Question About Air Force Summer 2012 NTP Board

UCAFblue · Dec 3, 2011

Anybody have any ideas?

CVA311 · Jan 27, 2012

Hello Everyone,
So I'm currently nearing the end of my second semester of nursing school with three more semesters to go. I will be graduating in May 2013. I've talked to my local Air Force health professions recruiter and he informed me that the next NTP board will be late summer 2012. I was under the impression that you can apply if you are within 365 days of graduation, but the recruiter told me that I would only be able to submit my packet if the NTP board was in fall 2012 or spring 2013 and that I would not be able to apply for the one in summer 2012. Is he right that I won't be able to apply for the one in summer 2012 even though I will be within 365 days of graduation? Are there any recruiters on here that can clear this up for me? Or maybe an Air Force NTP applicant? Thanks!

I am currently applying for the July 2012 NTP board. I graduated with my BSN spring '11. I haven't heard of applying withing 365 days, but I do know that for very recent grads, the board will not even look at your application until you have passed the NCLEX. They most likely are not letting you apply in '12 because you are not even going to be NCLEX board eligible until spring '13. The nurses who are applying in July '12 will leave for COT as early as Oct '12. That may be an explanation as to why they won't let you apply. I turned in my application in the first week of January '12. I talked to my recruiter today and he said that I am still way ahead of the game. It is best to turn it in as soon as you can to make correction/changes/updates. I hope this helps! If you have any more questions about the process, just let me know. I'm still figuring it out as well :)

UCAFblue · Jan 27, 2012

Thanks for the reply CVA311! I appreciate the fact that you are willing to help me out.:) They actually did end up allowing me to apply - I started on my application in early January, although my recruiter says that people applying for July 2012 really aren't supposed to start the application until March. I've got it all complete except for the request for evaluation forms and the essay. They told me that as long as I'm within 365 days of graduation when the board meets (which I will be), then I'm ok to apply. I haven't heard anything from my recruiter about not being able to apply until you pass the NCLEX, so I'm not sure what to think about that. I would assume he wouldn't be wasting his time with me if I wasn't supposed to be applying...

LN75 · Jan 28, 2012

Hey everybody!So I graduated in Dec 2011 with a BSN and just found out I passed the NCLEX. My plan all along has been to apply for the Air Force NTP after graduation. My recruiter tells me the next board is in July 2012, which looks like the same info many of you are getting. I'm interested in how many applicants will be applying to the July 2012 board, and what their qualifications are...you know...GPA, years of prior service, work experience...stuff like that. I have no idea how much of that really matters...my recruiter tells me that the NTP board members rely heavily upon the Chief Nurse Interview results that are submitted with each applicants package...so who knows. I think I'd just really like to know who I'll potentially be competing with or even better getting selected and going to COT with. :). So I'll start...~BSN 2011. ~Board certified, NCLEX complete. ~Licensed RN in Idaho. ~GPA 3.5 overall (3.7 nursing). ~11 years prior active duty enlisted USAF. ~3 years USAF Reserve during BSN. ~Currently working full time on 11-bed ICU step-down unit. ~36 yrs old, no age/health/whatever waivers. I'd really like to hear from others out there! :)

CVA311 · Feb 2, 2012

LN75, I'm licensed in Idaho as well! :) I work in a 26 bed acute care unit. I graduated with a 3.5 overall GPA (not sure what my nursing GPA was, but it was higher than 3.5). I graduated spring of '11 with my BSN. I'm 22 with no prior military service (my husband is active duty though). My decision to be a nurse and went hand in hand with my decision to be in the AF. I turned in my application the first week of january, and am waiting to get my MEPS date for my physical. I am in the process of getting my recommendation letters out. I asked my recruiter how many people get accepted in NTP, and he said that the number varies from year to year. UCAFblue, I'm glad that everything worked out for you! I started talking to a recruiter last summer, and he said I couldn't apply until July '12. When I called the office in November, he wasn't there anymore, and my new recruiter was giving me a lot better information. :) What do you mean by essay? Is that the CV? I just haven't heard about it.

LN75 · Feb 2, 2012

LN75, I'm licensed in Idaho as well! :) I work in a 26 bed acute care unit. I graduated with a 3.5 overall GPA (not sure what my nursing GPA was, but it was higher than 3.5). I graduated spring of '11 with my BSN. I'm 22 with no prior military service (my husband is active duty though). My decision to be a nurse and went hand in hand with my decision to be in the AF. I turned in my application the first week of january, and am waiting to get my MEPS date for my physical. I am in the process of getting my recommendation letters out. I asked my recruiter how many people get accepted in NTP, and he said that the number varies from year to year. UCAFblue, I'm glad that everything worked out for you! I started talking to a recruiter last summer, and he said I couldn't apply until July '12. When I called the office in November, he wasn't there anymore, and my new recruiter was giving me a lot better information. :) What do you mean by essay? Is that the CV? I just haven't heard about it.

Hey cva311 :)So are you applying to the NTP board? My recruiter has told me that if it's been longer than 12 months since graduation then you apply to a "fully qualified" board instead of NTP. What month did you grad in 2011?

