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Army Reserves and IPAP seats


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I am about to transition into the Army Reserve in OCT of next year so I can focus on school. However, I have searched and searched and still can't find an answer. I understand the requirements of applying to IPAP, but with this new MILPER regarding the school I have gotten confused, and only gotten half way answers from the AMEDD recruiters. The question is as follows:

 

If I complete the pre-reqs in the Reserve and apply, the new MILPER states that those applying from Reserve will return to Reserve and not be placed in the AD component like previously. Does that mean that the seats for Reserve component applicants have been cut back?

 

If that is the case, how can I ensure a better chance of getting into IPAP? As in, certain states better than others for applying and what not. Thank you for any answers, hopefully it is better than "Well, I mean, I will look into it.. (and not get back to you or respond with info)"

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I was actually looking into this a bit the other day, however, I didn't really find much with regards to the Guard. I'm still in the Navy Reserve so I don't even think I could apply that route at the current moment? I'm not sure how the Army/Guard does things but if its anything like the Navy there should be a directive for the FY which states the allotted number of seats, etc. 

 

Good luck. 

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I am not sure about the exact number of Reserve slots available now, but for the year I started, there were 10 slots available. That number may be a bit lower now. I would talk to your AMEDD recruiter to verify.

That being said, there weren't many people applying for those Reserve component slots, so your odds to get in are actually better than they are with the Regular Army. The two guys I know who got Reserve slots would be the first to tell you that their stats weren't necessarily the greatest in the world. What they did have going for them was their medical experience - both were LPNs.

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  • 2 months later...

Not sure if this helps...I'm a recent IPAP grad (October 2014, Class 2-12).  I applied through the Guard and there were 10 slots per class for Guard, 10 for Reserves, and the rest of the Army slots were AD.  I believe those numbers might have change since then.  I think we had about 10 AF people, 5 Coast Guard, and no Navy (I wanna say the Navy didn't send to every class...maybe every other class?).  Anyway, when I started, you could apply for an AD seat as a Guard member.  That changed while I was in school and Guard no longer had the option to go AD.  You had to apply for a Guard seat.  I do know of some people who went AD after finishing and getting back to their state.  A soldier from my unit was a year ahead of me at IPAP and she got in really easily.  There were only 7 qualified applicants for the 10 slots for that class.  At the time, Guard soldiers applied individually for each class.  I think that has changed to be like the AD guys and it all goes into a big applicant pool and they select once a year and then tell you what class you will be in. Things change constantly with IPAP, though, so your AMEDD recruiter might know.  If not, contact the schoolhouse directly.  They might be able to provide you with the latest guidance or at leas point you in the right direction.  Also, try the IPAP Facebook page.  It is full of IPAP staff, students, and graduates.  A little advice, though...do a quick scroll to see if your question has already been asked.  They tend to get a little pissy about the same questions being asked over and over.  Like people have time to scroll through years of posts! lol  Anyway, my AMEDD recruiter called me today to have me talk to a potential applicant and he told me IPAP is about to switch to an online application.  Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.  I think putting together that damn application was harder than the school itself!  Hope this helped a little!

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I'm not sure if this is still accurate.. But the program had the available slots cut in half back in 2014. I was told that from an instructor at IPAP while I was going through pre-mob.

 

PAsoldier... Correct me if I'm wrong, but a large barrier is also whether your state will pay for you to go through the school in the Guard. For instance.. states with poorly funded National Guards would be less likely to send someone through the program.

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  • 1 month later...

armymedicchris...I think you might be right.  Things at IPAP do change frequently, however.  Regarding state funding, that might have changed, as well.  I'm pretty sure when I started IPAP in 2012, funding came from NGB.  Therefore, I don't really owe my particular state for school, but the National Guard as a whole.  What you are saying does some familiar so that might have changed in the last couple years. 

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  • 1 month later...

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