > 3.0 cum cc GPA and a little bit of leadership experience in my past was enough to get me in the NROTC program back in 2003.
To add to this, while you are in cc, take as many calc and physics classes as you can (while keeping in mind that it is important to preserve your GPA there). This will make application for NROTC scholarship that much easier...I think this was the reason why I picked it up so quickly compared to some of my other college program classmates freshman year.
It seems your recruiter or whoever your point of contact was at the time was a straight shooter in terms of what needed to be done, and you did it despite not having an aptitude for much of the calc and physics. Or was it your own research? Either way, way to get your way in life man.
A little bit of both. I forgot to add that during the fall of my 1st year of cc I originally called the NROTC unit I was looking at, told them my situation, and asked what I needed to do. The LT told me to "get some college under your belt" and then apply...which I did. I knew that I needed to do a complete rebound from my poor hs performance, so the grades were a reaction to not wanting to find myself stuck in the same situation. In terms of picking engineering as my major, that was mostly a combination of having a goal to eventually go to Test Pilot School, and also a general interest I have always had with building things, and just mechanical stuff in general. So I have just seen the math as being a necissary evil to get where I wanted, and to be honest, in the process I have come to enjoy it. Something about grades being purely quantitative rather than based on some hippie's qualitative assessment of how well you have regurgitated their garbage in a paper/essay. It has not been the easy way out, but well worth it. I am no genious, so like I always say to those with similar questions about tech stuff and math req's, if I can do it, so can you!
Right about here is where I went wrong. I highly recommend anyone looking to get into NROTC to contact their local NRD NROTC coordinator rather than the unit. The NRD doesn't like its time wasted and are more quick to tell you what you don't want to hear, which is more often then not exactly what needs to be done to help you.