<p>Can anyone please share their experience and insight of the Army ROTC progam? My son is a senior and he is considering an Army ROTC 4 year scholarship to a college in southern California. We are aware of the active duty commitment he must make after college, but we are curious about the issues they don't tell you - both positive and negative. All of the kids we've talked to seem to like the program. Can anyone please help educate me? Thank you - I'm just a concerned Mom.</p>
<p>I cannot help on the ARMY ROTC, but I think you need to ask does he want to serve after graduation? Or is he question this one particular det.</p>
<p>I believe that statistically, ROTC also loses @25% due to multiple reasons. </p>
<p>The positive for ROTC, is that you will have a "typical" collegiate life. The rigors for any child will be to determine if they want to be in the military, and if so what would they like to do.</p>
<p>ROTC also allows the student the ability to get a degree in their major, especially if it is liberal arts.</p>
<p>ROTC cadets will have most of their summers off, except for certain yrs. where they will tdy for a few weeks for certain military training.</p>
<p>Depending on the size of the det., they may also have a great network set in place, including socializing. At UMD they have 3 military type fraternity/sorority clubs (Maryland Honor Guard, Arnold Air and Angel Air)</p>
<p>The true negative is, that ROTC will never be a substitute for an SA. However, if your child has already opted not to desire that lifestyle and wants to join the military, ROTC is a great beginning.</p>
<p>My S is in NROTC at a big state university. I'm sure NROTC and AROTC are not exactly the same but prob. do share some similarities. The number one thing (as B&P stated above) is that your S is sure he wants to serve in the military upon graduation. </p>
<p>While the ROTC student does get to enjoy the full college experience, ROTC does require extra time and dedication that the student must be ready to accept. There is the getting up early (before 6 in S's case) several times a week for PT while everyone else on your dorm floor is still snoozing in bed, wearing the uniform all day once a week (def. standing out in the crowd) while everybody else is wearing t-shirts and Rainbows, showing up for inspections and the all little extra things (ex. S's unit sells t-shirts at all home games which takes up a lot of Saturdays ).</p>
<p>The extra academic load includes taking the required (3-4 hr. credit) military class every semseter in addition to your regular courseload (S has taken 18 or 19 credit hrs. every semester in order to grad. in 4 years) plus a 2 hr. mandatory lab class once a week for which no credit is given. NROTC also requires some electives in addition to the military class that must be fit into the academic schedule (don't know if this applies to Army or not). S's summer tours have been 4-5 weeks each (for which they are paid) and have been good learning experiences.</p>
<p>As the student rises through the ranks they are given more responsibilities in unit leadership positions that require extra work but prepare them for the future. It requires perserverance and determinatation to shoulder the extra academic, physical and time committement loads that others (reg. college students ) around you are not having to do. Many don't make it. S's ROTC class started out with 28 members freshman yr. Now, the end of his jr. yr, there are 12 remaining. That said, I have seen tremendous growth in my S since entering the ROTC program 3 years ago. He is much more mature, independent, responsible and focused than the majority of his friends he graduated from high sch. with (some of whom go to his sch. and others at nearby instate u's that he sees regularly). He has learned a lot and is definitely not going into it (service committement) wearing rose colored glasses. We are proud of his committment and have totally supported his decsion all along even though some aspects of it can be frightening for parents. </p>
<p>The scholarship money plus the monthly stipend are great but don't let the money sway you/your son's decision. Contrary to what some (who know little about the military) may think, it's not free money or a way to get to a sch. that otherwise might have been unavailable to you. Taking the scholarship for those reasons would be a mistake. The student must be sure that he/she is willing to pay back the opportunities granted through the ROTC scholarship with service to our country. NROTC allows the students to quit after freshman yr. with no penalty if they decide it's not for them. I have no knowledge of how AROTC works in that regard. It may be a question you wish to ask.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for taking the time to post your input PackMom! We were not aware of the heavy classload they need to take. The last time we met with a staff member, they said the minimum courseload was 12 units and did not mention the 2 hr. noncredit lab.<br>
My S is really into the military and his commitment is strong. I admire him for that, but I know how things can change.<br>
Kudos to your son PackMom! I'm you're very proud of him!<br>
If anyone else has any other insight, I would be grateful to hear from them. Thank you again!!</p>
<p>1989Mom - the requirements for NROTC are different from Army ROTC.
Don't assume they are the same.
Army ROTC will have a class once a week and generally a lab one Saturday a month.<br>
For AROTC - the PT requirements vary - some units allow you to work out on your own - but you must pass the APFT twice a year to keep the scholarship. </p>
<p>For the specific class requirements and time involvement please have your son talk with the Battalion's Professor of Military Science and/or cadets in the battalion.</p>
<p>I suggest going to this website - GoArmy.com</a> > Army ROTC > Overview. Find the school and go to that school's ROTC webpage. Many give good information.</p>
<p>As a 4 year scholarship winner - he will have a commitment to the Army of 4 years Active Duty. He has until the beginning of his sophomore year to opt out and owe the Army nothing.
The first two years are the ROTC Basic course - just class and some Sat labs. He will have the opportunity to compete for summer training - which is pretty cool.
