My husband did ROTC at a big state university and then went active duty after graduation. Army paid for grad school too. Not sure how you could manage a D1 sport and ROTC (not sure it would be allowed?) both are a huge commitment.

We have a HSer and I find it interesting that my military husband is almost banning ROTC or military service for our oldest kid

I am the biggest fan of athletes at USNA and AFA (my job overlaps with their grads, but rarely USMA so can’t comment on them), but at this point if I were even the tiniest bit anxious about the current situation, I would avoid service academies and ROTC and punt the decision and consider OCS after graduation.

You have absolutely no shot at getting into an academy from this area, don't even bother unless you know a Senator.

Lots of great ROTC programs. VirginianTech has the Core Cadet program that is like an academy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid received both the nomination to West Point and a four year ROTC scholarship. Ultimately, he chose the ROTC scholarship. For him, he wanted both worlds - the college experience and the military so it worked for him. The four year scholarship is also a pretty good hook for the more selective schools. MIT, Princeton, Vanderbilt, Duke, and Notre Dame all have very active ROTC cadres and they need smart students to fill those spaces. My kid attends one of the schools above and I'm pretty sure the ROTC scholarship helped. Something to consider.

Does the ROTC scholarship come with a 5-year active duty service requirement? Is it possible to do a college sport and fulfill the ROTC scholarship requirements?

Army is 4 if you go Active. I think Navy and AF are 5. Honestly, I think it would be impossible to do D1 varsity and ROTC. But perhaps accommodations are made with recruited athletes.

The question is whether you "have" to go active duty if you had a ROTC scholarship, or whether you can just be in the reserves. USNA, USMA, and USAFA all require full-time active duty, so if a ROTC scholarship only requires that you serve in the reserves, that's a lot more flexible.

A PP here and your Army ROTC commitment is for 4 years active and 4 years reserves but, at least when I went through, if you found a reserve unit upon graduation with a need for your MOS you could apply for that spot and the Army might approve the reserve unit assignment rather than active duty. There is of course no guarantee that you will serve only in the reserves and I ended up serving in the first National Guard unit mobilized after 9.11.2001 and spent the following 6 months on active duty.

Anonymous wrote:I think either path is great. I did ROTC plus active army afterwards. I think ROTC and a sport could be compatible- though both programs would have to find some compromise.

But if your child wants to go to medical school, the service obligation gets long. They need to come to terms with this. If you go to USUHS it’s + 7 yrs service (on top of 4 yrs ROTC obligation). I believe if you just have a HPSP scholarship for medical school it’s only a 4 yr obligated (plus 4 yrs rotc). The service obligation clock doesn’t start until you’ve finished residency/fellowship. So add that all up and you’d be just a few yrs shy of having a full benefits military retirement.

*just adding, while medical school, residency, and fellowship don’t count toward service obligation, they do count as years in service for retirement purposes.

I think either path is great. I did ROTC plus active army afterwards. I think ROTC and a sport could be compatible- though both programs would have to find some compromise.

But if your child wants to go to medical school, the service obligation gets long. They need to come to terms with this. If you go to USUHS it’s + 7 yrs service (on top of 4 yrs ROTC obligation). I believe if you just have a HPSP scholarship for medical school it’s only a 4 yr obligated (plus 4 yrs rotc). The service obligation clock doesn’t start until you’ve finished residency/fellowship. So add that all up and you’d be just a few yrs shy of having a full benefits military retirement.

DD is a freshman in Navy ROTC at an Ivy. She considered West Point and Naval Academy but ultimately chose ROTC because she wanted a traditional college experience. So far she likes it and things have gone well for her. In the fall she had to wake up very early like 4:00 AM in the morning to do drill practice and physical training. She also had to take a 3 credit military leadership course and a lab on Fridays which took up a couple hours off campus. There are a couple drill competitions on weekends each semester, sometimes community service so ROTC is a major time commitment. However, her unit is very supportive, and she is very close to the other Midshipmen in her unit. She says she has improved her leadership skills, public speaking, and time management. I was very impressed with her first semester GPA. She still had time left over to join a sports club and also rushed a sorority this Spring. There are a few varsity athletes in her NROTC unit but they are all in cross country or track. The physical training probably overlaps with that of a runner, so they can skip some of the PT. She said one of the freshman athletes had to drop out of the drill team because he wasn't getting enough sleep and the coach had to talk to the unit commander to get him out.
She will be going to Contramid in San Diego for almost a month to learn about the different jobs in the Navy over the Summer. Naval Academy and NROTC is 5 years active duty for payback. Army I believe you can do 4 years active duty or 8 years in the Reserves or NG.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ds is being recruited for a sport. Academically he’s a math and science kid with some interest in medical school.

Alternatively does anyone have experience with ROTC?

Btw if you know little or nothing about this world, other than military = bad, please do not bother responding.

Military = pledge to DT now not an oath to the Constitution.

