Navy/College Education

[play2win]

As a Navy Sailor will there be opportunities to enroll in college?

[BunkerQB]

My personal belief is that the Navy is an absolutely fantastic place to have a career, acquire an education, see the world, save some money and serve our country.  See the various avenues available in addition to the approach Lady Hamilton's daughter took.  A close friend of mine from college has a daughter who joined the Navy after college as an INTEL officer. She is going to graduate school (as part of her shore leave). She reupped for 2 additional years beyond her original 8 years (6 active & two reserved). The Navy is paying her tuition. She is attending a very prestigious East Coast university for a masters. She served in Afghanistan with her boots on the ground.  We have many accomplished sailor - men and women.

Below is my comment from a discussion posted on August 24, 2009 titled "My son is a Junior High in HS who wants to join a branch."   http://www.navyformoms.com/forum/topics/my-son-is-a-junior-in-hs-who?  In her comment, the poster stated "He is a smart boy who every one is asking why on earth is he joining but his concern is that he wants to have money to pay for school and figures the service will do it." 

1. Naval Academy, United State Military Academy (West Point), Air Force Academy 
   a). He may be too late to apply to the Navy Academy, West Point or Air Force Academy. Most applicants open a file sometime during their sophomore year in high school. Typically, each service academy get somewhere between 10,000 to 12,000 applicants per year. Out of that around 3500 +/- will get nominations (from a US Congressmen or US Senator). Out of that perhaps 2000-2100 will be further qualified academically and physically and are offered an appointment. When Reception day rolls around, the number that actually enrolls is in the 1200 range. The graduating classes are normally around 950 - 975. Tuition, room and board is paid. In addition, everyone gets paid roughly $850 per month (after deductions for taxes and academy-related expenses - the spendable income is about $250.
   b). He could go to junior college first and apply from there but there will be not transfer of credits from junior college.
   c). He could enlist and apply to the any of the service academies - every service academy has a "prep" school catered to help prior enlisted brush up on their academics (this is a one year endeavor).  There is no repercussion if the attendee leaves after the first two years.
   
   
2. ROTC, NROTC
   His tuition is paid by the government. He is required to do physical training while going to college. His service commitment after completion of college is typically 6 years. You can select a college of your choice, assuming you can get in and as long as the college has a ROTC or NROTC program (or a neighboring college has a program and can provide the required courses).  Many prefer this route because the restrictive life style of the service academies makes the four years at the academies excruciating difficult. The semblance of a normal collegian life is worth much and all who are considering the service academies should think long and hard before commitment. You can choose a  college close to home - if that is important. Or choose a college in a setting desirable for his eventual career choice. The males outnumber the females in a ratio of 10 to 1. For many guys this alone will be enough to go ROTC/NROTC. If a person is strong in math/science and is currently an engineering major and if he so desires, he could apply to the NUPOC (Navy Nuclear) program which could pay up to $40,000 per year for tuition, room and board. Commitment is 5 years after graduation from college.
   http://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/usw/issue_10/nupoc.html
   http://www.navy.com/navy/joining/education-opportunities/undergradu...
   
3. Officer Candidate School.
   Go to college on his own dime and apply to Officer Candidate School after graduating from college. All OCS candidates have college degrees. Why would any one want to do that? There are no financial benefits, after all the college education has already been paid (some refund may be possible on students loans upon joining the military). First of all, the job market is tough. There are loads of kids with college degrees making coffee at Starbucks. Secondly, the military offers officers opportunities in leadership positions not available to young employees fresh out of college.  Third, there are college graduates who want to serve our country - to give something back. Lastly, the military offers a chance to experience something totally different from the civilian world.
   http://www.ocs.navy.mil/ocs.asp
   http://navynupoc.blogspot.com/
   
4. STA-21 Seaman to Admiral Program.
   Go to this Forum Discussion STA-21 Breakdown?  Much has been posted already - no need to regurgitate all that again. Here are the links for your convenience.
   https://www.sta-21.navy.mil/
   http://www.navyadvancement.com/navy-store/navy-college-education.php
   http://www.military.com/education/content/money-for-school/navy-edu...
   http://www.persnet.navy.mil/CareerInfo/Education/

I would like to address your statement "He is a smart boy who every one is asking why on earth is he joining...."   The people who are asking why he would join the military are obviously out of touch with the degree of difficulty getting into the Navy these days. My sailor is a nuke officer on a sub. He joined the Navy after graduating in 2006 with honors from an university with a top engineering department. He majored in Electrical Engineering with enough courses in Physics he probably could've gotten a second degree in no time. Coming out of high school, his SAT I & II in Math were 800. In Physics it was close to 800. At Nuke school, he actually found a few of guys with HIGHER scores. He joined the Navy because he wanted to not because he had to. My other son attended West Point for two years. His scores were not as strong as his brother's in Math but he had a couple of 5s in AP History (European and US) and a 4 in Spanish. He was recruited for one of the sports teams. They were both superbly fit and were Athletes of the Year (in high school) multiple times.

If you think getting into the Navy is a cake walk these days, you may have a rude awakening. I am humbled by the quality of applicants we have in the Navy. But there are opportunities too for those who were underachievers in high school but scored high on the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) test. I know a young man who enlisted at 18 as a nuke, got his degree, then became an officer through OCS. At 30 years old, he just complete his MBA at a prestigious school paid for by the Navy. I know another young man who went in at 18 also. He completed his certification as a fire fighter and paramedic. He is also taking college courses as often as he can. Even without a college degree, he estimated his starting civilian salary will be at least in the 65 to 80K range with great benefits.

