<p>After seeing the class of 2011 profile, I observed that 20 students were from the Nuclear Power School. My Calculus teacher was a previous Nuclear Power School Instructor and I've kind of been looking at this route as a back up plan to the Academy. Considering that the Nuclear Power School has a very rigorous program, how hard would it be to get in to the Academy having complete the Nuclear School? </p>
<p>It would be great if anyone has some personal information to give about the Nuclear Power School.</p>
<p>Also, does anyone know any information about the timeline going from signing the papers, to basic, "A" School, that would end in going to the Nuclear Power School?</p>
<p>Boot Camp is 8 or so weeks, 'A' school is 4-6 months, depending upon rate, NPS is 6 months, and Prototype training is another 6 months. Throw in 3 months or so for travel and waiting pools.</p>
<p>Qualifiying for the Nuclear program is not easy. One must also receive 4.0 evals at every stage.</p>
<p>With that said, it is probably the easiest way to get into the Academy. Also, by far the route with the greatest risk. If something happens, beyond your control, and you are not selected for USNA, would you be happy spending 4years in the engine room of an aircraft carrier, foregoing your college career?</p>
<p>USNA69 summed it up very well, please take his closing comments seriously. I don’t know if you have reached the point of speaking to a recruiting office or not, either way the only advice I want to add is please take the input you receive from your recruiter with some strong skepticism when it comes to their description of a career path being a slam dunk. You may indeed end up at the academy and you may just as well end up in the fleet as USNA69 pointed out.
My son contacted our local recruiting office about NROTC (which I hope you take a look at as well in the area of back up plans if you haven’t already) and they immediately dispatched someone that worked very hard at trying to get my son into the Nuke program based on his expressed interest in engineering, test scores etc. They came out to talk to him, returned again with forms for him to sign, all filled out and ready to go. He even went so far as to suggest signing up immediately would look good on his Academy application from a demonstration of commitment perspective. At that point I dropped the hammer on the guy, my son wasn’t buying the full court press but I just thought it was too much. I don’t know anything about your situation beyond your question; I hope you have some people around you to bounce some of this off of. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Nuke path and the associated risk so long as you understand what you are getting into. Until you fully understand what is involved don’t put your name down on any forms. If you feel pressured or rushed, stand down and walk away. Gather as much information as you can and then sit down with parents, teachers, coaches; any mentors you feel can help you make this very important decision. </p>
<p>Believe me, I'm definitely aware of the risks of contacting a recruiter and I would not contact one unless I had already made my decision. </p>
<p>I'm going to talk to my Calculus teacher who used to be a Nuclear Power School Instructor and he'll definitely tell me what to expect and give me some advise. I just wanted to get as much information as I can on here.</p>
<p>I'll definitely have to do some soul searching with USNA69's question in my mind if I don't get into an Academy this year.</p>
<p>Dangerous plan. If you are contmeplating a career move, why would you not talk to the experts prior to making the decision? rjrzoom57 gave you what should be considered valuable advice on how to handle the very few overly aggressive ones out there. Use them for what they are supposed to be doing, evaluating, giving advice and placing young men and women who want to serve our country. Also, how would you take the ASVAB and the Nuclear test battery without seeing a recruiter?</p>
<p>I believe that most of the actions of all recruiters are quite aggressive. I don't want to be called even once a month to be let aware of the "great offers" the Navy has for enlisting. I'm not a person who needs to be convinced, but rather someone who needs to convince themself. </p>
<p>Recruiters have one goal: to sign people up. Their opinion is not entirely unbiased. I'd rather talk to people I know who have been in the Navy to get advice. To put it frankly, there is no way in hell I'm contacting a recruiter until I am dead certain that I will not get into an Academy and my distaste for civilian college becomes extreme.</p>
<p>I'm not sure you that don't have an unfounded biased view against recruiters but what you just said makes a lot more sense than the previous post.</p>
<p>I'm not even 18 and I've had Marines Recruiters call me for the past few months. I respect recruiters and I would like to contact one, but I really just don't want all the baggage that can come with it. </p>
<p>I thought we were talking about Navy recruiters. Marines is a different story. Navy is meeting their quotas now and are actually turning qualifed people away. Not so for the Marines.</p>
<p>I was just trying to explain my relative distaste for recruiters. If and when the time comes (I'm hoping it doesn't, I'd rather just go to USNA) I will definitely sit down with a recruiter.</p>
<p>And once you graduate from the Academy and become a Div O, the harder these guys work, the easier your job will be. You will learn to appreciate them.</p>