Considering Joining the army.....a few questions

[J_ho67]

Hey guys,
I've been throwing around the idea of signing up lately but don't really want to talk to a recruiter until I know more about it. The reason I am considering it is to pay for school, I've got 2 years of my undergrad left and then 3 years of law school.
People have told me that if you're going to school and sign up, they pay for the rest of it (or repay your loans) and also pay you monthly while you're attending school. My questions are:
How does this all work?
How much school do they pay for?
How much do they pay monthly?
When/where will I serve and for how long?
When I do serve, what will I be doing?
I plan on being an attorney, which I know is an officer job so do they pay for law school too?
Absolutely ANYTHING you guys can tell me will be helpful because I'm clueless about the entire thing.
Thanks in advance.:beer:

 

[canibus]

it's cool that they pay for your schooling, but the army is a commitment in it's own. unless you're prepared to serve a long time i'd look elsewhere.

 

[Serpent]

*removed by moderator* this isnt smackdown.

 

[J_ho67]

from what I've been told, you sign up, they pay for it, pay you as long as you're in, and once you get out you owe five years. Something like a lawyer has to be an officer, so you go to an officer camp for a little while, be a lawyer in the service, earn officer pay, and still only serve five.

 

[venom one]

You'll do what they tell you to do (eat when they tell you, pee when they tell you, sit down when they tell you.....etc...) probably serve overseas in Iraq, you won't go in as an officer since you have not graduated college yet, so you'll be a PFC, maybe Specialist......not worth it IMO. :nono: You get to do a lot of fun things while in training but they're not training you to have fun....

Get guaranteed student loans, pay for school, graduate, make lots of money, pay off loans (since you didn't have to pay while you were in school)....then you can get a good night's sleep thinking that even without serving in the military, you've helped people out......:thumbsup:

 

[Sapperstang]

Do not join the military just to pay for school. That is the wrong reason. You have to want to serve your country as that in itself will will be a great source of satisfaction. Just go talk to the recruiters. You don't have to committ to anything or sign anything. Just go to get the info. Or go to the Army's website: www.goarmy.com PM me if you want and I will help ya.

 

[FordMustangLove]

either you are cut out for it , or your not. all these guys who complain were expecting too much.

Up to you man, dont let anyone make the decision for you, especially a bunch of mustang guys lol

 

[JasonSnake]

www.fafsa.ed.gov

 

[J_ho67]

Well I'm not considering it ONLY to pay for school. I've always had a small itch to serve, but to me the most important thing is school, that's why the education money is the main thing. I guess what I'm asking is do you have to go in right when you sign up or do they pay you and for your school and you go in when you get done? There's really not very much about it on their site. And fafsa sucks, they gave me next to nothing even though my dad is a single parent with 4 kids making under 50k.

 

[DaleM]

Drop my name as recommending you to join and let us split the 2 grand they would give me!

 

[RiffRaff04]

Hey guys,
My questions are:
How does this all work?
How much school do they pay for?
How much do they pay monthly?
When/where will I serve and for how long?
When I do serve, what will I be doing?
I plan on being an attorney, which I know is an officer job so do they pay for law school too?

Thanks in advance.:beer:

You get full tuition assistance while you are in, so take as many classes as possible.
When your out you get the GI Bill (+ any other money you enilisted for) , right now I believe that it breaks down to about $1k a month (just the GI Bill) while your in school up to 4 years.
You can probably get station of choice as an option in your contract so its up to you, just remeber that is only 1st duty station, after that they will send you where ever your needed. As far as how long, thats up to you. I know right now that have as little a 2 year contract, you will still be able to called up after that though (Inactive Ready Reserves)
When your not deployed youll be constantly training to be deployed. When your deployed youll be trying not to get shot/blown up.
BTW I was an army recruiter for 2 years so if you wanna know anything else just let me know.

