<p>The Voluntary Graduate Education Program (VGEP) is a long-standing program that permits qualified midshipmen to accelerate their undergraduate education in order to pursue a graduate school education. If a mid participates in this program, there is an additional service obligation incurred by participating in VGEP equal to three times the length of the graduate school program. For Naval Officers, this commitment is served concurrently with their Naval Academy obligation. For Marine Corps officers, the obligation is served consecutively with the Naval Academy obligation.
Can anyone explain:
1) why the obligation is served consecutively for Marine Corps Officers; and
2) if there are situations where it can be served concurrently as for Naval Officers?</p>
<p>Maybe a current mid can clarify, but this has the ring of falsehood to me.</p>
<p>DeepThroat</p>
<p>Something's not right, here.</p>
<p>First off, I don't think there's a difference in commitment between USN and USMC.</p>
<p>Secondly, three times the length of the studies cannot be right. It's usually one-for-one or 1.5-for-one. The longest I've ever heard is for MEDICAL school, and that's not 3-for-1, either.</p>
<p>What's the source of your info?</p>
<p>For the record, this is the first I've heard of this program. How new (or old) is it?</p>
<p>This has to have been around for awhile- our friend's son graduated USNA a few years ago, went directly to complete graduate studies at Johns Hopkins (18 months?), did his sub tour (and one tour after that I believe) and is now stationed back at the academy teaching-</p>
<p>At CVW we learned a little bit about it. If you can validate a healthy chunk of important classes (i.e. 2 semesters of calculus as a Plebe), then your first class year has some openings. So, when you become a firsty, you go to a near by college and start your graduate degree. My escort's roomate was doing this.</p>
<p>I've seen the VGEP in a couple of places in print. One instance of it is posted at the USNA website:
<a href="http://www.cs.usna.edu/academics/vgep.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.cs.usna.edu/academics/vgep.htm</a></p>
<p>It all adds up to the same thing regardless of service selection. Bottom line the commitment is 5 years 7 months from graduation, so basically 5 months upon completion of your graduate degree. Just an extra 7 months from a “normal” mid so you can finish your degree.</p>
<p>It is one for one so add on another year to what ever your service obligation is. The big thing is that the clock does not start ticking until you get where you are supposed to be! That being said, if you go pilot and do VGEP you are looking at a very long time before the clock starts. Given that flight school is backed up by +36 weeks and then it takes about 2 years to get winged and you spent a year in grad school you are looking at almost 3++ years before anything counts towards your obligation. (For the Class of 2010 and don’t see this changing for Class of 2011)</p>
<p>Incidentally, for the Class of 2010 with USMC aviation contracts they are looking at finishing TBS and then not starting flight school for 1 year - probably not even getting to Pensacola until 2012!</p>