<p>I live in seattle wa, so in california Univ, it's very expensive.
But my son tells me that he want to be ROTC and that gives him enough money for tuition.
it that right ?</p>
<p>There is such a thing as a ROTC scholarship, but I don’t know the rules for it or how hard it is to get. It isn’t a UC scholarship, it is a government scholarship tied to a certain number of years’ commitment to serve in the army. If you ask about ROTC scholarships in the scholarship subforum you might get more information.</p>
<p>Each of the services – Army, Navy, and Air Force – has a ROTC scholarship, and each has different rules. Army and Navy always pay the entire tuition, regardless of what college the student attends. Air Force normally only will pay for in state tuition. So, if he wants Air Force ROTC then it is unlikely that he would get enough money to attend UCLA or UCSD. However, yes, Army and Navy will pay for all tuition at UCLA or UCSD.</p>
<p>The Navy actually chooses the college… but does so based on five colleges which the student lists on the application. At least one of those colleges must be a “in state” public university. If your son is interested in the Navy ROTC scholarship, then he should apply as early as possible, because the schools are mostly chosen by the Navy on the “first come, first served” type of basis.</p>
<p>All ROTC scholarship students also get a stipend for books, plus $300 per month allowance for personal expenses. ROTC scholarships are very generous. Then again the student “repays” by going into the military for at least 5 years.</p>
<p>Navy and Air Force ROTC expect students to major in engineering, math, or science. Army allows students to major in almost anything.</p>
<p>@NROTCgrad What if someone has a partial scholarship? Does the Army or Navy pay only for the difference, or do they cover the full amount and you get to keep the rest?</p>
<p>Army and Navy always pay the entire tuition amount. Students will not be able to keep extra money from other scholarships. However, sometimes partial scholarships can be used to pay for room and food. That depends on the colleges and the specific scholarship. Every college says that the total of all financial aid (scholarships, grants, and loans too) cannot be more than the cost of going to college.</p>
<p>Also, sometimes ROTC scholarships are only for three years, not the entire four years. In those cases, the ROTC scholarship does not start until the sophomore year. So, having a different scholarship for the freshman year would obviously be a good thing. Some private colleges will give the student a full or partial scholarship for the freshman year, which allows the student to afford that first year.</p>
<p>I see in another thread that your son has already been accepted to Cal Poly SLO. So, it looks like he is already a senior in high school. If that is true, then it is too late to apply for any ROTC scholarships for starting college in 2014.</p>
<p>But, if you can afford the first year of college, then he can join ROTC and apply for a three year scholarship.</p>
<p>Thanks for the explanation NROTCgrad. I wasn’t asking for my son … it’s for one of my friends. So for someone who is already on scholarship, there really isn’t much financial incentive to join. In fact, if one is on full scholarship, what would be the reason someone would join? Would you get a slightly better assignment since that person would be a better “deal”? (I’m sure there are other benefits and solid reasons … I’m honestly asking what they are because my gf and I are both a little perplexed.)</p>
<p>NROTCGRAD, you mean ARMY& Navy give money to out of state students ? only </p>
<p>@echolocation
I cannot think of a good reason for somebody who already has a full tuition scholarship to join ROTC. In fact, even if they were interested in a military career, it would be better to approach the military during their senior year. That way, yes, they would be a “better deal” and would be in a better position to negotiate their assignment. This would be especially the case if they wanted something very specialized or unusual.</p>
<p>Really only two reasons to be in ROTC: 1) for a military career, and 2) to be in the military reserves with a civilian career.</p>
<p>@taehunchoi
No, the Army and Navy give scholarships to both in-state and out-of-state students.</p>
<p>If you son is already a senior in high school, he will not be able to get a ROTC scholarship for this fall 2014. He would need to join ROTC in college and then apply for scholarship, if he did not get one before going to college. It is too late to get a ROTC scholarship for students starting college this year.</p>
