Navy Nurse Candidate Program

HawkwardHannah · Aug 10, 2016

Hi!

I'm NCP fy 2018 and since you're about to become a sophomore (on I guess a 4 year track?) you would be presumably fy 2019. You included a lot of questions and I'll try to hit on each one based off of my personal experience with the program.

*Disclaimer: this is only my personal experience with the application process. PLEASE follow the advice of your recruiter on things like deadlines and components of the application*

Its great you applied early, most of the other people in my year that wanted to apply started almost a year later which really cuts into the potential benefits of the program.

Since you have all the nitty gritty little application pieces (motivational statement, tattoo form, "I don't do drugs" form, etc.) out of the way you are off to a pretty good start. I will warn you though, the next part of the application is going to be the part that makes you wonder why on earth you want to go Navy. I'm not saying that its not worth it but even if it goes smoothly it is an excruciating process.

First I'll address the GPA issue. They only had my Freshman year grades when I applied which if I recall correctly was sitting around a 3.3-3.4 GPA. I did great my first semester but then Organic Chemistry kicked my butt and I got a C+. The one good thing about this program is that grades are not nearly as important as other components.

This brings me to letters of recommendation. You should have an employer reference from each job you've worked in the past three years (I had three) and if for some reason you cant get one from an employer then you will have to substitute a character reference. For character references it is recommended that you get them from military/former military especially a military nurse. Both of mine had backgrounds in military medicine and I had known them for many years. I assume your family is military so even if you can't get a Navy nurse then any higher ranking officer would be just as good. The last recommendations are from your teachers. I think I had to give two. I go to a religious affiliated university too (ayyyy) and I thought giving them a recommendation from someone who wasn't nursing would be pretty cool. Since you just got out of Freshman year this might be good advice since you might not have had a lot of actual nursing instructors yet to choose from. I asked my Philosophy professor because I had him both semesters and did well. I also took a risk and decided to revisit that crappy C+ in chemistry and asked that instructor for a reference. Since I had been in her office hours all the time and she liked me, I think that might have helped explain the poor grade. I would suggest this to you if you struggled in a class but may have still made an impression on the teacher.

*fun fact: the recommendation form apparently asks about your level of physical fitness and my boss and also my philosophy professor were concerned because they felt uncomfortable answering that question. No worries though. You never see the form so I told them it was their call how to answer.*

About your extra-curricular involvement I would say you look pretty good. I had a combo of like one sport, one club, and a few academic awards in high school but once I hit college I basically had "school" and "job" because I spent all my free time working (catholic schools are expensive lol). I guess what they're asking is "did you use the time you didn't spend studying wisely" not "did you kill yourself trying to impress us". I think working at San Diego is a huge plus for you. Definitely work that into the interview.

Speaking of the interview... Don't sweat it on this one. Your recruiter will try to set you up with an interview nearby and since you're in San Diego you have a great selection of interviewers. I'm sorta near Bethesda on the East Coast so similar idea I guess. I was set up with two interviewers (you either need two interviews or one interview with two people and I bet its easier to do the latter). Mine were two Navy Commanders and they were really great. I did an ROTC interview in high school and this was a way better experience. They each had a copy of my resume and has highlighted things they wanted to talk about or clarify which was really nice. Since you volunteer at San Diego you might even know someone there who would be willing to conduct the interview. The interview was probably the most painless and fun part of the process for me. As for your question about how important the interview is in the application I am actually not sure. I think the letters of recommendation and interview score both factor heavily. If you're not that great of an interviewer don't freak out. It was fairly informal besides the being dressed nice part and I asked lots of questions about their experiences too. So think of it more as a mentoring conversation.

Next, MEPS. This is the part of the journey that is going to drive you bonkers. Idk how it is over there in CA but on the East Coast it is an absolute crap shoot. I was put into a slot at Fort Meade MEPS and it was awful. I did the usual stint in the weird smelling DoD building getting yelled at by nurses and military personnel and poked and prodded and stripped naked and asked weird personal questions etc. The whole thing. There's lots of pages and stuff that talk about "what to expect at MEPS" and I would recommend you check those out. Its a pretty invasive and sorta degrading process but my advice is to sit tight, say "yes Ma'am/Sir" and be completely honest about your physical and mental health history. This is extremely important because you will be booted for fraudulent enlistment if they find out you lied or withheld information. And as a reminder it actually stinks for you because since you probably were treated in military hospitals they can find and look at your records much more easily. If you take any prescription meds its no problem usually just get a note from your Dr. describing why you take it and if its medically necessary. Bring contacts/glasses if you have them because they do an eye exam. Don't necessarily offer information if they don't ask (no one cares about sprains and stuff like that as long as it doesn't include broken bones, surgery, and/or metal plates and pins). For example, I have mild scoliosis and they didn't ask on any of the forms but the doctor did notice in her exam. I had to come back to MEPS about a week later for an "inspect" where I showed them X-ray results from my back showing that my scoliosis was not significant enough to impact physical performance and my Doctor's note for my prescription stating why it was medically necessary and that it wouldn't inhibit performance in the military. The inspect is a much less stressful trip and a lot of kids have to do it to clear stuff up about their medical history so no worries if they make you come back for trivial stuff. If you need a waiver the turnaround time for one is waaaaaay faster from BUMED (who you'll go through) versus DODMERB (ROTC kids) so thank the lord for that. During MEPS you will spend all day with kids who are trying to get into both Officer and Enlisted programs so be nice and hang out with the kids that aren't whining and complaining because it really does make everything easier.

Other answers:

I do not believe that it focuses on financial need. This is not a needs based scholarship, it is basically a sign on bonus and stipend and you have to commit 4-5 years in repayment. It is not a tuition only scholarship paid directly to your college so its fine to use it with the GI bill/ Yellow Ribbon Program (I use GI/YRP as well at my school)

At this point in time I don't think they're looking at any particular specialties. You will gain those once you are in the field and since you are a student you don't have any yet. I'm not sure how they choose nurses for particular specialties after graduation and its nice to have an idea now but not necessary to your application.

PFT is not a part of the application process. Your first PFT would be an in-PFT and out-PFT at ODS. Best to be physically fit now though anyways.

The only other opportunities I know of for student nurses is Direct Accession after graduation but that is even more competitive and I've heard they really only take nurses with experience and/or specialties or advanced degrees. Other than that and ROTC I don't know of any.

I think I answered all the questions and sorry for the small novel but I hope this helps. All the best!

rnvmei · Aug 10, 2016

It's good to hear advice from someone that has very insular circumstances. Although I do wish I went to a catholic college versus a Nazarene bc they're so liberal and, naturally, Catholics do things way different than other Christians. The transition from catholic school all my life to Christian has been pretty strange.

I do appreciate the mini novel because you answered a lot of my questions.

As for the interview, I will try to request navy nurses I know personally (hopefully it happens), I know my current mentor used her mentor as an interviewer. Interviews are my favorite portion of the applications whether it was ROTC or USNA, I always had fun with those. (although I am still bitter they only offered prep school).

I'm glad they only require an "in and out" PFT during ODS bc training for those took up at lot of my study time although, I probably should've just realized a PFT isn't that important. Grades are.

I just really hope and pray this NCP program works out for me because I really can't wait any longer to join the navy, lol. This whole waiting game and uncertainty is KILLING ME. Once again, thank you for your help! Good luck to you in the future and congratulations for your accomplishments!