Age Waiver for Active Duty?

Greetings, Marines.

I am 30 years old and have enough college credits to be classified as a senior. I've been working and going to school off and on ever since I graduated high school. I was recently informed by a Marine recruiter that the maximum possible age for enlistment would be 35 with a waiver. After doing a good deal of searching and reading I have discovered that it is nearly impossible to be approved for an age waiver for the reserve, much less active duty. I have determined that I will not let this stop me from at least trying for the waiver. The difficulty of being approved will be compounded by requiring a dependent waiver for my son as well.
My plan is to take the next two to three months to make certain that I can pass the PFT with flying colors while also getting my necessary paperwork (birth certificates, traffic records, etc.) in order prior to even walking in -- while wearing proper work attire -- to the recruiter's station to talk business. I have already taken the ASVAB and achieved an AFQT score of 95 and my college GPA has never gone below a 3.0. It is my intention to collect as many character references as possible within this time to include letters from my preacher, the sheriff of my hometown, the mayor of my city, my local probate judge, my employer, my friend who is a former Drill Instructor, and letters of recommendation from members of his motorcycle club which is composed entirely of Veterans. I live in an area where I could feasibly drive to recruiting stations within three different recruiting districts.
I ask for your opinions on whether or not these letters of recommendation in combination with my ASVAB score and current level of college education may sway a recruiter and his chain of command and, if the chain of command of one recruiting district is not interested, do I have the option of trying in another recruiting district, or will the door be permanently closed if the initial recruiting district declines?

I thank you for your time.

J.S. Helms

There was a guy on this board who was like 32 who got approved for an age waiver but it was because he could prove he was just waiting on a green card. With all the scaling back they are doing you would be lucky to find anyone who would approve the age waiver.. Also who wants to be a 30 year old PFC unless you are going officer route. But it wouldnt hurt to try hell if you get it approved good on you, but with them trying to get Staff Sergeants and such to EAS early im going to highly doubt this will occur.

I found out two days ago that the recruiter with whom I had been in contact is actually the NCOIC of that station. Initially, I met with him about a year ago, so he already knows a little about me. In our most recent exchange he reinforced the fact that it is tougher to get in these days, however he did not say that it was not a possibility.
I know it sounds foolish to some for a 30-year-old to enlist and become a PFC, but I have my reasons and it would not bother me in the least to take orders from the young men who have earned the title and the rank. I'm not interested in the Marine Corps for potential rank anyway. If I was worried about that, I would enlist in the Army.
I sincerely thank you for your response.

Why not finish college and commission? Age is set higher for officers. Enlisted max is 28. Good luck man. Waivers are very difficult to get since we are dropping from 202k to about 186k

According to Marines.com an officer cannot have reached his 28th birthday prior to commissioning and the enlisted max is 29. I work full-time and still struggle to support my family* with my wages, so finishing college within a short period of time is not really an option for me. It's certainly a consideration if I do not get a waiver for the Marine Corps because I still have a few more years before I'm too old to enlist in the Army. I am keeping my options open for sure, but I am more motivated by the possibility of becoming a Marine. If I receive a definitive "no" to the waiver, I will move forward from there.

*To clarify: While I am not legally married, I do have a family, but only one legal dependent.

Good luck to you man. Waivers are always done by the shiny collar. Im sure if you can prove you are someone with a lot of potential they will hopefully give it to you.

Thank you. I'll definitely need some good luck.