I hope this information was helpful. I encourage you to help your son explore all his options and choose a path that is right for HIM. I wish your son the best of luck.  BQB

1. Naval Academy, United State Military Academy (West Point), Air Force Academy 
   a). He may be too late to apply to the Navy Academy, West Point or Air Force Academy. Most applicants open a file sometime during their sophomore year in high school. Typically, each service academy get somewhere between 10,000 to 12,000 applicants per year. Out of that around 3500 +/- will get nominations (from a US Congressmen or US Senator). Out of that perhaps 2000-2100 will be further qualified academically and physically and are offered an appointment. When Reception day rolls around, the number that actually enrolls is in the 1200 range. The graduating classes are normally around 950 - 975. Tuition, room and board is paid. In addition, everyone gets paid roughly $850 per month (after deductions for taxes and academy-related expenses - the spendable income is about $250.
   b). He could go to junior college first and apply from there but there will be not transfer of credits from junior college.
   c). He could enlist and apply to the any of the service academies - every service academy has a "prep" school catered to help prior enlisted brush up on their academics (this is a one year endeavor).  There is no repercussion if the attendee leaves after the first two years.
   
   
2. ROTC, NROTC
   His tuition is paid by the government. He is required to do physical training while going to college. His service commitment after completion of college is typically 6 years. You can select a college of your choice, assuming you can get in and as long as the college has a ROTC or NROTC program (or a neighboring college has a program and can provide the required courses).  Many prefer this route because the restrictive life style of the service academies makes the four years at the academies excruciating difficult. The semblance of a normal collegian life is worth much and all who are considering the service academies should think long and hard before commitment. You can choose a  college close to home - if that is important. Or choose a college in a setting desirable for his eventual career choice. The males outnumber the females in a ratio of 10 to 1. For many guys this alone will be enough to go ROTC/NROTC. If a person is strong in math/science and is currently an engineering major and if he so desires, he could apply to the NUPOC (Navy Nuclear) program which could pay up to $40,000 per year for tuition, room and board. Commitment is 5 years after graduation from college.
   http://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/usw/issue_10/nupoc.html
   http://www.navy.com/navy/joining/education-opportunities/undergradu...
   
3. Officer Candidate School.
   Go to college on his own dime and apply to Officer Candidate School after graduating from college. All OCS candidates have college degrees. Why would any one want to do that? There are no financial benefits, after all the college education has already been paid (some refund may be possible on students loans upon joining the military). First of all, the job market is tough. There are loads of kids with college degrees making coffee at Starbucks. Secondly, the military offers officers opportunities in leadership positions not available to young employees fresh out of college.  Third, there are college graduates who want to serve our country - to give something back. Lastly, the military offers a chance to experience something totally different from the civilian world.
   http://www.ocs.navy.mil/ocs.asp
   http://navynupoc.blogspot.com/
   
4. STA-21 Seaman to Admiral Program.
   Go to this Forum Discussion STA-21 Breakdown?  Much has been posted already - no need to regurgitate all that again. Here are the links for your convenience.
   https://www.sta-21.navy.mil/
   http://www.navyadvancement.com/navy-store/navy-college-education.php
   http://www.military.com/education/content/money-for-school/navy-edu...
   http://www.persnet.navy.mil/CareerInfo/Education/

I would like to address your statement "He is a smart boy who every one is asking why on earth is he joining...."   The people who are asking why he would join the military are obviously out of touch with the degree of difficulty getting into the Navy these days. My sailor is a nuke officer on a sub. He joined the Navy after graduating in 2006 with honors from an university with a top engineering department. He majored in Electrical Engineering with enough courses in Physics he probably could've gotten a second degree in no time. Coming out of high school, his SAT I & II in Math were 800. In Physics it was close to 800. At Nuke school, he actually found a few of guys with HIGHER scores. He joined the Navy because he wanted to not because he had to. My other son attended West Point for two years. His scores were not as strong as his brother's in Math but he had a couple of 5s in AP History (European and US) and a 4 in Spanish. He was recruited for one of the sports teams. They were both superbly fit and were Athletes of the Year (in high school) multiple times.

If you think getting into the Navy is a cake walk these days, you may have a rude awakening. I am humbled by the quality of applicants we have in the Navy. But there are opportunities too for those who were underachievers in high school but scored high on the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) test. I know a young man who enlisted at 18 as a nuke, got his degree, then became an officer through OCS. At 30 years old, he just complete his MBA at a prestigious school paid for by the Navy. I know another young man who went in at 18 also. He completed his certification as a fire fighter and paramedic. He is also taking college courses as often as he can. Even without a college degree, he estimated his starting civilian salary will be at least in the 65 to 80K range with great benefits.

I hope this information was helpful. I encourage you to help your son explore all his options and choose a path that is right for HIM. I wish your son the best of luck.  BQB

[Anti M]

I attended classes on and off while I was enlisted, using the free tuition assistance.  Of course, a sailor can't go to college while in their A and C schools, and classroom opportunities can be limited as their Navy duties come first.  But there are programs which even send professors to sea on the ships, and shore duty is the perfect time to work on a degree.    

I did finish my BS degree after I separated from the Navy, as a dependent wife in Japan.  I missed too many classes as a sailor to finish up a four year degree, but the Associates was easy.  However, I was in a special circumstance which prevented regular attendance.  It was the University of Maryland, classes were held in the evening on base..  Very intense eight week terms, missing one class there was like missing two or three at a normal instruction pace.  Online classes were not common then, there's a lot which can be done online now.

I'm posting the link for the colleges on base in Yokosuka so you can see there are opportunities for education even overseas.

http://www.cnic.navy.mil/Yokosuka/InstallationGuide/NavyCollege/ind...

[Angie]

yes there will be opportunities, but not while in bootcamp or while in training, and after the first year at the command.  They will be able to take classes here and there not go to college full time.  Also the Navy will always come first.