Earning college credits (short question)

[PBD]

Hey Marines,

So here is the deal, I was sworn in as a reservists, but after some events happened I’m going to switch to an active contract.

I want earn enough college credits for two semesters (one year of college) while in the Marines, I hear that it shouldn’t be to hard, even with an mos in tanks or as a grunt(which is what I want to try to get), true?

Thank you for your time and any help you might be able to offer.

--Paul

[ArtyOps]

I want earn enough college credits for two semesters (one year of college) while in the Marines, I hear that it shouldn’t be to hard, even with an mos in tanks or as a grunt(which is what I want to try to get), true?


Who told you it wouldn't be hard? Unless they know where you'll be stationed, what unit you'll be going to, what that unit's deployment cycle is going to be like and what is going to happen with Iraq and Afghanistan it's all pretty much up in the air unit you get all of that information. I'm not trying to **** all over your dreams, I'm just trying to inject a little reality here.

On the other hand I was able to get three semesters in actually attending classes. What stopped me was I transferred to a deploying unit and couldn't continue attending classes or continue online. One piece of advise here. Make sure that you pay close attention to transferability or your college credits. It would really suck if you ended up with 40 credits that won't tranfer.

[PBD]

Who told you it wouldn't be hard? Unless they know where you'll be stationed, what unit you'll be going to, what that unit's deployment cycle is going to be like and what is going to happen with Iraq and Afghanistan it's all pretty much up in the air unit you get all of that information. I'm not trying to **** all over your dreams, I'm just trying to inject a little reality here.

On the other hand I was able to get three semesters in actually attending classes. What stopped me was I transferred to a deploying unit and couldn't continue attending classes or continue online. One piece of advise here. Make sure that you pay close attention to transferability or your college credits. It would really suck if you ended up with 40 credits that won't tranfer.


One of the recruiters at the rss told me.

He was explaining to me that I could take classes online or on base after deployments or when ever I have the time.

I was only planning to get an aa degree, but I might as well try to knock off a year of school while in the Marine Core for 4 years, mainly because the new G.i bill is only good for 3 years, and who knows, I might want to get a bachelors degree. I just don’t want to pay out of my own pocket for the last year of school.

[JGiddens]

Heres the deal: it is very simple to get as much credit as you want for college, WITHOUT attending online classes, because a lot of credible universities wont accept online class credit very often. Go to your base education office and get a list of the CLEP tests that they offer and a schedule of test dates(usually a day each week). They are free for military, 120 bucks for civilians. I was awarded 32 credits toward my degree from just CLEPS. Dont rely on military training to get you very far, unless youre talking about ACE accredited MCIs. Aside from that, the only real credit youll get from military training will be in the form of gym class credits... congrats, you dont have to take PE in college.

A two year college will grant a max of 32 credits usually (thats what I did, just to warm up for real college at a PhD granting institution) and four year colleges usually grant 60 credits for transfer students, but dont expect that from military experience and CLEPS, they want to see college class room time.

Again, I cant stress enough how important it is to take those free CLEP tests. Theyre easy, I didnt study for ONE of them and walked in each week, picked one, and got great grades on all of them, leading to free college credit that would equal about 95000 dollars in tuition, fees, room and board for the college Ill be attending in the fall.

[JGiddens]

One more thing:
Dont waste your time going to college if you arent going to get at least a 4 year degree, because an associates is about as good as a high school diploma. If you CLEP at least 32 credits (I did) and you take about 15 credit hours of school each semester after you get out of the military and go to a real University, you can finish a bachelors and even have GI Bill left over for your Masters program.

I could have completed my associates degree in history in only one semester with summer courses, but I opted to skip summer and go in the fall. Having said that, I will get my 4 year degree and have about 6 months of GI Bill payment left, good for one more semester of GI Bill benefits. CLEPing all of those credits will definitely pay off...

Also, even if your GI Bill runs out, most institutions will offer scholarships and other forms of financial aid, so you can still leave with a great degree from a credible university without having any school debt.

Stay away from online classes offered by military friendly universities, like university of phoenix... theyre only good if youre staying with that school for your degree, and believe it or not, any job worth mentioning will look at the university you got your degree from when hiring, and sadly, if you invest in a higher quality education, it will go farther. Think about it, BA from University of Phoenix, or BA from Harvard? That may be an extreme, but school credibility counts.