CVA311 · Feb 2, 2012

LN75, I was praying that would be able to apply for the fully qualified board because I became licensed in June '11. The problem was that right after I graduated I moved from Illinois to Idaho and had the hardest time finding a job. The fact that I was a new grad and went to school in Indiana was made finding a job in Idaho more difficult. I didn't start working until November. That's why I have to apply to NTP. I was bummed at first, but realized the two month in NTP will hopefully help me adjust to working in the military better :). I'm just not liking the idea of waiting until almost August to find out if I'm accepted! :) How far are you in the application process? Is your recruiter based out of Utah? Mine is.

LN75 · Feb 3, 2012

LN75, I was praying that would be able to apply for the fully qualified board because I became licensed in June '11. The problem was that right after I graduated I moved from Illinois to Idaho and had the hardest time finding a job. The fact that I was a new grad and went to school in Indiana was made finding a job in Idaho more difficult. I didn't start working until November. That's why I have to apply to NTP. I was bummed at first, but realized the two month in NTP will hopefully help me adjust to working in the military better :). I'm just not liking the idea of waiting until almost August to find out if I'm accepted! :) How far are you in the application process? Is your recruiter based out of Utah? Mine is.

hmmm…ok so it sounds like even if its been more than 12 months since graduation, if you haven't worked as a nurse for those 12 months, you are still eligible for an NTP board instead of a fully qualified board?? man its so frustrating to get differing info from different recruiters. My recruiter is in WA, not UT. She told me she handles all of ID, OR, WA and MT…and i think some in AK maybe?? I'm in Lewiston, up in the north though, so if you're in the south and closer to UT, maybe thats why yours is based there?? I've been in contact with her for almost 2 years now, just slowly chipping away at things. Her office is close to where i drill with the USAFR, so i've been able to meet with her face-to-face a few times to handle paperwork and stuff. I went to MEPS and had the physical in Aug of last year. She has all of my package except for my 1373s. I handed out 7 of them and have all but 1 back. My recruiter says she'll go through them all and choose the best to include in the package, cuz i think you can only include 3. Have you had your Chief Nurse Interview yet? Thats the last big thing really for me…i think :) I'm kinda nervous for it…my recruiter says she doesn't get to see the results of what the interviewers write, and that the NTP board members heavily rely upon the results of that interview…so i think its safe to say its important that we try our best to make a good impression there!

UCAFblue · Feb 3, 2012

UCAFblue, I'm glad that everything worked out for you! I started talking to a recruiter last summer, and he said I couldn't apply until July '12. When I called the office in November, he wasn't there anymore, and my new recruiter was giving me a lot better information. :) What do you mean by essay? Is that the CV? I just haven't heard about it.

My experience was similar - I had been talking to a recruiter back in the summer of 2011 as well and he was the one telling me I wouldn't be able to apply, and then in December/January a new recruiter replaced him and he has been a lot more helpful than the other one. I agree with LN75 that it is frustrating to hear differing info from all of the recruiters. I guess in the end you just have to trust your recruiter and not pay too much attention to what other recruiters are saying. The essay I'm talking about is just the nine questions. My recruiter always refers to it as an essay, so I always seem to call it that. What does CV stand for?

CVA311 · Feb 4, 2012

LN75, I live just south of Boise, so I guess that's why my recruiter is in Utah. With NTP it doesn't matter when you became a RN, but if you have the year of experience. I guess having to go to NTP won't hurt, though :). UCAFblue, CV stands for Curriculum Vitae. It is like a resume filled with your experience and personal nursing goals. Do either of you know how many years you are thinking of committing? I'm not quite sure if I want to do 3 years or 6. I have been reading anything I can find about COT online, and it is making me really excited to go! It is also making me more nervous about getting selected in July! :)

LN75 · Feb 4, 2012

LN75, I live just south of Boise, so I guess that's why my recruiter is in Utah. With NTP it doesn't matter when you became a RN, but if you have the year of experience. I guess having to go to NTP won't hurt, though :). UCAFblue, CV stands for Curriculum Vitae. It is like a resume filled with your experience and personal nursing goals. Do either of you know how many years you are thinking of committing? I'm not quite sure if I want to do 3 years or 6. I have been reading anything I can find about COT online, and it is making me really excited to go! It is also making me more nervous about getting selected in July! :)

cva111 you sound like you've got a pretty good handle on things, and you're well prepared for the board this summer…it sounds to me like you have a pretty good shot! sure wish i knew how many applicants will be applying! thats the only thing that really makes me nervous :)

I think COT will be pretty intense, but fun. I've read lots about it online too, and i have several friends who were enlisted and have since been commissioned…they tell me to treat COT like BMT. theres a physical and mental breaking point that we all need to experience before we can know what we can handle. BMT, OTS, COT…i believe that they're all designed around that objective…trying to get the new recruits to reach that breaking point, or come close too it, so that our true resolve and character can be evaluated. the AF has got to know that as future leaders (whether enlisted or commissioned) we will have what it takes to get the job done.

as far as how long to commit for, i think i'm going to go for the shorter options this time around and manage my career in shorter stints. when i was enlisted, i signed up for the 6-year option right away in BMT so that i could get a few thousand extra dollars and some rank when leaving, but in the long run that turned out not to be in my favor. the guys who only signed for 4 years became eligible for reenlistment 2 years before i did, and the subsequent reenlistment bonus that came with it. then by the time it was my time to reenlist, my career field had dropped the bonus. truthfully, it probably could have gone either way, but i think i prefer to do it in shorter chunks this time, because i think it gives you more options. :)