I was interested in doing ROTC as a nursing major, but am not completely sure. I know I can be in it up to sophomore year without incurring a military obligation, but was wondering for some feedback. Also, I am not extremely fit or anything. I used to run cross country and am starting to run more for exercise, but I can’t do crossfit or anything like that.
sooo my main question is…
What is life like for an ROTC student? Would I miss out on a lot of “normal” college stuff? Would it be hard to manage time as a nursing student and doing ROTC?
Ok I know that’s more than one question, but any feedback is appreciated!
Robbietoy: hm, you’re in high school, right?
ROTC isn’t for the faint of heart but it’s not the military academies either. Three times a week you’ll have to wake up at 5:30 or 6:00 for training. You have to be organized but you won’t miss much from the “typical college life”.
Scholarships are harder and harder to come by. And of course you can be called up - as a nurse, you’d serve in the medical units.
What school is that, robbie? And if you couldn’t do it simply because some punk kid tries to poke fun at you, well, the military probably isn’t for you anyway.
Each program is different. I only did the early morning stuff during junior year. Other wise you had a Military Science class and you had to attend a 3 hour class on Thursday afternoon with all the cadets. It was too difficult during college. However, your experience can vary based on which school you attend.
How is camaraderie within the group of ROTC students? Is it more encouraging or competitive? Especially with PT sessions
You can’t let other peoples’ ignorant opinions run your life. Serving as a military officer is is honorable and valuable, getting you great experience and opportunities.
It’s a great way to fund college.
Well, first off, the experience depends on the branch of service and the school. One experience: Army has the fewest formal requirements, then Air Force, then Navy. Requirements for Navy were one early morning drill (marching, uniform inspections, rifle drills, etc.- no PT) and one afternoon drill (guest speaker, formal recognitions, formal uniform, etc.) per week, plus military science classes.
Army (I think) was one drill per semester. Wear uniform the day of drill. No hair/facial hair regulations (not a problem anyway for the OP)
Physical Fitness test periodically (once a semester or once a year), which was threshold based- sit-ups, knee push ups, and bent-arm hang (sit-ups, push-ups, and pull-ups for men). Needed to exceed a threshold.
Wear uniform at school one day a week (pride, morale, presence).
Camaraderie was excellent.
A good way to go if you have a penchant to serve your country. One downside is the obligation just out of college, when you may feel you want to explore the world and its possibilities. A hard decision, but a great option.
Thank you so much for the insight @ItsJustSchool . I’m still thinking about it though and wondering if I’m mentally and physically tough enough. But right now I’m leaning more towards trying it out.
If you think you have what it takes to be a nurse, you can do ROTC. I worked in healthcare for 3 years and separately served in the Navy for 5. There are quite a few similarities: attention to detail, chain of command, timeliness, etc. Besides, life as an officer in the Nurse Corps appeared to be a lot more laid-back than in most other fields.
Go for it!
What do you guys recommend I do to prepare training physically? All I really do is jog 2 miles 
You can google “pre bootcamp workout” or something to that effect and see what you find.
Or, just work on your push-ups, sit-ups, and running at least three times a week. If you can, have someone check your form because if you’ve never been coached before you’re likely doing push-up and sit-ups wrong.
Push-ups, keep your back straight the whole time- no butt in the air and knees can’t touch the ground. Go down until your upper arm is parallel with the floor, then push all the way up. That’s one rep.
Sit-ups, have someone hold your feet or find a dresser or something in your house that you can stick your feet under to hold them down. Your knee should be at a 90* angle or less, like /. Depending on the branch of service you’ll join will dictate the rest, whether you put your hands on your shoulders and sit-up until your elbows touch your thighs (Navy and Air Force, I believe) of if you hold your elbows with the opposite hands (Marines and maybe Army).
If you’re not going to enroll until the fall you have plenty of time. You can just do the few times a week and concentrate on form and getting your body used to the mechanics. Once you’re 2-3 months out I’d suggest doing push-ups and sit-ups one time every day, for as many times as you can. Not until it burns or you’re feeling tired, but until you can physically do no more. That is a great way to increase how many you can do. As far as running, if you can jog 2 miles in under 16 minutes you should be good-to-go.