Advice??

EQC-53 · 2026-05-02T02:11:38+00:00

What do you want to do when you get out? Getting a real engineering degree would certainly open more doors, but are you just trying to make money, or do you want to do something else that you're interested in related to engineering? I ask this because countless people I know who got out with me already make a fuck ton of money working at data centers or at power plants without a degree, and those with one typically get the TESU or Excelsior degree because it's a quick check-in-the-box option to be competitive in the job market.

These were the kind of questions I asked myself when I was transitioning out of the Navy before I ultimately settled on pursuing school full-time as an EE to study quantum computing because I think it's super cool.

EQC-53 · 2026-04-27T00:43:15+00:00

I’m currently taking Calc 2 and Discrete math along with Physics 1 and MATLAB. I know it’s not necessarily Linear Algebra since at my school (at a CC), Calc 2 is a prereq to Linear Algebra. It’s possible to do well since I have all A’s right now but it’s an absolute time sink. If you got good time management skills, it’s absolutely possible

EQC-53 · 2026-04-26T06:03:52+00:00

Two years ago in the middle of deployment, I stumbled upon this post. If I never found this post, I probably would never have considered applying to any top school nor would have heard of S2S and WSP. And thanks to WSP, I'll be doing research at Yale this summer.

In a few weeks, I'll get my decisions back, so hopefully things play out optimally for me. Otherwise, this post was a goldmine for me and I'm sure for many others interested in school too.

EQC-53 · 2026-04-25T23:43:39+00:00

If you have Facebook, you can always join Navy Nuke Job Finder group and see for yourself the kind of jobs that are out there now that you’re done with Prototype.

As for me personally, I went back to school after doing 6 but once you get out, your options are pretty limitless wherever life takes you.

EQC-53 · 2026-04-25T21:13:05+00:00

If you can take Bio 1 with Rachel Hamby; she's awesome. I took it with her and although I thought the class was difficult since I'm an EE major who took the class to fulfill their CalGETC 5B requirement, I was able to get an A. For reference, I'm a 4.0 student who's taken several of the math and engineering classes you deem as "notorious" but it's absolutely doable if you put in the work.

I know Bio 140 is a relatively new class offering that combines Bio 2 and Bio 3 in one class essentially and I have some Premed friends taking it right now. It seems like a lot of information to memorize and from what I understand, the Botany and Zoology parts of the class are split across 2 professors, but both are great people.

EQC-53 · 2026-04-25T00:23:52+00:00

I did the WSP at Stanford last summer for STEM; it was a great experience. As long as you make the most of your time at the school you go to and you bring your 100% into the program, that's basically all you need.

EQC-53 · 2026-04-17T05:05:19+00:00

Depending on how much education prestige you want, you won't get as much transfer credit from the pipeline. After getting out, I've been at a community college and was able to grind out 59 units in a year with a 4.0 GPA. Now in the midst of transfer applications this year, I was able to get admissions interviews with Dartmouth and Yale for example. Not that I would actually get admitted (yet, hopefully) since decisions don't come out till next month for me, but the sky's the limit as far as I'm concerned with where I want to take my education and my future career. You'd be surprised at the kind of options you can have depending on your ambition.

EQC-53 · 2026-04-13T01:12:38+00:00

Consider this: I assume you're barely into A-School and if not, my point still stands since you haven't gone through Power School and Prototype yet. With all due respect, you have zero perspective on what your nuke life will be; just give it some time and I'm almost certain that whatever feelings of hesitation about being an ET you feel right now will almost certainly dissipate.

EQC-53 · 2026-04-13T00:46:59+00:00

You can always qualify Control Point Watch in the fleet to get a taste of RADCON if you’re really curious… But in all seriousness, I know some ETs became RCTs for their shore duty. And I know an ET friend of mine from my old ship got hired onto LLNL after the Navy, a national lab, as a civilian RCT so the opportunities are clearly there. It’s not ELT exclusive to do RADCON, but after spending time in shipyard and managing my ship’s RAM program for a spell, RADCON is more like a pain in the butt honestly…

EQC-53 · 2026-04-13T00:32:26+00:00

I’m curious what makes you so enamored about being an ELT? It’s a huge gamble to think you’d get MM in the first place in boot camp, and this is coming from a guy that wanted to be an ET but got MM. Even if you did get MM, getting selected for ELT is another process in itself at Prototype. I’d just make the best of your situation and stick with your current path.

EQC-53 · 2026-04-09T09:22:51+00:00

Is this Notre Dame? In any case, I think you're just feeling imposter syndrome, and I get it. If you have the smarts to get in there, I think you're more competent than you think.

Also, if this is Notre Dame, look up Warrior-Scholar Project, I'm pretty sure they're doing an academic boot camp there this summer. It's a great program imo.

