Hello everyone. So I've been lurking around here for some time now, mostly looking at posts by other people trying to become pilots. I really like what I see in that everyone keeps asking the same question, "How good are my chances?" yet everyone seems to be really helpful with advice and opinions about training and such.
So heres my story. Grandfather was a marine in Korea and his whole attitude towards the corps has really rubbed off on me. I've always wanted to be a marine, but never really knew if I would actually end up as one. Well, I get an email at school talking about becoming a USMC pilot, and right away my interest sparked. I realized that being a USMC pilot was the one thing I never realized I wanted to do...until now.
I'm 19, turning 20 in November. I'll be starting my second year at Rutgers University as a Mechanical/Aerospace Engineer. As of now my GPA is a 3.0. I talked to my OSO who gave me the general intro to what the OCS is all about. So here's my goal, and I ask that you give me the hard facts as to what chances I have, what I will have to do, and what this whole process is really like (as I can imagine that my OSO is laying on some form of sugarcoating).
At first I was pretty fearful about just getting through school as an engineer. It was much more difficult than I thought going into school, but I survived the first year, and I've got my head screwed on much tighter now than it was before. As far as I can see, I would like to go to OCS next summer (after sophomore year), and become a USMC pilot after I graduate. First of all, I would like to fly jets, which I’m sure is everyone else’s goal too, so I’m curious as to how hard it is to actually get to fly jets (as far as I know, the USMC has f/a 18s and harriers only).
So first things first. As of now I’m 6’2” and 160lbs., and I don’t see either of those specs changing anytime in the next few years. With no training at all, I can do 100 sit-ups is no time at all with no problem. With one month of training, I went from 4 pull ups to 12, then I stopped because a lack of time to train. At that rate I really think that 20 shouldn’t be a problem with a couple more months of work. My main fear is the running. Right now, I’m not sure if I could go 3 miles in under 30 minutes, my stamina sucks that much. What I have working for me though is time, and the fact that I’ve got legs for distance running. So I figure if I can get 100s on sit-ups and push-ups, I’ll shoot for about 21 minutes on my run and go from there.
So here are my questions, which will probably get longer and longer.
1) my OSO said that the earlier I take my PFT the better chance I have of getting into the summer session. Is this true? Is it tougher for a pilot it get in?
2) Even though 225 is “passing”, I think I’ve read on here that you need a pretty competitive score (like 270ish)to even get into OCS. Is this true? An ex-marine I work with (but didn’t go through OCS) said that if you have a low score, they’ll still accept you but just train you more.
3) Taking into account my grades and how physically fit I think I will be, how good of a chance, in general, do I have of being a USMC pilot?
4) Another guy I work with (I happen to work with ALL ex-mil guys) said that the corps. promised his brother up and down that after he finished school and OCS, he could be a pilot…but when time came to actually join, they said “Oops sorry we didn’t tell you before, but you don’t have the grades to be a pilot. Want to be a foot soldier?” This guys brother was a history major if that makes a difference.
5) Related to #4, does me being a mechanical/aerospace engineer improve my chances of being a pilot? I heard that all branches of the military are itching to have engineers as officers.
6) Also related…has anyone here ever been “promised” a spot in flight school and then been told it couldn’t happen? All the guys I work with (none were officers) are constantly telling me not to believe a word of what I’m told will happen. Don’t know how true that is though.
I’ll probably come up with some more questions, but for now I would really appreciate just any input you guys have. I want this so bad I can taste it, and I’m prepared to work as hard as I have to to get it, but I just want a realistic outlook on the whole situation so I’m not fooling myself. Thanks for reading everyone.
-Will
PS. I’m not saying that I think my OSO is lying to me, I’m sorry if I came off that way. She has been very very positive, helpful and has seemed very honest. I’m just anxious because of what my co-workers have been saying.
So heres my story. Grandfather was a marine in Korea and his whole attitude towards the corps has really rubbed off on me. I've always wanted to be a marine, but never really knew if I would actually end up as one. Well, I get an email at school talking about becoming a USMC pilot, and right away my interest sparked. I realized that being a USMC pilot was the one thing I never realized I wanted to do...until now.
I'm 19, turning 20 in November. I'll be starting my second year at Rutgers University as a Mechanical/Aerospace Engineer. As of now my GPA is a 3.0. I talked to my OSO who gave me the general intro to what the OCS is all about. So here's my goal, and I ask that you give me the hard facts as to what chances I have, what I will have to do, and what this whole process is really like (as I can imagine that my OSO is laying on some form of sugarcoating).
At first I was pretty fearful about just getting through school as an engineer. It was much more difficult than I thought going into school, but I survived the first year, and I've got my head screwed on much tighter now than it was before. As far as I can see, I would like to go to OCS next summer (after sophomore year), and become a USMC pilot after I graduate. First of all, I would like to fly jets, which I’m sure is everyone else’s goal too, so I’m curious as to how hard it is to actually get to fly jets (as far as I know, the USMC has f/a 18s and harriers only).
So first things first. As of now I’m 6’2” and 160lbs., and I don’t see either of those specs changing anytime in the next few years. With no training at all, I can do 100 sit-ups is no time at all with no problem. With one month of training, I went from 4 pull ups to 12, then I stopped because a lack of time to train. At that rate I really think that 20 shouldn’t be a problem with a couple more months of work. My main fear is the running. Right now, I’m not sure if I could go 3 miles in under 30 minutes, my stamina sucks that much. What I have working for me though is time, and the fact that I’ve got legs for distance running. So I figure if I can get 100s on sit-ups and push-ups, I’ll shoot for about 21 minutes on my run and go from there.
So here are my questions, which will probably get longer and longer.
1) my OSO said that the earlier I take my PFT the better chance I have of getting into the summer session. Is this true? Is it tougher for a pilot it get in?
2) Even though 225 is “passing”, I think I’ve read on here that you need a pretty competitive score (like 270ish)to even get into OCS. Is this true? An ex-marine I work with (but didn’t go through OCS) said that if you have a low score, they’ll still accept you but just train you more.
3) Taking into account my grades and how physically fit I think I will be, how good of a chance, in general, do I have of being a USMC pilot?
4) Another guy I work with (I happen to work with ALL ex-mil guys) said that the corps. promised his brother up and down that after he finished school and OCS, he could be a pilot…but when time came to actually join, they said “Oops sorry we didn’t tell you before, but you don’t have the grades to be a pilot. Want to be a foot soldier?” This guys brother was a history major if that makes a difference.
5) Related to #4, does me being a mechanical/aerospace engineer improve my chances of being a pilot? I heard that all branches of the military are itching to have engineers as officers.
6) Also related…has anyone here ever been “promised” a spot in flight school and then been told it couldn’t happen? All the guys I work with (none were officers) are constantly telling me not to believe a word of what I’m told will happen. Don’t know how true that is though.
I’ll probably come up with some more questions, but for now I would really appreciate just any input you guys have. I want this so bad I can taste it, and I’m prepared to work as hard as I have to to get it, but I just want a realistic outlook on the whole situation so I’m not fooling myself. Thanks for reading everyone.
-Will
PS. I’m not saying that I think my OSO is lying to me, I’m sorry if I came off that way. She has been very very positive, helpful and has seemed very honest. I’m just anxious because of what my co-workers have been saying.
im obviously new at all this (half of the acronyms you all used went over my head), but i appreciate the posative attitude you all have shown me. Thanks again!
