USMC and College?

[rbrick10]

Hey everybody!
I'm currently a senior in high school, and I'm set to go to the University of Arizona next year. However, I am interested in joining the Corps. I could have sworn I read something online once saying that I could join now, and during the summers, and every now and then during the school year, I would go to training.
Or am I completely mistaken?

Thanks SOO much!

[nightwolf]

It sounds to me like you're either completely mistaken or you've misinterpreted how the Marine Corps Reserves operate.

[kmarier2001]

No, you aren't completely mistaken. There are some programs out there. Here is a link to the one I think you are referring to:

http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/marin.../marineplc.htm



Welcome aboard the Hangout, by the way. Have a look around the site ~ there is some great information throughout. Enjoy!

[lovemymarine]

Kristin is right, I just got some information about the program she gave you the link to. It's great because there's no full-time commitment until you graduate college. I'd really look into it, it sounds like a great program.

[Mulls]

You're talking about the Platoon Leaders Class. It's two six-week courses over two summers during your college career. It's not like ENLISTING in the Corps...you'll go to a recruiting station and APPLY to get into the summer program. You need to maintain a 2.3 GPA, i believe, or maybe it's just a 2.0, and the physical standards are much higher, due to the fact that the point of this is to earn you a commission as a Marine Corps Officer. It's not binding - you can withdraw from the program up until leaving, and you can leave after the first one or two weeks (forget what it is) if you don't like it, plus, even if you graduate one, you don't have to go to the second, and even if you graduate BOTH, you don't have to accept the commission - you'll make the choice once you have graduated college. For those who want to stay in college but are interested in doing what they can to join the Marine Corps, it's a great route. I was in the process of joining this program, which is how i know about it, i just decided that i didn't like my college enough to stay in it for another four years, and i'd waited long enough to live my dream. The PLC camp is different than enlisted - there's more motivation and less yelling - teaching people to lead others isn't the same as teaching people to be led, as you can imagine. Most of the emphasis is, of course, on leadership, and you'll be screened and evaluated throughout the whole process...you'll be given control of the other applicants at various times and made to demonstrate your quick thinking and decisiveness. Keep in mind that this is a tough program to make it through...interestingly enough, you'll be screened by enlisted people the whole time too - they want to know YOU can lead them. You're going to University of Arizona, so you can have a great time and still work towards something incredible. Be wary, though, not to let your physical standards slip. My friend Max Uhlein has finished both his PLC courses and at the end of this year will accept his commission - he said he scored a perfect 300 on his PFT along with a ton of other people in his program, and some of them didnt even get accepted. There's a LOT that goes into it, it's not something to be taken lightly just because it's not binding. If it's not a real priority of yours, then it's not for you.

[gunga55]

There are a couple of people on here that were doing the classes during the summer. If I remember right one was a female and the other a male.

[BrotherMick]

Welcome aboard and good luck with your decisions.

[V8403]

Welcome Aboard the Hangout, check us out, get to know everyone, and best of luck to you

[rbrick10]

Thank you all SO much!
It helped more than you know!