Tell me about ROTC
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Anonymous
Its a hook but not like it was. I know rotc and nrotc applicants last year and this and there were a lot of denials. |
Anonymous
| ^^ andnthr kids were very high stats |
Anonymous
It's a huge hook. My DS was set to go to West Point - got the nomination - but also sought the four year ROTC scholarship and applied ED to a top 20 school. He got in. In all likelihood, it was the ROTC scholarship that set him apart from every other high stats unhooked kid from the burbs. It's been an overwhelmingly positive experience so far. But this is something he wanted to do - he likes the challenge of it. I think its important that the student really wants to do ROTC. It is demanding. 5 am PT is not for every college student. |
Anonymous
| Did everyone gloss over the B/C student part? Yes, ROTC is great but in no way is a B or C student competitive for ROTC. |
Anonymous
Many do, particularly public colleges. In some cases, students at college A can do their ROTC at college B which is nearby. |
Anonymous
| The scholarship pay 85k x 4 ? What is the catch? |
Anonymous
| Also, even if DC does not get a 4-year scholarship, the student can still participate in ROTC and then if grades are good and ROTC endorses, they can get some funding for the last 2 years - at least in some cases. |
Anonymous
In most circumstances, a student with a 4-year ROTC scholarship who graduates on-time as-planned gets commissioned as an officer in that uniformed service, and then must serve 4 years on active duty. After that obligation is satisfied, they can remain on active duty, transfer to the reserves, or leave the service. For some students, such as those selected for pilot/navigator training or selected for additional medical training (e.g., at USUHS), the service obligation can be longer than 4 years due to the additional flight or medical training provided by the military. A side-effect is that former military will qualify for various Veterans benefits, including a veterans preference for civil service hiring. |
Anonymous
The scholarship pays tuition and fees, so it’s not $85k. At some schools, room and board is covered by the university. Not sure how common that is, but it was not a policy for any of my kids (3 different universities) As for payback, it can be Active Duty or Reserves. It depends on the needs of each service, students do not always get their preference. |
Anonymous
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It pays tuition only and I think it's 5 years of active duty service time these days.
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Anonymous
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I just hope your kids won't get shipped out. But it's all to their credit that they are willing to serve, that's for sure! |
Anonymous
| OP, ROTC full scholarships are extremely competitive. Kids typically have to get into the school while also competing for the scholarship. That said there are a lot of programs at many/most colleges. A B/C student can do ROTC at any of the colleges they would be targeting for admittance. There are also kids who enlist then go to college or even a service academy. Plenty of options but he is young so let him focus on high school before thinking about college. |
Anonymous
Thank you for this. I am not the OP, but my kid is very interested in West Point so I am glad to hear your perspective. |
Anonymous
This is a crucial piece of information - they have to FIRST qualify for admittance to that school AND they also need to serve a minimum number of years after college (I think PP is accurate, I think it is now 5 years). Each school that offers ROTC should have a ROTC office for you to speak to, OP. ie: you can NOT shirk your obligations and you must meet the requirements fo the school - so you are serving two entities - the school and also the federal government. It is an extremely serious commitment. |
Anonymous
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Her is the list of schools that offer ROTC, OP:
https://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-jobs/find-your-path/army-officers/rotc.html |