Talk me out of enlisting in the military

Parent Cafe
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<p>The only thing I have to add to what’s already been said is that, if you can, think about doing some college visits as soon as you can. Think about where you might want to go to college, and if you can, visit. Since you’re used to moving, it’s understandable that you’re restless. Remember that college will be a major move! And you won’t necessarily stay at the same school for 4 years - a lot of students transfer.</p>

<p>You seem very smart and mature. You might feel restless because (and nothing against your hs or friends) in some ways you’ve left the hs culture behind - and anyway, you aren’t the only one to get senioritis early. Taking classes at a local college is a good idea - it will give you a better idea of what education can be like (and it looks very good on college applications too). My daughter talked about enlisting last year (she’s a junior). Now she’s looking into other options that are a lot like what you might want - the State Department, FBI, and CIA, and AFROTC. </p>

<p>Definitely look into ROTC if you’re sure the military is what you want. One of my daughter’s friends got a NROTC scholarship and offers of nice merit aid at several colleges. He won’t have to pay a penny for college. If you enlist, you will be locked into what they want you to do, and you may be frusrated having to take orders (and the restlessness could come back once you’ve been in a while). You should have no trouble getting a scholarship. You have time - keep your options open!</p>

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<p>I agree with those who say don’t rush - you’re only a sophomore. Can’t hurt to discuss it with your parents too.
S1 just started AROTC. It’s definitely a time commitment, but he’s found it manageable. Only beef is that his school does not give credit for ROTC coursework, which is unfortunate, but he loves it.</p>

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<p>Just tell yourself that you’re dead as soon as you enter the military. :slight_smile: You’re essentially signing your life over to Obama. I wouldn’t sign my life to my own mother, let alone a politician.</p>

<p>If you want to help the world or something, then join the Peace Corps. Or go serve soup at a homeless shelter.</p>

<p>And if that doesn’t convince you not to enlist, then I can’t help you.</p>

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<p>Thanks everyone.</p>

<p>JustAMomOf4- That is kind of how I see it, there is no real wrong way to do it, just the path to officer is usually taken by going to college first, and doing ROTC or going to OCS. I think being independent will help my EFC a little bit, but my parents will have my sisters college to pay for, and I won’t be on with them to lower both of our EFC’s. But I’d probably go to a public school, to get the most bang out of my buck with the GI Bill and let my parents save their money. </p>

<p>OperaDad- That sounds really intriguing. UW is a school I’d like to go to, but apparently they don’t give much aid for OOS kids. I wonder if other states do something like that? </p>

<p>califa- Yeah, actually on my spring break vacation down South I’m going to look at 3 colleges, probably take 2-3 official visits, at least one.
I am sort of mature, at least I think my mindset and outlook on life is very different than some of my friends at school. But I’m a goofball and I like to screw around a little bit, so I guess I’m a not ready to join yet, lol!</p>

<p>I’m probably going to visit a couple recruiters in the summer, after I get my license. I’ll just ask a few basic questions, find out about jobs and get info about the ASVAB. But I’ll make sure not to sign anything, especially at this stage. </p>

<p>Thanks again everyone, this has been really helpful.</p>

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<p>coollege,</p>

<p>As to FA, actually if you are pulling down a ROTC scholarship and are a still a dependent on your parent’s taxes, you might actually help get your sister(s) better need-based FA, because your sisters’ schools won’t be asking what kind of FA you are receiveing, but generally split the EFC between all of the siblings. In other words if you by yourself have an EFC of 30K, you and 2 sisters would each end up with roughly a 10K EFC. And if you shop for your schools carefully, with Army ROTC there are also discounts on Room and Board at many schools, so your schooling could be close to free while lowering your sisters’ EFC. Yes, there are strange incentives with FA.</p>

<p>Point here is that you should make the decision for your education and career based upon a more complicated picture. Lots to consider. I’m sure others will have more info as well.</p>

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<p>If you are going to take a year off, and want to go to UW Madision, then you might want to consider:</p>

<p>1) Move to WI (short-term lease, rent a room, etc.), and get a job flipping burgers to pay the rent.
2) Change your DL, register to vote, the whole 9 yards.
3) Enlist in the Marines - Active duty. This will qualify you to be “independent” for FASFA purposes. Note: You have to be active duty for non-training purposes. So, 1 year off is perfect.
4) Declare WI as your primary residence when you enlist. This will help establish residency for tuition purposes.
5) Apply for the PLC program.
6) Apply for admissions to UW Madison</p>

<p>Note: steps 5 and 6 are not guaranteed.</p>

<p>Your PLC orders should superceed your Enlistment orders (check if this is true for active duty). This will allow you to complete your 4 years without being deployed (except for WW3 scenario).</p>

<p>By the time you are ready to start you will have been an independent WI resident for 1 year. This should qualify you for in-state tuition (you might want to verify this).</p>

