NAVAL ACADEMY PREP SCHOOL vs. BOOTCAMP

[DEAVILA]

WOW....Well your brother must be really kicking his Butt because he followed what his parents wanted him to do..and now he regrets it...i dont want to end up that way either...I've been loving the Enlisted side...so far...and im not even a Marine yet....

and if I end up choosing the Academy because...my counselor..teachers..and family are telling me that it would be the best thing i can do...and I end up going..and hating it...then well..there goes the 9 months that i worked my asss off as a Poolee...and I dont wanna be at the Academy for those 4 years..saying..F***!...i should have gone to Boot!!...

Thank you Raymon...you are one amazing friend..and I know I can count on you for anything....

[crazymjb]

First off, there is absolutly no way to do the reserves, than PLC, and the Academy?

Second, you obviously worked your ass off to get into Anapolis, I mean, it's Anapolis. I'd assume some part of you wants to go there.

You have been graced with the opportunity to recieve one of the best educations in the world, at no cost to you, which will set you up to be an officer of Marines. I think the "long run" definatly comes into play in this situation. Nobody is saying it is be a Marine or not be a Marine, and as you said you had a dream to be an officer. Anapolis would probably be the best training in leadership and preparation in achieving that goal.

If it were any other school, Harvard, Yale, Oxford... I would say follow your orignal plan. However, being accepted to Anapolis is something that is really special.

Good luck in whatever you choose.

Mike

[futuremarine129]

It's what you want, remember that, not what your counselor wants. What always has helped me through hard decisions is just to take a piece of paper, draw a line down the middle and write out the positives of each. Whichever has more positives is the way you might want to sway. Now I just want to let you know that I haven't exactly tried this out on something like Annapolis but you might as well give it a shot.

[crazymjb]

If your goal is eventually to become an officer, it would seem logical to me that the reserves and a civilian/state college would not prepare you as well as you could be prepared in the Naval Academy. You could be an excellent officer either way, or a poor one for that matter, but from the "crunched numbers" standpoint, I see Anapolis as the "better" preparatory route.

Mike

[davblay]

Deav, Deav........I can't believe my eyes, reading what you said! You are one of, if not the, most determined gal I know! You made a decision months ago, with an alternative plan. Now reality has hit you! Didn't you think that there was even a slight chance that you'd be accepted into the Acadamy? Did you not consider the possibility that you could actually have a chance to go? Ok, I am confused....from your postings over the past few months, I have been lead to believe that you wanted this appointment!

Lt Isrowie can better tell you the benefits of attending the Acadamy and taking that route to become an officer in the Corps better than any of us, I would never doubt that for one moment! His advice is simple and direct and to the point! I agree with him completely.

But....lets get outside the box for a moment........lets go forward in time to say..... 25 years from now. You Attended the Acadamy, you put in your 20 years in the Corps, retired as a Colonel, and you are what 43-44 yers old? You look to begin another Career, with the Acadamy, plus the 20+ years in the Corps, on your resume', you nail down a posttion with a fortune 500 company and work for another 20 some odd years and retire again with a comfortable retirement. The lets try this one on for size....we enlist as a enlisted Marine, do the 92 day thing, go to PLC, OCS or whatever, and spend 20 years in the Corps as an Officer and, whatever time as an enlisted, retire as a Lt Colonel. You are now ...what 40-41 years old? You compete with the person with the above resume"..........who gets hired? Or in five years will you be flying that jet you want to fly, Would an Acadamy graduate have preference in the selection to becoming a pilot? Deav.....there are so many varibles here. You need to think about why you applied to the Acadamy in the first place! If your goal is to become an Officer in the Corps, then either way is ok. But why not make the best out of it and get your education at the same time?

Now I predict in 5 years you will be an officer, hopefully in the Corps. But travel the road that takes you to the goal with the best rewards, not the path of least resistance! Sometimes the smoother road has hidden potholes and causes flat tires....then you loose time changing the tire! Remember the turtle and the Rabbit? Up to now you've had a goal, now lets take those steps towards that goal the logical way! But do it for yourself, not me or anyone else!

My advise Deav.......think this thru very carefully, this is YOUR future after all, just remember that we have to live with our decisions we make! We can't go back in time to correct them! If we could...I would be a millionaire! Don't wake up one morning saying "I wish I had________"!

I, along with these other Marines, will support you in whatever you do! Please know that I have only your best interest in my heart!

Good luck,

Dave

[yellowwing]

Nancy, get your behind into the Academy!

[poolarnold]

well first of all....your guidance counselor will push you to go to the academy because that would be a huge bragging right for the school...(another dollar nother day mentallity) or atleast thats how it is where im from no genuine relationship between student an counselor but either way dont let her push you 1 way or the other she will always tell you go to school b/c its her job to get as many students to go to college as possible....think about that....

[Isrowei]

I suspect this question about enlisting vs the Academy has come up before and probably will again so I will jot down a few points to consider.

1) The Naval Academy does not guarantee you service in the Marine Corps upon graduation. You must compete for it (I had to as well, regardless of being prior enlisted Marine).

2) At some point in time, every midshipman hates being at USNA. Some mids hate the whole thing. I did, and I'm still here. You can do what you set your mind to. If it's not what you want, the Academy fosters an environment to weed out those who aren't committed to finishing. You're going to find things in the Marine Corps you don't like as well.

3) The Naval Academy is not like regular college. Period. If you want the "regular" college experience, go someplace else. Drinking in the dorm, partying, dating upperclassmen, and downloading music off the internet will all get you in trouble.

4) As a Marine, there is no difference where you come from. What you do and how you are treated will all depend on your actions and how you conduct yourself.

