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OCS Survival Guide
- Thread starter Ronin88
- Start date
K.Hog04
Member
I am more than happy to answer any questions you may have. I am prior enlisted and graduated OCS Dec 15.
BlueDacnis
IP Officer - Graduated OCS 20JUL18
Bless you, you are a SAINT. I will be taking you up on this shortly. Thank you for your kind offer!
I'm sure a great number of people are curious, I for one, am. Would you mind posting the changes here to help everyone out?
Of course, I don't mind one bit.
So the biggest curriculum change is that NAV/NOS has been combined into one class called Watch-Officer. You take two quizzes and a test on Watch-O (a quiz on Watch-O knowledge plus Charting and Maneuvering Boards, a quiz on Rules of the Road, and the test on both) with the quizzes being worth 20% and 10% respectively and the test worth 70%. This one class is easily the biggest educational challenge you'll face. You'll take the Watch-O Quiz in Week 7, the RoR quiz on the Monday of Week 8, and the Watch-O test on the Friday of Week 8. It's basically your last hurdle before Battlestations (Capstone, which has changed drastically).
The rumors about History were correct, you still take the class but there's no quizzes or tests. Later you will give presentations during CandiO Phase on an approved history topic of your choice that will be sat-in on by the history officer and any staff who have an interest in the topic. It's an easy 15 minutes long and done with a group of your pals no larger than 4. Have a bit of fun with it.
Naval Orientation Warfare has been changed to Division Officer Fundamentals. DivO Fun. takes place during Indoc Phase and if you're a prior the toughest part will be staying awake. There is a quiz worth 10% and a test worth 90% of the class, study for them and approach it like you would the other classes at OCS because it's just like how the other classes besides Watch-O are set up. The knowledge is a mile wide and an inch deep; the questions on exams come from the enabling objectives. DivO Fun. covers everything from customs and courtesies, to what education opportunities exist for sailors, the basics of ship life such as what the Wardroom is, and knowledge about things like Navy/Marine/Army/Air Force command structure and Fleet locations. As a non-prior I enjoyed learning about things like customs and courtesies but YMMV.
The last change to curriculum is that you will do a Leadership and Ethics Presentation during CandiO Phase. These groups and presentations are assigned, and they are about 50 minutes long. They are sat-in on by your Class Officers and sometimes your RDCs as well as any staff who are interested in the topic.
Besides those changes his videos are spot on.
Thank you.
Thank you, Birdbrain! 
123spacego
Active Member
What is the estimated cost of OCS? From what I understand, uniforms are only partly covered and there are extras that need to be purchased (such as undershirts, stamps, glasses straps, etc.). I want to make sure that I have a plan to keep my spouse from being in a tough spot dealing with the finances and of course not going into debt. I have some saved and was also planning on quitting my job a month (or a couple of weeks) before my ship date in order to avoid pre-OCS stress, if it makes financial sense of course. So what is going to out-of-pocket expense (including things that are reimbursed)?
It varies by individual and what brand/how many underwear, t-shirts, and socks, etc. you choose to buy. A plane ticket is purchased by your NRD. If you drive, you are reimbursed later. Your hotel stay if you arrive Friday or Saturday is on you. To know your total cost you need to research what you're buying first, and add it all together. The packing list on the Navy OCS website is outdated, but accurate. I have a friend there now and she has confirmed this. The uniform balance needs to be satisfied before you leave OCS, I think I've seen $3k tossed around here. I'm also not sure if males have to buy a swimsuit too.
123spacego
Active Member
Thanks for the information. I also so saw on the OCS website that uniforms run $3,500 and all but $1,000 is covered by the allowance.
Disclaimer: Other than buying my ridiculously expensive scrambled egg cover a few years ago, I haven't bought a uniform in probably 10 years. But...
Be wary of what you're told you need to buy for uniforms and what you actually need. And think beyond OCS. The NEX (and Abbotts, if they're still around) has a vested interested in you buying all the uniforms but in reality, after OCS, you'll really only need a couple of sets total.
Be wary of what you're told you need to buy for uniforms and what you actually need. And think beyond OCS. The NEX (and Abbotts, if they're still around) has a vested interested in you buying all the uniforms but in reality, after OCS, you'll really only need a couple of sets total.
It's about $3k, more if you buy the Brooks Brothers SDBs, you may buy some extra RLP gear too. Don't go overboard with your spending on uniforms.
Males wear PT shorts as swim trunks.
Allowance? I don't remember any allowance. AFAIK uniform allowances are only for enlisted. But I may be wrong.
Males wear PT shorts as swim trunks.
Allowance? I don't remember any allowance. AFAIK uniform allowances are only for enlisted. But I may be wrong.
peppergunner
ɹǝqɯǝW pǝʇɹǝʌuI
I've been saving up thinking I could get through this thing without a USAA Starter, but it looks like maybe not. Its hard to account for E5 income at OCS since I've heard it takes a while to even get those paychecks coming in.
FormerRecruitingGuru
Making Recruiting Great Again
You can apply for a Star card and get 10% off there.