AROTC to AFROTC

USA_All_The_Way

5-Year Member
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May 11, 2010
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Dammit, apparently the forum logged me out right when I was about to post everything. :unhappy:

Long story short: Finished MS1 year with the Army ROTC program at Boulder, CO (I'm only part of the Battalion, I don't go to Boulder, I'm actually at a community college right now). Haven't been getting any feedback on how to transfer from AROTC to AFROTC, and the only transfer-saavy information I know of is that I need to pass the AFOQT and that their camp is during the summer of the sophomore year whereas the Army has theirs during the junior year. I need help getting into the Air Force's program without stretching my undergraduate experience to a five year duration. For the record, my high school GPA for the last two years was the poorest ever, and my ACT scores were just on the mark for qualifying for a ROTC scholarship from the Army.

I plan on transferring to the Ram Battalion up in Greeley and Fort Collins, but because they haven't gotten back to me on anything, I was wondering if this was the place to turn to on general advice in this regard.

I'm going to be making another thread discussing the complexity of my situation, but that is in the hopes that "Mr. Mullen" will be of some assistance. I need general info here and whether or not I should just continue into the MS2 year and then go AFROTC. The next thread will deal more with whether or not I have a chance at contracting.

This would help of course because quite frankly, I doubt that I possess the "Army" mindset (most of the other cadets are interested in blowing things up and being "badass" where my concern is going into an intelligence or counter terrorist field).

Thanks for all your input.
 
For the record, my high school GPA for the last two years was the poorest ever, and my ACT scores were just on the mark for qualifying for a ROTC scholarship from the Army.
Does this mean that you ARE currently receiving a scholarship from AROTC?
If so, then there is no waiting until after next year. Beginning your first day of your sophomore year you are "commited" and cannot walk away from your commitment without owing the Army active duty time.

What is you current college GPA?

Let me cut to the chase on MY advice. It is possible to quit AROTC and then join AFROTC (providing you are not on scholarship and beyond your freshman year). Whether the AFROTC wants you or not, and under what terms will be up to the AFROTC Detachment at the college that you want to attend. CALL the recruiting officer at THAT Detachment and explain your situation with complete honesty and ask him/her what your options are in regards to joining their AFROTC Detachment.

Good luck.
 
Does this mean that you ARE currently receiving a scholarship from AROTC?
If so, then there is no waiting until after next year. Beginning your first day of your sophomore year you are "commited" and cannot walk away from your commitment without owing the Army active duty time.

Actually with all do respect I believe you can 'walk away' in a sense but not without penalty. I remember being told by someone that you will have to pay the Army back it gave you for your education.

Don't discourage yourself with the 'Army' mindset USA_ALL_THE_WAY. The Army has an intelligence/counter intelligence field for graduating cadets. However Lt. slots (like all the services in this job) are limited and are competitive. What you really need to think about is if the AF has another job you want if you were not to receive your requested job.
 
I remember being told by someone that you will have to pay the Army back it gave you for your education.
Somebody told you wrong...or at least not completely correct. The Army decides whether they want paid back or whether you will be required to serve as an enlisted person on active duty.

How much do think you will have to pay the Army for 2 years of college, plus books, plus stipend, plus uniforms ect, if they choose to allow that method? How would a full time student pay that amount? Would any of the other ROTC programs give you a scholarship (or even allow you in their ROTC program) if you defaulted on your AROTC scholarship? Needless to say...I think it is a VERY bad idea to attempt to walk away from your obligation after the beginning of your sophomore year. Just my opinion....
 
Does this mean that you ARE currently receiving a scholarship from AROTC?

Nope.

What is you current college GPA?

I'm around a cumulative 3.2-3.3 based on my first two semesters, as opposed to my high school GPA which resulted in a cumulative 2.57.

Let me cut to the chase on MY advice. It is possible to quit AROTC and then join AFROTC (providing you are not on scholarship and beyond your freshman year). Whether the AFROTC wants you or not, and under what terms will be up to the AFROTC Detachment at the college that you want to attend. CALL the recruiting officer at THAT Detachment and explain your situation with complete honesty and ask him/her what your options are in regards to joining their AFROTC Detachment.

