Navy nursing

Raider 3/1 · Jul 31, 2014

It would hurt to build up you're GPA but in all honestly I have a 3.3 GPA right now with just nursing pre-requisites. I have had a Navy medical health recruiter calling once every two months to find out if im ready to start the NCP application process. I also have no previous degree of any kind.

I don't know if my prior enlisted service has anything to do with that but often times it might just be luck of the draw. You are correct in assuming that the Navy NCP is the only real way to guarantee a commissioned slot as a nurse corps officer RIGHT NOW.

All I can really tell you is work hard with you're courses in school and try to find out if you can apply to the NCP while you are still in school. At the worst, they are going to tell you no; in which case you graduate and get a couple years experience before you try to apply for a direct commission. By the time you graduate, the Navy may be open to direct commission graduates. If the past history of commissioned and enlisted number requirements have shown us, it is that the needs of the military change every 3-5 years. They may be scrambling and desperate for new nurses by the time you graduate.

Are you in an accelerated BSN program and are you within two years of you're BSN graduation date?

My health care recruiter recommends only starting the application for the NCP when you are within you're 2 year graduation date. Also, he tells me that in order to be competitive in the NCP you have to have at least a 3.5 GPA but as noted above, I have a 3.3 GPA right now and he has still been checking in with me regularly.

Sorry, this message seems to be all over the place and im sure someone else will chime in and give you some more info but for right now this is a start. Welcome to the forum by the way.

Don't Tread On Me · Jul 31, 2014

Hi! I was accepted for the NCP and let me start off by saying that the NCP is very competitive. With the military draw down from Afghanistan, branches are now very selective of who gets commissioned as officers and are trying to get people to leave the military. I read on a different post that they accepted no one for direct accession for FY2015; however, I don't know if that is true. If you go for direct accession, all branches to my understanding won't look at you unless you have at least 3 years experience under a specialty. Another way you can commission is through the NROTC Nurse Corps Option Scholarship, which you can find under http://nrotc.navy.mil. If you get denied for that scholarship, you can join a NROTC Battalion under the NROTC College Program that is either hosted at your school or our school is attached to and try to get scholarship while in the program; however, those scholarships are now difficult to get compared to two years ago when pretty much everyone who participated got them. But recruitment will change when there is another conflict.

Don't let what I just explained defer you from applying! Study hard, increase your GPA, and get some individuals inline for letters of recommendations. When I applied, they looked at my pre-req GPA, since I was also starting nursing school at the same time. I had two high school teachers and three college professors write me letters of recommendations and I had a very solid motivational statement, which is also huge.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask! There are many current active duty/reserve navy nurses on here, as well as recruiters that may stop by and drop some information. Welcome to AllNurses!

2014hog · Jul 31, 2014

Very good to know, I appreciate the comment. Good luck with the rest of your application.