Taking college classes while active duity join

[Jmattsen]

I just got back from talking to my recruiter and he told me that while active duity you can take somthing like $40k per year worth of college classes without even using your GI bill which would be perfect for me since one of the reasons i am looking to enlist has to do with the fact that i cant afford any more school beyond the associates i just got.

He even described his second deployment as working out twice per day, going to school and waching movies for six months, im sure thats an exageration but anything close to that would be nice.

The one thing he did say was that its basicaly impossible to go to school as asctive duity if you are infantry which it what i was planning on joining as.

Can anybody confirm or deny this? I had my heart set on infantry but if its gonna take me 6 more years to get my batchalors when i could do it in 4 i might have to look at my other options. I am allready allmost 23 and graduating school at 29 sounds godawful.

Thanks

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[USMC 2571]

Now, keep in mind, this is just my opinion. One opinion among many many varied viewpoints. Enlisting is a big decision. Make sure you're doing this for the right reasons, or more particularly, that you are not doing it for any of the many wrong reasons. It should be because you want to become a Marine, not because you almost need to get out of a school financial jam. Just give it more thought. None of my business or anyone else's, what you do or why you do it. It's your life. But in life in general, be sure you're doing things for the right reasons.

[USMC 2571]

Again, so you won't misunderstand, my opinion is strictly e pluribus unum, as the coins say, "of many, one".

[USMC 2571]

As far as attending college while in the military, I don't know about now, but it was virtually impossible when I was in, which is one of the main reasons I did my four years and got out------and even now, with the Internet availability of so many opportunities to go to college online, 100% online, your MOS, where you are stationed, your schedule, and keeping in mind that the Marine Corps comes first, college comes second---it is impossible to say what the chances are of your being able to go to college while in the Corps or in any other service. There are many variables. You can do online classes or in person only when your duties don't conflict with school.....the problem is, what will your duties be, where will they be, what hours, etc all this is completely unknown to you right now....if your priority is joining, then join, but if your priority is going to college and graduating, then do that before enlisting or consider the officer route when you graduate. Make a list of pros and cons about all this and give it a lot of thought. I hate to post on someone's thread three times in a row, but as these things occur to me, I'm posting-----and these considerations are important to your whole future.

[USMC 2571]

Just specifically about taking forty thousand bucks worth of college courses without paying for it, while on active duty? There are no recruiters here (anymore) but I would check with another recruiter or maybe one after that, just to confirm, because little details like that can cause someone to enlist or not enlist and if everything turns on a statement like that? It would be, to me personally, like getting a second opinion for a medical issue. Really important info needs to be checked out for accuracy. But you already know this and are trying to find the answers. Those answers may not be available here on Ask A Marine though. Please keep us updated on how you fare with all this?

[Zulu 36]

Getting your bachelors at 29 isn't so bad. I was much older when I got mine (in my 40s).

Based on what I have learned here and elsewhere, the recruiter is right when it comes to taking college courses while an infantryman (person, thing, whatever these days). Your life revolves around the ops tempo and even when in garrison, you are going into the field a lot. No time for college.

As far as other MOS's go, the famous "it depends" controls. It depends on the MOS, it depends on where you are stationed, what hours you work, the workload, many other variables.

Of course you have the option of taking on-line college courses. They can be very academically challenging and demanding, many more so than some bricks-and-mortar classes loaded with ignorant 18-21 year olds looking for their "safe place". But again, it depends on your MOS and all the other variables.

My oldest daughter took on-line courses while she was in Afghanistan, but she was Air Force, and did shift work in a hospital. It was still tough to get the school work done, get enough sleep, eat, and do other things your "off-duty" time requires of you. When I was in Vietnam and Desert Storm, I would not have been able to manage a minute of on-line classes (had they existed then).

So, it's up to you on what MOS you go for. But, even within an MOS all of those variables can be different. One guy could be working his tail off, while another guy in the same MOS in a different unit, is working out twice a day, watching movies, and taking on-line courses. It depends.

But know this, the education you get from the Marine Corps experience itself can't be taught at a college.