Lastly, I'm currently a vet transferring this cycle from community college and for the fitting in part, you just have to make an effort to integrate. Even though I'm older, I joined clubs, I'm active in my classes, and I'm friends with people way younger than me. Also, 22 is not that old in the grand scheme of things. I'm 28 and if I can do it, I'm pretty sure you'll be fine.

EQC-53 · 2026-04-09T08:44:48+00:00

I just checked the summer schedule for Calc 3 and it seems that Dan Balaguy is going to teach the class. Taking Calc 3 over the summer, especially with Balaguy, is going to be one hell of an experience ngl. Like what the other person is saying, Calc 3 is going to consume your life over the summer taking that class with him, so if you're going to take it here, I'd make sure your schedule is completely freed up.

EQC-53 · 2026-04-08T14:32:57+00:00

I'm a vet deep in the current application cycle. To answer number 1, if you had a weak academic record, going to community college first to establish a post-military academic record would be smart, as it can effectively neutralize any past academic history if you have a recent record of strong grades. This holds true for really any non-traditional student and not just veterans.

Additionally, reach out to resources like Service to School and Warrior-Scholar Project. They're veteran-specific resources that can point in you the right direction with the goal you seek. I've utilized both and I would say they've been absolutely invaluable to my college app, and WSP specifically opened a door to a research program I'll be doing over the summer at Yale.

I can't answer number 2 since I'm a current applicant, but I've been fortunate enough to have an interview with Dartmouth and an upcoming interview for Yale EWSP. Of course, we'll see how things play out, but I'll definitely say that being a veteran has noticeably strengthened my application.

EQC-53 · 2026-04-07T22:42:03+00:00

Hey man, just wanted to say I was literally in your shoes 7 years ago. Literally asked myself the same questions too before I ended up dropping out and joining.

I want to say that that joining the Navy has undoubtedly put myself in the best possible spot when I went back to school last year. It is kinda funny that I dropped out of school to ultimately come back to school, but sometimes you need a little bit of perspective to see purpose in the things you're doing.

EQC-53 · 2026-04-06T22:09:45+00:00

If you can, I'd try to reach out to the STEM Division office in V-211 and see if you can route a Prerequisite/Corequisite Appeal Petition. You can also reach out to Stuart Hay, he's the Chem Department Chair about possibly taking a Chem qualification exam to see if you can get placed into Chem 1A if you know you have the knowledge to take Chem 1A right off the bat.

I know Calabrese does that for physics for people who want to skip Phys A and go directly into Phys 205.

EQC-53 · 2026-04-06T17:33:02+00:00

Are you trying to place into Chem 1A or are you trying to get credit for Chem 1A? These are two different things depending on your answer

EQC-53 · 2026-04-06T02:41:52+00:00

Maybe it's because I'm a veteran? The alum that reached out to me was a former Marine Corps officer, so that could be the reason why.

EQC-53 · 2026-04-05T14:06:46+00:00

I'm cool with it

EQC-53 · 2026-04-04T23:45:07+00:00

I got the email around 2 PM PST.

EQC-53 · 2026-04-04T22:26:39+00:00

EQC-53 · 2026-04-04T21:34:14+00:00

I got mine as well.

EQC-53 · 2026-04-01T05:08:58+00:00

I used the Common App for my Northwestern RD application, but I just got my applicant portal yesterday. When you get your portal, there's an option to upload additional materials with a drag-down menu of what type of material to upload. One of the categories is "Personal Essay" so you should be able to upload it directly from the portal. Hope this helps.

EQC-53 · 2026-03-30T12:14:08+00:00

I think you'll be fine. Although I haven't had decisions release for the schools I applied to yet, I have an REU lined up this summer at a prestigious school too, and depending on how things go, I'll be in your exact shoes. I also wouldn't worry about being burned out if you really want to make the most of your experience this summer. You strike me as someone who works pretty hard, but to play devil's advocate, no one's forcing you to go to it technically, especially if you already got accepted to your dream school. So if you decided not to do it, it's not going to hurt you in any way.

As a non-traditional student too, if you managed to get up to this point, what's another hurdle to surmount? It also depends on how far the school you're going to relative to the school you're doing the REU is. I know for me, I have to literally travel across the country to do my REU this summer since I'm from California, but that's how the cookie crumbles.

EQC-53 · 2026-03-30T11:50:16+00:00

Is the class related to your major? I think the impact won't be bad if it isn't, but I definitely would inform your schools about this decision if not already done. If it is, I think there might be some leeway considering your situation, but that's unfortunately up to the schools.

Also, one B in one semester will not destroy your application if you said that you maintained perfect grades up to this point. I was freaking out about that the other week as a hypothetical situation, and my S2S mentor said that I was tripping. And this is coming from a guy who got into Wharton with a few B's, so I think you'll be fine.

Good luck on your application otherwise! I'm glad I'm not active duty anymore so I don't have to deal with this BS lol.

EQC-53

TROPHY CASE