Noobie with questions about NUPOC

[4ageminor]

Hey everyone, I'm new to the site and have a couple different questions regarding NUPOC

A little about myself:
I'm currently a sophomore at California Polytechnic State University pursuing a degree in manufacturing engineering. I have a 3.25 GPA and am the captain of the Society of Manufacturing Engineering's WESTEC competition team (basically a national manufacturing competition).

1.) What are my chances of being accepted for the NUPOC program. How in demand are nukes right now? what can i do to improve my resume- volunteer work?

2.) I have finished my Calculus series, but am still working on my physics series because i wasn't able to get the class last quarter. My officer recruiter states that we can still start the application process because it takes a few months. He set me up with an account for NCIS and said to fill out the online forms. I'm hesitant to do this, is this a binding action? He also wants to put me on the seattle VIP trip next january; is this also a binding action and something i can do without having my physics series finished? Dont get me wrong, im sure this is what i want to do, but also want to know exactly what i'm putting my name on.

3.) Are there incentives for taking a lot of units? I most likely will be graduating on time or even early (unheard of at cal poly for engineering). I currently have 77/196 units after my first 4 quarters. I will have 117/196 by the end of the summer.

4.) Anything else i should know?

These are questions that i should probably be asking my officer recruiter, but would like some unbiased feedback.

Thank you

 

[statesman]

1.) What are my chances of being accepted for the NUPOC program. How in demand are nukes right now? what can i do to improve my resume- volunteer work?

Sorry to rain on your parade but there are no nuke slots available right now. So many people wanted nuke that they are taking qualified applicants and putting them in aviation.

 

[nugget61]

1) ORs LOVE nupoc folks - they're a hard quota to fill so your OR will probably be bending over backwards to sign you up.
2) He's going to try to get you in so he gets credit for you, so he wants to get the ball rolling. However, the only binding action is long down the road for you - you have to turn in an application and get accepted (+interviews and stuff for nupoc) before you sign the final select letter (search final select and you'll get lots of hits).
3) Actually the opposite - drag your feet and take your time. Search BDCP - they'll pay you a good bit to finish out your degree, so the longer it takes the more they'll end up paying you.
4) Before you sign up, do a lot of research and make sure that this is what you really want to do - the recruiter is going to be really gung-ho, but you need to do what is best for you and your future.

 

[4ageminor]

I'm guessing/hoping that is sarcasm? lol

Another concern that i have is regarding the interview. Most of the questions i have seen before, especially the calculus, chem, and Newtonian physics problems. There are A LOT of formulas needed in solving this problems. I'm assuming that the applicant is expected to know all of this formulas by heart? Should i start studying now?

What constitutes failing one of these interviews? Not getting the correct answers, or just plain having no idea how to even approach the problems?

 

[navy09]

You're in luck, the Navy NEEDS nukes.

From what I've seen, if you've got a background in math/science/engineering, you'll probably do OK. ROTC nuke candidates have a ton of resources to prep for the interviews, I'm sure it's the same for NUPOC guys.

I'd recommend talking to an OR, as they'll have all the latest and greatest gouge.

 

[wink]

Mostly good gouge above, but I need to clear up a couple things. First, you can not drag your feet on graduation indefinitely. True, there is no incentive to graduate early. Just the opposite, since they pay you in school. But you will submit a degree completion plan and your plan must have you finishing in four years total. Not fours years after acceptance. Your plan also has to show you are planning on taking a full load every semester. So don't finish early, finish in four years and work at keeping your grades up.

I don't recall if you actually need to have the formulas memorized or not. I believe you do. Your recruiter will set you up with a nuke to prep you for the interview and he will tell you everything you need to know. One thing he will tell you is that while getting an incorrect answer is obviously bad, it is highly important to be able to explain what your though process was and how you got he answer you did. It is an interview. Talk to the man. They want to know how you think through the problems. They have been known to stop and correct a minor error to set the interviewee back on course to a correct answer.

You are obligated to NOTHING until you swear in,which is right after a successful interview. Before that there is much to do. GO ON THE VIP TRIP! This is where you will find out if nuke is really for you. The trip should be fun and highly interesting. Good luck.

 

[Spekkio]

Hey everyone, I'm new to the site and have a couple different questions regarding NUPOC

A little about myself:
I'm currently a sophomore at California Polytechnic State University pursuing a degree in manufacturing engineering. I have a 3.25 GPA and am the captain of the Society of Manufacturing Engineering's WESTEC competition team (basically a national manufacturing competition).

1.) What are my chances of being accepted for the NUPOC program. How in demand are nukes right now? what can i do to improve my resume- volunteer work?

Pretty damn good.

2.) I have finished my Calculus series, but am still working on my physics series because i wasn't able to get the class last quarter. My officer recruiter states that we can still start the application process because it takes a few months. He set me up with an account for NCIS and said to fill out the online forms. I'm hesitant to do this, is this a binding action? He also wants to put me on the seattle VIP trip next january; is this also a binding action and something i can do without having my physics series finished? Dont get me wrong, im sure this is what i want to do, but also want to know exactly what i'm putting my name on.

Nothing is binding until you swear in and start getting paid. Even after you interview, you have up to 30 days to decide if you are going to accept the job or not.

3.) Are there incentives for taking a lot of units? I most likely will be graduating on time or even early (unheard of at cal poly for engineering). I currently have 77/196 units after my first 4 quarters. I will have 117/196 by the end of the summer.

You will start collecting E-6 pay + BAH once you swear in, so there is no incentive for you to graduate early. Additionally, the time in college counts as AD time; it won't count toward reaching retirement, but you can feesibly get O-1 > 2 years pay as a boot ENS depending on how early you get in.

Another concern that i have is regarding the interview. Most of the questions i have seen before, especially the calculus, chem, and Newtonian physics problems. There are A LOT of formulas needed in solving this problems. I'm assuming that the applicant is expected to know all of this formulas by heart? Should i start studying now?

Yes, you need to memorize your basic kinetics formulas, in addition to any formulas you used in advanced engineering "technical" courses. The interviews are scaled to the applicant's major, so a mechanical engineer isn't likely to see a basic F=ma type problem because that'd be too easy.

 

[4ageminor]

Thanks, that clears things up a lot. I'm unofficially going on the VIP trip next month as long as all the necessary paper work goes through.