Well,

I knew that things were progressing way too smoothly for my experience of joining the Navy. Long story short, I go in yesterday to meet with the recruiter to give him my filled out forms for security clearance and monetary history, etc... And also to fill out forms about past drug use and my tattoo's. Then get scheduled for this coming Monday (20090803)for my medical exam and choosing of rates.

No problem, right? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

So, as I walk up to the recruiter's desk, he says to sit down, and that he has bad news for me. My heart sinks! Apparently, since I didn't complete high school in 1994 from an accredited high school on the approved list by the Navy, odds are that I will not be allowed to join the Navy.

I completed my senior year of high school thru home study courses where I meet with the teacher at an actual school once a week, take tests, and just do all the homework at home. When I graduated, I got an actual diploma, not a GED. But, since the school is considered a "charter school", the Navy most likely won't accept the diploma due to the type of school. But, the recruiter is trying to get my H.S. transcripts from both schools (same school district) and forward them on to the "education people" to see if they will allow it.

Best case scenario = accepted, no problems

Worst case = not able to join, sorry buddy, have a nice life.

Or...

If the Navy doesn't allow it, the recruiter said I can take a few college course or "underwater basket weaving" or whatever I could ace really quick, get 15 credits, which would supersede the whole H.S. problem.

So, needless to say, I'm not to happy right now... More downtrodden as opposed to upset.

Thanks,
Josh

P.S. - Sorry about the long story short turning long anyways.

Sorry to hear about your situation. I hope it works out for the best. I dont think many people have an easy time joining the Military, especially the people that REALLY want to join. I myself are in the process of joining and I started running to get back in shape. Long story short I messed my knee up and I am scheduled for MEPS this monday. I am hoping that I can get it healed before I leave for BT.
Best of luck.

quote:

Originally posted by jssmith76:
If the Navy doesn't allow it, the recruiter said I can take a few college course or "underwater basket weaving" or whatever I could ace really quick, get 15 credits, which would supersede the whole H.S. problem.

So, am I missing something here?

The recruiter says to get 15 college credits. It take 45 minutes to earn 3 college credit by CLEPing them. So instead of parking your @ss in front of the computer, why aren't you CLEPing your college classes to earn the 15 credits? You only need to take 5 of them....

I don't understand your whining....

Keep your head up man and keep pushing. From your other posts it seems like you really want in. Roadblocks can be frustrating but they can also prepare you for your Navy career if you handle them right. Trust me, if you do get in this will not be the last roadblock you face in your Navy experience.

Corvette is right, you can CLEP those courses and get 15 credits fairly easily and pretty quickly. So while you are waiting for your Recruiter to square things away for you I would start looking into CLEP now just in case it doesn't pan out with your diploma.

quote:

Originally posted by 93Corvette:
So, am I missing something here?

The recruiter says to get 15 college credits. It take 45 minutes to earn 3 college credit by CLEPing them. So instead of parking your @ss in front of the computer, why aren't you CLEPing your college classes to earn the 15 credits? You only need to take 5 of them....

I don't understand your whining....

If your post is meant to help me, then thank you. If you post was meant to belittle me and make me look like an idiot, then I really don't appreciate your post. As for parking my a$$ in front of the computer, the only time I have to park my a$$ in front of the computer and get on the internet is when I am at work. And most of the day I spend at the office is dedicated to work, not "playing" on the internet.

As for the helpful part of your post, what is this "CLEPing" that you guys are talking about? My recruiter never mentioned this to me. I do know that my recruiter was talking about me actually "sitting" in a class and not doing classes online. If this "CLEPing" is all don online, then I don't think that would help. But, if you guys could tell me some more about this, then I can talk to my recruiter about it.

Thanks,
Josh

My post was actually both, to help you, and to get you off of you @ss and start looking for yourself for other options.

My fellow Vets on this forum don't mind helping kids, but what is really irritating is that kids want us to hand things on a silver plater to them. You obviously got to this site by using a google search or some other way. So my question is, you couldn't do the same thing by seaching for "ways to earn college credits"? I just did and came up with 1000's of links. Yes, you didn't know what CLEPing was, but once I gave you the "keyword". It is up to you to search on that keyword.

The bottomline is that you need to look for items or ways to get ahead yourself. We can only give you direction, you are the one that needs to make the steps.

You might be dedicated to your work, but you need to start looking at your future. Having a GED is not something you want to carry around your whole life. Once you get your associates degree, that part of your life (the GED) goes away. You have a fresh start. By taking CLEP test, you are on the road to getting that.

Again, I'm usually just a laid back Sailor, until someone pushes the "I don't want to do research for myself, and I want you to hand stuff to be on a silver platter" button... Just to show you I'm not a total @ss, here is a link you can research about CLEP's.... Most all community college test for them. So check out your local community college....