5) The benefits of the Academy are two-fold:
a) Starting out you will have a strong basis in leadership principles (not necessarilly experience). You will have a strong, mathematics heavy education that will stand you in good stead for any technical MOS. You will have all the right tools to be very successful. Whether you know how to use them or if you choose to use them correctly might be a different story.
b) After the military, the Academy alumni bond is very strong. As Cpl Blay mentioned, it opens opportunities. It carries respect in the highest circles(consider Sen McCain's credentials for president). It's not easy to think of your life at 45 when you're only 18. It DOES NOT mean you'll never have to worry about money or jobs or whatever your counsellor told you. That's based on your performance.

[Wyoming]

If a quickie poll were taken of this thread, Marines vs Poolees, it would be simple -

GO TO THE ACADEMY!!

[quillhill]

Generally I lurk these days but if no one minds (having worked in a college admissions office when I was a student I remember a few things that helped kids make these choices) I do have a question:

Poolee Deavila, have you visited the schools you are considering attending yet?

I remember when a classmate of mine was being recruited to play college football. He made his visits. His last two were to Annapolis and the University of Hawaii. He chose to attend the Naval Academy. His reason was the other schools couldn't offer what the Academy could.

Something I've observed while lurking here is that those who are committed to service in the military often find civilian colleges not to their liking for various reasons.

In any case, I would suggest visiting the schools you are interested in attending (both civilian and military) before making your choice, if that's possible.

[FistFu68]

IF ANNAPOLIS WAS GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE 1ST.LT.IT'S DAM GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU LILWORM.SOMETIMES YOU'RE "MIND" HAS TOO OVERIDE YOU'RE HEART.MIND OVER MATTER "GO NANCY GO" SEMPER~FI~THAT

[Ub3rmike]

My Navy friend applied for Annapolis and didn't cut it, but he's still going the officer route through NROTC. That being said, since he is the captain of the water polo team, has good grades, and is more "triple qualified" than a lot of people at my school, that speaks pretty highly of you if you've got the path to USNA. And as previous posters have said, yes, making USNA doesn't guarantee you a commission as a Marine officer, you have to pursue Marine option.

If it's any help to your decision, during my reserve interview (I'm going 92 day/PLC split option too), I managed to get some extra time to speak with a pair of Captains and a Major to discuss plans, command philosophies, and the whole commissioned officer experience in the Marine Corps. They're all mustangs, and with that being said, they all told me something which I agree whole heartedly with. Just going to boot camp, going through the enlisted experience, or any other forms of "preparation" will not guarantee success at OCS, make you a "good" officer or garner the respect of your subordinates. The way others percieve you will truly come down to your ability and performance.

It is up to you, and if anything, it's a precursor to the difficult choices one has to make on their own as an officer. It's just easier for me because I want to earn the title now and not explain to everyone how I'm a "kind of Marine" after PLC Juniors in Freshman year.

[SlingerDun]

I wonder why someone would apply for the Navy Academy after 'devoting all this time to being a poolee'. Just to see if you would be accepted? like job hunting online? Well they decided to give you a go as a preppy, you gonna remain silent and let them disappear or say naaawww i was just kiddin hehe my counselor said i should write, just wanted to see if you all would write back.

Counselor's can be handy at making students feel like chit and its often justified but this amused me..."you wouldn't have to worry about money or anything" LMHAO! wooooooooo. Oh lord for the security of a tenured little corner office.

Oh, and don't worry about your heart, look towards guts and gut. If its a gamble or something doesn't feel right thats where the most accurate intuition comes from. not the heart. The heart deceives and is easily boogered. If its good to go then you gotta gut it out. have the guts to proceed and finish, a gut check would be in order, sabes? lol

What does does Golden Boy say about all this? he's got guts and business sense --->Dave

[rvillac2]

NOW HEAR THIS: If you're ambition is to become an officer, then pursue college full steam ahead. Jeez, it's tiring to see these kids pursue the 92/PLC route. You are all PLANNING on reneging on your Reserve contract.

Graduating college as soon as possible leads to a wider variety of opportunities for success, fortune, and career fulfillment.

The USNA experience will focus you on developing as an officer candidate and earning a highly respectable degree. You will do this in the scheduled amount of time and will be discouraged from making self-destructive decisions.

I will bet large sums of money that you will not regret choosing USNA in 10 years.

[JSchramm08]

If I could throw my two cents into the pot, it sounds to me as if Poolee Deavila will not really regret either decision. To my ears, it sounds as if you are really moto about being a MARINE. As Lt. Isrowei (among others) said, you are not guaranteed to be a Marine officer upon graduation from Anapolis. However, if you really are that moto about being a Marine, then you will force yourself to earn that title, no matter what route you choose.

My opinion is keep true to your original plan: go through Recruit Training, and enter a civilian college to go through OCS/PLC. However, my question (as someone else already posted) is why you can't go through Recruit Training, as a reservist, and THEN go to Anapolis? Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds? (Sorry if this isn't possible. I am very naive about things related to becoming an officer - I apologize if I am far off base on this one).

Some food for thought. I chose to enter a civilian college before doing anything related to the Marines. I now have half a bachelors degree under my belt, and I could conceivably go through OCS and stick it out in school. However, I chose to drop school (for now) and enlist. I want, more than anything, to be a Marine. I would rather not wait another 2-3 years to become a Marine. I would rather go through the enlisted ranks, as a Marine, NOW. To me, earning that EGA is the most important thing; becoming a part of the family is the most important thing.

Not that there's anything wrong with the officer route, I just know it isn't for me.

Regardless of what you decide, make sure it is your decision, and good luck with it. I know you will do whatever your heart tells you to, in the end.