Here is an e-mail I just recieved from a person who went through BOOST/NSI last year. He had some pretty good information so I thought I would share...
"You are way ahead of the ballgame if you already have everything sent down there and approved saying it is good to go. I turned all my stuff in around the middle of December and did not get my orders until the 3rd week of January, but after getting to Rhode Island, I realized that I got my orders way earlier than a lot of other people. A lot of people did not get their orders but a couple of days before they had to leave and some even got them the day before they were scheduled to report. You should be in good shape though. I remember that I called down to Pensacola in the beginning of January and finally asked the LT that worked at the desk if they had requested my orders yet and the date he told me they would be requested, it took about 10 days for BUPERS to get the orders written and sent out. My advice would be to just keep in touch with Pensacola so they don’t forget about you. Definitely double check with them to make sure everything is in order because sometimes they update stuff on the computer but are still missing one small thing they need to request your orders that they don’t realize until you ask them about it again. Hopefully they get them cut for you early so you are not in a panic trying to get things done at the last minute because I know that was a headache for a lot of people.
Now I will give you some gouge on Rhode Island. Boost was cool and definitely the better part of the two. The school work was challenging if you are not used to doing it. The schedule is Pre-calculus, Trigonometry, Physics, and English. When I was there, the hours were Mon-Fri 0745-1115, lunch from 1115-1230, and then one class in the afternoon until around 1400, from 1400-1500 is extra instruction(EI), which is one on one time with the teachers if you need it, but it is not mandatory. If you do good in the classes you will never need it. I think I went twice while I was there. The rooms are not bad. They are two-man rooms with two bunk-beds with a bed on the top of each one with a desk underneath it instead of another bed. Every person gets their own computer for their room and it has internet access and stuff, so that was pretty cool. There is a tall stand up closet and drawers in the bed for clothes. When I was there, a guy named Master Sargeant Fraas was in charge of all the Boost students. He was cool and pretty much left us to ourselves. When you are in Boost, there is no curfew or anything. As long as you show up where you are supposed to be when you are supposed to be there, nobody cares what else you do with your time. As far as your family goes, you are allowed to bring them and live out in town if you want. A couple of guys did that and it did not really ever seem like a problem for them with the schoolwork or anything. I know that last year the BOOST and NSI websites said that you were not allowed to live out in town with your families during NSI, but if you go for BOOST and your family is there, they will let you stay out in town with your family during NSI, you just have to be there most of the day while all the stupid stuff is going on. Two guys did that while I was there. Not sure if the policy changed, though. The PT thing for Boost was not really enforced when I was there either. We had to do a PRT when we checked in, but it did not really count for anything, and after that we were “supposed” to do group pt, but nobody was in charge of it so nobody cared. NSI was pretty much the complete opposite. It is sort of like a relaxed boot camp. They try to be hardcore and yell and stuff like that, but it really has no effect because we have all been there and done that in boot camp. The classes during NSI are pretty easy. Typical Navy classes with powerpoints and then telling you exactly what to study for the test. The first couple of weeks suck because there is no liberty at first, but after the first couple of weeks, things start getting more relaxed and on-base liberty is given, then off-base liberty, then over-night, but if you stay out in town with your family, it does not really affect you at all. PT is pretty good at NSI. Three days a week for about an hour or so. Very structured, but definitely doable. You will take 3 PRTs in NSI, the first two do not really count for anything and the last one you have to pass to leave. There will be a LT in charge of NSI and then a chief or senior chief will be directly in charge of your company. They were pretty cool. They show up around 0600 and then leave most days by 1600 or so. Assholes when they have to be, but overall they were pretty good. The five months went by pretty quickly and was not difficult to make it through at all.
As far as your college goes, I did not know of anybody that did not get the college they wanted, so I would suspect you will get Colorado without any problems. You can call and ask and they will probably tell you whether you are good to go or not. ODU is pretty cool, though. Very big and a lot of people. Pretty relaxed, though. We have PT on Mondays and Wednesdays at 0600 and drill on Thursdays at 0600, and other than that, all I do is go to my classes. My major is General Engineering Technology. Definitely pay good attention in Precalculus and Trig, though, because Calculus is kicking my ass right now."
