mosteam3985

Just a question pertaining to the Guard and UPT opportunities here.

I was wondering how stringent the military is on your college grades? I'm talking about GPA, test scores, etc. And non flying only stuff.

I got my private in high school and passed well with a 90 on the written. Now I'm working on instrument and studying my butt off. I'm a little concerned about my non-flight related history at school however.....Before I turned my life around about a year ago I had royally screwed up college. I went to MSU and completely flunked out of the school because I was too busy worried about working all the time and making enough to survive/fly. This resulted in me flunking out of the college and of course the flight program that I'd never gotten the chance to even experience.

I then spent a year and a half only working and didn't do the college thing or fly at all. In the fall of 2011 I moved to Texas and attended a community college and decided it was time to get down to business. I have a 3.0 GPA now (not great I know but working 60+ hours a week and 5 classes a semester is really a challenge sometimes). I am just a mediocre student at best and will probably graduate with around a 3.0 ish GPA in a couple years. I'm studying business now instead of pro-aviation.

I guess my concern is, will the Guard turn me down for consideration because of my two awful years at MSU and then a mediocre at best college career now? I had an professor at MSU once tell me that all my future flying employers would be studying my GPA and all my test scores to determine my eligibility to be employed, therefore, not to screw it up. Well, I did. I can't help but wonder now that I look back on it if I haven't screwed myself out of a career in the military or at least the guard (which is what I'd really like to do now).

BTW that professor was an E4-B commander. I took him pretty seriously when he told me that stuff.

Sorry for the long post. So am I SOL or what?

Molon Labe

Since you have showed improvement since the MSU problem the military will in all likelihood be fine with your situation.....Airlines care about the possession of a degree if they looked at grades they wouldn't have taken me.

threeighteen

FedEx right now requires college and highschool transcripts, most airlines don't.\

Most guard units are pretty understanding as long as you show that you were working full time at the same time. Right now, holding a 3.0 GPA and working as much as you say you are, they'll probably look well upon that, since it shows you can balance school and work.

Not everyone gets the balance right on the first try, I certainly didn't.

xjtguy

Supply and demand.............

Take a look at the FedEx app, as well as the rather "informal" filters that have been set in place by the HR department.

They most certainly do care about G.P.A.

Of course, there's a whole slew of other factors that go into it. But the G.P.A. is definitely part of the overall scoring system.

blastoff

It may be overlooked provided you score over 85 on the AFOQT and have a PCSM score over 96. (Just ballparking competitive test score numbers).

Once you've been through UPT, airlines are aware of the academic demands and standards of UPT, and will most likely overlook a mediocre academic performance in college.

mosteam3985

Hey thanks guys/gals I appreciate your input. I have a buddy in the Air Guard in DSM and talked to him today. He said he didn't think it'd be an issue as long as I continued to do what I'm doing now. He's only an IT guy though so it's nice to hear it from actual pilots.

Thanks again!

Mo

satpak77

I believe this is part of the "revamped" FedEx HR system, in which an outside Phd expert was hired and he implemented various factors which are allegedly indicative of how fun it is to be TDY with you and whether you can fly an airplane or not.

pony172

It all depends on the unit you are applying to. We like a strong personality and some life experience. GPA is secondary. As long as you can explain what happened and have shown a strong second act since, you should be fine. The main discriminator is whether or not you are a douche bag. IF you are, not even the best GPA or AFOQT will save you.

Sliceback

Know a guy that said he was a screwup until he decided he wanted to become a pilot halfway through college. Recruiter kicked him out of his office - "you're wasting my time."

Gets his act together, gets into the service, now an O-5 or O-6. Said one of the greatest days was walking into the same recruiter's office with his final grades after he'd been accepted to OTS. A mixture of 'in your face' and 'thank you'.

Some learn right away, some learn later, some never learn. You have to be able to tell 'your' story. You've got a story of redemption and growing up. You just have to live it and perform. Those can actually be some of the best candidates/workers. They really realize the value of achievement.

Good luck.

rickair7777

An "break point" on your trend graph followed by seriously improved performance will likely be viewed as a "before and after" kind of thing. Make sure you can articulated when and why you turned yourself around.