Some people believe college and the Navy are two different choices.

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Permalink Reply by Karen Gallagher on February 23, 2008 at 5:56pm

no not really my son will be able to get a college degree while in the navy from a very prestigious college and pay next to nothing for the degree. He has enough credits from the navy education after 2 yrs of school (navy school) to be close to a BA in engineering. He will be able to get his BA and Masters in a short time while on the sub and never have to set foot on a college campus.

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Permalink Reply by Susan J on March 14, 2008 at 4:24pm

My son being in the nuclear field in the Navy..he is MM3 now. Plans on having his BA degree in another year while serving on a sub. Then when the time comes he plans on using his GI bill to pay for college as he wants to go back and get his degree in Sports Medicine. AND that is without ever spending a DIME!

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Permalink Reply by EM2 Jake on March 18, 2008 at 5:13pm

As already posted, the Navy and college are closely linked these days. After going through my training in Charleston and Saratoga, I have more than enough college credit to have an associates degree in Nuclear Engineering Technology. My plan is to finish up my bachelor's and then to get a master's as soon as I can afterwards.
I am also enrolled in a program to get me an Journeyman Electrician's license in the real world for another option when I get out of the Navy, should I decide not to make it a career.
Oh, and all of that is either free or very inexpensive. So far, and in the forseeable future, I won't be paying a single cent out of pocket for any of that.
A note, however: for the MGIB to take effect, your sailor MUST enroll in it in boot camp. In all, it costs $1,200 ($100/month for one year), but it is possibly one of the est investments he or she can make at the time, the return of $30,000 is too great to pass up!

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Permalink Reply by VeryProudNavyMom on March 25, 2008 at 10:54pm

Jake,

Where have you been all our lives....now see THIS is info that would be VERY helpful....I did not know they could ENROLL for the MGIB in BC...wished I had known this prior....my son is just getting ready to leave GL for his next post for C school.....is there a way he can still enroll in this at this time?

AND YOU should be very proud of yourself, you have a plan and a goal and you have worked hard.

And last but certainly not least, thank you, for your service to our country. It is because of folks like you that I sleep peacefully at night. I am thankful.

Thank you.

Much respect,
Kelley

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Permalink Reply by Karen Gallagher on March 28, 2008 at 8:20pm

that is one of my boys !!! :)

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Permalink Reply by Nancy (aka nwig) on June 1, 2008 at 2:44am

I believe what Jake was saying is that in order to access the GI Bill, a Sailor needs to enroll in the "program" where they take $100 out each month, for 12 months, and then after 3 years of military service they are qualified to access the GI Bill benefits.

If you were asking if the Sailor can start using the GI Bill while in A or C school, I don't think that is possible during those first 12 months, for sure, and most likely it still has to be 3 years.

However, they get plenty of college credits during their training; and then there are CLEP & DANTES testing credits which are totally free to the Sailor, and then there is TA or Tuition Assistance where the Navy pays 100% of tuition (separate from the GI Bill) to take college classes (either in class, online, or on ships). However, there have been recent changes to the TA rules, and pretty much the Sailors now have to be at their first duty station, have most of their duty station qualifications completed, and be qualified for their next advancement.

And besides, during A or C school (unless they are on hold in between) is not the time to be looking at college classes. They need to focus on the Navy training; and then look for college classes after arriving at their duty station and determining how much time they have for college, in addition to their regular Navy duties.

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Permalink Reply by NavyRecruiter on July 21, 2008 at 10:49am

New change to this...
MGIB is now $80,000 and does not require to be paid into. So instead of paying in $1,200 for almost $40,000. You will get $80,000 for college without cost to the sailor. There are a lot of new changes with this ne GI bill. Too much for me to put up here but if you check out http://www.militarytimes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1565789

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Permalink Reply by Cat M on July 23, 2008 at 7:12am

Holy Cats! Thank you for this information! For people who have already gone thru BC, and didn't sign up, can they still get this?

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Permalink Reply by JLD on March 28, 2008 at 6:45pm

Our son was in community college for four years and didn't get a sense of direction from his experiences there. He apparently needs more hands-on training, stricter discipline, and fewer choices than his upbringing and his education afforded him.

I'm hoping he'll take advantage of the college classes and college credits the Navy makes available, because if and when he gets out of the Navy, he will need a college degree to make a decent living.

I'm looking at the Navy as a way for my son to acquire real life skills, self discipline and a sense of personal worth. The things he's going to be doing in the Navy will let him know he is capable of succeeding. He definitely needs the morale boost you achieve by completing a difficult course of training. The Navy is providing him with an education that will give him the confidence he needs to succeed in a job and, I hope, in college. But he is an adult now. He will make his own decisions about what he will do and how he will use his Navy experience.

Fortunately, I have a good relationship with my son. I can talk to him and make suggestions, but he understands that he makes the ultimate choices. I am very proud of his decision to go into the Navy and try to let him know that. I am a pacifist, and he knows that, too, but I also come from a family with a long military history (like Lieutenant Dan in Forrest Gump some member of my family has served in every war since the New England colonies were founded.) That's my son's history, too. He is starting to recognize that. My Dad pulled out his WWII and Korean War scrapbooks at Christmas and showed them to us. The Navy was the start of my Dad's career. He went on to become an Air Force pilot, and earned his BS and MA through the military. I hope my son can take advantage of the same opportunities.

Jan

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Permalink Reply by Linda McCormick on March 30, 2008 at 7:28pm

One of the reasons my son joined the navy was for the opportunity to go further with his college education. He has been going to community college and working 2 jobs. He is very excited that the navy will help hom to reach his educational goals!!

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Permalink Reply by Coyote on March 30, 2008 at 9:03pm

I beleive it can be both. It can be a way to get a superior education while serving your country and gaining life skills. It is a definitely a different way to do it. Some choose to go to college first and then go into service, some the other way. For young people who are restless and undecided this is a great way to gain focus. Hopefully the experience they have with the Navy will reinforce the discipline and life skills needed to obtain the desired education. Our son went in before finishing college. We hope he takes every advantage offered to him, as well as make the navy his career choice.

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Permalink Reply by knq on May 31, 2008 at 4:02pm

My husband joined the Navy when he was 18. He now has a bachalors degree and can retire with full benefits all before he is forty years old. He plans to become a teacher and he can retire from that as well.

I would say Yes, there is a connection between the two.

Denise

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