Orrin Jr. completed three years of high school at Biloxi High School. In his third year of high school, 1936, Carpenter received high school honors from the Gulf Coast Military Academy for his scholastic attainments.
After high school, Carpenter attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He attended for two years in the College of Engineering and Architecture. Carpenter also attended the R.O.T.C. camp in Anniston, Alabama, in 1939. In May of 1940, he graduated the Gulf Coast Military Academy.