Marine Corps MECEP. Legit or recruitment?

taymcg12

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Does anyone on here know anything about the Marine Corps MECEP program? I can't decide whether it is legit or not. The recruiter said with my ASVAB scores and SAT scores, if I enlisted in the Marine Corps and stayed 2 years (because I must be 20) I can take a pt test and as long as I score a 225 or above then I am guarenteed acceptance to the Naval Academy. Currently I am a competetive applicant to the academy with VMI as my backup, but if this is legit, I may take this route. Is this program competetive at all, or do all I have to do is have qualifying ASVAB, PFT, and SAT scores? Or by qualify, does he mean I qualify in the sense that I qualify to apply to the Naval Academy but I still have to compete to get in?
 
The way the recruiter put it is that all I have to do is be 20 with my SAT, ASVAB, and PFT scores and I will automatically be selected to go to the academy or an NROTC school. College is a major part of my plans. I know that I want to be in the military, but I do not want to get 2 years out and be stuck without any college options.
 
He's feeding you some BS. MECEP is a great program, but it's for NCOs who've proven their leadership in the fleet. The specific requirements are sort of a shifting target based on needs of the Marine Corps (Google the MECEP MARADMIN for details) but to give you an idea of the MECEP Marines in my TBS platoon:

-tanker SSgt who had been deployed 3x and been a provisional platoon commander
-infantry platoon sergeant who had deployed 2-3x
-helicopter crew chief who'd deployed to Iraq

The most junior MECEP Marines had all been at least senior Cpls/Sgts, had stellar recs from their CoC, and most had college credits as well. Showing up as a junior Marine with MECEP is a great goal, but it's not a plan. A multitude of things can prevent you from getting it, many of them out of your control.

To go from the fleet to USNA is "easier," but you still will need time to go to boot camp, ITB/SOI, MOS school (potentially very long), and then prove yourself in your first unit. No CO is going to send PFC Schmuckatelli to USNA without having some kind of idea of who he is.
 
Thats what I was thinking. I do currently have 26 college creds not counting the ones I am currently earning. I got an 1860 on the SAT, and I have about a 4.03 high school GPA with tons of extracuriculars and leadership positions. I also plan to volunteer to deploy to Iraq (heard this was a thing you could do). So if I were to go in, do what I'm supposed to do and demonstrate good leadership I could have a pretty good shot at going at least to say VMI or The Citadel?
 
And does anyone know where I can find some documented statistics of enlisted men who are selected for this program to see if I would be competetive as far as what I have already done and accomplished?
 
Thats what I was thinking. I do currently have 26 college creds not counting the ones I am currently earning. I got an 1860 on the SAT, and I have about a 4.03 high school GPA with tons of extracuriculars and leadership positions. I also plan to volunteer to deploy to Iraq (heard this was a thing you could do). So if I were to go in, do what I'm supposed to do and demonstrate good leadership I could have a pretty good shot at going at least to say VMI or The Citadel?
As Hurricane12 said, that's not a viable plan. Way too many variable to say you have a good shot. At this point you're better off applying straight to the academy or NROTC. You can always fall back to your enlisted/MECEP plan if other routes don't pan out.
 
And in the spirit of GEICO commercials, Recruiters are always going to try to recruit you as enlisted.... that's what they do!
 
Hurricane is spot on. MECEP is for NCOs who have stellar records and have proven themselves along the way on the classroom, generally with college level courses. It's not as easy as hitting all the checks in the boxes and you get it. Its competitive and many apply multiple times. That is one route to commissioning. Applying to USNA from the fleet is another path and is not MECEP. It has a different set of requirements. If you google MECEP requirements and/or you go online to the admissions site at USNA and go to the area for fleet applicants it should provide all the info you need. None of these paths are a guarantee. If you go this route you need to have the mindset that you will serve your entire enlistment (which isn't bad by any means, but it depends what your goals are).
 
As I said, I definetly know that I want to commit myself to duty, but I also feel that college is essential to me. The biggest advantage I see to MECEP is gaining enlisted experience before commissioning.
 
For whatever it's worth: I was in your shoes 7-ish (!!!) ago. I wanted to go do stuff and be a Marine and go break things/kill people as fast as possible.

But, if your ultimate goal is to become an officer, you're honestly mostly slowing yourself down by enlisting first. Enlisted service will not necessarily make you a better officer. There are some amazing priors (I respect the hell out of the men I mentioned in my other post), and there are some terrible priors. While you're shaped by your experience at your commissioning source, ultimately your performance as an officer is dictated by what type of man/woman you are and in no small part by how much you care.

I understand the desire to be a part of the action, but consider your long term goals as well as the short term.
 
I will take that advice to heart. I think I will continue to try for the academy and if I do not make it there, VMI is the next option (hopefully with a scholarship!) And if not that, then I will move to other options. Thank you for being honest and sharing your experience with the program!
 
taymcg12: you have gotten sound advice here.

You ask if the MECEP program is legitimate? You bet it is.

Enlist, stay for 2 years and guarantee a trip to the USNA with a 225+ pft? No way. You heard it wrong.

Is MECEP competitive? Of course. Only the best NCO's will even get a shot.

MECEP is not the path to USNA but NROTC instead.

As I said, I definetly know that I want to commit myself to duty, but I also feel that college is essential to me. The biggest advantage I see to MECEP is gaining enlisted experience before commissioning.

With these goals, I recommend you stop thinking about enlisting and concentrate on getting into the college of your choice. Apply for the NROTC scholarship. Even if you don't get it, join as a college programmer and try to earn a scholarship. After that there are alternative routes like PLC and OCC.
If you want to get into the USNA, apply there also. Speak to NROTC unit staff, Officer Selection Officers, or other commissioning source experts.

And remember, there are no guarantees in the military - or in life for that matter!
 
Everybody on this is post is spot on but let me give you an outlook from my perspective..

High school I was an AP/Honors student as well as my high school's #1 student/athlete. 4x varsity letter in 3x sports.

I was Marine of The Quarter, run a 300PFT, 300CFT and just got meritoriously promoted to Corporal per MCIPAC (Marine Corps Installation Pacific). Huge honor for me and I just received my Secretary of The Nomination to have the CHANCE to attend USNA and right now it is STILL NOT guaranteed that I will get into USNA (NAPS included).
Like someone on this post said, your best bet is to apply to the Academy and see if you can get in. If not then try NROTC and if it doesn't work out, enlist and try for USNA again or work towards MECEP. Yes it is a little easier and you'll be a little more competitive but it could take about 1-2 years before you can apply to USNA and you have to prove yourself to you CO.

To apply to MECEP, the order is always changing based on the needs of the Corps but it currently stands that you have to be a Sergeant which can take a few years.

When you become a Marine, you'll understand that nothing is ever guaranteed. Lastly, understand this... Going to USNA/NROTC is a 9-10 year commitment. Just remember that. If you're curious about the process for active duty applicants in the Marine Corps, don't hesitate to message me for any questions.
 
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