<p>Poking my head in here again. If you've also seen me around in other forums, in some of my posts i've mentioned that i'm going to be group commander of my AFJROTC unit this upcoming school year. </p>
<p>I'll save you the really long post about how much i've loved my time in JROTC (because I have, it's amazing) and i'm seriously considering doing it in college and then getting commissioned as a nurse.</p>
<p>However, the biggest worry to me is time. Nursing students are insanely busy with their classes, nursing students with on-campus/work-study jobs are even busier (that will be me), and with the leadership lab & other ROTC activities, I can't begin to fathom how busy i'll be. I'm definitely not going to college to coast and cruise, but to work hard. Even still, I think everyone has a limit. So hopefully someone has some insight to this.</p>
<p>Also, i'm really gunning (aha ha) for AFROTC, but most colleges only have Army. However, my dream college (I know, shame on me to have a 'dream' college) mentions in their course handbook that interested students can join the AFROTC group at another college in the area, which to me sounds akin to cross-registering. I'm not really sure if that's a feasible thing or not (getting there shouldn't be too bad, it's a large large city), or if that just makes things more complicated. More insight would be lovely.</p>
<p>And finally, the dumb question that i've already found the answer to on the Internet but just want to make sure - if I finish my degree, pass both the fitness test and the AFQOT, will I definitely be commissioned AND end up working as a nurse? I have this silly paranoia in the back of my mind that even if I say, "yes, I am majoring in nursing, and I want to be a nurse!" I won't end up being one. Silly silly me.</p>
<p>If anyone can help me with even just one concern, it would be much appreciated.</p>
<p>The University of Delaware (which has an excellent Nursing Program) offers both Air Force and Army ROTC. My D was a nursing major there and at least several of her classmates were involved with ROTC. Most of them got military scholarships (I don’t know details of how much) to attend. Of course they were then required to enter the military following graduation, but were guaranteed to be military nurses (they are not going to pay for your college education in a medical field and then put you in another area-the military is always looking for nurses and physicians). Hope this info is helpful.</p>
<p>Some ROTC programs (I think Army?) have an option where you do not make any commitment for at least the first year of college. You could see how it works, in that case.</p>
<p>My sister joined the navy after nursing school. She had a couple months of officer training school and then was commissioned. As of that time, nurses were commissioned as reserve officers, even when they were active duty. </p>
<p>There may some options for college loan forgiveness - those programs change over time and vary from service to service. You need to talk to a recruiter to find out current info, which could change by the time you graduate. If you can’t make ROTC work, you may find that joining after nursing school and using college loan forgiveness may be a better deal. </p>
<p>You might also ask about the possibility of transfering from one service to the other. That may allow you to take Army ROTC and then get commissioned into the Air Force after college. Otherwise, you may use up a great deal of time traveling from one college to the other.</p>
<p>Try to get any promises made by recruiters into writing. They still aren’t binding, but they may give you a little more negotiating power if the promises are not kept.</p>
<p>There are also options where you can join as an enlisted reservist during college, and then get commissioned later. You do boot camp over the summer, weekends and a stint during each summer. That may involve less time commitment during the school week. You would need to check whether a person needs to do a minimum amount of active duty service before they are eligible for most armed services college aid. </p>
<p>Also, a reservist enlisted can be pulled out of college and sent to war, with a couple weeks notice (which happened to my nephew). Historically, ROTC students are allowed to finish their degree and are not pulled out of college.</p>
<p>It appears to me that nurses in the military have a larger management role than in civilian life. That is because they use so many corpsmen to do most of the care.</p>
<p>My daughter is a junior AFROTC cadet and a nursing major on a AFROTC scholarship.</p>
<ol>
<li>ALL ROTC programs give you at least the first year to “try out” the programs and decide if it is right for you.</li>
<li>AFROTC scholarship students have one year to decide.</li>
<li>When you graduate (and pass the N-ClEX)…you will work as a nurse. The AF needs nurses and that will be your AFSC.</li>
<li>I would not consider attending a college (and majoring in Nursing) that does not have an AFROTC Detachment on the same campus you will be staying on. IMHO…forget cross-town Detachments and majoring in nursing. It is difficult enough (but certainly doable) to balance nursing and AFROTC without adding in commuting issues. Again…just an opinion…but don’t even attempt it.</li>
<li>Cross commissioning is almost impossible. Don’t delude yourself into thinking one branch is going to pay for your education as a nurse and then approve your transfer to another branch. It’s not going to happen. If you want to be an Army nurse…then join AROTC and get commissioned Army. If you want AF…then you need to go through the AFROTC program or wait until you graduate and apply for a nursing commission within the AF.</li>
<li>You need to review the scholarships that the AF offers. Type 7 scholarships pay for 100% of tuition within the guidelines of that scholarship.</li>
</ol>
<p>In summary…you CAN both major in Nursing and be in the AFROTC. It is not easy…but many people succeed in doing both every year. Good Luck!</p>
<p>Thank you all for your very detailed replies!</p>
<p>What a bummer that cross-town detatchments are a pain in the butt. Luckily, many of my (more affordable) schools on my list have all 3 branches available. I guess it’ll depend on where I end up going, in the end.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, my first choice not only lacks an AFROTC detatchment, it’s also a women’s college… :(</p>