Wearing the uniform varies by school - many schools only require you to wear it to class so he probably will only wear it one day and for how long depends on his class schedule that day.</p>
<p>My S has accepted an Army ROTC scholarship to Chapman Univ. in S. California. If that's where your S is looking at 1989mom, pm me! His Army ROTC detachment will be at Cal State Fullerton, a few miles away. He has been told that he will have PT at 6:30 a.m. on Mon & Wed and will have class + lab on Friday afternoons. Nothing was said about Saturdays...I'll have him ask about that.</p>
<p>It's true that the 2 hour lab is not for credit, but it really isn't much different from taking a science class. If you are taking biology lab, you get one credit hour but you are in lab for 3 hours per week.</p>
<p>You do have to allow time in your schedule for that ROTC class each semester. My older S is on an AFROTC scholarship at Texas A&M. He says the first 2 years, the military science classes are easy, with hardly any work outside of class. Jr. and Sr. year they are like a regular class. Over the course of 4 years, it's like having an extra semester of classes to complete, so your S should plan on some summer school classes or heavy class loads if he plans to graduate in 4 years.</p>
<p>In addition to wearing the uniform once a week, cadets are required to keep their hair cut to military regulations. Short hair isn't really in style any more, so that can be an issue for some guys.</p>
<p>Being in ROTC is like being in any time consuming activity like marching band, a fraternity, etc. It's just something you do in addition to school work. Sometimes it's hard, and sometimes it's fun. Our older S has <em>loved</em> being in ROTC and is very much looking forward to graduating next year and starting his training as an Air Force pilot!</p>
<p>Hi Timely, So your S already knows he's been selected for flight sch. before jr. yr. is over? That's great. Congrats to him. My NROTC S (also a jr.) won't find out about his service selection until Senior yr. He doesn't even know where he's going for his summer tour yet,lol.</p>
<p>Yes, the Air Force announces selections for air crew slots in the spring of junior year. They still have to undergo the major flight physical during spring of senior year (or maybe after graduation, I'm not sure) before they are confirmed to go. </p>
<p>Doesn't the Navy do some of the screening during spring break of junior year? I know a NROTC kid who went to Pensacola during spring break for something to do with applying for a flight slot.</p>
<p>We are a teeny bit nervous about the big flight physical because S had PRK eye surgery. He's dotted all his i's and crossed his t's with the Air Force, but they are going to look at those eyes very carefully during his flight physical.</p>
<p>You know what stinks, though? They've just told them that the AF is backlogged on flight training. So, after they graduate, they won't start flight school for almost 6 months. </p>
<p>Previously, they put them on casual status until their flight school date, but they've decided not to do that anymore starting in 09. Instead, they just don't have a job for 6 months after they graduate! I <em>think</em> they are going to start their medical benefits when they are commissioned. I hope so, since S is planning to get married right after graduation. But he won't be able to get a "real" job for just 6 months. Instead he'll have to get the equivalent of a summer job after he graduates. Very annoying.</p>
<p>Do the NROTC guys have summer tours every summer? I know they do a lot more summer stuff than the Air Force does! S is going to get to go to India for 2 weeks this summer on a cultural immersion trip with the Air Force, so that's kinda cool.</p>
<p>Timely, my s is going to University of San Diego and will do his AROTC through SDSU. He also likes the Navy, but his status is No Decision has been made. Now he also wishes he had applied for AFROTC. The hair, marching, and uniforms do not bother him. For USD, the college pays 50% of the room and board for ROTC (Army and Navy, don't know about AFROTC) and they are supposed to pay the remaining half if the ROTC student works a minimum of 8 hours a week on campus. I don't know what that entails, but I think it's probably best to forgo the extra work until they get comfortable with college life and the ROTC requirements.</p>
<p>Timely, I guess my post was a little confusing,lol. My S is not trying for flight school. He is working hard to try to qualify for a Spec. Ops. slot. He will be doing his summer tour with that group this summer and must pass a grueling physical (which he already had to do once this spring just to qualify for the summer tour) to even be among those competing for the post-grad spots. It is very selective. My S had LASIK surgery in Dec. because this unit requires perfect vision. He did his research and found that they will allow LASIK while flight sch. only allows PRK (not that that matters because he wasn't interested in flying).</p>
<p>The Navy has the same back log at flight sch. S has talked to guys who graduated last year who are just hanging around Pensacola waiting for their slot to open up.</p>
<p>Yes, NROTC does summer tours every summer. After fresh. year they do a four week tour where they spend a week in each major division (Marines, Submarines, Aviation, Surface Warfare) to get an idea of what each one is like. </p>
<p>After soph. year, they are assigned to a deployed unit and do the job of an enlisted man. These tours last 3-5 weeks depending on the location of the assignment. S was in the Meditarranaen last summer for four and half weeks on a guided missile destroyer with stops in Turkey, Crete, Greece and Italy. His roommate was sent to Asia (Thailand and other stops I can't remember).</p>
<p>This summer (after jr. yr) they are to do the job of an officer. His tour will be with the group he hopes to be in post-grad. He won't know his summer assigment until sometime next month. I don't think he'll know about his post-grad. slot until middle of Fall semester.<br>
The waiting is hard. He wants a place in this unit so badly and has trained incredibly hard for it. If he doesn't get it, there will be a huge letdown and a "what do I do now" feeling.</p>