Unsure of which route to take

[Troles]

I'm a sophomore majoring in Chemical Engineering with a concentration in Energy, minoring in Political Science. I went in DEP Navy yesterday as a Nuke, with a 95 on my ASVAB. I'm really interested in the NUPOC program, but am wary of my chances. I came into my college with a very poor preparation (technical high school) and struggled my freshmen year to catch up to my peers (our ChEg program is rated sixth in the world, hitting us with engineering classes our first semester). After speaking with my Chem and Cheg professors about my situation, they recommended retaking some of my core classes if I wished to stay in the major to strengthen my base. The way our program is structured, I'll now have to five years in school. I wouldn't mind enlisting, but with all the money and time I've spent, I'd rather stay in school. My GPA is an embarrassing 2.4, but with retaking the engineering classes, it will replace my poor grades and my GPA will go up. My questions are, should I apply for the NUPOC program after this winter, when my GPA will be higher and hope for the best? Or, should I switch out of ChEg, and go for a much easier Chem or Physics major, only spending another three years in school? Maybe it's a better idea to transfer to a school with NROTC? I'm in my college Army ROTC but I'm not sure if that will be of any help.

Thanks for any advice

Tiffany

[Gamecock]

I'm a sophomore majoring in Chemical Engineering with a concentration in Energy, minoring in Political Science. I went in DEP Navy yesterday as a Nuke, with a 95 on my ASVAB. I'm really interested in the NUPOC program, but am wary of my chances. I came into my college with a very poor preparation (technical high school) and struggled my freshmen year to catch up to my peers (our ChEg program is rated sixth in the world, hitting us with engineering classes our first semester). After speaking with my Chem and Cheg professors about my situation, they recommended retaking some of my core classes if I wished to stay in the major to strengthen my base. The way our program is structured, I'll now have to five years in school. I wouldn't mind enlisting, but with all the money and time I've spent, I'd rather stay in school. My GPA is an embarrassing 2.4, but with retaking the engineering classes, it will replace my poor grades and my GPA will go up. My questions are, should I apply for the NUPOC program after this winter, when my GPA will be higher and hope for the best? Or, should I switch out of ChEg, and go for a much easier Chem or Physics major, only spending another three years in school? Maybe it's a better idea to transfer to a school with NROTC? I'm in my college Army ROTC but I'm not sure if that will be of any help.

Thanks for any advice

Tiffany

I'm confused.....did you enlist in the navy or not?  You mention being in DEP in one sentence, and then talk about going NUPOC in the next.  Please clarify your status.

[Troles]

To clarify:

I am DEP, but I was informed that being accepted into any type of officer program would basically void my enlistment contract. My GPA is low but retaking the classes I've gotten low grades in will remove the lower grades and replace them with my higher ones in my engineering GPA. All of our engineering classes are curved, therefore people always fail in the lower level courses/recieve D's in the upper level courses (I've never failed) and you must have at least a C for it to count towards your engineering degree. Low GPAs are pretty common in my major, thus the question, should I switch to an easier major?

Thanks so much again, and sorry for the confusion

Tiffany

[HydroDave63]

To clarify:

I am DEP, but I was informed that being accepted into any type of officer program would basically void my enlistment contract. My GPA is low but retaking the classes I've gotten low grades in will remove the lower grades and replace them with my higher ones in my engineering GPA. All of our engineering classes are curved, therefore people always fail in the lower level courses/recieve D's in the upper level courses (I've never failed) and you must have at least a C for it to count towards your engineering degree. Low GPAs are pretty common in my major, thus the question, should I switch to an easier major?

Thanks so much again, and sorry for the confusion

Tiffany

Let's go the other direction on the LeChatliere arrows.... Your cumulative GPA is low after 4 semesters. The DEP delay is perhaps 2 semesters long. Insufficient time to raise cumulative GPA (even with 4.0s in PolySci ) high enough to be likely to get NUPOC in those 2 semesters. Therefore, DEP will stand. ROTC won't matter because you will be leaving college in a year or less, long before the degree and commission.
Are we all missing something, or do you see the logic that enlisting DEP pretty much invalidates the other 3 long-term plans you had considered?

[Troles]

It's low after two semesters, this fall will be my third. By my calculations, I can bring my GPA up to at least a 3.5 by the end of this academic year, if I succeed in my courses. Furthermore, being accepted into an NROTC program (or any officer program) cancels my DEP (at least I am told). If I were to switch majors, it would be to Chemistry (MUCH easier, not to be confused with Chem engineering)

Thanks for all the feedback, this is very helpful!

[HydroDave63]

It's low after two semesters, this fall will be my third. By my calculations, I can bring my GPA up to at least a 3.5 by the end of this academic year, if I succeed in my courses. Furthermore, being accepted into an NROTC program (or any officer program) cancels my DEP (at least I am told). If I were to switch majors, it would be to Chemistry (MUCH easier, not to be confused with Chem engineering)

Thanks for all the feedback, this is very helpful!