<p>The WI GI bill will pay for your in-state tuition.</p>

<p>Your Marine Reserve training (twice a month) will give you additional money for room and board.</p>

<p>Your idependent status and low EFC will qualify you for all the government aid to make up the difference (if any).</p>

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<p>The ASVAB is very easy, with your GPA I will guess that you would probably score 99 percentile with a GT score in upper 130’s. It was so easy when I took it. Most students on CC would probabably score a 99 percentile.</p>

<p>From all the research I have done on the military, it is always better to join as an officer. The pay is better, and you are also treated better. I don’t want to talk you out of enlisting if that is what you want, but if you are thinking about making the army a career, it is better to join as an officer: OCS, ROTC or Service Academies.</p>

<p>FBI love accountants, and people with military experience. CIA loves people with multiple languages,analytical minds, and military backgrounds. </p>

<p>** DON’T SIGN ANYTHING UNTIL YOU HAVE EXPLORED ALL YOUR OPTIONS. RECRUITERS WILL PRESSURE YOU; DON’T LISTEN TO THEM. **</p>

<p>Good Luck!</p>

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<p>It’s good that you’re going to visit some colleges and explore your options. With your obvious intelligence and maturity, I get the impression that if you decide to join the military you will be much happier as an officer. If you want a ROTC scholarship, you should have no trouble getting one, and I think you’ll get some nice merit aid too.</p>

<p>Definitely agree with the previous poster. If you talk to recruiters, don’t sign anything. Also, if you contact them, they will pressure you. Maybe think about researching on your own instead of talking to a recruiter? Also, if you know anyone who is enlisted in the military now, maybe you could talk to them. Recruiters give you an idealized image of what enlisted life is like, and they have been known to lie. They are under such pressure to sign up more kids that there has been an increasing suicide rate among them (there’s an article in one of the newsmagazines, I think last week’s Newsweek; maybe you can find it online).</p>

<p>At risk of repeating myself, keep your options open! Good luck!</p>

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<p>My S did the ROTC route. I feel if you know you are going to enlist any way, get college free first! In hindsight, he would have loved the Military Academies, but was not sure at the time. He recently went to spent time with a recruiter (he is now a CPT) and I have to agree with tega - make sure yo do not sign anything!! </p>

<p>As for futurenyustudent - show a little respect. My friends with military careers say they are proud of what they do every single day. Good thing you are protected by a strong military force and the freedoms we have in the US - in some countries you might be shot (or worse) for your post!</p>

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<p>Bump. The itch returns…lol</p>

<p>Ok, so I’ll give a little update and I guess ask for some more advice.</p>

<p>So right now I am a Junior (wow only 3 semesters left in H.S.), and junior year… sucks to be blunt. I’ve been working my butt off and barely have time to think about things outside school. Grades are still pretty good, might have slipped a little bit this semester, but W GPA will be about the same, maybe a little higher, due to more Honors and an AP class that I’m taking this year.
I took the ACT for the 1st time in Dec. and got a 29, so I was pretty happy to start with that. Makes my goal of 32+ reasonably in reach.</p>

<p>College list is about the same. Want a big OOS with a lot of clubs and things to do. Still considering some SA’s, mainly CG and Navy. Going to apply to NROTC, maybe Marine option, and AFROTC. Leaning towards civilian college, in part because I’m not sure which branch I’d like to eventually join. </p>

<p>But I feel like enlisting again. Like I said before I kind of want to get out into the real world before going to college. I’m looking mostly at the Navy, Air Force , CG and kind of Marines. I’ve thought about doing gap year programs too. City Year sounds kind of cool, the only thing I don’t like about it is you can only apply to one city. I also might look into a couple other Americorps programs. It looks like the Peace Corps is out of the question, because I’d just be a H.S. graduate with little work experience.
Any other gap year suggestions? I’m also going to look into CBYX and Rotary for studying abroad for a year. </p>

<p>But with the military, I would actually have a real job and be independent. I like the idea of being in, for the most part, complete control of my life. I know I will be restricted because of the nature of the military, and I’m fine with that, I don’t really have a problem with authority. I just wish my parents would let me have more freedom with some choices in my life. I know most of the time they mean the best for me, but come let me live life on my own. Yeah, I know I’m going to screw up, that’s what teenage boys are really good at, haha. Overall, they are pretty good, but sometimes they can be complete control freaks.</p>

<p>But I’ve get no real problem with them and can’t complain about my life, and I don’t think it is too big of a factor in me wanting to enlist. I just want some more personal freedom. But I don’t have a problem with authority, I know that in a lot of ways the military will be worse than my parents, but I’m fine with that because I made the choice to enlist. </p>

<p>Anyways</p>

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<p>This is another big thing that I’m weighing into consideration. I’d like to go a school like USC, Miami, Michigan, etc… but the cost is expensive and I’m not sure what kind of need based aid I would get. They offer scholarships, but with my stats, I’m on the cusp, or little under the cusp of average stats of kids who get the scholarships. So maybe maybe service will put me over the top.
I’m also interested in schools like Stanford, Columbia,etc… which are huge reaches for me. With military service, these schools will…still be big reaches, but a little bit more attainable. </p>

