<p>what do you guys think are some of the benefits and negatives of doing air force ROTC? my major is mechE. what are the types of projects i could be working on during my time in the AF? do you know anyone in the program and wether or not they like it?</p>
<p>I had a good friend of mine that was in the program. Notice the "was". He wasn't even doing engineering. He was majoring in professional aviation. Even then he felt like his time was constrained. He was also doing the honor guard at the same time. He was going to meetings late in the evening when he wanted to be doing homework. And waking up early to go running for training. It is not like he was taking some hard classes either. Just general math, some intro to avionics, english, and his aviation courses. He ended up quitting that and he is just going to try the Officer school when he graduates. I know way too many engineering majors that end up washing out who are in the ROTC programs. You will be commiting a lot of your time. There are also some freaks of nature who manage a 4.0 and major in engineering. I know of one. He was a transfer from cornell though, so that might be the answer.</p>
<p>One of my buddies in engineering did Navy ROTC and even picked up a double major in psychology. He seemed to really enjoy the ROTC things, and he was looking forward to his time in the Navy (he went off to Nuke Sub school after graduating). Dunno exactly what he's doing there now, but last I heard he's still happy about it.</p>
<p>I was in AFROTC until I transferred colleges and did not want to continue with the program. The rigor of the ROTC program differs at each school. I decided not to continue because I determined that the military way of doing things wasn't for me. Many of the other cadets were in the program simply for the scholarship money and had no intention on serving more than the required committment. Other cadets were hardcore wannabe pilots. Most of them got accepted to pilot school but then had to deal being on the backlog list since there were only a few pilot slots.</p>
<p>The program is good if you want to become an officer without going through enlistment and OTC or going to an academy. But I wouldn't do it if you don't care for the military lifestyle.</p>
<p>how do you just quit? i thought that once you've started it and they've paid for some of your schooling then you have to finish it.</p>
<p>not all of them are on scholarship. you have until after your sophomore year to back out if they dont pay.</p>
<p>You can walk away during your first year. (It might be longer, but I don't remember exactly.)</p>
<p>When my friend was in it, he said that he would have to commit at the end of his sophmore year. He spent a year in it as a freshman, and I think he just got overwhelmed. I think the whole honor guard thing just did him in. Just try not to overwhelm yourself with too many activities.</p>
<p>I guess it all depend how driven you are. I have a good friend who just got accepted to the naval academy. He has maintained a 4.0 all through HS and has played baseball, football, and swimming. The guy is a machine. All he does is study, workout, play sports, and work. He has sucess written all over him. It just amazes me that people like that are serving our country. Hell, if everyone had that kind of motivation, just think of the type of country we live in.</p>