"You are way ahead of the ballgame if you already have everything sent down there and approved saying it is good to go. I turned all my stuff in around the middle of December and did not get my orders until the 3rd week of January, but after getting to Rhode Island, I realized that I got my orders way earlier than a lot of other people. A lot of people did not get their orders but a couple of days before they had to leave and some even got them the day before they were scheduled to report. You should be in good shape though. I remember that I called down to Pensacola in the beginning of January and finally asked the LT that worked at the desk if they had requested my orders yet and the date he told me they would be requested, it took about 10 days for BUPERS to get the orders written and sent out. My advice would be to just keep in touch with Pensacola so they don’t forget about you. Definitely double check with them to make sure everything is in order because sometimes they update stuff on the computer but are still missing one small thing they need to request your orders that they don’t realize until you ask them about it again. Hopefully they get them cut for you early so you are not in a panic trying to get things done at the last minute because I know that was a headache for a lot of people.
Now I will give you some gouge on Rhode Island. Boost was cool and definitely the better part of the two. The school work was challenging if you are not used to doing it. The schedule is Pre-calculus, Trigonometry, Physics, and English. When I was there, the hours were Mon-Fri 0745-1115, lunch from 1115-1230, and then one class in the afternoon until around 1400, from 1400-1500 is extra instruction(EI), which is one on one time with the teachers if you need it, but it is not mandatory. If you do good in the classes you will never need it. I think I went twice while I was there. The rooms are not bad. They are two-man rooms with two bunk-beds with a bed on the top of each one with a desk underneath it instead of another bed. Every person gets their own computer for their room and it has internet access and stuff, so that was pretty cool. There is a tall stand up closet and drawers in the bed for clothes. When I was there, a guy named Master Sargeant Fraas was in charge of all the Boost students. He was cool and pretty much left us to ourselves. When you are in Boost, there is no curfew or anything. As long as you show up where you are supposed to be when you are supposed to be there, nobody cares what else you do with your time. As far as your family goes, you are allowed to bring them and live out in town if you want. A couple of guys did that and it did not really ever seem like a problem for them with the schoolwork or anything. I know that last year the BOOST and NSI websites said that you were not allowed to live out in town with your families during NSI, but if you go for BOOST and your family is there, they will let you stay out in town with your family during NSI, you just have to be there most of the day while all the stupid stuff is going on. Two guys did that while I was there. Not sure if the policy changed, though. The PT thing for Boost was not really enforced when I was there either. We had to do a PRT when we checked in, but it did not really count for anything, and after that we were “supposed” to do group pt, but nobody was in charge of it so nobody cared. NSI was pretty much the complete opposite. It is sort of like a relaxed boot camp. They try to be hardcore and yell and stuff like that, but it really has no effect because we have all been there and done that in boot camp. The classes during NSI are pretty easy. Typical Navy classes with powerpoints and then telling you exactly what to study for the test. The first couple of weeks suck because there is no liberty at first, but after the first couple of weeks, things start getting more relaxed and on-base liberty is given, then off-base liberty, then over-night, but if you stay out in town with your family, it does not really affect you at all. PT is pretty good at NSI. Three days a week for about an hour or so. Very structured, but definitely doable. You will take 3 PRTs in NSI, the first two do not really count for anything and the last one you have to pass to leave. There will be a LT in charge of NSI and then a chief or senior chief will be directly in charge of your company. They were pretty cool. They show up around 0600 and then leave most days by 1600 or so. Assholes when they have to be, but overall they were pretty good. The five months went by pretty quickly and was not difficult to make it through at all.
As far as your college goes, I did not know of anybody that did not get the college they wanted, so I would suspect you will get Colorado without any problems. You can call and ask and they will probably tell you whether you are good to go or not. ODU is pretty cool, though. Very big and a lot of people. Pretty relaxed, though. We have PT on Mondays and Wednesdays at 0600 and drill on Thursdays at 0600, and other than that, all I do is go to my classes. My major is General Engineering Technology. Definitely pay good attention in Precalculus and Trig, though, because Calculus is kicking my ass right now."