<p>Uggghhh, this whole time in my life is all so confusing. I want to apply to like 20 schools (have a list of 14 schools, with changes to the final two almost everyday), trying to figure out good Gap year programs to think about, thinking about my future in general, and course school work, SATs and all that stuff. </p>

<p>So, I’m not sure if I asked a specific question, haha, but I guess I just wanted to ask for more advice after an update.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>Are you ready to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan? Are you ready to see combat? That’s the question you need to answer before you move forward with any plan involving the military.</p>

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<p>You may also wish to apply for the CA Maritime Academy. You will have a job as a merchant marine upon graduation. It IS competitive to attend but the cost is pretty low, since I believe it’s subsidized. We toured it when my S was looking for schools but he wasn’t particularly interested.</p>

<p>An interesting, inexpensive & very different school is “Deep Springs” in CA. It’s a 2-year school & all students there work on the ranch as part of their education and there is no tuition. It takes a certain type of student to thrive there but kids who graduate from there transfer to some amazing schools, including ivys.</p>

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<p>HImom, My son looked at Deep Springs but decided against applying. It is very interesting and very different.</p>

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<p>Yes, I’m aware if I join the Marines or Army there is a very good possibility I would be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. Even with the other branches there is a chance I could be sent over. </p>

<p>Although I’m leaning towards the CG, Navy and Air Force, the Marines are still in the mix. </p>

<p>I’ll have to look into CA Maritime Academy, thanks.
I looked into Deep Springs last and decided to not bother applying when I was a senior. It was very small and living with 25 other dudes for two years in rural California didn’t really appeal to me. But like you mentioned, I was impressed with where a lot of their graduates headed off to. </p>

<p>Thanks</p>

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<p>Yea, Deep Springs is definitely a one-of-a-kind place. The concept is amazing but have read mixed reviews. It wasn’t of interest to my S either.</p>

<p>I was very impressed by CA Maritime Academy and the idea of having job offers upon graduation was also very attractive.</p>

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<p>We are hosting 2 different wars right now.
That’s all I have to say!</p>

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<ol>
<li><p>Merchant Marine Academy</p></li>
<li><p>SUNY Maritime: “SUNY Maritime College students get results. In 2009, over 100 companies from business, engineering, maritime, and government industries flocked to recruit our students on the SUNY Maritime College campus. The average starting salary for the undergraduate Class of 2008 was $61,000. SUNY Maritime College graduates enjoy the best value of a public education while earning top average starting salaries in America.”</p></li>
</ol>

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<p>Enlisting & gaining personal freedom does not belong in the same sentence.</p>

<p>Have you talked to any school-smart enlisted guys? I know as a teen years seem very long & academically 11th grade is tough, but really ROTC or signing up after college when you can get in as an officer is a much better option for personal freedom.</p>

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<p>As a soldier who is getting out next year and going back to school I’d like to offer my perspective. If you do enlist pick a soft MOS that requires a security clearance. Good recs. from your previous CO’s and a clearance open up a lot of contracting jobs plus, if you want to do any internships with state, CIA etc. you will have a foot up just by having a clearance. Deployments aren’t a big deal in a soft MOS if you are single, don’t have kids or a house or any of that jazz (I’m about to leave on my third). In a soft MOS you will have a lot of opportunities to take “college” classes. I say “college” because for actually learning anything the classes were worthless for me but boosted my GPA. I went to college right out of high school and did pretty much everything wrong. Looking back I should have enlisted at 19-20 instead of 22. </p>

<p>On recruiters, they will only jerk you around if you let them. Do some research and find out what is bs and what isn’t. I was fortunate and had a good recruiter that spent a lot of time getting me into a MOS she actually thought I would like and not what the Army was pushing at the time. If you don’t like the recruiter you first talk to at the station talk to the NCOIC at that station and he/she will hand you over to another recruiter. If you don’t like the attitude of the station the Army/Marines/Airforce have a recruiter in most towns and nothing says you can’t walk into the office the next town over. </p>

<p>The Post 9/11 GI Bill is really generous and many private schools participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program which makes a lot of them free. Its a great deal but don’t let that be your only reason to join. If you only join for the benefits the services will eat you up. If you are even thinking about joining it probably means you should. Most people won’t understand it so don’t worry about the naysayers. The vast majority get through with no major issues.</p>

<p>For me, I’m proud to be 1 of 2 million who’ve served in OIF/OEF out of the 350+ million Americans and I think thats pretty special.</p>

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<p>I am acquainted with a retired recruiter. We had a talk a few years ago about recruiting for the military. He said that a relatively small number of young Americans can actually qualify for enlistment. Physical attributes being the number one reason for not being accepted.</p>