mgntanner

Michael, if enlisting is what you want to do then there is nothing wrong with it. You may enjoy an MOS close to healthcare like a corpsman if enlisted(just throwing it out there). Though I'll give you one more option if you REALLY want to become a nurse in the military faster. Many community colleges have ADN programs(it's just a matter of searching). This will drastically cut the cost of nursing school. That way you can either save you money while at community college and do an ADN-BSN program or work as an ADN for a couple years, then do an ADN-BSN, then direct commission. Just another suggestion. Hopefully things work out. More advice if you plan to enlist: Be careful listening to the recruiter. They love sweet talking people into an MOS they don't like.

You can choose any accredited university, I believed you are confused about how the money works though. 34k? No, when you sign on you get a 5,000 bonus and 1,000(both taxable)( stipend a month for every month you are in college until you graduate(you must be within 24 months of graduating when accepted). It is a VERY competitive program. 2.7 is very bad I'm sorry to say. You need a 3.0 just to apply and you have no real shot unless you have a 3.5+. Volunteer and extracurricular are good to have but you can get in without them. Even if you don't get the NCP I wouldn't enlist if I were you. You are one of those people who are doing the Navy thing for the money(completely understandable of course) so enlisted life would be true hell for you. You can try to commission after college or try for ROTC. @DSchulte: When were you accepted into the NCP? Just out of curiosity and what were you recommendations like(that is my only problem for I don't know many health professionals and I know zero people in the military that I am not related to)?

Yeah unfortunately its not 50/50. There are 1100 points total combined. 275 of those come from lab. I needed a 165 to pass. I had an A in lecture and there only a few grades in lab given out. Unfortunately one lab practical did not go so well and that set me back. I'm not sure there is a point in talking to my professor about it. He pretty strict and made it clear he won't bump grades. I'm not sure if the cost of retaking it or the affect of my GPA is a bigger problem. I'm going to talk to my potential transfer schools and see what the deal is. Worst case scenario it will bring me to a 3.7 and I'm out another 700$. I get there are rules in college but it would make more sense to average the lecture and lab grades out. Thanks to everyone who responded!

Thanks! At least it won't hurt my GPA.

So I had an A in lecture but you must keep a C average in lab or you fail the whole course. I was 2 points from the C in lab which would have meant an A in the whole course but since I'm off by 2 points I have an F in the whole course. I plan to retake it over summer and am wondering if the F will go into my GPA when I transfer or will it be replaced by the new grade? Will the new school even see that I failed it the first time? I'm freaking out right now!

Haha! When I quoted her question, I saw your username and must have wrote it by mistake Sorry.

ODS and ROTC are two different things. ROTC is where you are in college and the military pays some or all of your schooling and upon graduation you serve time in the military. ODS: You have been accepted into the Navy. This is after graduation and this is about a 5 week training. ODS is like a watered down version of basic training(aka boot camp) for jobs like healthcare and lawyers. OBLC in the Army is like ODS. ODS is not offered at colleges because it is the training you recieve right before you go to your duty station. ROTC is offered at many colleges but require you take extra classes and participate in ROTC activities(look for it on any college website and it will explain what ROTC is). Like I said before there is no "easy" way to get in the Nurse Corps. Takes hard work. Try one of the college routes because those are your best bet. The benefits you recieve for the hard work will be worth it.

Hello DSchulte, This is what I recommend you do if you want to be in the Navy Nurse Corps. 1)Start college and complete your pre-requisites to nursing school(these are the classes required to be accepted into nursing school like math, english, anatomy/physiology etc). If you don't have a lot of money I would recommend community college to save money. 2)Once you are accepted into a BSN program then talk to a recruiter and talk about applying to either the Army Nurse Candidate Program or the Navy Nurse Candidate program. I'm not sure if the Air Force has one. Either of these will pay for nursing school up to 24 months(must be within 24 months til graduation). Both you get 10,000 dollar bonus(Navy you get 5k about the time you sign on and then other 5k 6months later. Army you get 5k about the time you sign on and then other 5k at graudation if memory serves me correctly). On top of the 10k bonus you will get a 1000$/month taxable stipend while in school. You can use it on anything. Alcohol, partying, clothes. I'd recommend using it on your schooling/living expenses. You must keep up a 3.0 GPA while in the Nurse Candidate Program. If it falls below 3.0 you will be dropped from the program and will likely have to serve in the military as enlisted(don't freak, just study). Upon graduation you will be have a job as a military nurse. It is a competitive program. A 3.5 is considered competitive. Aim for 3.7 I would not recommend joining the reserves to pay for schooling with the hopes of transferring to active upon grauation. You don't get much money in the reserves and switching to active would not be as easy as it once was. I would certianly, never, ever recommend waiting until after college graudation to talk to a recruiter or try to commission. Once you graduate you are competing against other people who have YEARS of experience and will likely be passed up. Aim for one of the Nurse Candidate programs. Training for nurses/healthcare in Navy is called ODS, in Army it is called OBLC. Easy and short compared to OCS or Basic training. Neither you chop your off, you will do a sock bun. Nursing is competitive in the military, there is no easy route but as hard as it seems getting accepted while in nursing school is your best bet.