Hoping for the best while fearing the worst

Correct. Also, NAPS is not longer used by the U.S. Coast Guard Academy as a prep school.

Check out the gocoastguard website though, under the officer section there are some great things, even for straight civilian colleges. I work with a woman who took advantage of one of the programs.
 
Other commissioning sources

Thanks - I'll ask him if he has checked out this site yet. RIght now if he doesn't receive an appointment, and doesn't get one pf the prep school slots he plans on going the Citadel and pursuing (a rather expensive) path to a Coast Guard commission b ygoingroughe Citadel and going OCS afterwards.
 
Great, and with that option, there is a way to have the Coast Guard pay for two years of that undergrad education, and then attend OCS after graduation,
 
LineInTheSand said:
Great, and with that option, there is a way to have the Coast Guard pay for two years of that undergrad education, and then attend OCS after graduation,
Click to expand...

But I don't think The Citadel qualifies as a Historically Black College under the CSPI program.
 
I thought that you might find this interesting - it's from the March 2009 VMI "Institute Report" about commissioning opportunities in the USCG. I believe that Citadel is also a participant in the Coast Guard DCSS program. No money involved during schooling but it is an option to get commissioned into the USCG without having to go thru the 4 month OCS program.

Cadets Explore Coast Guard Commissioning Opportunity
By Bob Holland

In addition to the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines, VMI cadets now have a fifth branch of service as a commissioning opportunity: the U.S. Coast Guard. On Feb. 23, two Coast Guard representatives visited the Career Services Office after Lt. Col. Gary Bissell, associate registrar, had e-mailed an open invitation to interested cadets. Sixteen showed up, and others have expressed interest. There will be follow-up visits.
Petty Officer Luke D’Lima noted that the cadets “seemed extremely interested in this program and had some excellent questions regarding the DCSS [Direct Commission Selected School] graduate program.” “The great thing,” he added, “is that a majority of the students were graduating in May and December of 2010, which gives them the time to research and get more information about DCSS and see whether this might be something they would be interested in.”

Although their decision-making must be on a faster track, some 1st Class cadets were also looking into what the Coast Guard offers. “I think that this is a great opportunity for cadets who have not been on a commissioning track while at the Institute, but are now seriously considering it,” said Cadet Jose Andueza’ 09. “As of right now, I am highly considering this program and will probably go through the application process.”
As Andueza noted, the program is tailor-made for those who have lived the military lifestyle throughout college. VMI is one of only six colleges in the nation that qualify for
DCSS as a result of the high-quality military training offered by their ROTC programs.

The key advantage for graduates of VMI and the other five schools is that the DCSS training last only four weeks, as opposed to the 17 weeks of the regular Officer Candidate School. “Until last month,” commented Cadet Alexa Tarbona ’09, “I really didn’t know what I wanted to do after graduation. I didn’t have a job lined up, nor had I ever considered commissioning. Lieutenant Colonel Bissell’s e-mail caught my attention
and something clicked.“At this point, I can only say that I am extremely excited to have such a tremendous opportunity placed at my feet and am very thankful for the flexibility and ease of this new program with the Coast Guard.”
In 2003, administrative control of the Coast Guard shifted from the Department of Transportation to the newly created Department of Homeland Security. Bissell said the commissioning opportunity provides cadets “another option for serving their country.”
In addition to completing four years of ROTC, a cadet must have a minimum GPA of 2.5 at graduation and pass a physical in order to qualify.

http://www.vmi.edu/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=21043
 
DCOs go through a nice quick and dirty 2 week course. The training centers on CG specific indoc.
 
With only 17% American minority population, the Citadel

does not qualify to my understanding as a HBCU.

I think the school's minority population (not including foreign students) must be at least 20%.

The 17% number was reported at the parents' meeting I was at there during Pre-Knob visit last week.
 
I was also at the Pre-Knob visit last week

I was also at the Pre-Knob visit last week. If you went to the ROTC discussion on Friday morning I was the guy that asked about Coast Guard options.

I left with a much better appreciation for the CITADEL. My son spent some time with the Coast Guard Warrant officer. Apparently there are two "paths" cadets take right now at The Citadel. One is to join the Coast Guard Auxiliary. THis costs just $45 a year. With this they get the opportunity to train with the Coast Guard on some "field" exercises. The other is the Coast Guard Reserve - some number of Cadets join the reserves. The Citadel is pursuing a Direct Commission option for the Coast Guard. No guarantees but they hope to have one in place by 2012 or 2013. At any rate there are post graduation options for the Coast Guard.

We also visited Norwich University. He was attracted to Norwich since the Commandant is a former CG Admiral. I don't remember his name off hand.
 
vmaguire said:
I was also at the Pre-Knob visit last week. If you went to the ROTC discussion on Friday morning I was the guy that asked about Coast Guard options.

I left with a much better appreciation for the CITADEL. My son spent some time with the Coast Guard Warrant officer. Apparently there are two "paths" cadets take right now at The Citadel. One is to join the Coast Guard Auxiliary. THis costs just $45 a year. With this they get the opportunity to train with the Coast Guard on some "field" exercises. The other is the Coast Guard Reserve - some number of Cadets join the reserves. The Citadel is pursuing a Direct Commission option for the Coast Guard. No guarantees but they hope to have one in place by 2012 or 2013. At any rate there are post graduation options for the Coast Guard.

