Regular Officer Training Plan (ROTP)-RMC 2000 - 2018 [Merged]

[canada94]

I will be applying as soon as possible in Sept too. I was too late this year to get my application in, so hopefully this year around! I am going for an engineering degree at RMC, looking to go for Marine Surface and Sub-Surface, Naval Combat Systems Engineering, or Marine Systems Engineering. Right now, I'm just doing several distance ed courses to improve grades, working out (those pushups get me every time!), and volunteering in any spare time I graduated this June, so I'm intending to spend 2011 prepping for selection. I am so glad I found this site, there's SO much info, I don't even know where to start

It really is a massive resource of information, its just completely awesome! I can't wait to apply wooooop.

 

[Chanbomb11]

First off i would like to thank George Wallace, I am now re-taking grade 12 english in my 5th year of high school. My previous grade was a 76%, but clearly this was not good enough, having seen my last post.

I would also like to add that, this website is amazing and has provided so much insight into the CF for me personally. I have also told quite a few friends ,who are also interested in the forces, to check out this website. It has helped them substantially as well as myself.

Thank-you everyone that posts and makes this website possible.

 

[canada94]

First off i would like to thank George Wallace, I am now re-taking grade 12 english in my 5th year of high school. My previous grade was a 76%, but clearly this was not good enough, having seen my last post.

I would also like to add that, this website is amazing and has provided so much insight into the CF for me personally. I have also told quite a few friends ,who are also interested in the forces, to check out this website. It has helped them substantially as well as myself.

Thank-you everyone that posts and makes this website possible.

Highly agree on the mass amount of quality information on this site, as to your english mark I myself usually have english as my lowest mark, I hope to get it to an 85-90 this year but it usually lands on 80%. Just be the best you can be in everything, from work, volunteering, school and even to sports. Everything helps from what many people who have gone through this very same progress on this website have stated.

Just as a directing tool if anyone wants to read examples and get a good understanding of what we will in the application process go through (if you apply that is) read this thread!

- http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/92302.0.html

I know its long, but A LOT of good information is in it. Just trying to help!

- Mike

PS: George is only trying to help, this site sees massive volumes of people asking "am I going to get in" which is not a realistic question. Just write clean and neat so everyone can understand, otherwise reading all of your achievements looks good and makes you what would seem to be a good competitive applicant.

 

[runormal]

i am currently in grade 12 and was unsure about what i wanted to do after school. I finally decided to pursue my childhood dream of the military but it was too late to apply to RMC, so for this reason i will be staying back for a fifth year of high school. will this affect my likeliness of getting accepted? my grades range widely but my top six U courses are all in the 80's. i have played hockey 10 years, football 4, rugby 2 and soccer one. i have voluntarily worked in orphanages in both the Phillipines and Ukraine and this summer and next year i plan on taking French courses. I would like to study history and be an infantry officer.

What are my chances of getting in? what can i do to improve them? and would joining the reserves this summer help my chances?

I will let you know from personal experience that they do not solely care about the average of your top 6 4u courses. They take an average of your high school courses. My highschool average was 73%, I was told the average Highschool Average they accepted was around 80% last year. The average of my top six 4u courses was 86%  :facepalm:. I was declined due to low grade 9 and 10 marks. You can't change the past so work as hard you can this year. Volunteer as much as you can, play sports as much as you can, get involved with music. Best of luck.

P.S I stayed back for a 5th year as well, I can only see it helping, as it brought my MHF4U mark from a 47 to a 81, as well I matured so much in that year. I have a few tips for the 5th year try to take all of your "important classes" 1st semester if possible, as a good amount of your friends that came back for a fifth will quit after 1st semester. Then they constantly harass you to come go partying with them because "it's just highschool and it doesn't matter." As well i really started to sick of highschool near mid may and stopped caring which resulted in my chemistry mark dropping from 83 - 70  :facepalm: .

 

[canada94]

I will let you know from personal experience that they do not solely care about the average of your top 6 4u courses. They take an average of your high school courses. My highschool average was 73%, I was told the average Highschool Average they accepted was around 80% last year. The average of my top six 4u courses was 86%  :facepalm:. I was declined due to low grade 9 and 10 marks. You can't change the past so work as hard you can this year. Volunteer as much as you can, play sports as much as you can, get involved with music. Best of luck.

P.S I stayed back for a 5th year as well, I can only see it helping, as it brought my MHF4U mark from a 47 to a 81, as well I matured so much in that year. I have a few tips for the 5th year try to take all of your "important classes" 1st semester if possible, as a good amount of your friends that came back for a fifth will quit after 1st semester. Then they constantly harass you to come go partying with them because "it's just highschool and it doesn't matter." As well i really started to sick of highschool near mid may and stopped caring which resulted in my chemistry mark dropping from 83 - 70  :facepalm: .