[Jmattsen]

Well when I first started considering joining the service a big factor was that I was going to have to wait until I turn 24 to get financial aid for my last two years of school but after spending 6 months reading and learning about the Corps I'm just excited to serve my country now. I could go drive bulldozers for $40/hour but instead I just wanna go to the Middle East for $1700 per month or whatever.

my recruiter says he wants tries to steer people away from infantry because it does not translate to many careers after the service but I still want to do it.

i realize that a deployed infantry man wouldn't have time for any schooling like my recruiter had but is the life of a non-deployed infantryman really so busy that he can't finish a good chunk of two years of schooling in four years?

[USMC 2571]

Exactly, he may NOT be able to do anything like that in four years. It is SOOOO variable, it's tough to say. I would venture to say that finishing college like that is unlikely, with so many other priorities coming before it, lack of time, lack of opportunity, etc-----But continue to bat it around in here, this is the place to discuss it, maybe others will chime in. Not saying it's impossible to do, but just that it seems unlikely. Again, just one opinion of many. I'm certainly no expert...

[USMC 2571]

What you want is to get a variety of opinions in here, or at least more input from folks here. Not everyone goes into this section, though......but I'll suggest who to PM right now and that is munkyvrobot or munkyvsrobot, I forget the exact spelling. He is active duty and one of the most knowledgeable people on this site. Ask him to take a look at your thread.

[USMC 2571]

PM another extremely knowledgeable active duty Marine named LCPL1341 also

Keep in mind also that IF your MOS is just right, your schedule is just right, there isn't a whole lot of interference, then sure, you can complete college or a big chunk of it online during active duty---what I'm saying is that you cannot COUNT on doing so. You have too many variables to say, yeah, I'm gonna be able to do this. You may do it or you may end up not doing it.

[USMC 2571]

At the end of your post, OP, there are "Similar Threads" listed. Quite similar, in fact. Take a look at those. It's an interesting topic though. And you may end up being able to do at least some online work toward a degree, or you may finish, or not do anything. But the Corps, your MOS, any deployments, training, etc will come first, as well as the fact that at the end of a long day you may not feel like learning anything at all online or anywhere for that matter......all variables. All unknown right now until you get exact info as to whether you can join, where you will be, what you will be doing.

[Tennessee Top]

First. Your recruiter is going to "steer you" where his District Commander has told him to steer you. One quarter, it may be toward the reserves. Next quarter, it may more towards combat support type jobs. This is all based on the needs of the Marine Corps at the time. The District Commander gets his guidance from the Manpower Management folks at Headquarters Marine Corps. Everything gets funneled down to individual recruiters in the various Recruiting Districts around the country. Recruiters don't just make this stuff up - there is a grand scheme.

All the replies you have received so far are spot on. The basic answer is: it depends on a lot of factors. If the stars align just right, you should be able to work towards your educational goals while on active duty. Nobody can say how many credits you'll eventually knock out. One thing you'll discover. Some commands take education more seriously than others. Some just give it lip service so when it comes to actually supporting education, they'll throw up all kinds of roadblocks like not letting you switch duty assignments to make a scheduled class, or not allowing you to miss field days on Thursday nights. Then, there are other commands that really do support education and eliminate all those roadblocks so you can make all the classes you need to. What kind of commands you end up in again has to do with how the stars align for you.

Just as a personal note, and to prove it can be done. I finished both my AA and BS degrees while on active duty - and this was before on-line courses existed so I spent a LOT of time in classrooms. Now, it took me 8 years to do it, and majority of that time I was assigned to non deployable units (so no infantry units). Neither of those two degrees cost me a dime as well (since I was on active duty I utilized tuition assistance).

[USMC 2571]

That is amazing, Top, doing that before the Internet was even around. That shows dedication.

[Jmattsen]

Thanks for the help everybody. I'm joining the Marines to be a soldier, not anything else so I think I'm gonna stick with infantry and if I get the chance to finish some schooling up along the way il just consider it a bonus.

[Tennessee Top]

Marines are not soldiers. If you want to be one of those, you need to walk down the hallway and talk to an Army recruiter. You'll be called a soldier first day of basic training - no need to earn a thing.