As a parent whose child did this and is now a Navy MD, I would not recommend this at all.
I also have a BIL who is a Navy Sub Commander who went this route, I know what I am saying.

Our military is going through things right now that are not good.

I don't want my son having a drunk as his ultimate boss. Signal Gate makes me sick as a mother and sisterinlaw of officers.

If you would have asked this two years ago I would have answered differently.

You need to stop. The kids coming out now didn't come in under DT. Those entering next fall will come out in 4 years. They have didn't make this decision YOU did. Your neighbors did. Your parents and spouse and siblings and friend did. They are sacrificing themselves for you and your kids. You're welcome.

Anonymous wrote:Ds is being recruited for a sport. Academically he’s a math and science kid with some interest in medical school.

Alternatively does anyone have experience with ROTC?

Btw if you know little or nothing about this world, other than military = bad, please do not bother responding.

Military = pledge to DT now not an oath to the Constitution.

As a parent whose child did this and is now a Navy MD, I would not recommend this at all.
I also have a BIL who is a Navy Sub Commander who went this route, I know what I am saying.

Our military is going through things right now that are not good.

I don't want my son having a drunk as his ultimate boss. Signal Gate makes me sick as a mother and sisterinlaw of officers.

If you would have asked this two years ago I would have answered differently.

D1 sports and ROTC would be difficult in my experience, but it depends on the ROTC leadership at the school. The upside to ROTC is a more normal college experience, and seems like nowadays different service requirements? Mine was 4 years active duty, but we were in a war at the time. I was on a full scholarship and majored in a non-technical discipline. I really appreciate and value the experiences I had because a college education would not have been possible otherwise, and having the extra stipend money and guaranteed employment was a relief.

I have tons of family and friends that went to the service academies, a few regretted not doing ROTC for the flexibility, holidays and full summers off, etc. but definitely didn’t regret being in the military. Most all became pilots, and if that had been my interest, I probably would have pursued an academy. I think sports would possibly provide more flexibility at an academy vs. a typical cadet, but that’s a question for the student-athletes.

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been to all of them and would choose them in the order of Navy>West Point>Air Force. Air Force Academy is not in a great location and is very spread out. You can’t have a car till sophomore year and full privileges until senior year. Navy is located right next to downtown Annapolis, seems like the more enjoyable experience.

Yeah but Navy ends up on ships and submarines. Absolutely terrible for family life.

If your student has had an IEP / 504, inhaler, EpiPen or any other condition you have to mark on a school form they will be medically ineligible.

There is National Guard/Reserves for ROTC so not all active duty. Lots of options though I don't know what budget impact is happening at the moment.

Also it isn't just 4 years and done with some. Aviation has a longer commitment due to extra training.

Academies are 5 years active duty at a minimum. They are going to get their money worth from you. Choose wisely.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid received both the nomination to West Point and a four year ROTC scholarship. Ultimately, he chose the ROTC scholarship. For him, he wanted both worlds - the college experience and the military so it worked for him. The four year scholarship is also a pretty good hook for the more selective schools. MIT, Princeton, Vanderbilt, Duke, and Notre Dame all have very active ROTC cadres and they need smart students to fill those spaces. My kid attends one of the schools above and I'm pretty sure the ROTC scholarship helped. Something to consider.

Does the ROTC scholarship come with a 5-year active duty service requirement? Is it possible to do a college sport and fulfill the ROTC scholarship requirements?

Army is 4 if you go Active. I think Navy and AF are 5. Honestly, I think it would be impossible to do D1 varsity and ROTC. But perhaps accommodations are made with recruited athletes.

The question is whether you "have" to go active duty if you had a ROTC scholarship, or whether you can just be in the reserves. USNA, USMA, and USAFA all require full-time active duty, so if a ROTC scholarship only requires that you serve in the reserves, that's a lot more flexible.

From the ROTC scholarship, you can choose active or reserve.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid received both the nomination to West Point and a four year ROTC scholarship. Ultimately, he chose the ROTC scholarship. For him, he wanted both worlds - the college experience and the military so it worked for him. The four year scholarship is also a pretty good hook for the more selective schools. MIT, Princeton, Vanderbilt, Duke, and Notre Dame all have very active ROTC cadres and they need smart students to fill those spaces. My kid attends one of the schools above and I'm pretty sure the ROTC scholarship helped. Something to consider.

Does the ROTC scholarship come with a 5-year active duty service requirement? Is it possible to do a college sport and fulfill the ROTC scholarship requirements?

Army is 4 if you go Active. I think Navy and AF are 5. Honestly, I think it would be impossible to do D1 varsity and ROTC. But perhaps accommodations are made with recruited athletes.

The question is whether you "have" to go active duty if you had a ROTC scholarship, or whether you can just be in the reserves. USNA, USMA, and USAFA all require full-time active duty, so if a ROTC scholarship only requires that you serve in the reserves, that's a lot more flexible.