Got that. I will give them a ring here soon then. I am passed my freshman year as I just finished. What I wanted to do is finish with Army ROTC for the sophomore year and then transfer over to the Air Force because it makes no sense (in my mind) to join the local AFROTC detachment on the Auraria Campus if I am not even going to contract with them in the first place (well, contracting in the hopeful sense).

Good luck.

Oh and Clint Eastwood is the best. :thumb:
 
What I wanted to do is finish with Army ROTC for the sophomore year and then transfer over to the Air Force because it makes no sense (in my mind) to join the local AFROTC detachment on the Auraria Campus if I am not even going to contract with them in the first place (well, contracting in the hopeful sense).

If you plan on doing AFROTC, you need to contact the det and get the switch done ASAP. The longer you wait, the harder its going to get for a FT slot (much less a scholarship). The AF is SERIOUSLY cutting down on numbers this year. And next year, from what everyone is telling us, its the same story.

Very few folks are getting admitted into the two-year program, if any lately. There are definitely none at our det. There are quite a few though who join after their freshman year. They just double up on AS class and compete for a FT slot after sophomore year. If you want to do AF, go ahead and let them know now.

But one thing I know for sure is that they care ALOT more about your grades in college than in high school. At our det, the rule of thumb lately has been that if you get a 3.0+ GPA, a 90+ PFA score, some facetime around the det, and stay out of trouble, you're chances for an in-college scholarship are solid.
 
Actually with all do respect I believe you can 'walk away' in a sense but not without penalty. I remember being told by someone that you will have to pay the Army back it gave you for your education.

This stuff really works on a case-by-case basis so its hard to get a generalization about it.

I can personally attest that there are cases where people on scholarship get dropped from the program (yes, after sophomore year starts) and walk away free.

I've also heard stories of people paying back in $ or time. None that I know of personally, though.

There's a long disenrollment process that goes into their final determination. I ASSUME that things like current force manning go into whether or not you are enlisted. And I guess maybe financial hardship can be cited to waive the $ paid back. I can quote from my contract that nowhere does it specifically say you WILL be forced to pay back. It just says that they have the option to make you do it.
 
If you plan on doing AFROTC, you need to contact the det and get the switch done ASAP. The longer you wait, the harder its going to get for a FT slot (much less a scholarship). The AF is SERIOUSLY cutting down on numbers this year. And next year, from what everyone is telling us, its the same story.

Good to know. I think I'm getting the idea of what needs to be done then.

Very few folks are getting admitted into the two-year program, if any lately. There are definitely none at our det. There are quite a few though who join after their freshman year. They just double up on AS class and compete for a FT slot after sophomore year. If you want to do AF, go ahead and let them know now.

I shall.

But one thing I know for sure is that they care ALOT more about your grades in college than in high school. At our det, the rule of thumb lately has been that if you get a 3.0+ GPA, a 90+ PFA score, some facetime around the det, and stay out of trouble, you're chances for an in-college scholarship are solid.

Perfect. I think I can smoke it once they give me a chance no problem.
 
Alright. I have another good question on my mind: What months of the sophomore summer are reserved for the AF's camp?
 
Alright. I have another good question on my mind: What months of the sophomore summer are reserved for the AF's camp?

Here are the dates for this year's field training units. Next year, the dates will be slightly different but it gives you an idea.

Maxwell 1: 23 May - 20 Jun
Maxwell 2: 6 Jun - 4 Jul
Maxwell 3: 20 Jun - 18 Jul
Maxwell 4: 4 Jul - 1 Aug
Maxwell 5: 18 Jul - 15 Aug
Maxwell 6: 1 Aug - 29 Aug

I just finished my sophomore year. We didnt find out our dates until late April. I got picked for Max 4. You can request a specific one, but you need a legit excuse like summer classes or something.
 
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