You honestly need to discuss your future plans with your fiance. It is going to be a challenge to raise a family on an enlisted man's pay. It would be a little different if you had joined at 18 and now had 7 years service and rank, or were speaking of joining as an officer. It is still possible to become an officer in the Marines by the age limit of their two most popular officer commissioning programs PLC(35?f 2nd Lts.) and OCC (24?f 2nd Lt's.) Once you enlist, due to age, becoming a Marine Officer will not be possible.
http://dcmarineofficer.com/platoonleadersclass.htmlhttp://dcmarineofficer.com/officercandidatescourse.html I'd also consider other service branches. The Air Force lifestyle is much better for family life, especially for a newlywed couple. There is also the possibility to become an officer if you can attain a 4 year degree by age 35.
http://www.au.af.mil/au/holmcenter/AFROTC/EnlistedComm/EnlistedCommissioning.asphttp://www.afrotc.com/scholarships/enSchol.php If you meet the requirements, you could go to a military JC and commission as an Army 2nd Lieutenant in two years. You'd have to put off marriage till after commissioning.
http://www.vfmac.edu/ecp.htmlhttp://www.marionmilitary.edu/programs/army-ecp.da The army rotc scholarship would pay the tuition. From there you would continue on to earn a degree at a 4 year university with an rotc batallion, and serve as part of the cadre while earning your degree. On earning your degree you would enter active duty as a 1st Lieutenant with two years time in grade for pay purposes. Your base salary would be $17,000 more than a freshly commissioned 2nd Lieutenant. The deadline to apply is May 15. The deadline to register for the last SAT exam this year, on June 6th is May 6. Late registration, May 15.
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/calenfees.html It is possible to commission through ARMY rotc till age 35. For those with prior service an age waiver is available till age 39.
afrotc and army rotc are possible at many junior colleges that have crosstown school arrangements with afrotc detachments or rotc battalions:
http://airforcerotc.berkeley.edu/_crosstown-schools.htm [For instance 20 of the 36 colleges above are cross town schools.]
http://army.berkeley.edu/ [See Scholarships at above link.]
A good description of available afrotc, nrotc, nrotc mo and rotc programs and scholarships:
http://sis.berkeley.edu/catalog/gcc_view_req?p_dept_cd=AEROSPC With a 3.0 JC GPA, Transfer Guarantees are available at all UC's except Berkeley and UCLA. Many public universities have similar arrangements within the state:
http://www.admissions.ucsb.edu/prospective/TAGLetter.asphttp://www.milsci.ucsb.edu/ While your age will prevent you from commissioning to the Marines or Navy through nrotc, the Navy is possible through the BDCP, the nuclear officer programs while in school and through OCS:
http://www.navy-officer.com/http://www.navyofficer.info/ Coast Guard OCS is also possible:
http://www.gocoastguard.com/find-your-fit/officer-opportunities/programs/officer-candidate-school Graduates of the six state maritime academies can direct commission to the Coast Guard: California, Texas, Michigan(Great lakes), Maine, Massachusetts, New York.
http://www.gocoastguard.com/find-your-fit/officer-opportunities/programs/maritime-academy-graduate The DEP is usually for HS Students who need to complete their HS diploma to qualify. Benefits include medical and dental care, use of facilities on any military base such as the BX, commissary, barber shop, lodge etc except certain privileges reserved for officers such as the Officer's club.
Living on or off base depends on the housing available on the base and the cost of housing in the community in relation to BAH. BAH is based on the cost of rental housing and the cost of rental housing and buying a house can diverge substantially. BAH is also a tax shelter because there is no income tax paid on BAH but the mortgage interest deduction is written off against regular military compensation, in other words, sheltering a portion of regular income from income tax.
Calculate regular military compensation at the link. Location makes a significant difference due to the housing allowance(BAH.) Single Enlisted Sailors and Coasties ranking below E-5, Enlisted Marines and Soldiers ranking below E-7, Enlisted Airmen below E-4 live in the barracks and do not collect BAH:
http://www.defenselink.mil/militarypay/mpcalcs/Calculators/RMC.aspx 2nd Lt( Army, Air Force, Marines) = Ensign(Navy, C.G.) = O-1.
1st Lt( Army, Air Force, Marines) = Lt JG(Navy, C.G.) = O-2.
Captain( Army, Air Force, Marines)= Lt(Navy, C.G.) = O-3.
Advancement to O-2 around the 18th month.
Advancement to O-3 by about 42nd month
Good Luck!