Prior Service Marine to NROTC questions

[castrum8]

Hello, I'm currently an enlisted first term Marine and I'm trying to plan out my future at the moment...

My dream is to become a Navy officer after my service as an enlisted Marine is done (I know it's kind of odd but that's just how it is lol). To do so, I'm thinking of using the GI Bill to finish college at any fine university with an NROTC program in California, since I already have an Associate's Degree. I would want to finish my Bachelor's in History.

So going to college for NROTC with 2 years left (or 3, since I would have to fit calculus and physics into my schedule, correct?) and an associate's degree and being prior service, (and I have a tattoo on my upper bicep/shoulder, well within regs and invisible under the PT shirt, is that disqualifying or waiverable? Is that waiver hard to get?), is this a realistic plan for getting into NROTC? I don't care about the scholarship, the GI bill has me covered, I just care about becoming a naval officer.

On my side:
I have pretty good test scores (31 ACT, 2060 SAT, 99 ASVAB).
I could easily knock out the Navy PRT.
Prior service experience.

So how would i go about getting into NROTC and securing a slot to commission? Any ideas, feedback, or tips would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

 

[Spud]

I think you need to expand your thinking a bit because there is more out there. First off, your scores put you as a candidate for the Naval Academy if you want a gold plated education and leadership degree. Sure, you would have to go 4 years but many, many young men have a couple of college years (including myself) under their belt before USNA, and I found it helped me profoundly and the reward was well worth it. You did not say what your Associate is in but it may be way short in credits and types of classes to just tack on 2 more years of college and expect to get a degree that the Navy wants.

I would also call the Navy point of contact for ALL officer acquisition programs as there are programs for an enlisted trooper to get a degree while on active duty. That gives you more money to live on plus retirement longevity. The GI Bill is not a fountain of money and you will find with it that you will be scraping by (at a fine university in high cost-of-living California) and probably taking a job to make up the difference---it is not a full-ride, stress free scholarship. I have no idea how NROTC treats paying a midshipman who is also collecting the GI Bill but, knowing the government, I have a strong suspicion that you would not get both but I am sure someone else here can clarify that.

Your plan to get out and go NROTC is fine, but if you can get a degree while on active duty, you are way ahead of the game.

 

[USMCGrunt]

I agree. You need to look at all options including those programs available to current enlisted personnel (MSECP and Navy equivalent) in addition to NROTC, Academy and PLC, OCS type programs.

If you have 30 credit hours or more, the ROTC scholarship may not be available.

Thank you for your service and best of luck in your path to a commissioning.