Definitely Joining, just have some questions

[kpbrown]

Hello all,

Currently I'm sixteen years old. I graduated high school about five months age, but unfortunately, I graduated from a cyber school. Although the school I graduated from is fully accredited, the Marine Corps and all other branches only accept traditional high school diplomas. So now I'm getting fifteen college credits and I should be done by December which lines up perfectly because I turn seventeen in January. I just have some general questions about joining, so I'll just rattle them off:

- Besides studying for the ASVAB, what else should I study up on and memorize? I picked up the Guidebook for Marines and I decided I should read that and memorize most of what I can.

- What level of physical fitness do most people enter in? I'm assuming that by the time I plan to enlist (January), I should be about to do five pull-ups, fifty push-ups, seventy sit-ups, and I should be able to run four miles in about a half an hour.

- Would being seventeen delay my entry at all? To my knowledge, I'm completely qualified otherwise. I require no drug waivers, no moral waivers, no health waivers, and I'm a straight A student. I know if you're seventeen, your parents have to sign a waiver, but is that considered a waiver that can disqualify me?

- On average in today's time (with the recession), after someone enlists, how long do they wait before they ship out to boot camp (providing no waivers need to be signed, etc)?

I called a recruiter, but they didn't seem to be too interested in me at the moment. I figured it was because of my age and they have other enlistees to deal with. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Kyle Brown

[tryan41]

Hello all,

Currently I'm sixteen years old. I graduated high school about five months age, but unfortunately, I graduated from a cyber school. Although the school I graduated from is fully accredited, the Marine Corps and all other branches only accept traditional high school diplomas. So now I'm getting fifteen college credits and I should be done by December which lines up perfectly because I turn seventeen in January. I just have some general questions about joining, so I'll just rattle them off:

- Besides studying for the ASVAB, what else should I study up on and memorize? I picked up the Guidebook for Marines and I decided I should read that and memorize most of what I can.

- What level of physical fitness do most people enter in? I'm assuming that by the time I plan to enlist (January), I should be about to do five pull-ups, fifty push-ups, seventy sit-ups, and I should be able to run four miles in about a half an hour.

- Would being seventeen delay my entry at all? To my knowledge, I'm completely qualified otherwise. I require no drug waivers, no moral waivers, no health waivers, and I'm a straight A student. I know if you're seventeen, your parents have to sign a waiver, but is that considered a waiver that can disqualify me?

- On average in today's time (with the recession), after someone enlists, how long do they wait before they ship out to boot camp (providing no waivers need to be signed, etc)?

I called a recruiter, but they didn't seem to be too interested in me at the moment. I figured it was because of my age and they have other enlistees to deal with. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Kyle Brown

Kyle,

We do require Parental Consent, but, it is not a disqualifying factor. In fact, it's pretty common, but, you have to be at least 17. If you're looking for more info on what to expect goto www.marines.com this website will answer about 90% of your questions. As for the recruiter, he/she has alot of people to contact in a short period of time and for now you're not eligible for enlistment until you're 17, it's not personal, so just be patient, stay out of trouble and stay in school and you'll be on those yellow footprints in no time.

[kpbrown]

Kyle,

We do require Parental Consent, but, it is not a disqualifying factor. In fact, it's pretty common, but, you have to be at least 17. If you're looking for more info on what to expect goto www.marines.com this website will answer about 90% of your questions. As for the recruiter, he/she has alot of people to contact in a short period of time and for now you're not eligible for enlistment until you're 17, it's not personal, so just be patient, stay out of trouble and stay in school and you'll be on those yellow footprints in no time.

Thank you for your response sir!

It's quite a relief that being seventeen will not delay my entry! I was told by somebody that I won't ship out until I turn eighteen. I figured that the recruiter wasn't discriminating because of my age; it does seem like it would be a waste of time for him if he answered all my questions and couldn't even process me!

As for my high school diploma: the USMC will not accept it (it's from a cyber school) unless I get fifteen credits (which I am currently doing). Although it's from a cyber school, will my grades still count for anything or is it only the diploma that counts? I received straight A's from the second semester of 10th grade all the way through 12th grade, and it would be a shame if they didn't count for anything!

Thanks Marines!
Kyle Brown

[NoRemorse]

Your grades aren't really a factor as you need the college credits to upgrade your tier so you can enlist at the age of 17.

While you're going to classes start PTing, running and swimming as well as talking to the folks so you can secure a parental consent. Don't forget to keep your nose clean and fly straight.

[kpbrown]

Your grades aren't really a factor as you need the college credits to upgrade your tier so you can enlist at the age of 17.

While you're going to classes start PTing, running and swimming as well as talking to the folks so you can secure a parental consent. Don't forget to keep your nose clean and fly straight.

Thank you sir!

I do need to get at least a C in my college courses, correct? Does that include a C-? I don't believe that I will get any C's as I'm already mantaining an A average, but I haven't started all my classes yet, so I can't speak indefinitely. My parents already said I can join and they are more than willing to allow me to join at the seventeen; my father was a little shaky on the idea at first, but now he accepts it. My PT includes chin-ups (I plan to start doing pull-ups soon), push-ups, sit-ups, and running. I don't have access to a pool unfortunately, but I've always been very confident in the water. Does anyone have any suggestions on PT? I can only do two chin-ups in a set, but they seem to be building up quickly! If I have over three months before I enlist, I don't think there should be any reason that I should be going in doing less than five pull-ups.

Thanks Marines,
Kyle Brown

[slimmy07]

C- is fine. Keep in mind that your parents consent to join is just for you to take the physical. They are NOT signing the contract for you. Some parents do not realize that. You sign the contract, but in order to see the MEPS doctors you need to be 18 or have parents consent. Also, don't study all the areas foe the ASVAB. I suggest just learn the math formulas. Studying for the electrical or mechanical is a waste of time. What people don't realize is those areas are testing whether you can learn and be taught an electrical job etc. etc. They are NOT testing to see if you know it, just if you can learn it. Good luck.

[kpbrown]

C- is fine. Keep in mind that your parents consent to join is just for you to take the physical. They are NOT signing the contract for you. Some parents do not realize that. You sign the contract, but in order to see the MEPS doctors you need to be 18 or have parents consent. Also, don't study all the areas foe the ASVAB. I suggest just learn the math formulas. Studying for the electrical or mechanical is a waste of time. What people don't realize is those areas are testing whether you can learn and be taught an electrical job etc. etc. They are NOT testing to see if you know it, just if you can learn it. Good luck.

Thank you sir!

I didn't know that the parental consent was only for the MEPS doctors. Either way, my parents are more than willing to sign to give consent for anything that needs to be done. I don't plan on studying the automotive stuff because I'm not very mechanically inclined. I am very talented in mathematics though and I only plan on studying for Arithmetic Reasoning, Mathematical Knowledge, Paragraph Comprehension, and Word Knowledge. I'm quite good in all of them besides Word Knowledge, I need to work on that a little bit before I'm confident.

Either way, I appreciate everyone's answers and help.

Thanks Marines,
Kyle Brown