We also visited Norwich University. He was attracted to Norwich since the Commandant is a former CG Admiral. I don't remember his name off hand.
Click to expand...


http://www.norwich.edu/about/president2.html

Here is a link with the info on Admiral Schneider
 
Cal Maritime has a great CG commissioning program.. that was my dd's choice after the Academies
 
Luigi59 said:
But I don't think The Citadel qualifies as a Historically Black College under the CSPI program.
Click to expand...

Luigi - The Citadel might not qualify under the CSPI program but I don't think being a HBCU is a requirement. There are a number of colleges that are Hispanic serving and qualify as well, from my understanding.
 
vmaguire said:
My son went as far as to apply for and be accepted to Marion, just in case. I suspect the USCGA has to "send" you to MArion or NMMI - just going on your own probably wouldn't help.
Click to expand...

I just saw this.... my daughter has a good friend who was not sponsored by the CG but went to Marion. The academy did not work out for her but she is graduating with her associates and will move on in the CSPI program.
Marion was very supportive and helpful in her achieving this goal.
I might be worth speaking with the folks down there. The CSPI program is a very good deal, anyone who doesn't get into the Academy should check into it.
 
Just_A_Mom said:
Luigi - The Citadel might not qualify under the CSPI program but I don't think being a HBCU is a requirement. There are a number of colleges that are Hispanic serving and qualify as well, from my understanding.
Click to expand...

To get the USCG to pay for two years of undergraduate education under the College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative, you must be a sophomore or junior undergraduate student enrolled or accepted for enrollment in a bachelor degree program at an accredited college or university designated as:


My advice about CSPI, Blue21, OCS, or any of the Direct Entry programs is to speak with a Coast Guard Recruiter, not an Academy Admissions Partner or anyone from the USCGA.
 
MMI & NMMI

My son actually applied to these two schools and was accepted. His logic was that if he was awarded the option of going to either school he would be all set. I have convince him that these schools are great options if awarded under the CGAS program but it would be risky to hope for an appointment to the CGA from there without being a CGAS student. Right now his backup plan is the Citadel.
He has not applied to any other Service Academy nor for an ROTC scholarship. From the research he has done he has come to the conclusion that going to another Service Academy or accepting a ROTC scholarship would equate to forfeiting his goal of being a commissioned officer in the Coast Guard. I explained to him that we would have to split the Citadel cost and he is willing to do that - and he understands what that means. This last year he took all the money he saved since birth and paid for his first year of college!!! He had a 3.5 first semester and is on track for a 4.0 this semester.
I'm - as you can see - very proud of where he is in life and how he is handling his CGA dream. I am confident that whatever path he takes to the Coast Guard he will make it.
 
Luigi - thanks for posting the link. CSPI can be a great option for the right person.

vmaguire - best of luck to your son!
 
Just_A_Mom said:
Luigi - thanks for posting the link. CSPI can be a great option for the right person.
Click to expand...

Yes, it can be.

But let's not overlook what bruno was posting about earlier either - direct commission (DCSS) programs where graduates of specific colleges (below) can bypass OCS and all basic training to commission as an O-1 or O-2.

Norwich University
Prairie View A&M University
Texas A&M University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Virginia Military Institute
Mary Baldwin College, Virginia Women’s Institute for Leadership

Graduates from State or Federal Maritime Academies who hold a Third Mate or Third Assistant Engineer license, or a degree major in Marine Environmental Protection are also eligible.

As posted before, my advice about CSPI, Blue21, OCS, or any of the Direct Entry programs is to speak with a Coast Guard Recruiter for more information.
 
Luigi,

I don't know if you have time to do this or not, but check out the Greystone program at Schreiner College in Kerrville, TX and tell me what you think. I live 30 minutes from this school. Thanks -officer
 
Citadel

Luigi59 said:
Yes, it can be.

But let's not overlook what bruno was posting about earlier either - direct commission (DCSS) programs where graduates of specific colleges (below) can bypass OCS and all basic training to commission as an O-1 or O-2.

Norwich University
Prairie View A&M University
Texas A&M University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Virginia Military Institute
Mary Baldwin College, Virginia Women’s Institute for Leadership

Graduates from State or Federal Maritime Academies who hold a Third Mate or Third Assistant Engineer license, or a degree major in Marine Environmental Protection are also eligible.

As posted before, my advice about CSPI, Blue21, OCS, or any of the Direct Entry programs is to speak with a Coast Guard Recruiter for more information.
Click to expand...

I'm surprised that The Citadel is not on this list. I will contact them to find out. My son has also been selected to Norwich - thats Plan C. And yes if you are wondering he has a plan D and E. Let me know if Citadel was left out on purpose - they told us they are working towards a direct commissioning program.

Thanks.
 
Greystone

If you search this forum, you will find some very interesting reading about Greystone.
 
What are the benefits of Direct Commission and OCS as compared to the Academy?
 
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