2011 Air Force Nurse Enlisted Commissioning Program (NECP) Applicants

[kynchanted]

Hi All~

There was a thread for last year's NECP applicants but I thought I would start one for 2011. Anyone out there applying to the Air Force's AY 2011 Nurse Enlisted Commissioning Program? We have a page on Facebook as well, but I wanted to see if there was anyone else on here as well....

I was a 2010 NECP select but didn't get in to either nursing school that I applied to. That was the worst thing in the world (having to decline my NECP seat). One school had me calculated at a 3.66 GPA (they didn't accept a lot of my classes) and the other had me at a 3.70. In both cases, it wasn't a high enough GPA (the cutoffs were 3.74 and 3.77). I have taken more classes since and have brought my GPA to a 3.74 currently (still have two classes to finish up, but they aren't NECP prereq's); if I get an A in both (which I think I will), it will only bring me to a 3.76 (I have 86 credits currently so each A only brings up my GPA 1/100 of a point but a B can drop me 1/10 of a point). I have been accepted to Univ. of Missouri, St. Louis already and have applied to five other schools: Univ of South Florida, Univ of Central Florida, Univ of FL, Florida State U, and Univ of Maryland. I don't want to end up in the same boat that I was in last year with an NECP seat and no school so I decided to apply to a few schools.

Anyhoo, hopefully there are some more 2011 NECP hopefuls here. Last year it was really nice to have others to talk to who were in the same boat. :)

[briannamurph]

Also did you have to pick a college within the state where you were currently stationed while applying or does it not matter?

[kynchanted]

Hi! :) As for tips on the whole process, the most important thing (as far as nursing school goes) is getting into a nursing program. Sounds obvious, but if you get selected for NECP but are waitlisted at a school or end up with no school to go to, you can't do NECP (that happened to me in 2010 the first time I applied). My advice to prevent that is apply to multiple schools (my experience is that you are more likely to be accepted to schools that require more for their application process (e.g. taking the TEAS, letters of recommendation, resumes) because they look more at the whole person, unless you have a really high GPA that you can get into school alone on (I was waitlisted at schools that look simply at GPA with a 3.70). Which brings me to my other tip: get your GPA as high as possible. For NECP it won't matter as much but it does for school applications. To clarify, GPA is important for NECP, but I have seen people get accepted to the program with GPAs from the low 3's to a 4.0.

As for the NECP application, let your leadership know you are interested in applying and get the word out there. I would tell anyone who would listen what my plan was so they could put in a word for me wherever/whenever it came up. When it comes to writing your letter of recommendation I prefer to write my own and then route it up the chain for editing as those signing off on it see fit. My leadership really appreciated that, and who else is better to be your cheerleader and know all of your accomplishments than yourself?

I really can't think of any other tips besides the obvious (good EPRs, pass PT tests, etc.), and every applicant has a different experience with the program; these are just my experiences. We also have a Facebook group if you are on FB...look for USAF NECP. There are NECPers from 2010, 2011, 2012 and hopefuls for next year. There is a TON of info on the site (actually this site gave birth to that one, LOL, so I don't think hardly anyone ever comes to this page anymore).

As for colleges, you can apply anywhere that is under $15K year in any state as long as the school has an AF ROTC Detachment or a cross-town agreement with a school that has one. School also has to be AACN/CCNE accredited. Check out this page if you haven't before U.S. Air Force ROTC - College Scholarships and Careers - College Locator - College Locator to see which schools fit this. Most schools will give in-state tuition to you if you are AD mil stationed there (private schools don't have to I don't think, though). You don't have to apply where you currently live, but if you are mil to mil you are taking a chance of being separated from your spouse while in school if you choose to PCS to another location (that's the situation I am in right now - hubby is in LA and I am in MD).

Let me know if I confused you at all or if you have any other questions and if you have FB I would definitely check out our page! :)

[jbalcnyc26]

Hi,

I really appreciate what your doing here, reaching out to other airman that are interested in the NECP. I'm currently a 4N03 A1C. I am currently my first duty station which is Keesler, MS and 20 years old. I'm currently working on my CDCs and really want to commission. I currently hold an AA in general studies and would like to become a nurse. I'very interested and want to learn more about this program, I have read a couple of posts here and asked questions but was wondering if there was a checklist of something or a paper document that I can reach to guide me along the process prior to enrolling and how to search for universities. My hometown is raleigh, nc. The university I went was NCSU and Wake tech community college. Would I have to apply to universities near Keesler? Or near my hometown Raleigh , NC? would I have to move out of the dorms if I get accepted to the NECP since I would be getting paid as an E-5? Feel free to reply here or my email : [email protected]