can you still get accepted into ocs if you earned your college degree online? i am curerently active duty in the navy right now and the easiest way to earn a degree while on sea duty is online. i was wondering if it matters where your degree came from or is a degree a degree?any information would be very helpful.
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online degree and ocs
- Thread starter dhall_140
- Start date
No, it doesn't matter. Just make sure the school is accredited either by one of the regional accrediting agencies or the Department of Education.
nublett
Been there, done that.
I'm not sure I completely agree with Mr. Wilkins. Yes, a degree is a degree, but when applying for certain programs/positions, not all degrees are created equal. I was active duty, deployed on subs (back before e-mail) and I was able to complete my degree. There are ways. Speak with your Command Career Counselor and a prior enlisted officer (in person) who is in the position that you would like to be in. Ask their advice; if you are as lucky as I was, that officer will mentor you. The things to ask yourself when making your college or university choice are 1) Can I be competitive for the position I want with a degree from this institution? 2) Can I maintain a competitive GPA in this environment? 3) Are their professors going to be understanding of the fact that I am on active duty? 4) If I transfer duty stations will I be able to finish my program elsewhere if need be? Just a shameless plug... Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University was the "yes" answer to all of my questions.
Good luck.
Good luck.
Not quite sure what part of my position you don't agree with because you didn't address it. The question asked by the original poster was whether he would be eligible to be accepted into OCS if he got his degree via an online curriculum. That was the question I answered. Your statement above is somewhat confusing because it appears you are trying to take two postions simultaneously. For the purposes of qualifying for a commission, a degree is a degree. I think this is what you were trying to say, but I'm not sure.nublett said:
I can't speak for the Navy, but the Marine Corps uses the Barron's rating of each college as a determining factor for selection. I think what this means is that, GPAs being equal, the guy who graduated from Harvard will probably be selected before the guy from University of Phoenix Online.
That being said, I was told by the Navy Senior Chief from NRD Richmond who administered my ASTB that he had never heard of anyone getting selected for Navy OCS with a degree from Saint Leo University (where I graduated from the continuing education program with honors
). He told me I should have gone with a technical major from a well known University (ERAU was mentioned).
I was a little worried about that when I applied for Marine Corps OCS, but my OSO told me that my school is rated "Competitive" by Barron's, and schools like Old Dominion, Virginia Wesleyan, and Christopher Newport University are in the same category.
If you are taking classes on active duty, you are probably going to have to attend a non-traditional scool. I think the board members take that into consideration while selecting applicants, so being active duty probably helps a lot. If you were an 18 year old high school grad taking classes online, you might be less likely to be selected for OCS than if you were an active duty Sailor or Marine trying to squeeze a few classes in here and there between dets.
Cheers/ Paul
That being said, I was told by the Navy Senior Chief from NRD Richmond who administered my ASTB that he had never heard of anyone getting selected for Navy OCS with a degree from Saint Leo University (where I graduated from the continuing education program with honors
). He told me I should have gone with a technical major from a well known University (ERAU was mentioned). I was a little worried about that when I applied for Marine Corps OCS, but my OSO told me that my school is rated "Competitive" by Barron's, and schools like Old Dominion, Virginia Wesleyan, and Christopher Newport University are in the same category.
If you are taking classes on active duty, you are probably going to have to attend a non-traditional scool. I think the board members take that into consideration while selecting applicants, so being active duty probably helps a lot. If you were an 18 year old high school grad taking classes online, you might be less likely to be selected for OCS than if you were an active duty Sailor or Marine trying to squeeze a few classes in here and there between dets.
Cheers/ Paul
You guys really need to get out more often. Online degrees are now offered by most state universities and even many of the private ones as well. Yes, even Harvard offers online degrees. You can get an online business degree from the University of Florida. University of Nebraska offers several as does the University of Colorado. I could go on and on. The point is that people need to stop assuming that when someone asks about an online degree, they're inquiring about the University of Phoenix.Cordespc said:I can't speak for the Navy, but the Marine Corps uses the Barron's rating of each college as a determining factor for selection. I think what this means is that, GPAs being equal, the guy who graduated from Harvard will probably be selected before the guy from University of Phoenix Online.
That being said, I was told by the Navy Senior Chief from NRD Richmond who administered my ASTB that he had never heard of anyone getting selected for Navy OCS with a degree from Saint Leo University (where I graduated from the continuing education program with honors
I was a little worried about that when I applied for Marine Corps OCS, but my OSO told me that my school is rated "Competitive" by Barron's, and schools like Old Dominion, Virginia Wesleyan, and Christopher Newport University are in the same category.