(2.4)+(2.4) + (4.0 projected) + (4.0 projected) / 4 semesters = 3.2 cumulative by summer 2009. Still might get accepted, I dunno, but that's assuming maximum tailwind and no other issues/distractions.

Might be prudent to decide if enlisted Nuclear will work for you. If so, welcome aboard, we'll be glad to help! If not, we'll still be helpful, but that is a different topic covered in DEP threads.

Hope this helps

[Troles]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you're DEP are you not already contractually bound to serve in the Navy?!?

If you're not contractually bound then do not go into the Navy as enlisted or officer,...

By your own words you'd rather stay in school,...

Your post illustrates that you are vacillating back and forth, trying to get the most out of a military program for the least obligation, you will NOT be happy with any military program, they all take away the luxury of vacillating and replace it with the duty of obligated service, for officers and some enlisted that can include IA, and if you stumble in the Navy, IA probably becomes even more likely,...

You're not ready,...

Trying to get the most out of the military program with the least obligation? No, I was told to DEP and then my recruiter would work on my officer package. After spending many nights studying all night and paying for school myself, with no help, I presume it's a normal thing to say. It was presented to me as one then the other, I must DEP then be accepted into the program. I was also told by the enlisted nuke at MEPS that minimum requirement to get in was Algebra I and that the chemistry is very basic, and have completed Calc III with a B and four courses of advanced chemistry already I feel that I am capable of an officer program. I understand this doesn't make me 'special', but I've worked hard in ROTC and I know I'm ready to commit to a military lifestyle.

Please do not mistake my questioning with greed, honestly, I want nothing more than to serve my country, but I strongly dislike being mislead by my recruiter. My friends are making 70,000+ right out of school, but I would rather be in the Navy, giving back to the country which has given me so many opportunities, than make big money. Given the opportunity again, I would have attended the Naval Academy, but I never thought in high school I would be so interested in the military. And I do know what USNA entails, I have many close friends who are midshipmen.

My apologies for defending my intentions and reasoning, I know that it's not what these forums are intended for. 

[withroaj]

Trying to get the most out of the military program with the least obligation? No, I was told to DEP and then my recruiter would work on my officer package.  

I don't mean any disrespect, but did you read the contract that put you in DEP?

The recruiter pulled a sleazy move, having you sign a contract to enlist that you would have to void for commissioning so he could "work on your package."  It didn't set off any alarm bells when you signed the paperwork that would make you an enlisted nuke?

Don't worry about it, though.  Enlisted nuke life is good, and you will learn a lot.  There are also plenty of commissioning programs available for you once you go in enlisted.  You might want to pursue that officer thingy, though.

[Troles]

Yeah, maybe I should have been more wary of my recruiter, everyone was warning me, but I trusted him. I guess my only options are to transfer to a school with NROTC or just go ahead an enlist. I'll enjoy either route, and I am really anxious to start in the Navy asap, so I may just go ahead with my enlistment. College will always be there afterwords and it's really getting difficult to get loans. Thanks everyone, I'm very excited to become one of you!

[Gamecock]

So...your recruiter didn't lie to you...you can be released from your enlistment obligation for an officer program.  However, transferring to a school with an NROTC program isn't going to cut it.  You'll actually have to have a formal NROTC scholarship offer, which, based on your GPA, you're not going to qualify for within the next year.

You can apply for NUPOC.  However, I would guess based on your low GPA and the fact that you have already enlisted, you won't get an interview.  However, I encourage you to apply and make the good folks at HQ tell you no.  NUPOC is the best program out there for someone trying to become a nuke officer.

Now, enlisting isn't the worst thing in the world to do.  I did eight years as a nuke MM before getting my commission.  There are plenty of ways to get a commission once you enlist.  So, what I would do if I were you is take classes that are going to raise your GPA.  This will help you when you apply for programs while you are in the training pipeline.

If you have any more specific questions, send me a PM and I'll try to answer them or find someone who can.

Cheers,
GC

[JustinHEMI05]

I thought getting my physics degree was pretty tough. I didn't know it was considered an "easier" second choice. I guess I am stupider than I thought. 























Justin

PS Sorry that I didn't have anything useful to post tonight.

[Smooth Operator]

Here is my simple suggestion.

Reboot.

Get out of DEP.

Refocus on GPA.

Once GPA is higher.

Go back to your military intentions with no distractors.

[Troles]

My ship date is May 20 if thats helpful to anyone. And I didn't mean to say physics was easy, it's definitely not. I'm going to go into the recruiting office tomorrow to do some paperwork and I'm going to do my best to talk to the officer recruiter. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks again.

[JustinHEMI05]

My ship date is May 20 if thats helpful to anyone. And I didn't mean to say physics was easy, it's definitely not. I'm going to go into the recruiting office tomorrow to do some paperwork and I'm going to do my best to talk to the officer recruiter. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks again.

