Just stopping in

[yota]

I've been lurking here for a few months now and wanted to say thank you to all of you who have posted such great advice and answered so many questions. I've been able to learn quite a bit about the whole process of going through the pipeline and am grateful that the resource exists to get such un-biased, firsthand information about the subject.

I ship out to RTC on 2010/04/06 (134 days down since DEPing, 158 to go ) and will proceed to Goose Creek after graduation. I'm extremely happy to have the opportunity to serve my country, even though I probably should have made the move years ago being that I'm 26 now. Hopefully being "Nuke" and married with a family will somewhat fit together although my expectations are fairly realistic. I was/am also lucky enough to have a recruiter who is a current Navy nuke and doesn't sugar-coat things like so many others seemingly do.

Public Service note... For those that still have any doubt, the search function works quite well and there truly arent many questions left unanswered on this site. Worst case scenario is that the information you seek is a little bit "outdated".

My only concern with the whole process lies in my past experiences in school and life and brings me to a question that I haven't really found an answer for to date. I'm a fairly smart guy, always did well in school, got good grades, etc. and scored a 99 on the ASVAB as well as a 68 on the NAPT (after being out of any formal schooling for ~8 years and no studying prior to testing). In school, I often became bored because the teacher would somewhat "dwell" on subjects until the whole class, or at least a majority, "got it." It actually caused me problems because mentally, I was more than ready to move on and subsequently- because of my inherent boredom- lost interest in the class. I still got good grades, I was just bored because the curriculum didn't stimulate me or push me to anything past 10% of my potential. So, given that i fully understand the curriculum, is the training somewhat self paced or is there a set schedule to what is taught and when? I don't expect to breeze through the program with no issues, quite the contrary, I just don't want to be held up if I am mentally and academically ready to move on.

[sovbob]

Nuclear Field A-school and Nuclear Power School classes are very structured in their delivery of the material, but I really doubt you'll be bored in class.  Some people liken the program as "getting a drink of water from a fire-hose".

Based on your performance, I'd say you probably won't be in danger of failing academically.  Even so, don't be lulled into that false sense of security.  You will be challenged.  Many many nukes joined the program because they were looking for a challenge, and the navy has not disappointed.

[KUrunner]

You won't have a chance to be bored.  Nuke school is very fast paced and you won't "dwell" on any topic for too long.  Granted, I made it through the school on vols, and rarely put in more than a few hours a week, but during those few hours and study halls, I studied my ass off.  They expect you to know almost everything verbatim and having a general idea of what X, Y, and Z won't cut it. 

Also, your ASVAB and NAPT scores really don't have any bearing on how well you'll do here.  I've known several nukes who've had 99 on the ASVAB and struggle in school.  The best indicator of how well you will do is how good are you at retaining information and how long does it take you to memorize something.

[yota]

Nuclear Field A-school and Nuclear Power School classes are very structured in their delivery of the material, but I really doubt you'll be bored in class.  Some people liken the program as "getting a drink of water from a fire-hose".

Based on your performance, I'd say you probably won't be in danger of failing academically.  Even so, don't be lulled into that false sense of security.  You will be challenged.  Many many nukes joined the program because they were looking for a challenge, and the navy has not disappointed.

You won't have a chance to be bored.  Nuke school is very fast paced and you won't "dwell" on any topic for too long.  Granted, I made it through the school on vols, and rarely put in more than a few hours a week, but during those few hours and study halls, I studied my ass off.  They expect you to know almost everything verbatim and having a general idea of what X, Y, and Z won't cut it. 

Also, your ASVAB and NAPT scores really don't have any bearing on how well you'll do here.  I've known several nukes who've had 99 on the ASVAB and struggle in school.  The best indicator of how well you will do is how good are you at retaining information and how long does it take you to memorize something.

Thank you both for your input.

KUrunner, I've always been one of those "show me once, watch me once, and leave me be" types of learners. I always took good notes in school, but rarely ever had the need to go back to them to learn the material. Once i heard it and wrote it down, I could do it. Here's hoping that I can tame the fire hose of information well enough to quench my thirst.

Again, thank you both for taking the time to post.

[Samabby]

Yota, with your attitude, you will do very well. If you do have a few extra hours to spend (doubtful), help a struggling Shipmate.

Good luck, son.

[JustinHEMI05]

Good luck and thanks for your future service!