Hey everyone,
I am a junior in NROTC studying electrical engineering with a 3.87 GPA. I haven't been very interested in the nuke community but officers in my unit say that I may be forced to go to an interview for a nuke position. I don't have much interest in joining the Sub or SWO(n) community but the NR engineering program seems interesting. It looks like I meet most of the requirements but other aspects of the program are a bit nebulous. I have asked the nuke officer at my unit some of these questions but he doesn't know much about the NR side of things. I understand some of the duties and that it may be a dead end for a naval career but I had some questions regarding the application.
1) I am doing my major at a state school and it seems that NR is looking for applicants from a prestigious school. Is this a significant disadvantage for me? Other threads on this topic said that NR had a tier system for schools, but I couldn't find it. Is there a tier system for schools? Am I able to see it?
2) If I apply for an NR position and I do not get it, will I be forced into the other nuke communities? If I am given an interview for NR and I am not chosen for NR, will I be forced into the other nuke communities?
3) I want to do my concentration in electromagnetics. Would picking a concentration like control systems be better for NR? Does my concentration really matter?
4) I haven't had any internships or relevant jobs, but I may be offered a research opportunity this summer. Would this boost my application significantly or would it be of little consequence?
5) Other posts say that applying to NR is very competitive, but this is mostly from the NUPOC side. Is selection to NR from NROTC also very competitive?