<p>hey,</p>
<p>so my parents and i were considering joining the ROTC when I attended USC. I looked up the scholarships and benefits and it seemed like it was a very good deal. One thing that is bugging me is that I am not currently a US citizen - only a permanent resident and must still wait 3-2 years for my citizenship. Are the eligibility required to join ROTC very strict or are there leeways for those like me who are in the process of attaining citizenship. I know active duty will give me citizenship in less than a year so I was wondering if I should serve a year and then attend USC throug ROTC. Thanks guys for the help.</p>
<p>i am assuming you are talking about army rotc because there are also navy and air force rotc programs at usc as well. with army rotc they will pretty much give you a full scholarship and monthly stipend once you have passed your physicals. keep in mind that rotc is a huge commitment though. </p>
<p>to answer your question, i am pretty sure that you need to be a citizen to get an rotc scholarship. as far going active duty to get your citizenship and then attend usc after a year, i hate to tell you but that is not likely at all. take it from me, as i have been prior active duty and i currently serve as a reservist as well.</p>
<p>active duty contracts are typically 4 or 6 years. lets say you get your citizenship after 1 year, you can't just leave and say i want to go to school now. there are a few exceptions and by that i mean a very few. one of the exceptions is in the air force since they have a program called palace chase, which enables you to get out of your active duty contract and spend out the rest of it in the reserves. </p>
<p>if i were you and you really want to enlist and go to usc at the same time, you could do what i'm doing and join the reserves. keep in mind that we are in a time of war and you could be called up while you are in the middle of the semester. this will most likely be the case if you join the army reserves or national guard. your safest bet if you want to enlist in the reserves and not deploy is to go to the air force reserve.</p>
<p>feel free to ask me any more questions about any of the rotc programs at usc or enlisting. good luck to you!</p>