Army ROTC or NROTC Marine option? (Advice)

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Florida_Y2000

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Mar 7, 2017
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I am currently a senior in highschool deciding what to do, as i am 100% certain i want to go to the military. I believe both branches are the best for me, but i want to go in as an officer. Ever since i was a kid i dreamed of joining the military in some way. I was bullied as a kid and in freshman, so i became more agressive and short tempered, even abusive at times (which im trying to find a balance without being weak-willed). I am very driven as long as it is something im interested in. I have a low gpa (2.0) due to personal problems, but i am in no way incapable of recieving As and Bs. The only two branches/MOS im interested in is being an intelligence officer or infantry officer.

Anyways my first option is to go to miami dade college they offer rotc and i can move to Uni of miami, which is the most efficient option, especially since ill also be in the national guard and be able to pay for college.

My second but somewhat costly option is to do NROTC after highschool, but i d have to move all the way to tallahassee for their community college and do nrotc through a cross-town agreement.(not sure if i should go reserve marines also to pay off college and rent)

Third option is to simply enlist active duty marines, and after duty go to college and no nrotc.

Which option seems best for me? Are these options realistic? Which branch seems much better in terms of pride and prestiege? Please dont tell me you cant take rotc while in junior/community college, you can as i have friends currently in it.
 
Lots of directions in your note. Because you are a senior nearing the end of high school you will not be able to improve your gpa.

  1. Did you take the SAT or ACT? What were your scores?
  2. Are you in the National Guard or just thinking about it?
The college options sound problematic for a number of reasons. You may want to consider enlisting in the Army or Marines and then pursuing college later on.
 
USMCGrunt said:
Lots of directions in your note. Because you are a senior nearing the end of high school you will not be able to improve your gpa.

  1. Did you take the SAT or ACT? What were your scores?
  2. Are you in the National Guard or just thinking about it?
The college options sound problematic for a number of reasons. You may want to consider enlisting in the Army or Marines and then pursuing college later on.
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My SAT score was 1280 out of 1600, i plan to take it again soon to improve. Also considering national guard ONLY if i plan on becoming an army officer, whether intelligence or infanty.

Why would it be problematic? If its because of my academics its perfectly understandable. Thing is in junior year i was going through rough stuff in my life, so my grades were terrible by far. Though in freshman and sophmore my grades were As and Bs. Rarely did i ever recieve an F in those years. Now in senior year theres no point in pushing a gpa thats barely going up.
 
Problematic (in my view) because Option 1 (Miami Dade/ University of Miami) as you implied you needed to join the National Guard to pay for school and because in Option 2 (Florida State) involved a move to Tallahasee, finding a place to live and joining the Marine Reserves to pay for it.

Good luck in your choice and pursuit of your dream.
 
You might consider attending a college of your choice and applying to USMC Platoon Leaders Course. It normally takes place over 2 summers starting after your sophomore year. People who complete the course successfully are commissioned as Marine Officers after they graduate from college, and there is some pay for the 6 weeks each summer that you are there. Google it. That course may allow you to be more flexible on where you attend college.
 
I used to work in the Southern Strike Bn hosted at FIU. Miami Dade and UM are part of their program. You should have no significant issue getting accepted into Miami Dade with your SAT scores but you will have to get a very good GPA while you are there to get accepted to UM. If you join the FLARNG, you could afford college at MDC or FIU, but it would not give you near enough assistance to afford UM. You can join the Southern Strike BN while at MDC. I am not sure of now, but as of 2013, they taught ROTC classes at the North and Kendall campuses.
 
Florida_Y2000 said:
I am currently a senior in highschool deciding what to do, as i am 100% certain i want to go to the military. I believe both branches are the best for me, but i want to go in as an officer. Ever since i was a kid i dreamed of joining the military in some way. I was bullied as a kid and in freshman, so i became more agressive and short tempered, even abusive at times (which im trying to find a balance without being weak-willed). I am very driven as long as it is something im interested in. I have a low gpa (2.0) due to personal problems, but i am in no way incapable of recieving As and Bs. The only two branches/MOS im interested in is being an intelligence officer or infantry officer.

