Anonymous wrote:rotc only came back to the ivy league recently. it wasn't on campus in the early-mid 2000's when i was in school.

that's why you are seeing an uptick of 'umc' kids in rotc. umc-rich schools like the ivy league didn't ahve rotc for decades.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went through Army ROTC at Princeton in the 80s when the program there was very large (over 100 cadets).

Most cadets at Princeton received 4 years of full tuition scholarship and $100 per month stipend.

I chose Princeton/ROTC over West Point. ROTC scholarship or West Point were the only non-state school options available to me given my family's financial situation.

Most of the ROTC cadets were (like me) from middle or UMC families. Very few were what I would call "rich". Many came from families with a tradition of military service, and/or from families that were trying to send several kids through college.

ROTC enrollment at expensive/elite private colleges declined in the 90s when full tuition scholarships were replaced with capped dollar scholarships that would not cover full tuition costs at expensive private colleges. Full-tuition ROTC scholarships were revived several years ago, and ROTC enrollment has grown again on elite private college campuses.

ROTC was/is not for everyone, but I am very fortunate that it was a route available to me.

But now elite colleges already offer absurdly generous financial aid packages. So, why would a middle class kid need to do ROTC?