Did they give that as the reason you where turned down? Having a 73% high school average?

Also what trades did you apply for? I would like to get a better understanding, as my overall highschool average can't be any higher then a 80ish so this slightly freaks me out; grade 10 was a brutal year for me very bad marks..

Thanks!

 

[runormal]

Yeah that was the reason "Due to low 9-10 marks". However, the RMC rep that came to our school told me he himself had a 72% average and got in the 3rd year he applied for pilot. I applied for MARS, ARTY, Engineer. I suppose my fate may have been different had I of chosen Construction Engineer, or Naval combat engineer. (Since those jobs are still in demand) I was told somewhere between my medical and interview that I had no chance for RMC, but CIVY U was still an option. However the odds of me getting Civy U for engineering which is offered @ RMC I'm sure was pretty slim. That being said I got declined from ROTP the same time everyone got their acceptance letters. I was informed that last year was a very competitive year.

I wouldn't worry about having a 80 HS average. You can't change the past, plus maybe this year will be a weak year . Just beef up your application like I'm doing. I got declined for this year, first thing I did was apply to a reserve unit, played another year of soccer.

This Year I think, I'm going to apply for
MARS
Engineer Officer
ACSO (If my eyes are good enough, have looked into it)

Degrees - I'm not sure. Currently going to start 1st year computer science @ ottawa u.

 

[canada94]

Yeah that was the reason "Due to low 9-10 marks". However, the RMC rep that came to our school told me he himself had a 72% average and got in the 3rd year he applied for pilot. I applied for MARS, ARTY, Engineer. I suppose my fate may have been different had I of chosen Construction Engineer, or Naval combat engineer. (Since those jobs are still in demand) I was told somewhere between my medical and interview that I had no chance for RMC, but CIVY U was still an option. However the odds of me getting Civy U for engineering which is offered @ RMC I'm sure was pretty slim. That being said I got declined from ROTP the same time everyone got their acceptance letters. I was informed that last year was a very competitive year.

I wouldn't worry about having a 80 HS average. You can't change the past, plus maybe this year will be a weak year . Just beef up your application like I'm doing. I got declined for this year, first thing I did was apply to a reserve unit, played another year of soccer.

This Year I think, I'm going to apply for
MARS
Engineer Officer
ACSO (If my eyes are good enough, have looked into it)

Degrees - I'm not sure. Currently going to start 1st year computer science @ ottawa u.

To be honest I am not truly aware of what my overall high school average really is.. my grade 11 was a 91% but I can only imagine my grade 10 marks killed that.. Well we will see what happens, oops. You are applying I should have read more clear.

Good luck with your application!

And I hear yeah.. I just got accepted to a mayor's youth advisory council.. I am playing every sport I have played in the past again this year, and I am coaching lacrosse and hockey.

Keep posted on the progress!

 

[Luke18]

I've been stressing out for the past 3 days on this subject. My story is this, going into highschool (Grade 10 - Alberta) I flunked off quite a bit. Passed some courses and failed others. However, this past year i have gotten everything together. I've just finished English 30-1, Social 30-1 in my grade 11 year and plan on redoing English 30-1 next semester to attain a higher average. I wish to attend prep year at RMC Saint Jean after coming to the conclusion that my horrible marks from grade 10 will most likely halt me from attending RMC Kingston right out of highschool. Im convinced now that I will apply for the trades Infantry, Armour, Intelligence in that order.

I have very good extra curriculars like volunteering for a political party, tutoring history and social studies at my school, lifesaving courses under my belt, being on the Football team, part time job, and volunteering in my community for a couple charities.

And I've already racked up several good sources for references letters.

One more problem is i suck at math, no matter how hard I try.

Are my bad grade 10 marks and bad math marks going to adversely affect my chances for ROTP selection? and If so, how bad?
Im going into grade 12 this year and thus applying for ROTP in October. If i attain a goood average this year (80's) will that give me a good chance of selection?

Thanks for the help! 

 

[Hurricane]

Not sure about alberta, but when I graduated the only marks that appear on our transcript in NB was Grade 11 and 12 Courses. All others were irellevant.

 

[Bowen]

It should be fine. They focus mainly on grade 11 and 12 marks. Those are the marks that reflect how motivated and hard working you are now. Even if your average isn't stellar, make sure you have a well-rounded application. I think my average when I graduated was only in mid 70's. But I had lots of volunteering, leadership, sports and music experience.

 

[Luke18]

Yeah thanks for the reply.

I dont totally understand why some posters on here make such a big deal about Grade 10 marks. However, i do realize this is the military im joining here not a civilian institution, so there obviously is going to be an emphasis on past performance.

Also, I never took french throughout HS. Will that harm my chances at selection.
Remember, Im applying for prep year at RMC Saint Jean.

 

[Azeem]

Yeah thanks for the reply.