If you are taking classes on active duty, you are probably going to have to attend a non-traditional scool. I think the board members take that into consideration while selecting applicants, so being active duty probably helps a lot. If you were an 18 year old high school grad taking classes online, you might be less likely to be selected for OCS than if you were an active duty Sailor or Marine trying to squeeze a few classes in here and there between dets.
Cheers/ Paul
nublett
Been there, done that.
Steve Wilkins said:
Mr. Wilkins, you're right. I shouldn't try to make sense when I'm 1/2 asleep coming off of mids. :sleep_125 Yes, to be eligible for a commission any degree will do. I guess that my point was that it might not matter right now where you get your degree, but it might matter later.
Cordespc how do you find out if a school is Competitive by Barron. I am about to start school online and want to find out before I start wasting my money. Steve Wilkins is right about there are many great schools online, most are from normal 4 year state/ private universitys with distance education option. Online/distance education programs is gear more toward older students ages 22 years and up, who does not have time to attend traditional college but want to attend school. This is a life saver for me who wants to get an education, but other wise would not been able to.
nublett
Been there, done that.
Brett327 said:
Well, firstly, in my experience, it is always best to do more than the minimum. Being competitive is esential to success. If it is a choice between 2 people with 3.0 GPAs, who are otherwise equal, the person who graduated from Harvard is more likely to be chosen over the person who graduated from Pheonix On-line (extreme examples).
"Later" is further down the pike. Qualifying for OCS is just the first hurdle. Say the Pheonix and Harvard grads, both with business degrees, get into OCS. Both list Supply Officer as their first choice, but there is only 1 SupO spot open, who do you think will get it? This scenerio can be repeated "later" also with similar results.
nublett how can you say that the person who went to harvard will get the first choice or more success. Not all people have an opportunity or money to attend an ivy league or a local university. A great officer is not made because of what college that person attended, it may look good on paper but your missing two important factors which is leadership and job performance.
I served with alot of officers most were good but the one I respected the most and would follow anywhere, didn't graduated from any well known college, he actually went to community college then got his degree online. Granted he was prior enlisted but that doesn't mean he's less qualify than a guy going to a well know university. I also served with officers who went to respectable schools, that could not do there jobs. We even had a LT, kicked out of are platoon because again his performance, he was then assigned to Batt S-shop oh ya he went to University of Connecticut.
I served with alot of officers most were good but the one I respected the most and would follow anywhere, didn't graduated from any well known college, he actually went to community college then got his degree online. Granted he was prior enlisted but that doesn't mean he's less qualify than a guy going to a well know university. I also served with officers who went to respectable schools, that could not do there jobs. We even had a LT, kicked out of are platoon because again his performance, he was then assigned to Batt S-shop oh ya he went to University of Connecticut.
But what do you mean by later? Are you implying that where you went to school is going to have some kind of ramification later on in the fleet? I'm interested in some scenarios, if that's your line of thinking. The only situation which I'm aware of in the course of a normal career progression for aviators where your educational background would be considered is for a post command deep draft nuke pipeline. And as for special programs which could be applied for down the line like TPS, NPS, etc, unless you have specific references which indicate that college of record is a selection criterion, I don't think you can infer or assume that to be the case. You present a bit of a false dichotomy because for the average guy doing an online program, the options aren't online vs. Harvard, it's more like online vs. local state college. I know your intentions are good, but in the grand scheme of most officer's careers, educational background is fairly irrelevant. I should know.nublett said:
Brett
nublett
Been there, done that.
airowana said:
I agree with you. I am not saying, by any stretch of the imagination, that where someone goes to school decides whether or not he is, or will become, a good officer, or if he will have greater overall success. My point is that where you go to school can help open some doors for you, after those doors are open it is up to you what you are going to do. Hell, I'm prior enlisted. I started at community college, and I took some video (before on-line existed) classes while I was deployed. I didn't have lots of money, or opportunities, to go to college; I used FTA and GI Bill to go nights while I was in port, while supporting a family.
Brett, I am unaware of one's almamader having any effect on their job performance in, our out of, the fleet. I do know that it is considered when screening for certain programs. Yes, Harvard v. Pheonix On-line are drastic comparisons, "(extreme examples)", and I understand that they are not the norm, but I thought them simple enough to explain my point. If you are asking me if I think there is a difference in quality of education between a guy who goes to Joe Schmo Community College night classes for 2 years, takes some on-line courses, and finishes up at the local state college or university vs. the guy who goes to 4 years of traditional college, no, I don't think that makes a difference. I can tell you though that there is a big difference between someone who takes all of their classes on-line and never steps foot into a classroom, and someone who attends night classes when they can! I have seen the difference.
GD, you guys are touchy! You would of thought I insulted your mothers or something. My opinion is just that, it is based on my experiences; you don't have to agree with me, that wouldn't be any fun. Lighten-up.:smirk_125
