joining with a ged?

[HandOfTheStripe]

first off id like to thank all of you marines out there,you are an inspiration to me and hopefully someday soon ill be among your ranks,but anyways off to the real topic.

i have dropped out of highschool and i still want to pursue my lifelong dream of joining the corp,i am very smart and physically fit,i wrestled varsity for 3 years. i passed a practice asvab with a 58. i really want to join up and was wondering if theres any way i could still join? any info is apreciated.

thankyou, joey b.
semper fi!

[BGW]

You have to graduate high school in order to join, I do not think they accept anything other then a high school diploma. Especially now where they are cutting back on the man power. You might have ****ed yourself on that part. This seems like something you should have already known about, but really you should talk to a recruiter.

[Mongoose]

I sometimes have a hard time, understanding policy. In my time, I served with a lot of Marines that had not graduated. They were good Marines. I understand times have changed. I dont think Americans we defend care one way or the other if you have a high school diploma. Unless your in a specialized field, common sense used to work just fine. When a Grunt puts the enemy in his sights. I dont think algebra, knowing what an adverb is, knowing the distance to the sun, or when America was discovered is going to change the out come. Unless they die more at ease, knowing a smart Marine pulled the trigger. In my time you was good enough, if you could master your weapon, read a compass and map, and cover your brother Marines back. Every one needs an education for sure. Except for better weapons, training, and living conditions. I cant see where Marines today kill any more of the enemy than we did. I think education is very important. How ever, I cant help but admire those who would give up thier youth to defend this Country. Diploma or not.

[USMC2571]

I joined at age 16, had dropped out of high school, got a GED while in the USMC. In those days it was different. They were not so strict or demanding about an education, although there is no doubt an education is valuable and is the best way to go. My mom signed for me when I was 16 and 2 weeks after turning 17 I was at Parris Island.
I can see the Corps' point of view, though, today...they have so many applicants, it is like applying for a job, seven people are in the waiting room, six have high school diplomas, now the boss figures why should I hire the one without a diploma when I have six that have one?? That applicant set himself apart from the others in a negative way. Not that he isn't qualified, he might be the best applicant sitting there, could work circles around the other folks, but he set himself apart from them, and unless and until the Corps really needs manpower badly enough, they are not going to take the one without the diploma. Listening to the younger Marines on this forum, I think it is USMC policy or regs to NOT take anyone unless they do have a high school diploma.
But Billy Collins makes great sense as usual-----what is a high school diploma compared to ability to be a Marine? There is probably no connection. The simple answer is that the Marine Corps can afford, right now at least, to reject the ones without the diploma. That was not true in my day but it is the way it is today.

[USMC2571]

The needs of the Corps dictate, and they can be selective.
But nowadays, when schools are graduating people who can barely read and write, then what Billy Collins says makes twice as much sense. There is probably no difference between a high school graduate these days, and the holder of a GED

[MrMotivated]

Handofthestripe, there is a Sticky on this in the Ask a Marine section of the Recruit forums.

http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=96657


I am not a Marine yet, but to my knowledge, you can enlist with a GED if you have atleast 15 College credits (level 100 or Higher). With a GED alone you are at Tier2, and the odds of you getting in are near impossible, as the Marine Corps only allows an extremely small % of Tier2 Recruits. Once you get your 15 credits, you will be considered Tier1 which is the same classification as having a HS Diploma. Talk with a recruiter about it, they will tell you everything you need to know, but unless the policy has changed in the last month, this is still how The Corps operates. Good Luck

A few suggestions also. Search, every question you have, has been asked before. 99.9% of them at least. Also, Marine, Marine Corps etc... is always capitalized, and as civilians you and I don't rate Ooh-Rah, S/F, SemperFi etc... we haven't earned our EGA yet. Eventually you will get chewed out, and its not pretty. Just a few pieces of advice I have picked up while lurking here.

[USMC2571]

Good post, for someone who is not a Marine yet, seriously. And good call on the capitalization of Marine and Corps, too. And I think you're right about the 15 college credits, I read that somewhere on one of those threads. Good advice to the original poster.

[dhuntington]

Yep, you're right about the 15 credits. I just faced this because I have 2 sons who were home schooled. The military does not recognize home school, even if they (like my sone) have actual diplomas from a private school. You CAN get in with a GED, but you must score over 50 on the ASVAB and you'll still be tier II. Recruiters don't get credit for tier II recruits so finding one who wants to help you will be hard. But if you get 15 credits (and they have to be toward a degree) you'll be tier I and have no problem getting in. One of my sons has an associates degree and not only was tier I, he got PFC for it. BTW, my son's college degree was also done at home at an online university. Try Columbia Southern University. They're accredited, pretty inexpensive, and you could get the needed credits in as little as 6-8 weeks if you really pushed yourself hard.

[Sgt Leprechaun]

Here's my suggestion....GO BACK TO SCHOOL ASAP!!!! Avoid the GED nonsense if you can. If you are still young enough and/or eligible, march your happy azz BACK DOWN TO THE SCHOOL and beg, borrow or do whatever it takes to get back in.

You improve your enlistment odds 100 percent if you do.

If not....you are going to have a long, difficult slog.

[dhuntington]

Leprechaun: As I said, once you have at least 15 credits of college, it makes NO difference whatsoever what you did in high school. My son actually got PFC due to his college.

[Sgt Leprechaun]

I realize that...however, my intent is to get the lad BACK into High school if he still has the chance..thus eliminating the need for the college route. I fully realize that with the 15 credits it makes it easier and in some cases (remember...the rules change about like the seasons do..and the Marine Corps is cutting back on GED's even more now that they are 'cutting back' on Marines...) doesn't matter at all...but that's 'now' and not neccessarily a year from now. (How long does it take to get the GED...plus the 15 credits...)?

And, we are assuming a motivated student who WANTS to get the GED, and WANTS to then proceed on to college....remember, the lad, above, has dropped out of High School for whatever reason. That's not a good start, and I doubt it was because he went to work to feed his starving family, or the farm needed another 'hand'.

BTW good on your son!

[123456789]

i joined with no diploma or ged. i got my ged in the mail about 5 or 6 months ago

[Sgt Leprechaun]

And you would have been HOW old..? When was this? WWI? WWII? Vietnam?

Also, with no profile, or any information, your claim lacks, shall we say, a certain veracity.

[123456789]

And you would have been HOW old..? When was this? WWI? WWII? Vietnam?

Also, with no profile, or any information, your claim lacks, shall we say, a certain veracity.

Nope, OEF time frame. I joined in 08. To make you feel better i put stuff in my profile, so if its in your heart look me up and do whatever you gotta do, but i can assure you im not on the internet to lie to people like you implied. However i do know during that time they were trying to increase numbers. It was called a 12J waiver. There were a couple of other guys I went to boot camp with with the same circumstance as me. And for the record, I didnt drop out of school because I was a dumbass or anything like that, my family was going through a rough time so I quit school to work full time. I just recently got my GED because i have intentions to re-enlist, so i can put on this magnificant uniform everyday.

[sparkie]

i joined with no diploma or ged. i got my ged in the mail about 5 or 6 months ago

On the surface this post looks stupid as hell and I don't blame him for jumpin you a bit. However your next post containing a touch of explanation is actually educational for us and I thank you for it.

Welcome to the site, Brother,,,, Gettin jumped for stupid is par. I've gotten it a few times and I expect it,,,LOL.