Contract Discussion on Tuesday

[SJackson7]

Hey, everyone.

This is my first post on the forums, but I've read nearly everything around here to answer some of my own questions plus some questions I never even thought of. These forums are great; glad to have come across this site.

That being said, I am sitting down with the recruiter on Tuesday (the 23rd) to discuss my contract. So I have a couple questions..

1.) It's still up in the air as to whether I will do Active First or just try and get into SMP, starting college in Spring 2011. I am a High School senior, accepted to the University at Buffalo for the Fall of 2010. I am Early Decision, so technically I'm obligated to go there. However, I think it'd be easier to put off my Fall semester and do BCT/AIT in July-December. (I'm planning on going in for 46Q.) So the question is should I just withdraw from UB entirely and re-apply after two years in Active First or just do SMP and go to UB in Spring 2011?

2.) What are some things I should be absolutely sure are in the contract? I've already been told that I should definitely make sure educational stuff is in there (MGIB, Kicker, etc.) Just wondering if you guys (or gals) had any suggestions?

Thanks for all your help with this subject, and thank you also for your service to the country. You guys are great. :)

[smwoodward]

My wife just went to meps for 46q and wanted to do active first, she was told that to do active first it required a 2 year degree, and that her transcrips did not show she had her 2 year degree so she could not go active first. she could how ever do 46q in the guard.

[WIBecky74]

My biggest advice to you is to own your decisions. Read absoltuley everything before signing it. It looks like you are already on the right path for that by reading in here and asking questions.

It looks like maybe you already know about an open slot, but if not, picking your MOS and unit can be a give and take. Depends on what is most important to you. If you live in a colder climate keep in mind that driving in the winter wont be as nice as the summer. Location can make a difference if you come home night drill nights or stay in the area you are drilling. Sometimes no matter what job you pick in the Guard you will end up doing different tasks so maybe the MOS isnt as important as you thought, especially if it means drilling much closer to home.

You will want to make sure any bonus and benefits are documented. Your unit and MOS is documented. Your training dates for Basic and Ait. You will want an RSP schedule until Basic training. You will want to make sure your contract length is listed correctly.

Knowledge is power.

[mheathershaw]

1.) It's still up in the air as to whether I will do Active First or just try and get into SMP, starting college in Spring 2011. I am a High School senior, accepted to the University at Buffalo for the Fall of 2010. I am Early Decision, so technically I'm obligated to go there. However, I think it'd be easier to put off my Fall semester and do BCT/AIT in July-December. (I'm planning on going in for 46Q.) So the question is should I just withdraw from UB entirely and re-apply after two years in Active First or just do SMP and go to UB in Spring 2011?

2.) What are some things I should be absolutely sure are in the contract? I've already been told that I should definitely make sure educational stuff is in there (MGIB, Kicker, etc.) Just wondering if you guys (or gals) had any suggestions?

1. I wouldn't put off your first semester for basic. It might be beneficial to wait until the summer between your freshman year and sophomore year to do it.
2. I don't know that there are any bonuses available for 46q... but drill your recruiter to see what else you can get. MGIB/Kicker is standard procedure and should be available to 95% of candidates.

Also, tying the two together: If you're going to be paying out of pocket for school (i.e. student loans), it might be better to wait and join after you've accrued a little debt. There's a good chance you'd qualify for SLRP (Need better than 50 on asvab) on those loans. They're good for up to 50k and from what I understand, any new loans that you accrue can be added to the payoff for that as well.

I'm no recruiter, so it'd be best to verify this information with yours. Just my .02.

[Smills91]

My wife just went to meps for 46q and wanted to do active first, she was told that to do active first it required a 2 year degree, and that her transcrips did not show she had her 2 year degree so she could not go active first. she could how ever do 46q in the guard.

That stands for all active first MOS's, just 46Q, or the whole program in general? Why on earth would you need a degree to go Active First?

[smwoodward]

That stands for all active first MOS's, just 46Q, or the whole program in general? Why on earth would you need a degree to go Active First?