Anyways my first option is to go to miami dade college they offer rotc and i can move to Uni of miami, which is the most efficient option, especially since ill also be in the national guard and be able to pay for college.

My second but somewhat costly option is to do NROTC after highschool, but i d have to move all the way to tallahassee for their community college and do nrotc through a cross-town agreement.(not sure if i should go reserve marines also to pay off college and rent)

Third option is to simply enlist active duty marines, and after duty go to college and no nrotc.

Which option seems best for me? Are these options realistic? Which branch seems much better in terms of pride and prestiege? Please dont tell me you cant take rotc while in junior/community college, you can as i have friends currently in it.
Click to expand...

Honestly enlisting active duty (not necessarily Marines) doesn't sound like a bad idea. You'd be financially stable, get some good experience, and earn the GI bill which could help you as far as college and ROTC goes.
 
Florida_Y2000,

I admire your open, forthright post. Right from the start you don't hide your shortcomings but your aggressive zest to succeed is just as clear. Ooh-rah for that.

That being said, this statement strikes me as arrogant:

"The only two branches/MOS im interested in is being an intelligence officer or infantry officer."

How about a supply officer? Or admin? Or artillery? Or mess duty? Or, god forbid, chemical warfare officer?

How about being a lowly private mowing the general's lawn at age 19, after having spent 6 months or so at Parris Island & Camp Lejeune preparing for infantry warfare? It happens, you know. No shame. Orders are orders.

How about being a US military mailman? OK, in the era of the Internet this doesn't happen so much anymore.

If you're good to go with National Guard & college then shoot for that. A sound plan, in my opinion.

If you don't mind active duty embrace-the-suck then USMC active duty for 4 years, and then take-your-choice college via the GI Bill afterwards (essentially free tuition/fees/books plus handsome monthly stipend for housing), isn't such a bad choice either.

I admire your spirit!

Good luck & Semper Fi!
 
Day-Tripper said:
Florida_Y2000,

I admire your open, forthright post. Right from the start you don't hide your shortcomings but your aggressive zest to succeed is just as clear. Ooh-rah for that.

That being said, this statement strikes me as arrogant:

"The only two branches/MOS im interested in is being an intelligence officer or infantry officer."

How about a supply officer? Or admin? Or artillery? Or mess duty? Or, god forbid, chemical warfare officer?

How about being a lowly private mowing the general's lawn at age 19, after having spent 6 months or so at Parris Island & Camp Lejeune preparing for infantry warfare? It happens, you know. No shame. Orders are orders.

How about being a US military mailman? OK, in the era of the Internet this doesn't happen so much anymore.

If you're good to go with National Guard & college then shoot for that. A sound plan, in my opinion.

If you don't mind active duty embrace-the-suck then USMC active duty for 4 years, and then take-your-choice college via the GI Bill afterwards (essentially free tuition/fees/books plus handsome monthly stipend for housing), isn't such a bad choice either.

I admire your spirit!

Good luck & Semper Fi!
Click to expand...
I appreciate the honesty, i apologize if i sounded a bit off with that. I will most likely go for what you have said since it was an option ive been considering, going active duty and then marine officer. The only reason why i even had army as an option was due to the fact that the only community college that offers NROTC is in tallahassee, too far and a bit more costly for me to be able to attend.I still want to go into the military, so army would be my second best chance of doing it.

If it was a case of whether marines or army, i truly desire to be part of the marine corps. I recently spoke with the Army national guard recruiter, and preety much he said i could do SMP while attending MDC/university so i can preety much go as an army officer while most of my tuition payed off, so now its been somewhat a dillema.
 
Florida_Y2000 said:
I am currently a senior in highschool deciding what to do, as i am 100% certain i want to go to the military. I believe both branches are the best for me, but i want to go in as an officer. Ever since i was a kid i dreamed of joining the military in some way. I was bullied as a kid and in freshman, so i became more agressive and short tempered, even abusive at times (which im trying to find a balance without being weak-willed). I am very driven as long as it is something im interested in. I have a low gpa (2.0) due to personal problems, but i am in no way incapable of recieving As and Bs. The only two branches/MOS im interested in is being an intelligence officer or infantry officer.

