Add me to the list of folks who have been to both, though my grey hairs remind me that memories have grown somewhat dim...Having said that, a comparison:
Overall, OCS is just plain harder, as you would expect. The graduates are being held to a higher level.
Physically: Well, its somewhat of a toss up. Organizatinally, OCS has a much better program overall. And my hands still hurt from pushups on the grinder. But the number of "mashings" and trips to the pits were much more limited compared to the number of times my Recruit Company (yes, "company", showing my age. Pre-Stress card, too) did hop and pops or made it rain.
Academically: About the same level of memorization, I think, just different material. As one would expect, the material is more detailed and of a higher level in OCS. But the candidates are more educated.
Leadership, Part I--student: OCS, hands down. At RTC, if you got into a leadership position, it could become your license to lie, cheat, and perhaps steal. Our AROC, until he got caught cheating on a test and rolled, was a petty tyrant with delusions of grandeur. But he had a good voice for calling out cadence. The candidate officers at OCS have at least had a little more thought put into their selection.
Leadership, Part II--staff. Again, OCS hands down. RTC company/division leadership can be a crap shoot. They all work ungodly hours, no doubt, but the overall age/level of achievement just ain't where OCS is at. Remember, they take OCS DIs from those who have already done Marine Recruit Depot work.
Mentally: Please. OCS by a landslide. From meals to allocating time for study/MTT prep etc., OCS is just more demanding. RTC was much more bearable, though I felt like cracking the nth time I practiced folding a shirt or timing myself making a rack.
Fellow Students: Strange one here. I actually liked my RTC classmates more than my OCS ones. Yes, my 'cruit company had the ex-crack dealer who tried to get by on the minimum possible and the Tennessee redneck that you swore was Forrest Gump's brother, and they were all basically 18 and immature (I was a worldly 25 at the time), but I think their attitude was better. They were, in the end, willing to listen to the CC's and do what they were told. We were an Honor Company. OCS on the other hand--we had a bunch of Type A smart alecks who already had their name plaque for their TOPGUN #1 Grad picked out, while treating the entire program with about the same sneer as Bill Murray in "Stripes" (all but one went props, btw). They were funny and witty to be sure--but we also failed both, yes both, MTT's. Richard Gere had more liberty in the two hours of "An Officer and a Gentleman" than we had in 13 weeks. So, funny as it is, that lesser educated, more immature group of enlisted guys was a better team than the college dudes--because they were willing to accept that there was something bigger than themselves. And I'm sure that RTC is only better with "Battle Stations" But, yes, at the end of RTC, we wish it had been tougher. I did not say the same after the gunny gave the salute at the church flagpole in P-cola.
My two (and then some) cents worth
