ROTC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a really cool thread, thanks for the info!

How does the process work with military paying for med school?

Med school is different than ROTC. ROTC is only for undergrad. There is a program, look at the link to see it.
https://www.med.navy.mil/Pages/InfoViewPage.aspx?ItemID=22

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are some extremely selective colleges with ROTC programs. I understand getting the scholarship and gaining admission are two separate processes. But if my DC gets the scholarship, and X college is listed as his first choice, can the ROTC unit for X college help in any way with admissions? In other words, is there an admissions hook there, however slight?

It really depends on the college. My experience was with University of Texas, so it isn’t an elite school. The ROTC checked into my admission. I wasn’t going to be admitted into engineering like I had hoped. But I could switch to Liberal arts and get in. So I switched. I planned to switch to engineering after a couple semesters, but watching my engineering major friends struggle, I stayed with liberal arts. It worked out fine. I was commissioned and served 20 years in the military. I retired several years ago.

[Anonymous]

So ROTC will pay full freight at expensive private universities so long as there is an ROTC org on campus?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So ROTC will pay full freight at expensive private universities so long as there is an ROTC org on campus?

Yep, i had full tuition paid at Princeton via a 4 year year Army ROTC Scholarship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So ROTC will pay full freight at expensive private universities so long as there is an ROTC org on campus?

Yep, i had full tuition paid at Princeton via a 4 year year Army ROTC Scholarship.

I should have noted that R&B is not covered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So ROTC will pay full freight at expensive private universities so long as there is an ROTC org on campus?

But to win the scholarship, you do have to demonstrate an actual desire to serve after graduation. Also, you have to apply to a certain number of state schools also.

Whatever you do, don’t do ROTC just for the money. It’s 4 years of training and 4 years of service. You have to want to do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So ROTC will pay full freight at expensive private universities so long as there is an ROTC org on campus?

Yep, i had full tuition paid at Princeton via a 4 year year Army ROTC Scholarship.

I should have noted that R&B is not covered.

A fair number of schools will supplement the scholarship with room and board.

[Anonymous]

It can also depend on your major. When I went through, the Navy was paying full scholarship for any major, but the Air Force only paid full scholarship for STEM majors. I think the Army had more criteria too.

That info is 15-20 years out of date, so best to check current offerings.

Also, I agree with the PP that said don't do it just for the money. It's not only for gung-ho military brats (I certainly wasn't one), but you do have to be willing to commit time and energy both during college and after. You can't get caught doing stupid stuff (e.g., marijuana, or even other minor arrests) or you risk getting kicked out and possibly needing to pay back scholarship money.

[Anonymous]

Does ROTC pay tuition for private schools or is there a cap? So if you go to a public university where tuition is $12,00 after 4 years they have paid $48,000 but if you go to a private school where tuition is 60,000 the military ends up paying $240,000? That seems worth 4 years of service.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does ROTC pay tuition for private schools or is there a cap? So if you go to a public university where tuition is $12,00 after 4 years they have paid $48,000 but if you go to a private school where tuition is 60,000 the military ends up paying $240,000? That seems worth 4 years of service.

You do realize that service can involve death or being permanently disabled in war?
Service can also mean that your son or daughter gets stationed somewhere far away (South Korea, Guam, etc.) and won't be able to come "home" for holidays, birthdays, special life events (like a siblings wedding.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does ROTC pay tuition for private schools or is there a cap? So if you go to a public university where tuition is $12,00 after 4 years they have paid $48,000 but if you go to a private school where tuition is 60,000 the military ends up paying $240,000? That seems worth 4 years of service.

It depends on the type of scholarship and I also think there may be differences between the services. My DS was awarded a 4-year Army ROTC scholarship. His school list (you list 7) included Ivies and top state schools (Michigan, UCLA). The Army let him choose any school on his list (full tuition paid, but not room and board), and it was also clear that there was a process to get the scholarship transferred to any other school with an Army ROTC program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does ROTC pay tuition for private schools or is there a cap? So if you go to a public university where tuition is $12,00 after 4 years they have paid $48,000 but if you go to a private school where tuition is 60,000 the military ends up paying $240,000? That seems worth 4 years of service.

You do realize that service can involve death or being permanently disabled in war?
Service can also mean that your son or daughter gets stationed somewhere far away (South Korea, Guam, etc.) and won't be able to come "home" for holidays, birthdays, special life events (like a siblings wedding.)

That's why it's called service. And that's why it's not for everybody.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does ROTC pay tuition for private schools or is there a cap? So if you go to a public university where tuition is $12,00 after 4 years they have paid $48,000 but if you go to a private school where tuition is 60,000 the military ends up paying $240,000? That seems worth 4 years of service.

You do realize that service can involve death or being permanently disabled in war?
Service can also mean that your son or daughter gets stationed somewhere far away (South Korea, Guam, etc.) and won't be able to come "home" for holidays, birthdays, special life events (like a siblings wedding.)

That's why it's called service. And that's why it's not for everybody.

This. I used to recruit for a special branch of the military and my first question to interested applicants was "Why do you want to serve?"
The military is not just a career choice, it's a lifestyle choice that requires maintaining a certain level of physical fitness, being assigned to a location/job but not being able to choose where to work/live (there is some limited choice/preference consideraton), and being assigned a duty position that may also not be exactly your specific choice.

The benefits are: some amazing people to work with (and some not so good) who come from a cross section of the US that most people would not be exposed to in a standard corporate culture, learnng to work with all types of people and situations to make the most out of it, leadership training from day one, adventure and travel, and learning to be resilient and adaptive to many different situations.

Finally, many people do ROTC, serve their committment and then leave the military. They are able to take advantage of the scholarship, have 4 years of adventure, then transition to next phase.

[Anonymous]

How much of your college life is spent on ROTC classes or activities?

[Anonymous]

Just asked my kid who is a Sophomore. He said 8 hours per week.

The hours go up each year, as you move into more leadership positions. I did ROTC and it was probably 12-15 hours per week by the time you are a Senior. Probably also depends on what school you go to.

Both Army ROTC.