Did you choose the Marines over/before college?

[Marines4life222]

^^ Question above

And if so why did you?

And if you chose college before the Marines, why did you do that?

[jarhead1973]

I choosed the Marine over college,becasue I want to do something different instead of going to college, and see different parts of the world and the U.S. it was the best choice I made in my life beside marrage,kids.

[Echo_Four_Bravo]

I was in college, got bored, enlisted. The plan had been to be an officer, and I am very glad that I changed my mind. I took a few classes while I was in, finished college after I got out, and decided to go ahead and get a graduate degree as well.

[Covey_Rider]

I didn't want to go with streamline society. I wanted to do something that I'd be proud of for the rest of my life. Not saying that there's no pride in going to college...But to know that I've had most of the greatest times of my life in the Corps and I've still got more to come. I'm attending college now too so I'm doing both. I'm in the process of getting a bachelor's degree in Intelligence Studies with a major in Counter-terrorism. Not a degree that most people get but it's what I want. The best part of it is, is that not a dime came out of my pocket. Alot of doors get opened up to you in the Corps...many Marines just don't know about them or don't take advantage of them.

[rktect3j]

I went to college for 2 years prior to enlisting. I never got good grades and wasn't all that interested in it. I just was not all that ready for college at that time and was looking for another direction. Probably needed to grow up a bit too. After my 4 years I went back to college and graduated with a much better gpa, 3.0/4.0

[Phantom Blooper]

The Marines choose you....the elite! There is one US Marine Corps!

There are thousands of colleges that you choose. If one can't take you another might. Not so in the Marine Corps.

Metaphorically speaking,the army,navy, air force and guard take the Marine Corps rejects.:evilgrin:

[Marine84]

I went to college first (well, Technical college) - did 2 years and decided I didn't want an Accountant's headaches for the rest of my life. At that point I hadn't even THOUGHT about the military. I'm glad that I FINALLY did think about it - no regrets, never looked back.

[JCam0331]

The Marines choose you....the elite! There is one US Marine Corps!

There are thousands of colleges that you choose. If one can't take you another might. Not so in the Marine Corps.

Metaphorically speaking,the army,navy, air force and guard take the Marine Corps rejects.:evilgrin:

Umm, I hate to burst the propoganda bubble SSgt

but the Marine Corps will take just darn near anyone who can do 3 pullups and run a 13 minute mile and a half. These are not sky high standards. Washout rate for males at MCRD is something like 5-10%, which means 90%+ of recruits who show up at MCRD will make it.

College on the other hand - well yeah you can go to a community college that will accept anyone, or you can apply for a strong state school like the University of Illinois or University of Michigan, or even better a private school such as Harvard, UChicago, Duke or University of Southern California.

Acceptance rate for the Marine Corps is just about 100%. As long as you've never convicted some sort of heinous crime and you meet the minimum IST standards that even my grandmother can pass.

The acceptance rate for Harvard? 9%. Yale? 9.6% Dartmouth (Captain Nathaniel Fick's alma mater) - 14% Princeton? (General Petraeus' alma mater) - 10.9%

lets look at some top state schools: University of Illinois (of which I am a student) - 60%, UNC-Chapel Hill - 35%, UCLA - 24%, Michigan - 49%

And keep in mind to even apply for one of these schools requires exemplary scores on your ACT/SAT, multiple 500 word essays, involvement in volunteer work and/or clubs/activities, plus outstanding grades in high school, and multiple letters of recommendation.

So I'm sorry. But in most cases - you CHOOSE to join the Corps. And for college you may APPLY for college but the ADMISSION BOARD chooses or rejects you.

[JCam0331]

Now becoming an Officer is another story. Here again - they won't just take anyone. You don't choose them. You apply and they either choose you or they don't.

Not any schmuck with a 32 ASVAB and 3 pullups and a 27 minute 3 mile can become a Marine Officer.

Here its a lot like a college application, they look at:

Cumulative GPA while in college
Last semester GPA while in college
PFT (most important), anyone below a 240 has about a slim to none chance
Essay
5 letters of recommendation
Clubs/Activities
Previous positions of leadership
Awards (such as Meritorious Masts, NAMs in the military...or perhaps in high school such as All Conference Athlete etc)