I dont totally understand why some posters on here make such a big deal about Grade 10 marks. However, i do realize this is the military im joining here not a civilian institution, so there obviously is going to be an emphasis on past performance.

Also, I never took french throughout HS. Will that harm my chances at selection.
Remember, Im applying for prep year at RMC Saint Jean.

My transcripts shows grade 10, 11, and 12 marks. The CFRC averaged all marks, and used that average for my file. I'm not sure how it works in Alberta but I assume all applicants are under the same standard.

Edit: I have recently found this on forces.ca which corrects me on my previous comment. Academic Performance — an assessment of a candidate’s top six most recent marks related to the requirements of the chosen programme.

As for not taking french in high school it will not necessarily harm your chance but it will not help it either. Ease yourself though because I was selected for ROTP this year and I did not take any french in high school either.

The best advice I can give you is be the best applicant you can be. Get yourself enrolled into some volunteer programs that you are interested in. I don't think you should volunteer in something just so it looks good on your application. For example, if you are interested in hockey, you should maybe volunteer as a coach. My reasoning for this is because during your interview you could be asked why you volunteered for whatever you did, and believe me you do not want your answer to be, "because I heard you need volunteer experience to get better chances at being accepted to ROTP". Try to get some experience in leadership positions aswell.

 

[Luke18]

Thank you Azeem!

I know, i recently seen that on forces.ca as well and had second thoughts on what was being said on here.
So i shouldnt be loseing any sleep over this?

And.. when I apply in October I give out a copy of my high school transcripts and progress reports on my current grades?
and its those grades (grade 12) which matter the most?

 

[Pusser]

Not trying to be a d**k here, but you should concentrate on your writing a bit.  If things are still as they were when I went through the process, you will have to submit an essay, which needs to be written well.  Your posts contain basic errors in grammar, punctuation, syntax and spelling.

 

[Luke18]

I respect the advice Pusser.

 

[Pusser]

I respect the advice Pusser.

I'm glad and not just because it was me who pointed this out (others would have if I hadn't gotten to it first). 

The ability to take criticism and learn from it is a mark of maturity that will serve you well in any situation in any walk of life.  From what I've seen in your posts (writing skills aside), you seem to be a mature young person who recognizes a weakness and is trying to correct it.  Good for you!  The usual response to this type of criticism (you are by no means the first to be thus criticized) is to lash back about how unimportant writing skills are on an internet forum and perhaps in the modern world general.  I can tell you from experience that this assertion is completely untrue.

I wish you the best of luck. 

 

[Luke18]

Anyone else?

 

[GnyHwy]

The usual response to this type of criticism (you are by no means the first to be thus criticized) is to lash back about how unimportant writing skills are on an internet forum and perhaps in the modern world general.  I can tell you from experience that this assertion is completely untrue.

I concur.  Although writing skills are not overly important at lower levels, the ability to express your message in writing is important.  If you believe your message or idea deserves attention, and your message is of great importance, it could be read by important people.  If it is not well written, you will lose the attention and confidence of the readers and ultimately, not convey your message the way you intended.

 

[Chanbomb11]

I will let you know from personal experience that they do not solely care about the average of your top 6 4u courses. They take an average of your high school courses. My highschool average was 73%, I was told the average Highschool Average they accepted was around 80% last year. The average of my top six 4u courses was 86%  :facepalm:. I was declined due to low grade 9 and 10 marks. You can't change the past so work as hard you can this year. Volunteer as much as you can, play sports as much as you can, get involved with music. Best of luck.

P.S I stayed back for a 5th year as well, I can only see it helping, as it brought my MHF4U mark from a 47 to a 81, as well I matured so much in that year. I have a few tips for the 5th year try to take all of your "important classes" 1st semester if possible, as a good amount of your friends that came back for a fifth will quit after 1st semester. Then they constantly harass you to come go partying with them because "it's just highschool and it doesn't matter." As well i really started to sick of highschool near mid may and stopped caring which resulted in my chemistry mark dropping from 83 - 70  :facepalm: .

Thanks for that information Runormal. I have a feeling my grade nine, ten and eleven grades will really hurt my application. Thanks for the advice on grade thirteen as well. I'm taking all of my important courses first semester because I'm undecided on whether or not to stay for a second semester. If i dont go second semester i plan on working and volunteering! Would you reccomend going the full year having done this yourself?

 

[LOLslamball]

I went down to the recruiting office today and dropped off my application my first and only choice is Pilot.

I am starting 2nd year at Simon Fraser University going to major in History or Psychology (and minor in the other), my first three choices were all civy-u but I would accept a place at RMC. 

I'm also in the middle of my PPL, not that it has that big of an effect on applications,  but when I started flying I wasn't sure if I wanted to go CF or not, and thanks to this site, and learning a lot more that is certainly not the case anymore.

Its nice to know what I finally want to do with my life after so many years of wondering.

Here's to waiting.