 

[ArmyMustang]

y not join the Navy and do Jag....or ROTC or reserves...u have plenty of options just make sure u dont sign something untill u have read it fully.....oh and btw joining the military is a great way to pay for school...my uncle joined the navy since he couldnt afford college and went to Auburn then MIT

edit*
The navy also has a program in which u dont go to camp or whatever they call it until summer so as not to miss any classes....Also if anyone is considering medical school the military pays for it then you will commision as a Lt. Colonel(sp?) and have a 100k+ first year how badass is that

 

[Silver2003Cobra]

Hey guys,
I've been throwing around the idea of signing up lately but don't really want to talk to a recruiter until I know more about it. The reason I am considering it is to pay for school, I've got 2 years of my undergrad left and then 3 years of law school.
People have told me that if you're going to school and sign up, they pay for the rest of it (or repay your loans) and also pay you monthly while you're attending school. My questions are:
How does this all work?
How much school do they pay for?
How much do they pay monthly?
When/where will I serve and for how long?
When I do serve, what will I be doing?
I plan on being an attorney, which I know is an officer job so do they pay for law school too?
Absolutely ANYTHING you guys can tell me will be helpful because I'm clueless about the entire thing.
Thanks in advance.:beer:

you join the military(any branch, their education benefits are all the same) if you join Active duty, you generally serve 4 years, with a total of an 8 year obligation (4 active, 4 inactive reserves) we've ever called up inactive reserves so don't worry about that.

Entry pay isn't that much.. generally about 1400 a month, but you dont' have to worry about food or housing, that's provided.


Where will you serve, that depends on the needs of the Army.. I know in the Navy, it depends on how good you do in your schools, on what command you go to and where you'll be serving. I'm going to guess that it's the same in the Army.

tuition for the Navy is 100%, all you pay for is books if you take college courses in your off time. Also, the training that you receive in the service is eligible for college credit (again, the Army might differ from the Navy)

the Montgomery GI bill.. it's 39,636 dollars now.. and is good for up to 10 years after you get out of the service. You can use it for basically any school that you want to.

I'm not sure about loan repayment, BUT if you do get it MAKE SURE IT'S IN YOUR CONTRACT.. if it's a verbal agreement that dosn't mean jack to anyone.. ONLY what's in your contract is valid..

now for the best place to find informaiton out about the military.. http://usmilitary.about.com/

I'm a newish Navy Recruiter.. been doing this about 3 months now..

 

[Silver2003Cobra]

double post

 

[Silver2003Cobra]

edit*
The navy also has a program in which u dont go to camp or whatever they call it until summer so as not to miss any classes....

all branches have that program.. DEP (Delayed Entry Program) you can be in the DEP for up to 365 days.. but generally you will ship out 2-3 months after you finish school, if your in high school..

here's some great information for a potential applicant http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/joiningup/a/recruiter.htm

 

[boosted306]

Services aren't for everyone, only you can make the decision.

 

[J_ho67]

so if I am in school, when do I begin my 4-8 years? After I graduate undergrad or grad school? Do I receive base pay while in school or does that start once I start active duty? I want to make sure I know ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING before I decide anything, so sorry if these questions are a little repetitive.

 

[FEARED]

Are you under the impression that they are going to send you to school and pay for it??

Uhh... NO UNless you have a degree allready, you are not going to enter as an officer, and they are not going to send you to school. THey are just throwing this BS at you to make u join under false hopes. If you join as an enlisted, which you will, You will have to go to school on your own time, you can use Tuition Assistance, and the GI bill, but geuss what, the T/A is limited to 5 classes a year, so you will have to use the GI bill. The GI bill is only available after 1 year of service.

My advice to the OP is get your degree first, THEN JOIN. Ive known to many people here in the service who have joined under the same expectations as you are.

But hey, you can join now if you want... Its going to be hard going to school and being in the military, trust me on that one!

 

[J_ho67]

yeah it seems like I'm getting different stories from people, but like I said, I'm just now beginning to check it out, I haven't even met a recruiter. Some of the stuff I've been told so far seems a little too good to be true.

 

[FEARED]

yeah it seems like I'm getting different stories from people, but like I said, I'm just now beginning to check it out, I haven't even met a recruiter. Some of the stuff I've been told so far seems a little too good to be true.

It is, they are not going to send you to school to get your degree. You need a degree before you join to get what u are asking to get out of the military and be a military attorney. I think you need law school as well if u want to be one..