My husband did ROTC at CU Boulder then became a Naval Aviator. He was waitlisted at the Naval Academy but ROTC worked out for him. He has done well and works in a niche area where his military background helps.

My nieces are graduates of the AF Academy and have both done well- one is a pilot and the other NP.

One thing to consider is there is always more than one path to a destination. That being said plenty of reservists were called up and deployed after 9/11 so reserves doesn’t guarantee you won’t be deployed. I also know plenty of officers that were not deployed or deployed but in places without direct action.

Good luck to your son. It is a noble and challenging path.

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Anonymous wrote:Fwiw for those thinking the reserves is a better deal than paying back active duty... Reserve units often deploy more often. It's never really "just" 2 weekends a month.

Maybe true at times, but it allows the grad to explore other career options while also earning income from the reserves.

Probably best for the individual to decide if they want to be doing 1.5 jobs instead of parents trying to put a square peg into a round hole tho. It's an entire lifestyle change not just free college and bragging rights for parents.

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Anonymous wrote:OP, I've toured USMA/West Point a couple times, and the tours were led by graduates who had also done a sport. One quit the sport after freshman year; the other stuck it out all 4 years but considered quitting. It's a big time/travel commitment on top of other cadet requirements. If your kid doesn't have the academic stats, they'll frequently admit to a prep school first.

Is that so different than athletes at all schools?

Exactly.

The service academies have around a 33% dropout rate and outcomes for droup outs are not great. Look to your left look to your right one of you won't be here at graduation.

If your child is a borderline case it's better they don't go and become a dropout. After sophomore year you owe big $$$ if you don't finish as well.

The academies are a great place to be from there's no denying that. If you're on this forum debating which one has the better undergraduate experience you are approaching this from entirely the wrong mindset.

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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.

I think there is some confusion about what ‘active duty’ means.

There seem to be so many differing answers on here, even among people who have had the ROTC scholarship or whose kids currently have the ROTC scholarship.

I would like to know if there is a ROTC path for a reserves-only requirement after graduation? It sounds like this may be possible with the National Guard? Is there a specific National Guard ROTC scholarship?

There is! It’s 8 yrs reserve. But the contract has to specifically state that is your service obligation. There are specific reserve duty rotc scholarships. But I will say, even if your contract says 4 yrs active, 4 yrs reserve, you can typically request all reserve duty and it is usually granted. Right now, it is actually harder and more competitive to be put on active duty after comissioning. Many ROTC that want active duty are given reserve duty instead. It is very much done by needs of the Army plus cadet ranking. Unless you have a specific reserve duty contract. All ROTC offices will have a recruitment chair that works closely with a reserve recruiter and they can best advise you which contract and scholarship would best suit you.

Anonymous wrote:I’m surprised no one has mentioned the Coast Guard Academy. You don’t need a nomination and to me it seems the safest branch of the military to be in .

Both Coast Guard Academy and Merchant Marine Academy are hidden gems. No nomination is required for Coast Guard. You need a nomination for Merchant Marine but it's usually much easier than the other 3 service academies.

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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.

It’s 8 yrs total. 4 active, 4 reserve, 8 reserve, or 4 active, 4 IRR. I’m an army rotc grad and did 4 active/4 IRR. IRR has nearly zero obligation. You could technically be called up, but it’s rare. There is no weekend commitment or summer training. Your name is on a list somewhere, and that’s about the extent of it. But you also don’t get paid.

Anonymous wrote:Fwiw for those thinking the reserves is a better deal than paying back active duty... Reserve units often deploy more often. It's never really "just" 2 weekends a month.

Maybe true at times, but it allows the grad to explore other career options while also earning income from the reserves.

Fwiw for those thinking the reserves is a better deal than paying back active duty... Reserve units often deploy more often. It's never really "just" 2 weekends a month.

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Anonymous wrote: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.

Not for ROTC.

Family friend’s kid had 504 and is currently in demanding aeronautical university full ride (Air Force).

Sure ROTC is different from the academies

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Anonymous wrote: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.

What is wrong with you people?? Seriously. Are you so bitter and jealous? I’m op and my dc is being recruited. Sorry if that upsets you. FO

3 kids from our NOVA public high school committed to academies last year. You absolutely have a shot

I would assume it's easier to be an athlete at a "regular" school, but unless you have a D1 scholarship, a lot of financial aid, or merit money, you'll be paying some tuition, unlike at an academy. If you quit the sport, at least you're not losing a scholarship.

Anonymous wrote:USNA is a wonderful path! It was my DS's dream but unfortunately he failed the physical with a very slight eye misalignment he was not even aware he had. Confirm that there will be no medical disqualification by geting the exam as early as possible as there are so many steps we wasted time on before realizing he could not compete for admission despite smooth sailing on all the other tests (summer academy, senator recommendation, GPA, SAT, etc.).

Would you be willing to share a little more about the eye issue? My son is considering an academy and has an eye issue that is corrected with glasses. He is planning on being a physician, not on a pilot. I’m not sure if that matters…

How early and where do you get the physical? It would be good to have the right expectations now.

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Anonymous wrote:OP, I've toured USMA/West Point a couple times, and the tours were led by graduates who had also done a sport. One quit the sport after freshman year; the other stuck it out all 4 years but considered quitting. It's a big time/travel commitment on top of other cadet requirements. If your kid doesn't have the academic stats, they'll frequently admit to a prep school first.

Is that so different than athletes at all schools?

It's somewhat different, as other schools don't have the same academic and non-academic requirements, have a wider choice of majors, etc. You don't really hear about athletes at other schools not making it through due to grades anymore. It seems to be about the transfer portal and NIL$ today, if you're "that" good -- none of that is an option at a service academy. At USNA, for example, I think everyone gets the equivalent of an engineering degree bc of the class requirements. Not sure what sport OP's child plays or what caliber athlete they are. If they need to be a recruited athlete to gain admission and really want to go, then I guess it's worth a try.

Academy athletes are obviously good athletes but in general they are not top top and if you wanted to go pro, you obviously wouldn’t go to an academy. But most kids who play in college don’t plan (or have the option to) to go pro.

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Anonymous wrote:OP, I've toured USMA/West Point a couple times, and the tours were led by graduates who had also done a sport. One quit the sport after freshman year; the other stuck it out all 4 years but considered quitting. It's a big time/travel commitment on top of other cadet requirements. If your kid doesn't have the academic stats, they'll frequently admit to a prep school first.

Is that so different than athletes at all schools?

It's somewhat different, as other schools don't have the same academic and non-academic requirements, have a wider choice of majors, etc. You don't really hear about athletes at other schools not making it through due to grades anymore. It seems to be about the transfer portal and NIL$ today, if you're "that" good -- none of that is an option at a service academy. At USNA, for example, I think everyone gets the equivalent of an engineering degree bc of the class requirements. Not sure what sport OP's child plays or what caliber athlete they are. If they need to be a recruited athlete to gain admission and really want to go, then I guess it's worth a try.