Aspiring to become a Naval officer question

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello I am a rising senior in high school and I am extremely interested in pursuing a career in the United States Navy. I want to serve and give back my country which has not given only me so much but which has given my mother and father a new life. Besides serving my country I want to achieve my dream of becoming a commander of a vessel in the Navy, I know this may seem like a fantasy to some but I am ready to give it my all. I know my goal but what I am looking for is how to reach it. I know that I am going to be joining the NROTC program in college I am not sure what I am going to do after, I understand that I have to serve 4 years after college but I was wondering about graduate school. My question is do you have to attend graduate school such as the Naval War College to become a commander or will a Bachelor’s degree after 4 years in college be ok? Also is there a specific major or a preferred major to take in college to become a commander or is it not even important at all? </p>

<p>Thank you very much! And I’m sorry if its in the wrong section of the form</p>

2

<p>[Naval</a> Reserve Officers Training Corps Home Page](<a href=“Naval Education and Training Command - NETC”>http://www.nrotc.navy.mil/) </p>

<p>Do some research on Navy ROTC. You can’t just go and sign up. NROTC scholarships are very competitive to get. Most of the scholarships go to students majoring in engineering or some other hard science. The active duty requirement for NROTC grads. is now five years. Don’t worry about grad. school. There are many other bridges to cross before you need to think about that.</p>

3

<p>If you want to do ROTC, do apply for the scholarship. You can start the process soon.</p>

<p>Career officers often complete master’s degrees along the way. My husband finished his master’s at about year 14 of his service. The War College is usually completed after having a command and falls at around year 20.</p>

4

<p>I know nothing about the Navy or the NROTC. However, I do know that the fastest way to get from point A to point B is a straight line. Why not try for the Naval Academy straightaway out of High School? Seems like a great way to get a fast start in your chosen career. I may not know what I am talking about, but it seems logical that if you want to be an officer and eventually a commander why not get right to it?</p>

5

<p>[United</a> States Naval Academy](<a href=“http://www.usna.edu/homepage.php]United”>http://www.usna.edu/homepage.php)</p>

6

<p>Not everyone wants to attend an academy, but that is an option.</p>

7

<p>NROTC and USNA graduates are commissioned at the same rank…Ensign.</p>

8

<ol>
<li><p>This is a complicated question, but the short answer is that in order to rise above an O-4 you pretty much need a graduate degree. The Navy will pay for and it won’t have to be at the Naval War College. Most likely the Naval Postgraduate School (<a href=“http://www.nps.edu/[/url]”>http://www.nps.edu/&lt;/a&gt;) There are other options as well. The Navy really wants their officers have a graduate degree and as long as you are on the promotion path they make it happen.</p></li>
<li><p>Major does not matter at all when it comes to promotion. Major in what interests you. Your college grades help determine your competitiveness during the Service Selection process your Sr year in college. For instance, if you want to fly you are much better off with a 3.5 in Political Science than a 2.5 in Engineering. You are much more likely to get better grades in a major that interests. Regardless of your major you will be required to take a full year of Calculus and a full year of Calculus based Physics. Do well in these and you can even go Nuke with an English degree. Don’t get at least a C in these and you will be dropped from NROTC. A lot more than grades goes into Service Selection but that is another subject. Just remember - joining NROTC means you agree to be a Navy officer. What you end up doing (Aviator, SWO, sub, nuke, etc) is up to the needs of the Navy ultimately. Your preference is considered but by no means guaranteed.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Where your college major DOES matter is for getting the NROTC 4-year scholarship itself. Majors are broken into 3 tiers. Info here: <a href=“Naval Education and Training Command - NETC”>Naval Education and Training Command - NETC; Basically 85% of the scholarships have to go to Tier 1 and Tier 2 majors. If you want to do a Tier 3 major (ex: Political Science) your application has to be almost perfect to be selected. But I’ll say it again - DON’T choose a Tier 1 or Tier 2 major if it does not interest you just to get the scholarship. You’ll not do well. I’ve seen it time and time again. And no, you can’t say you are doing a Tier 1 or Tier 2 major on the app and then change to Tier 3 once you get to school. You’ll lose the scholarship.</p>

<ol>
<li>As a SWO you are absolutely able to become a Commander. The same goes for Aviator, Sub, Nuke, etc. It is up to your performance and the needs of the Navy.</li>
</ol>

<p>If you have other questions I’ll be happy to do my best to help. What is your background, test scores, grades, leadership, sports, etc? Get that application in by 9/1/12 to have the best chance!</p>

9

<p>

</p>

<p>In case the OP does not know, O-4 in the US Navy is Lieutenant Commander.</p>

<p>[The</a> U.S. Navy](<a href=“http://www.navy.mil/navydata/nav_legacy.asp?id=266]The”>http://www.navy.mil/navydata/nav_legacy.asp?id=266)</p>