Posted on Jan 29, 2019
1LT Ting-Yu C.
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I am working through the second semester of my freshman year in college. ROTC is planning to contract me at the beginning of my sophomore year. What are the best ways for me to earn as many OML points as possible so I can have a better chance of getting first pick on branch and active duty status. What is a realistic number of OML points to aim for?
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Responses: 5
LTC Jason Mackay
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Edited 6 y ago
1LT Ting-Yu C. look in the Command Post article I wrote. It gives you the reference for the OML and what is in there. The ACC document, USACC Circular 601-19-1, is 137 pages. https://www.rallypoint.com/command-post/how-do-i-choose-an-army-branch-a-framework
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1LT Ting-Yu C.
1LT Ting-Yu C.
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Thank you!
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1LT Platoon Leader
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Okay, so you only need 4 hours of an activity for it to count for the year. So look at all the things that go into the Extracurriculars category, so it it in half, and do 4 hours each semester.

Peer mentor - tutor someone. Volunteer- if there's a military cemetery near you, put flags out on Memorial Day or wreaths during the holidays. Get creative.

TBH, your grades are 45% of your OML points so don't shoot yourself in the foot with extracurricular shit. Get good grades and do relatively well at PT and your help rotations and you'll be fine.

Ultimately, I got my first choice with 61 points and an ADSO (military police). I did ZERO extracurriculars but I had a 3.8 GPA and a 270 PT score. So, don't be a dirtbag and you'll be fine.
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COL Jon Thompson
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The OML model changes slightly every year. However, the consistent things are your grades and APFT score. They will take your grades from the end of your junior year so I tell all cadets that academics has to be the number one priority. You can be the greatest cadet in the world but a low GPA will hurt your chances of going active duty. 40% of your OML score is based on those grades. A tip is that once you get your component selection, they will not look at your senior year grades. So you can shift harder classes to your final year. Your APFT score is about 15% of the score. They will look at your final APFT score from both semesters of your junior year. So the higher the score, the more points you get. You also get points for doing Cadet Advanced Individual Training (e.g. Airborne, Air Assault, etc.) and things like CULP (although this might be going away). Your PMS also has input so you need to find out from the PMS how he/she awards points. Best advice I can give is to do your best in all aspects of the program (scholar/athlete/leader) and you will set yourself up for the best success.
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