PDA

View Full Version : Further Education



3rdUSMCMcCullum
03-13-08, 04:14 PM
I have some questions for anyone who can answer them. I am going to graduate this fall and plan on applying to officer candidate school. I hope to be Marine number 3 in a line of McCullum men.
I know the Marine Corps may reimburse tuition up to 4,200/yr for active duty servicemen and I plan to take advantage of that benefit. My question is how long into a Marine career would a person be able to take a part-time course? I assume Basic School and Initial MOS training are nothing like college and take up most hours of the day so this is for Marines who are well adjusted to their duty stations. But do you even stay at the same duty station for more 24 months or long enough to realistically pursue a degree?
Also I wonder if anyone who took advantage of this opportunity would be willing to tell me where they went to school. A lot of my friends ended up in 29palms and Lejeune. Is this where most Marines go? What kind of Marines end up near Virginia or DC? An older guy from my high school was stationed in DC and went to George Mason part-time. Any idea what MOS would put him there? Obviously my priority is to be the best Marine I can be, but I would really like to get another degree in the free time I have; I’m not much for idleness.
If it matters or helps to direct your insight I hope to pursue MOS 0204, 1803 or 0207 because I have foreign language knowledge and enjoy the idea of helping locals trust the Marines around them, but I also like tanks and aeroplanes.

Also, since I'm typing in a forum anyway... Peanut Butter Jelly Time:banana:

rvillac2
03-13-08, 06:37 PM
You should be spending the very early years of your career learning your trade and acclimating to the Corps. Once you get settled into a permanent duty station, you can consider taking correspondence courses or online classes.

Graduate degree programs are more accommodating to the working student than most other programs.

Additionally, depending on how your year progresses, you may be sent to grad schools or even Command/Staff College. You will hear about a lot of career officers pursuing graduate degrees.

There is no way to tell where you'll be stationed until you know your MOS.