~http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/clep/exams.html

I am not sure CLEP is a valid method to meet the recruiting demand for 15 credits in a post high school environment. What they are looking for is the ability to function in a structured educational environment, not a way around the structured environment. Early termination of high school and a GED must be trumped by classroom time, not a shortcut.

quote:

Originally posted by whyworry:
I am not sure CLEP is a valid method to meet the recruiting demand for 15 credits in a post high school environment. What they are looking for is the ability to function in a structured educational environment, not a way around the structured environment. Early termination of high school and a GED must be trumped by classroom time, not a shortcut.

To me, I learn alot better from classroom training to, however, it has been proven that people with handicaps can learn just as much by logging into the computer at home compared to physically attending class...

For this guy, there are paths to get from point A to point B. He needs to explore them. For me, I would just take a bunch of CLEP's and get the monkey off my back. Although you might not agree with it, it is still a valid way to earn the 15 college credits. Until someone shows me where it's not allowed, then I continue to say this is the way to better yourself.

When I went to Basic Electronics and Electricity class we had numberious people "Challenge the Course". This saved the Navy $1000's of dollars, and allowed the Sailor the opportunity to continue on with knowledge they already know. So what's the difference between taking a CLEP, if you already understand the subject. It's not like your beating the system. If you remember, the greatest Mathematician of all times, Albert Einstein, was a highschool drop out.

every military installation offers CLEP for free. Heck, friend of Johnny_Bs got something like 18 or 24 credits simply be CLEPping a bunch of courses.. I remember him studyung for his Geology exam. Really helped him out when he bought a butt ton of raw precious stones for his mother one Chanukkah.

why wouldn't CLEP be acceptable to enlist if it is offered once in? Hell anyone who took advanced English or an AP math course in HS could test out of most first level college courses in those subjects.

Heck my placement test for college I tested out of ALL my English Pre requisite/core requiremenst and moved straight on to 400 level courses my Freshman year!

I CLEPped 36 undergrad hours, and got another 21 via DSST (Dantes.) All free, on base, as Mrsjvb suggests.

The tests are offered nationwide on thousands of college campuses to non-military and run $70 - 110 or so, depending on fees.

Google is your friend, OP.

Thank you all for your comments. I don't want to start a pi$$ing match here, but this post wasn't originally a question for help or have anything "handed to me on a silver platter". It was a vent. Some people have a tendency to "feel " better after venting. The original post was not posing a question towards anyone on this board. Whenever I come to this site looking for information, I always search and browse for it, and if my answer is not found or I find conflicting answers, then questions are asked.

And as for this "kid" stuff, I don't consider myself a "kid" at all. I believe I am past that moniker since I am 33 years old. If people feel that they couldn't figure this out on their own, then they need to pay more attention to the original post.

Lastly, I never stated that I got a GED. I did pass high school, with an actuall diploma. All I stated was that the high school I graduated from is considered a "charter school" to the Navy.

As I stated already, I don;t want to start a pi$$ing match (which I probably unfortunately did). All I want to say is thank you to everyone that has posted in response to my original post.

Thanks,
Josh

(Didn't know that the word "p.i.s.s." wasn't allowed on the forums)

For all you CLEP fans, I totally agree with the concept of CLEP and similar methods, and so do the schools that accept CLEP/others as a valid method of meeting graduation requirements. CLEP does NOT meet the DOD requirement for substitute education.

Find the Navy/DOD enlistment standards for Tier I, II, and III enlistment education requirements and you will see that the 15 sem. hrs/20 qtr. hrs needed to meet enlistment requirements must be attained by actual full-time attendance in the classroom of the granting educational institution. No exceptions even discussed.

To use Vette's analogy, you have to sit your a$$ in the chair in the classroom and get credit the old fashioned way, by earning it.

I clepped my way to an associates degree after finishing basic electricity and electronics in the late 80's and it was all free.

from the instruction:

quote:

f. Postsecondary Education with Less than a Degree, Education Code “8”.
Applicants who have attended and completed 15 semester hours of college credit or 22
hours of quarter credit or 675 clock hours of classroom instruction from an accredited
post-secondary institution listed in the current or applicable American Council on
Education (ACE) Accredited Institutions of Postsecondary Education Directory.
"Successfully completed" means the individual earned college-level credits (normally
level 100 or higher) toward a degree in higher education from an accredited college or
university. Credits earned through testing, adult education, assessment, military
training or high school equivalency preparation are not applicable.

William and Whyworry.... GREAT POST!!!!

Just noticed the "Adult education" portion of this. Adult education while not creditable towards the college credits can be authorized depending on the school by itself. Of course this requires one to graduate from the adult high school and it has to be approved (i.e. in classroom requirements, program, etc).