I commissioned in January of 2012. The process may have
changed, but this is what it looked like for me:
You are assessed against all of your peers (everyone
commissioning in your year group). Each cadet is placed in an OML that is
country-wide. It’s based off of a point system. During my year, the top 50% got
active duty and the bottom 50% got ARNG. The numbers change every year based on
the needs of the Army. If you WANT reserve or guard, you will get it.
50% of your accession criteria is Grades. This is the most
important part!
The rest of your points are divided up between your APFT at
home station (your school), your APFT at LDAC, your performance during graded
tasks and class at your university, and your performance at LDAC. There is a
little room for the discretion of your PMS and peers as well. Grades are the
most important part by far.
If you manage to assess into the RA, you will list your top
10 branch choices and your top 10 duty station assignments. The top 10% of
cadets in the country are guaranteed their branch of choice.
The most competitive branches during my year were 1)
Aviation 2) Infantry 3) MI.
I graduated with a 2.8 GPA (garbage), but was very
successful on the military side. I also committed to an additional service
obligation which caused me to incur 3 extra years of service in exchange for a
better chance of getting my number 1 choice, Infantry.
Shoot me a note or add me if you want more info. And good
luck!