Anyways my first option is to go to miami dade college they offer rotc and i can move to Uni of miami, which is the most efficient option, especially since ill also be in the national guard and be able to pay for college.

My second but somewhat costly option is to do NROTC after highschool, but i d have to move all the way to tallahassee for their community college and do nrotc through a cross-town agreement.(not sure if i should go reserve marines also to pay off college and rent)

Third option is to simply enlist active duty marines, and after duty go to college and no nrotc.

Which option seems best for me? Are these options realistic? Which branch seems much better in terms of pride and prestiege? Please dont tell me you cant take rotc while in junior/community college, you can as i have friends currently in it.
Click to expand...

Florida_Y2000: There is another option I don't see discussed much regarding the Marine Corps and this is enlisted to MECEP. Granted your gpa in HS is an issue, but your SAT scores certainly show you are capable of college level courses. By serving a few years to gain maturity and then applying to be a MECEP as - you will have college benefits to attend a 4 year college with NROTC program, and earn a degree and a commission as a Marine Officer.
 
Serving 4 years could do a lot of good, or at least doing USMC reserves. I think you need to pursue the Marine Corps fully, as that is where your heart is.

Anyhow I do AFROTC, and our guys who were prior enlisted, whether it be active duty or reserves, are generally some of our more successful people.
 
glen said:
Florida_Y2000: There is another option I don't see discussed much regarding the Marine Corps and this is enlisted to MECEP. Granted your gpa in HS is an issue, but your SAT scores certainly show you are capable of college level courses. By serving a few years to gain maturity and then applying to be a MECEP as - you will have college benefits to attend a 4 year college with NROTC program, and earn a degree and a commission as a Marine Officer.
Click to expand...
Ive been hearing a bit about MECEP, but i heard its very selective about who gets to be in the program. What would you reccomend to increase ones chances in getting accepted into it? My end goal would be becoming a marine officer, but knowing my financial situation, i will have to enlist first.
 
Google USMC MECEP. You'll find plenty of info to get started (if you haven't already done so).
 
Florida_Y2000 said:
Ive been hearing a bit about MECEP, but i heard its very selective about who gets to be in the program. What would you reccomend to increase ones chances in getting accepted into it? My end goal would be becoming a marine officer, but knowing my financial situation, i will have to enlist first.
Click to expand...

Check this blurb: https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/st...face-best-odds-making-officer-years/75603926/

In other words, out of 180,00 or so US Marines on active duty, about 75 will get selected to MECEP annually.

They've had this program forever. My recruiter pitched it to me in 1981 when I was in high school. When I got on active duty and asked about it I was practically laughed at. Better odds buying lottery tickets, they'd say.

Honestly, if the military is going to be your source for a college education, active-duty then GI Bill (assuming honorable discharge) is a lock. Tuition/fees paid for and an extra couple of grand per month (non-taxable) in a housing stipend (amount depends on geography). National Guard with tuition paid for at state colleges is also a great path (though benefits vary state-by-state).

ROTC scholarships are certainly not guaranteed, but are within reach. Of course, GPA is important. Maybe get into a state school, join ROTC, get max grades freshman & then go for scholarship in sophomore year?
 
You are correct MECEP is highly selective. Those who are chosen generally have three things I have seen over the years... maturity, great performance and leadership skills, and a proven track record in college level education. I went through TBS with tons of MECEP folks and have worked with many of them while in and out of uniform. Most those selected managed to take quite a few college courses during their enlisted time and show success while taking those classes. I would never count on this as a guaranteed option. It is not in your control. Those selected were generally on their 2nd or even 3rd enlistment contracts. You have to fit in classes among other things. This can be done, but unit operational tempo plays a large role in your ability to go to class either in person or online. You would need to get your CO endorsement, so a proven track record is required to get that.

If you enlist, go in with the mind set you will do the entire contract. Your SAT scores are solid which is good. Taking some college courses and succeeding with solid As and Bs, especially high level math and science while enlisted would definitely help you with an application to USNA. Completing a 4 year enlistment with the GI Bill in your hands is a great option too!
 
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