I to am an all civilian flight time vet. The way it was explained to me by a SW recruiter is this..... You need X amount of points to get pulled for the interview. A third party company does the "pulling" so it is all points and nothing else. You get points for being a NATOPS O, STANS O, etc,,,, and points for having the type. If you can't check the other boxes then you need to at least get the type so you can check that box. You have to do whatever you can to get X score which triggers the call for interview.

I have been looking at CPT Crew Pilot Training $8500 out the door and their CA location has free housing. Hope this helps.