For what I understand is just 46q. I talked to my AD recruiter and he said 46q is not really an entry level mos, and it does require a degree for active first

Talk to your recruiter and find out for sure. If I am wrong I would like to know just in case our recruiter is screwing with us.

[SJackson7]

Thanks everybody for all your input. I am literally just trying to scourge up any bit of information I can, so anything you have as far as suggestions helps a lot.

I appreciate all the help so far -- I'm going through every single scenario in my head at this point. :)

[49thadband]

if you are really considering all scenarios, I think there are some things that I really like about active first.

1. the educational benefits are astounding, especially if you do the three years. 100% of the tution and fees + an active duty E-5 housing allowance means you would have virtually no out of pocket expenses for college.(double check about the book allowance)

In essence it's a full-ride scholarship. Now the key is that you obviously have taken your ACT and SAT, make sure those scores will still be good three years from now.(they should) In my experience an older than normal freshman student will be much better at time management, focus, etc. This is another benefit to doing active first.

2. consider what you are going to do with your money you earn. If you are planning on paying for college yourself, look at the two choices.

a. traditional National Guard service - drill pay+ MGIB+kicker+ money you saved up from basic and AIT - you're in pretty good position, but you still have to pay for room and board, and books. And a car, insurance, gas, etc.
if you are really doing this yourself, you're gonna struggle a little bit with this, probably have to use all of your saved money, assume you do go SMP, your income increases significantly by the time you graduate let's say you've done well but still have maybe $1000 in the bank, but also $0 in credit card debt. Maybe owe 5k on a car or something like that. Great compared to the normal college student!!! let's say you are 18 when you enter college, you are 22 when you graduate with your gold bar.

b. Active First - three years of active duty pay: let's say you are a moderate saver- I say this because you could save everything and have a ridiculous amount of $$, but most people aren't going to do that. okay-moderate saver, save 50% of your take home. average pay grade for three years E-3 $1800 before allowances. I have no idea how high allowances are - let's just say you save half of a take home based on $1800- take home 80% of 1800 = 1440, half of that is 720 per month X 36 months = $25,920. This does not include any pay for accumulated leave or any bonuses. just to make the math easy, towards the end of your active time, buy a car that costs $15,920. you now have $10,000 to work with.

This 10k is a good cushion that you probably won't need. it grows during your four years.

so you start college a 21 year old freshman. your monthly income looks something like this: GI bill housing allowance + drill pay.(remember tuition and fees are completely covered) You're an E-4 over 3 high $200s. take care of your money and your car, no excuse to not at least break even. go SMP in second year- pay jumps to E-5 drill pay and you get your ROTC stipend. now you're probably saving $ or doing some pretty good partying.

Fast forward to getting your gold bar as a 25 year old instead of 22. You didn't take a scholarship, so you can choose AD if you want, you'll probably be one of their first choices if you choose because of your AD experience. If you go Guard or reserve you're interviewing for a civilian job. You can cite your 3 years of AD experience, your money management skills, and you owe $0 to anybody. I'm thinking that puts you in the top .1% of college students.

3. The experience that you will receive in Active First compared to the guard- I think by having the three years + National guard, I think your resume looks so much better as a 25 year old college graduate than a 22 year old.


Of course you could end up in the desert and die also, but that's a risk anybody joining any branch of the service will take.

Obviously I wish there was an active first program when I was your age. Regarding the saving the $ issue, I was the guy who saved his basic $. I flew home from Fort Leonard Wood with 7 one hundred dollar bills in my wallet.(my last payday amount + pay for accumulated leave) I made my dad stop at the bank on the way home so I could deposit those suckers.

I'll never forget it, before college started I had $7100 saved up in the bank.

[SJackson7]

Wow. That was really thought out. I like that. :) Thanks for the input, that's definitely one heck of an answer! That really helps put the scope on things. Lots of good points. Makes me about three times more excited than I already was going into next week. :P

Kudos to you. :D

[49thadband]

so, how did it go? Anything happen today?