Marine Contingent
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Marine Contingent |
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Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program Welcome to The Citadel MECEP homepage. If you have already been selected for the program, congratulations. The MECEP Program originated at The Citadel in 1973. The NROTC Unit at The Citadel is an excellent choice for your college degree, continued professional development and place of commissioning. The Citadel is a superb academic institution offering both technical and non-technical degrees. MECEPs are completely seperate from Cadets (Midshipmen), and are not required to participate in South Carolina Corps of Cadet functions, such as parade and drill. Our unit training is second to none as we are able to take advantage of the many military facilities in our area. This entire page was created BY MECEPs, FOR MECEPs, so i hope you find it useful in understanding our daily life here, and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! Here is a link to the most frequently asked questions.
LIFE AS A MECEP MECEPS are not part of the Corps of Cadets, nor do they participate in any of their required activities. Cadets have their own chain of command, uniforms and regulations, and we have no part of that. The only exception is for those cadets who wear a red badge and get a Marine Scholarship, and if they need fixing, we can do so. Other than that we are more like day students here, and wear our prescribed Marine uniform instead. The unit holds formations three times a week. Monday 1600 (PT), Wednesday 0600 (PT) and Thursday 1600 (LAB). MECEPs form in their own platoon, and serve primarily as mentors for the Midshipmen, and instructors for all lab periods of instruction. Occasionally the unit will have guest speakers on random days, although the rest of the time is for academics. Marines must take a minimum of 12 credits to maintain full time status, and many take between 16 and 22+hours a semester. You build your own schedule, and attend class accordingly. No physical musters, just call-ins in the morning before class. If most of your classes are MWF, and you don’t have class on Tuesday, you don’t come to school, just a call to your MECEP squad leader in the morning and you are good to go. Of course, this time is usually your free time, but it gets used in other ways, like taking care of your billet as Supply Sgt and making a run to Parris Island (1.5 hours away) to pickup gear, or meeting with others in the unit to plan the upcoming Field Training Exercise. FTX’s occur 2 times per semester, and involve a movement of the whole unit (130+) to a training location like P.I., Camp Lejeune, Fort Jackson, etc to conduct humps, Leadership Reaction Courses, Land Navigation, MOS demonstrations, etc. These events start Friday after class, and last until Sunday afternoon. As with all other unit functions, the Annual Training Plan designates MECEPs and Cadets to work together on the entire planning and execution of these evolutions.
WHERE TO LIVE The Citadel is located on The Peninsula in the heart of downtown. To the East is Mount Pleasant, to the West is West Ashley. To the North is North Charleston, Goose Creek, and then Summerville. Marines receive full pay and allowances for their enlisted pay grades just like you would in the fleet, and base housing is available on the Charleston Weapons Station in North Charleston. Choosing the right place to live is one of the most important parts of getting settled here in Charleston, and living downtown is the place to be to save yourself a lot of hassle. Word changes all the time, and with frequent uniform changes, and general unit time consumption, you don’t want to have to drive back home to get gear. Many just leave all their gear in their car, but that can be a hassle too. Alice pack, 782 gear, Charlies, Deltas, etc. The Gym on campus offers small gym lockers, and there are a few large ones (which most of the MECEPS occupy), but its not open early, or late. Unfortunately homes downtown are expensive, and start at about $200k for pretty much nothing, whereas in North Charleston they have good homes in the $150’s. Rent downtown ranges from 700-1200 for a reasonable apartment. Single Marines have been renting a house just off campus for decades, that has been nicknamed “The Boneyard”. It has 3 bedrooms, and the Marines split the $750 rent. This is also the location of the famous tailgate parties and other unofficial events.
PAYING FOR COLLEGE The Citadel is a State funded institution, and has very low rates compared to other Colleges, although paying for college is entirely up to the Marine. Several options are available including V.A. Benefits, student loans, and scholarships. In addition, the Marine Corps has approved a new program starting FY08 called the OFFICER COLLEGE LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM (see MARADMIN 038/08 for more details). V.A. Benefits: Tuition Assistance may not be used as stated in the MECEP MarAdmin, although the Montgomery G.I. Bill – ACTIVE DUTY can be. The MGIB AD differs from the normal MGIB in the fact that Marines only receive compensation commensurate with what they pay in tuition. Therefore, instead of getting a set amount (the max) every month, for 36months (normal MGIB), at the Citadel you normally get about $1000/month. In addition, the “kicker” and the Marine Corps College Fund do not play a role in AD benefits, so if you have them, you’ll still get $1000/month. The rate is actually based on how many days you were in school for that month, so on long breaks like Christmas, and Thanksgiving, you will get less. Mrs. Sally Levitt is our very knowledgeable V.A. Coordinator in the Financial Aid department on campus, and can help with getting all of the paperwork setup. Student loans: All types of student loans are available, although before you can apply for any loan labeled “student” (regardless of whether it is through a bank, CU or private company), you must fill out a FAFSA for the current year. The FAFSA school year starts in September, so if you are checking in to the unit during the summer, and want student loans to cover your tuition, you’ll need to fill out a FAFSA for the current year, and another FAFSA for the upcoming year. The amount you can borrow also depends on your academic classification. For example, Seniors can borrow more than Freshmen. Scholarships: Amongst the plethora of scholarships available on the internet, the Admiral Mike Boorda Scholarship is widely used by Marines at The Citadel. This is a $2500/year scholarship designed specifically for MECEP students, and the submission deadline is May 1. In addition the Horatio Alger Scholarship is a $5000/year scholarship available to veterans of OIF/OEF and has a submission deadline of April 15. |
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