Hello,
So I have been looking at schools with a direct entry nursing program such as UNH and U Maine Orono and I’m really interested in both of these schools but I’m not sure which branch of the ROTC program I should go into as a nursing major. Both these schools also seem to have stellar ROTC reputations. I have family members who have been in all branches of the military and of course they all say that theirs is the best but I’m not sure which would be the best for someone who wants to be a nurse and which branch would have more career opportunities. Any ideas or personal experiences would be welcome, I know this is a very specific question.
Check to see if there are differences in college benefits for nurses. My understanding is that the various services have been given some flexibility in varying their college benefits based upon demand and needs over time.
You might look at where the services have most of their nursing personnel, if you have geographic preferences. The Navy is highly concentrated in Hawaii, San Diego and Norfolk for example. When my sister was a nurse in the Navy, she also spent time in Okinawa, which is a big Marine base that the Navy serves. Guam is becoming a bigger base. The Navy has two hospital ships, but they mainly draw from reservists and staff at major navy hospitals for the rare times they go to sea.
The Army is more concentrated in North Carolina, Georgia, Texas and Germany.
The Air Force has many bases within the interior of the US, in addition to Dover Delaware and other sites. The Army and Navy also have large numbers of medical personnel at Bethesda, near DC.
It can be hard to get assignments in Europe, because it is so popular and because there are fewer US service-persons stationed there.
I think at this moment I’m leaning more towards the army ROTC program, I’ve also heard it is much easier to get the army ROTC 4 year scholarship compared to the navy 4 year scholarship. I’m going to apply for both but we’ll see what happens. It would also be easier to find a school I like because there are many more army ROTC programs compared to navy ROTC, particularly with direct entry nursing programs.
You do some online reading to see what interests you more. Do you have more interest in required courses about army tactics, ships or aircraft?
My sister did Navy Officer Training after getting her RN degree, and was not ROTC. I believe her training only lasted a few months, and included learning in a simulator how to stuff mattresses into a large hole in your ship while cold water is pouring down on you.
I hear Navy is great for any medical field - I went and talked to a recruiter. My end decision was to not do NRTOC both because my colleges didn’t all offer it and I didn’t want to have to pay back 5 years of time BEFORE getting to go to grad school, and they wouldn’t let me choose my NP specialty when it came down to it - needs of the Navy come first.
Good luck!!! 