Three years of college and now I might enlist....what do i do?

[Est1986]

Recently my college cut my major (Middle Eastern Studies) which i was doing in order to finish college and go through OCS (the Marines have been a life goal). I was on track to graduate and everything but sadly if I want to graduate i would have to stay an extra 1-2 years, and that isnt even guaranteed. So right now I am weighing my options and was wondering,
-if I enlist what positions might i get with a certified intermediate to advance knowledge of the Farsi/Persian language?
-Is the DLI an option for me, since I already have a good foundation in Farsi, and Arabic?
-How long would it take me to move up to officer position?
-And most importantly what are my options for finishing my degree while on active duty?

I have researched a lot but keep getting conflicting answers.

[josh9971uw]

Well I'm not the best resource but here goes.. If you have no current military obligations and wanted to enlist this is what would probably happen.
recruiter> discuss MOS etc
MEPS> ASVAB I "believe" you need around a 110 GT for the crypto linguist type professions. After getting your score you would take the defense language aptitude test ( I'm not sure if you'd skip this, but I think it may be a prerequisite regardless of skill) Depending on that they place you into a few different language categories ranging from having the ability to learn to being perfectly fluent in another language of need. Here you'll go to bootcamp, SOI than your 2 year language school not sure how different prior skill levels play a role here. With this route working on your degree will be delayed a few years of course and the hours of a crypto intel guy will be very random depending on your AOs and targets.

You could always go to PLC (patrol leaders course) while in college, ROTC and such and do OCS then come back and finish your degree than go to TBS and your Basic officer course.

I'd recommend checking other schools in/out of state that offer degrees similar to yours (check american military university-I think they have a mid east studies program) so you get what you want and in a timely manner.

[hussaf]

American Public University System (APUS) is what its called now; combination of AMU and APU. They have MES majors, and the teachers in that program are mostly working professionals in their field (vice pure academics living off theory and peer-reviewed journals who simply regurgitate other's field work). Its a good school, though online, but any transfer will only accept a limited number of credits. APUS/AMU/APU takes more credits than most...up to junior year, plus they take both ACE and SMART credits. I think its still $250 a credit hour which is pretty good.

[Capital M]

finish school

[Est1986]

finish school

I want to finish school, but it might not be possible. I cant afford the cost of tuition for two more years, especially if they might even bring back my major

[03Mike]

Here's my free advice (and it may just be worth what you pay for it).

1. Figure out what you want to do. There's a big difference between being a Marine and being an Officer of Marines. Both are noble and rewarding in their own ways - but enlisting in order to become an officer is not necessarily the smartest way to go.

2. If you decide to enlist, absolutely get your MOS guaranteed -- in writing -- in your contract. Don't take anyone's word for it.

3. If your goal is to become an officer of Marines, then finish college. There are many options available to you. Hussaf has offered a good option - American Military University has a Bachelor's degree in Middle Eastern Studies. Here's the program: http://www.amu.apus.edu/academic/pro...astern-studies While AMU has a lot of active duty military going to school - there are a lot of civilians and others going full time.

[DrZ]

Contact the nearest OSO and see what they can offer to get you into a university with middle eastern studies. Let the Marines foot the bill for whatever time you have left....graduate and become an Officer. Not sure how it works anymore.... it used to be 2 months in for 1 month at university.

[03Mike]

Don't enlist thinking that you can easily get into a commissioning program - they are very competitive and it's a lousy reason to enlist.

Enlist because you want to be a Marine and because you want to serve.

[Est1986]

My University brought my program back, apparently the professor was stuck in Iran becuase his visa had problems. So it looks like I get to work my a** off and apply for OCS... Thanks for all the advice, hope to see you all one day on the field.