Navy Nurse Candidate Program?

College Majors Nursing Major
1

I have been determined to apply for the NCP scholarship in San Diego since the beginning of freshman year, and now that I am about to become a sophomore, I am well aware that the application process should be completed prior to the end of sophomore year. I have already finished a majority of my application, such as the essay, the forms, all I really need at this point are my letters of rec, a medical exam, and the interview. I’ve already met with my recruiter, as well as a few navy nurse mentors, but it doesn’t hurt to ask for more information. I do have a few questions before this year starts, just so I can get a good idea of what could really help boost my chances of getting selected for scholarship.

What is considered a competitive GPA for an applicant? At the moment, I have a 3.22 GPA, not including my summer classes that I have received all A’s in. I’m well aware my GPA isn’t very competitive at the moment, suggesting it is too close to a 3.0.

What ECs are they looking for and what else can I do? I currently attend Point Loma Nazarene University, despite their thorough nursing program, there isn’t very much to do at the school itself. The clubs aren’t very compatible with my schedule, as well as working a part time. I do however, work as a volunteer/intern at the Naval Medical Center of San Diego at the NICU, Surgical Ward, Hematology/Oncology Ward, Internal Medicine Ward, and occasionally the front desk. Lately I’ve been doing work similar to a corpsman, minus the making orders because I do not have a CAC card. Is there any other military medical programs I could possibly look into?

Do they base the scholarship heavily on financial need? At the moment I am struggling to figure out what in particular I can say concerning financial need, and how I manage my finances BECAUSE, I am currently on GI bill/Yellow Ribbon, and a few outside scholarships. Should I talk about how I can possibly manage my finances responsibly in the future?

Is the interview really considered the “most important”? I’ve heard the interview is what can really wow the recruiters. What questions should I be preparing for?

What nurse specialty are they really looking for most? I know I should base my nursing speciality off of my talents and compassion, but at the moment my only real compassion is to be a navy nurse and to do whatever it is they give me. I’m not scared of deploying, I’ve actually been waiting to do so since I was three and the Mercy always wow-ed me.

PFT? Is this part of the selection process? Or does this only happen post graduation at ODS?

LASTLY, what other options can I apply for prior to graduation to become a navy nurse, honestly money isn’t really my motivator here. Actually it really isn’t at all, I just want to be a navy nurse and it’s been pulling at my heart strings since the beginning of my pre-nursing program.

Any kind of information helps, thank you very much.

2

As an alternative, I assume a RN can still become a navy nurse after graduation. You need to go to Officer Candidate School for a couple months. I assume they offer some loan forgiveness. ,

3

What exactly is “alternative”. There are a few students at PLNU that have that scholarship, no one has really given me enough information about it though.

4

I don’t have any recent knowledge. My sister became a RN and then joined the Navy. She had to attend Officer Candidate School, and then was commissioned. That may be a good alternative if you cannot obtain a scholarship during college. An advantage is that you would not have to spend time doing training and taking military classes during your college years, but could concentrate on your studies and/or do a part-time job in a hospital (which can be very educational in itself).

My understanding is that the various military services offer varying amounts of college aid (including grad school tuition and forgiveness of undergrad federal loans). However, some of those college benefits vary by how much that service needs nurses and other specialties. If the Air Force for instance finds they are having a shortage of nurses this year, they have some flexibility to increase benefits for them. Potentially, the loan forgiveness might be as advantageous as a partial scholarship or stipend during college, but you would need to find out much more info.

I don’t believe the feds or the military provide any forgiveness for college loans that were not issued by the federal government, so beware of private loans.

My son is a federal employee (not in nursing and not in the military) and he is supposed to receive some federal loan forgiveness. However, the college benefits vary greatly from federal agency to federal agency. I mention that because there might be some loan forgiveness if you would work for the VA or the CDC or another federal agency as a nurse.

5

This was all helpful information, loan wise, I’m not too concerned about because I’m not paying for anything. I’m on 100% scholarship, which is precisely why I wanted to ask what I should be telling my NCP interviewers concerning my “financial responsibility”. I don’t really know what they’d want to hear from me, so should I just describe to them how I plan on managing my finances in the future? I intern at a naval hospital right now, unpaid. I have an allowance from the government for going to school, so job wise, my parents have advised against for now. The reason I am hoping to get NCP is because I do not want to wait for experience prior to commissioning. ODS on the other hand, is an option I looked into, I just wanted to immerse myself during my college years in a military lifestyle. However, this is only available through ROTC and Naval Academy. NCP requires no active actions till post graduation.

6

I’m currently applying for the NCP scholarship and I almost have my packet done. It’s extreamly competitive. I have a 3.95 GPA and my recruiter has still warned me that many people who apply for this have close to 4.0s as well and gpa alone isn’t enough. They don’t base anything off of financial aid. I’ve already done my interviews and I’ve never been asked anything about my finances or how I pay for school. The interviews are important. They want you to have a good reason for wanting to join and they want to know that you’ll go on to get a masters of doctorates in nursing. You’ll also submit a resume. ECs are fairly important as they make a resume look more impressive and is helpful in the interview. Overall, grades and the personal statement are the most important things the board looks at. ROTC is also a good option if you’ve ever looked into it. I did ROTC for a year before I heard about the NCP and I loved it. Best of Luke in your endevours.