Oh I know I was kidding. Good luck to ya, keep us posted on what is going on.

By the way, if I may ask, if you passed all of these higher level courses, what is keeping your GPA down? Considering my equivalent of calc III had only 6 people in it, with only 3 of us passing, I am curious as to what you could possibly not be doing well in if you passed that class. Of course it is really none of my business, so if you don't want to share... no worries.

Justin

[Troles]

Ha, no it's no problem. For ChEg we had to be in Calc III by the spring semester of freshmen year. I wasn't, so I had to stay this summer and take math classes. I would say that Calc III is easier than Calc II though. The four chemistries aren't that big of a deal, it was two general (for chem and cheg majors) and analytical plus a basic energy/mass transfer class, it's standard for us. I'm retaking the general chems though plus the energy/mass transfer class... everyone else in my classes mostly came in with two years of good quality chem and they taught the classes accordingly, I ended up with D's in those three classes. I recall high school chem we spent two weeks classifying potato chips (bio, not chem) so when I came to college I quickly realized how far behind I was.

I also slacked off some first semester, but not second semester... it was too late though, everything just snowballed on itself. I'd stay up all night to study and it wouldn't work because I didn't have the base I needed. I was pretty good at analytical though (that may be because no one else had taken analytical classes either?) which is why I'm thinking of just switching to plain chemistry. Looking at the info it looks like it might be a better preparation for nuke school to just stay a ChEg major, so I don't know....

[JustinHEMI05]

Ha, no it's no problem. For ChEg we had to be in Calc III by the spring semester of freshmen year. I wasn't, so I had to stay this summer and take math classes. I would say that Calc III is easier than Calc II though. The four chemistries aren't that big of a deal, it was two general (for chem and cheg majors) and analytical plus a basic energy/mass transfer class, it's standard for us. I'm retaking the general chems though plus the energy/mass transfer class... everyone else in my classes mostly came in with two years of good quality chem and they taught the classes accordingly, I ended up with D's in those three classes. I recall high school chem we spent two weeks classifying potato chips (bio, not chem) so when I came to college I quickly realized how far behind I was.

I also slacked off some first semester, but not second semester... it was too late though, everything just snowballed on itself. I'd stay up all night to study and it wouldn't work because I didn't have the base I needed. I was pretty good at analytical though (that may be because no one else had taken analytical classes either?) which is why I'm thinking of just switching to plain chemistry. Looking at the info it looks like it might be a better preparation for nuke school to just stay a ChEg major, so I don't know....

Gotcha. Well I hope you don't feel bad or anything about "slacking" the first semester/year. Most people do. My first year of college I am pretty sure I was absent more time than I was present in the winter (ski season) and I was immature and undisciplined. If it wasn't for a hard nosed adviser who helped reality smack me in the face, I probably would have failed my first year. Sounds like reality has finally revealed itself to you, and that you know that you have some tough decisions to make. Fortunately you found this place and like honeycomb said, this place is FULL of people exactly like you. Most Navy Nukes have attempted some college, or are generally slackers for a while after high school. It isn't a lack of ability, just direction and discipline. Sometimes they are too smart for their own good. So then they find out about the nuke program and join. The program will teach you the discipline needed to be successful. Those that take well to the discipline, tend to succeed in spades. Some though, are still too immature to grasp even that and have nothing but a horrible career that doesn't go anywhere. I don't think you would fall into that category. So basically what I am saying is that you aren't alone in this experience, and even if you go through with the enlistment, your life will end up better because of it. A world of doors will be open to you.

Justin

[Preciousblue1965]

College will always be there afterwords ....

Yea there are several of us that have said that one over the years.  Just keep in the back of your mind that A LOT can happen in 6 years of enlistment(8 years if you sell your soul at least once more).  I have found it a little more difficult to go back to college(actually I am going for the first time) after having 8 years of a paying job.  However if you plan for it from the get go, you should be ok.  What i mean is make sure that you pay off all of your debt(car, credit cards, etc) before you get out and don't encrue anymore.  Save a good portion of your money.  Otherwise you will end up like a lot of us and trying to go through some kind of "advanced" degree while working full time because you have a car payment, mortgage, etc.  Not to mention you might find some lucky person to get married to and start a family, which really throws a monkey wrench into that "college will always be there afterwords" thought process.

Just be mindful of what you really want to do, and how your decisions are going to affect those desires.  If you prepare from the start and keep focused on that, you will find yourself going back to college and doing much better than what you are doing now(you really learn how to absorb lots of information in a short amount of time going through the nuke program).  Good luck and welcome to the Navy Nuclear Community.

[NukeNTO]

2.4 is definately not going to cut it for NUPOC.  But if you can get the cum up to around a 3.0, you've got a pretty good shot as a ChE.  I'd recommend retaking a few technical (math, physics, engineering) classes that you got D's/F's in and see where that puts you.  Then apply for NUPOC.  If you have any more specific questions feel free to send me a PM, I work for the director of the NUPOC program.