<p>@NROTCgrad Thanks for helping everyone out with answers to these burning questions. It’s too late for my friend, but when does one need to apply in their senior year? Is it around the same time as college apps are due … so Dec-Jan? Some colleges are still sending out emails saying it’s not too late to apply, so I’m surprised the ROTC scholarship is no longer available for next fall.</p>
<p>My friend’s son isn’t getting a full scholarship, but they can afford the rest. He said he wants a military career, but she just didn’t understand why he insisted on joining now. If he was going to do that, she would have encouraged him to apply to some schools that were of interest, but out of range financially. </p>
<p>@echolocation</p>
<p>Actually, the time frame for each of the services (Army, Navy, and Air Force) is different. If my memory is correct, Air Force ROTC scholarship applications need to be completed by early December of the senior year, while Navy closes theirs in mid to late January. Army varies from school to school (see why below). The application process opens up in late spring or early summer. </p>
<p>As I mentioned above, it is particularly important for students interested in Navy ROTC to apply very – very! – early if they really want to attend a particular college. This is because the Navy chooses the college which the student attends with the scholarship and makes those assignments in the same order in which the applications are received. “First come first serve” as the saying goes.</p>
<p>Air Force will let the student choose any state supported university in their home state, but going out of state is very difficult. It can be done, but the Air Force expects about 75% of scholarship students to go to a state university.</p>
<p>The Army is bit different from either one, because the student can actually get more than one scholarship. This is because the Army scholarship is locked to specific colleges. In other words, a student could get an Army ROTC scholarship to, say, University of Kansas and ALSO get one to, say, Notre Dame. Of course, the student can only choose to use one. Similarly, the student might apply for a scholarship to Notre Dame but get denied, while actually getting one to University of Kansas. Plus, the deadlines can be different for each school; but generally the deadlines are in December or January.</p>
<p>Because of the way the Air Force does its scholarships, financially out of range schools are unlikely to come into range. However, Army and Navy scholarships can definitely be used at pricey schools like MIT, and Yale, and Stanford, and Duke.</p>
<p>So, each military service is different when it comes to ROTC scholarships.</p>
<p>@echolocation</p>
<p>The colleges which say that students can still apply are the ones that are not in high demand. Definitely too late to apply to colleges like Harvard, Berkeley, Southern Cal, and Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>Notification of ROTC scholarships can happen throughout the senior year of high school. Some students know that they have the scholarship before Thanksgiving, but others will not know until April. This is partially about how early the student applies but also depends on how good the student is. ROTC likes to lock their best students in early.</p>
<p>I do understand being perplexed about joining ROTC without a scholarship. Actually, ROTC is kind of boring at most colleges, and what he might learn about military life will be not especially accurate. The only civilian colleges where ROTC is definitely not at all boring is Virginia Tech and Texas A&M because both of those have very large ROTC programs which also require wearing the uniform every day and the students are required to live in special ROTC dorms. Some young men might find that rather cool. Actually, at Virginia Tech a student does not even need to be in ROTC to participate in these activities. Those cadets are called “Civilian-Leaders.” See this:
<a href=“http://www.vtcc.vt.edu/join/join.html”>http://www.vtcc.vt.edu/join/join.html</a></p>
<p>In addition to the tuition money, those students who are on ROTC scholarships also are guaranteed to be accepted into the military after graduation (the same day, in fact!). If your friend’s son truly wants a military career, maybe he should apply for a two or three year scholarship, while enrolled at his college, in order to get that guarantee. On the other hand, if he is good enough to get the scholarship then the military would probably take him later anyway.</p>
<p>Thanks for the informative posts, NROTCgrad. Does joining early also count as time in service, so you get more seniority?</p>
<p>@echolocation</p>
<p>No, actually none of the time spent in ROTC counts towards seniority at all. </p>
<p>Time spent at the service academies (West Point, Annapolis, and Air Force Academy) does indeed count towards seniority, but only for retirement purposes. In every other way, ROTC and academy graduates are on equal footing though.</p>