Is college in the reserves practical?

[Silver_XAT]

Hi. Please give me your thoughts. Im 18 and have completed my first year of college. I live in florida where i am taking advantage of full scholarships for school. I want to join the marines full time but i see that it would be stupid to throw away so much free college money. Would the reserves be a viable option in my case? As i understand it i would go through boot and serve active duty for a short time, then my commitment would only be one weekend a month. Since i have 5 years to use the rest of my scholarship money, would it be plausible to complete my degree under reserve status and then change to active duty full time? Thanks for your help!

Silver_XAT

[TeufelHunden]

...Absolutely! If you really wanna be a Marine + earn your degree at the same time in order to take advantage of your scholarship(s).

Plan on 12 weeks for bootcamp + 4 weeks for School of Infantry + XX weeks for MOS school. Depending on which MOS you qualify for / choose, this school can be up to 18 months. Your commitment after that is 1 weekend/month and 2 weeks/year.

As far as shipping over to the active duty side after your first tour of duty with the Reserves - I'll defer to someone in the know. I know plenty of Marines who've gone the other way, Active to Reserve though.

There are a few active duty recruiter types who hang their cover over in the Pool(ee) Hall forum - Post over there as well to see if they can offer further insight.

[Silver_XAT]

Sounds good... if anyone has actually done something similar plz tell me about it- the goods and the bads

Silver_XAT

[Sixguns]

If you are already benefitting from free education, the Reserves is a great program. In fact, you need to inquire into the Split "K" or 92-day "K" program. The "K" refers to the reserve option program. These programs guarantee that you will go to recruit training during May or June and graduate in 92 days. Then you return home to join your unit and begin the fall semester. You drill with your unit until the following summer when you go back on active duty to go to your formal school or job training. You may also get ont-the-job training which means you may not have to go to the MOS school and can go on Active Training (AT) with your unit that next summer. If you enlist for six years of reserve duty, you also get money for college through the GI Bill, regardless if you have scholarships or not. So, you get to be a part-time Marine and a full-time student. It is a great program for someone in your shoes.