I briefly touched on this in an earlier response but wanted to make sure it is addressed adequately.
The college credits that the recruiter is boasting about are real. However, as I said earlier, they are RECOMMENDATIONS made by ACE (American Council on Education). A college/university is not obligated nor required to give you those credits based on your service.
Second, and this is probably more important for your specific scenario, to maximize those credits, you are going to have to get your degree from one of the handful or so colleges/universities that offer specialized degrees or degrees targeted towards certain vocations that your Navy experience translates into.
For Nukes, two of those colleges are Excelsior and Thomas Edison State College.
Here is a degree program for a Navy Nuke MM from Excelsior (BS in Nuclear Engineering Technology):
https://my.excelsior.edu/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=fef0af5d-4fa7-428d-b83f-6fb2f0debea0&groupId=78666Thomas Edison State College, Navy Nuke of any rate (BS in Applied Science and Technology in Nuclear Engineering Technology):
http://www.tesc.edu/ast/bsast/Nuclear-Engineering.cfmSo, what is so bad about those degrees? Nothing, if you want to work in the Nuclear industry and don't want a job that requires an actual Engineering degree. Eng Tech degrees are more about application of Engineering based concepts in an industrial type setting. Engineering degrees are about analysis, calculational application and design of systems and/or structures and processes in a variety of fields.
If a job says "requires a degree in an engineering discipline" and you have an engineering tech degree, you aren't eligible for that job.
I don't post this information to dissuade you; I post this so that you have a clearer picture of the real world application of what the recruiter is using to sell the Nuclear Power Program to you. Is the recruiter wrong? No. Is the recruiter a Nuke? That's a question to ask:0
My recruiter was a MS (now CS, Culinary Specialist, i.e. a cook). I asked him what he knew about the Nuke program and he told me "Well, I don't know a whole lot. I hear it's a tough program, quite a few people don't make it through, Nukes have big bonuses and they get advanced pretty quick." (I still appreciate his honesty. Maybe I had a unique experience.)
Do I say these things because I am against the program? Absolutely not. I thoroughly enjoyed being a Nuke; so much so that I spent 20 years on Active Duty. I had a pretty quick advancement up through Chief (E-7) and would have made Master Chief (E-9) easily if I hadn't screwed up and did something that I knew better than to do. (that's a different story for a different time).
In short, I want to ensure that you have the information in front of you to be able to make the best decision for you. If you join as a Nuke and end up being miserable, it will effect your performance, which in turn will get the attention of your Chief and has the potential to effect your entire division. You don't want to be that guy/gal.
We here can offer our past experiences and advice. We CANNOT make the decision for you. Research, soul search, try and figure out at least a short range (1 - 2 year) and medium range (2 - 5 year) plan that includes what you want to be doing at the end of those phases. Do what will end up being best for YOU.
Best of luck to you, in everything!