How to Game the Army OML System With Easy College Majors

The STEM Penalty

Cadet Smith is majoring in Aerospace Engineering. He studies 40 hours a week and earns a 3.1 GPA. Cadet Jones is majoring in Recreation and Leisure Studies. He studies 4 hours a week and earns a 3.9 GPA.

Who does the Army rank higher? Cadet Jones. By a massive margin.

Welcome to the biggest controversy in the ROTC OML system: The Army does not weight your GPA based on the difficulty of your major.

An 'A' is an 'A'

To the OML computer algorithm, a 4.0 in Advanced Thermodynamics is worth the exact same amount of points as a 4.0 in Finger Painting.

Because the OML is a national ranking of 5,000 cadets across hundreds of different universities, the Army found it mathematically impossible to standardize the "difficulty" of every single major at every single college. So, they simply use the raw Cumulative GPA.

STEM Bonus Points (The Band-Aid)

To try and fix this glaring inequality, the Army introduced "STEM Bonus Points." If you major in an approved STEM field (like Engineering, Math, or Hard Sciences), the Army gives you a tiny fraction of a bonus point added to your total OML score.

However, the math does not balance out. The tiny STEM bonus point does not mathematically compensate for the massive GPA hit an engineering student takes compared to a liberal arts student. A 3.9 Criminal Justice major will almost always beat a 3.1 Engineering major, even after the STEM points are applied.

The Strategic Choice

If your only goal in life is to be an Active Duty Infantry Officer, do not major in Physics. Major in History, Criminal Justice, or Communications. Protect your GPA at all costs, max the PT test, and dominate the OML ranking.

Only major in Engineering if you specifically want to branch into the Army Corps of Engineers, or if you want a high-paying civilian backup plan in case you get medically disqualified from military service.