I'm at a point where I'm considering joining a military Officer Candidate School program. I've chatted with a Marine selection officer, but I haven't reached out to other branches yet. I stumbled upon the Marine selection officer through my school's handshake page. I'm in a bit of a dilemma and would really appreciate your thoughts on my situation.

The Marine recruiter said my chance of getting into OCS on the first try for active duty is about 30-40%. If I go for reserves, it goes up to 80-85%. But I'm out of shape right now. I did a 3-mile run in 40 minutes recently, with some walking breaks. I've never properly trained for pull-ups either. A decade ago, I could manage a few, but my fitness suffered during undergrad and grad school. I just started getting back into shape last week after talking to the Marine recruiter, who seemed confident I can "achieve anything I set my mind to." He sent over some workout plans to meet the Physical Fitness Test.

My biggest concern is getting accepted into OCS and then struggling with the physical demands. That's why I'm thinking about the Navy, Army, or even Air Force since I've read they might have slightly easier PT standards based on online reviews.

Academically, I'm solid. I've got a master's in Exceptional Student Education (Specialization in applied behavior analysis with a 3.7 GPA. Undergrad was in Interdisciplinary Humanities (Philosophy, Religion, and History) with a 3.08 GPA.)

The Marine recruiter suggested preparing for OCS by June. I'm not sure if I can both get fit and lose the 30-40 pounds I need in that time. I could delay, but I don't want to prep and then fail due to fitness.

One option I am considering is serving 20 years of active duty military service. Outside of pure military service, I see a pathway towards a civilian career by serving one term of active duty service and then transitioning to a federal job. Or lastly joining the reserves while also pursuing a federal job and try to make the best of both worlds. Outside of just my career goals I am currently married and with aspirations of parenthood on the horizon, my spouse and I are actively planning to start a family within the next couple of years, and I do not desire a large amount of time away from my family. Having a family has been one of the primary goals in my life even more so than wealth, and that is my primary concern.

Given what I've discussed with the Marine recruiter and my academic background, I'd love input from those who've been in the military or OCS. Marines, Navy, Army, Air Force, or just OCS in general - any advice is welcome. How do you see my odds considering my fitness, academics, and time constraints? Any insights on which branch might suit me best would be awesome.

If you read this far, Thank you so much for your time and insights. Your advice could be a game-changer as I make this important decision for myself and my family.

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Edit:: I did a 1.2-mile run in 97-degree heat with 58% humidity today... I was able to get a 14:07 tempo down for that.