As far as I know he would have to attend OCS in order to receive a Marine Corps commission (Naval Academy graduates do not). I have known at least one Marine Corps officer who graduated from the Merchant Marine academy. I think they earn pretty good money on their summer cruises too.
I'll pass that on to him. I half-expected that would be the case with the Corps. When I began this thread months ago he was focused on the Naval Academy and the Marine Corps. Now, knowing how competitive the process is, I think he'd welcome the opportunity to go to any service academy. He still has the CDV nomination from the USNA, but we've heard nothing from them.
We were also surprised to learn that you needed a nomination to the Merchant Marine Academy, but not to the Coast Guard Academy.