I am 21 years old and graduated high school with a 4.0 GPA. I took one year of Chemistry Honors, one year of English 4 Honors, and two foreign language classes which were two years each. I went to a technical high school my Junior and Senior year where I completed two years of Information Technology courses and received certifications in PC support and Microsoft Office Word, Power Point and Outlook.
I also won the 2011 Future Business Leaders of America award for the state of Florida in Computer Applications. All of that, (which isn’t really all that impressive in comparison to some other applicants I have seen) and after high school, I had no idea what to do. I have been seemingly floating around with no direction for the past three years and have not attended any colleges. I moved a lot and worked many places and had no idea what I was doing with my life. Then, it hit me. I found my calling and knew what I wanted. More than anything, I know 100% that I want to be an officer in the Marine Corps.
My brother was in the Marines and served his four years and this is what got me started. I have researched and studied and finally decided that my first course of action should be to drop everything, go to college for Computer Science with an elective in ROTC, go to OCS and then do what I feel like I was made to do: Join the Marine Corps as an officer and defend my country while leading troops.
In short, a coworker told me about a friend of his that is in the Naval Academy. So, I looked into it. I was hooked. Everything I wanted to do and work for was right in front of me. I want the discipline, experience, training, challenges and everything else the Academy has to offer. I looked over their entire website and learned all of the criteria and qualifications. This is most definitely what I want but, am I what THEY want? So my questions are, will I stand a chance? I have already signed up for a college here before I learned of the Academy, so would it hurt my chances of getting in if I already attended a different college? Also, if I sign up for Fall of 2015, should I take classes like Physics and Trigonometry and Pre
Calculus for the summer at this other college? If I get good grades in those, would it help my chances? There is still so much I don’t know and I tend to get really uneasy about achieving the things I am passionate about. I would appreciate all the help I could get. Thank you!
Technically, you are still eligible for USNA. You cannot have passed your 23rd birthday by July 1, 2016 if you want to start next year. (It is definitely too late for this year.) The admissions process is outlined here:
http://www.usna.edu/Admissions/Steps-for-Admission/index.php
However, attending USNA is a long shot for everybody and your three years of “floating around with no direction” will make things even harder for you.
Nonetheless, to maximize your chances, yes, it would be best to take Physics and whatever upper level math you are qualified for. The Naval Academy emphasizes math and science.
Attending a civilian college will not hurt you at all when applying to USNA, and almost certainly will help. If you want it… the go for it!
Personally, for USMC, I recommend the “Platoon Leaders Class” instead of Naval ROTC, unless you want or need an ROTC scholarship. PLC takes less time, because it has no classes to attend, and if you “wash out” there is no obligation to the military. Plus, you can do it at any college; a major factor because NROTC is not a very many colleges. Take a look at PLC here.
https://www.marines.com/becoming-a-marine/commissioning-programs/four-year-colleges/platoon-leaders-class
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-6Q2htM5OA
Good Luck!
Thank you! I really appreciate the help! I will definitely look into PLC and do the best I can!
By the way, PLC is the biggest source of officers for the USMC. More than a third of all Marine officers come through PLC. The percentages are as below:
- PLC 35%
- NROTC 20%
- Officer Candidate Course 20%
- USNA 15%
- Enlisted to officer programs 10%
I think USMC really likes PLC because it takes time and tests the student’s commitment (without the peer support you would get via USNA or NROTC).
That’s interesting. Thanks for the info, it helps! Also, do you know how PLC would work if I got accepted into the Academy? Say I go to a civilian college and do the PLC and then I get into the Naval Academy, do I just drop PLC? Do they allow that?
That’s interesting. Thanks for the info, it helps! Also, do you know how PLC would work if I got accepted into the Academy? Say I go to a civilian college and do the PLC and then I get into the Naval Academy, do I just drop PLC? Do they allow that?
Yes, you just drop PLC. You can drop it anytime, with no obligation. I know a student at Ohio State who was involved with it for almost two years and then dropped it due to physical issues.
PLC is very popular because it is low risk for both the student and the Marines. You have no obligation, and they invest very little money in you.
I suspect that being in PLC would look good on a USNA application. I have no inside information, but I can see no way that being in PLC would hurt your cause.
That sounds excellent then. Thank you so much! That is exactly what I will shoot for!
Here is an unofficial description of PLC:
http://marineocsguide.com/marine-officer-candidates-school-what-is-the-plc-program/
Oh, I forgot, the one risk you run is that the Marines can reject you after you finish PLC. This not the case with NROTC and USNA. If you graduate from college through NROTC or USNA, you will become an officer in either the Marines or Navy.
However, I think this risk is rather small. I cannot imagine why the Marines would fail to offer a commission to anybody who completes training.