AROTC "Compressed" Schedule

Today was my registration for classes for the fall, and while I was up there I stopped by the armory to talk to my ROO. I'm a pre-vet major, and it's only going to take me 3 years to graduate. My ROO suggested I do a "compressed" schedule as follows:
Freshman Fall Semester: MS101
Freshman Spring Semester:MS202
Freshman Summer: CIET (all freshman/sophomore cadets)
Sophomore Year: MS301/302
Sophomore Summer:LDAC
Junior Year: MS401/402
**Graduate**
**Commission**
Junior Summer: CULP/CTLT/Other
Then Vet School.

My only concern is completely missing MS102 and 201...will I be behind?

Has anyone had experience with this type of schedule?

Aero said:

Today was my registration for classes for the fall, and while I was up there I stopped by the armory to talk to my ROO. I'm a pre-vet major, and it's only going to take me 3 years to graduate. My ROO suggested I do a "compressed" schedule as follows:
Freshman Fall Semester: MS101
Freshman Spring Semester:MS202
Freshman Summer: CIET (all freshman/sophomore cadets)
Sophomore Year: MS301/302
Sophomore Summer:LDAC
Junior Year: MS401/402
**Graduate**
**Commission**
Junior Summer: CULP/CTLT/Other
Then Vet School.

My only concern is completely missing MS102 and 201...will I be behind?

Has anyone had experience with this type of schedule?

Click to expand...

It has always been my impression that ROTC required 4 years unless the cadet attended LTC or has been through BCT and AIT, though I guess it's possible.

You probably won't miss much not taking the extra two basic courses since they will now have CIET. and you would have a whole year before you went to LDAC.

The part that confuses me is what you have listed after graduation/commissioning. I highly doubt that you would be able to attend either CULP or CTLT after you commission. Your next training after graduation/commissioning would be your Branch BOLC.

Are you looking at an Educational Delay or are you planning on branching in the Reserves/National Guard so you can attend Vet School.

I just saw that you were awarded a 4 year scholarship, I would really do some research and ask again if you would be allowed to attend only 3 years of college before commissioning.

Itd be educational delay. I don't really know how it would all work, I'm just going of what my ROO told me today. Which is why I was confused and hoping someone else had been through a similar schedule...

Aero said:

Itd be educational delay. I don't really know how it would all work, I'm just going of what my ROO told me today. Which is why I was confused and hoping someone else had been through a similar schedule...

Click to expand...

Just to be clear, you do understand that you have to apply for educational delay, and it is not guaranteed. I assume you are going to try for Active Duty since you are looking at ED, if you are not granted ED you would then be required to attend your branch BOLC and enter AD if that's what you want and get. Other then that you can request Reserves/NG and continue on to Vet School that way.

Aero said:

Today was my registration for classes for the fall, and while I was up there I stopped by the armory to talk to my ROO. I'm a pre-vet major, and it's only going to take me 3 years to graduate. My ROO suggested I do a "compressed" schedule as follows:
Freshman Fall Semester: MS101
Freshman Spring Semester:MS202
Freshman Summer: CIET (all freshman/sophomore cadets)
Sophomore Year: MS301/302
Sophomore Summer:LDAC
Junior Year: MS401/402
**Graduate**
**Commission**
Junior Summer: CULP/CTLT/Other
Then Vet School.

My only concern is completely missing MS102 and 201...will I be behind?

Has anyone had experience with this type of schedule?

Click to expand...

College isn't like doing time in prison. Part of your educational experience is just that... an "experience". Don't try to rush through it. Who wants to rush quickly to their working life anyway? You'll be able to work for the next 40 years. Take four years and be a college student. With that "extra year", double major, or minor is something cool like music. You'll be glad you did.

You cannot do CTLT or CULP after commissioning as these are cadet programs and you will be a 2nd LT. I would try for one of those sophomore summer after ldac. Also make sure you know the timeline for requesting ED delay, one of the cdts I commissioned with missed the application date and could not get it. When you start ROTC in the fall make an appointment to sit down with the person that handles the paperwork for your dept (this most likely will not be your cadre member but a civilian human resouce tech) and talk over the timeline for submission of ed delay and what you need to do to make your plan work.

OP,

Other than your ROO, is anyone else saying that you have to graduate in 3 years? Will your scholarship (if applicable) cut off then, or will you have other financial difficulty? If not, I'd definitely suggest staying in for 4 years. You'll have more time to work on PT, more time to learn your tactics and battle drills, more time to bond with the guys in your battalion and get to know your PMS and cadre. Plus you can take blowoff classes to boost your GPA, meet members of the opposite sex (or same sex, whatever floats your boat), and learn a thing or two along the way. Basically cost aside, I don't see any real advantage to graduating early (unless you do, in which case you can weigh the costs and benefits differently). Speaking as a rising MSIII, it's really nice to have 2 more years ahead of me before I commission. Just my $0.02.

I agree with most of what TexanFutureSoldier said in his post above although with all the changes to ROTC coming next year some of it may not matter as much.

Now that FTX's and most likely the Labs will be no more and there is a shift way from teaching tactics at the Battalion level, there may not be that much you'll be missing out on in regard to ROTC. Working on increasing your GPA is always a good idea but with the new system the GPA will not carry as much weight since they will be adding a Standardized Test to the academic portion of the OML.

It looks like any tactical type training will be done during the summer training sessions. One idea if you are really looking at graduating in three years is to see if you can go to LDAC (Or whatever they are changing it to) the summer after your MS3 year and commission at the end of camp. If this is even possible it would leave you an open summer to attend CULP and possibly CTLT or other training. As others have mentioned, you can't attend either of these once you commission.

Overall I would suggest staying the 4 years, again you will need to confirm if you are even allowed to condense the program since you are a 4 year scholarship awardee. You should have your ROO really confirm with Cadet Command and your Brigade if this is even possible.

Due to all of his AP credit, my son started college as a sophomore. However, because he had a 4 yr. scholarship he was required to be there for 4 years. He'll graduate next May with almost 160 hours. The nice part is he's only had 13-14 hours in all but two or three semesters. He's had plenty of time to devote to studies and extracurricular with very little stress.

Here's one other thing to look into. When DD was in high school and considering to follow a pre-med curriculum in college, her counselor told her to not bother taking AP classes in science or math, as most medical schools will not recognize that as adequate and deny you admission if you did not take them at the college level. Not sure if it's the same for vet school, but you should look into that as a precaution.

Another thing to think about -- since you indicate you that are pre-vet I am guessing that you are planning to take a science heavy load of courses. Keep in mind that at most schools that means labs and a 1 credit lab can often involve as much work as the 3 credit lecture. So if graduating in three years means taking 17-18 credits a semester, you may be better off cutting back to 13-14 and taking the extra time to graduate. And as was pointed out by another poster that may also give you some time to take a few GPA booster classes as I believe that as a pre-vet major your GPA is crucial.

Also are vet schools going to be looking for shadowing or volunteer hours either as a requirement or a preference? I know many medical programs look for it or in some cases (PA/PT) require it. If so that is another reason to take 4 years of school. It will give you more time to build up those hours both in terms of hours available per semester and number of years in which to earn those hours.