Active Duty Career After ROTC

army2021

Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2015
Messages
299
Hello everyone. I am currently a sophomore in high school and am pursuing a military officer route. I have no bias to any branch honestly. Just want to have an active duty career as an officer. I plan on applying to the academies and applying for ROTC scholarships. From what I've heard although, their is a cut-off line for getting active duty slots after completing ROTC. So I was wondering if anyone knew what branch would give someone the best chances at an active duty career? By the way, VMI is probably my first choice school if I am not accepted into an academy if that makes any difference. Thanks
 
AFROTC requires all of their cadets to go ADAF. The key difference for AFROTC is as a sophomore you must compete for summer field training. If not selected they can disenroll you. Last year the selection rate was @60 %, this year it is @90%. Nobody here will know what you will be looking at for your year group.
~~ The selection board does not care if you are on scholarship or not, but your intended major can have an impact on selection, also if you intend to go rated. Although the overall rate last year was @60%, if the cadet was a non tech major wanting to go nonrated the selection rate was 17%.

I would take this time and investigate not so much about going AD, but career fields that you find desirable because be it for ROTC scholarship or SAs, you will be asked what your career intentions are for yourself during the interviews.

FWIW, if you intend to apply for AFROTC your intended major will matter. 80-85% of all scholarships go to STEM majors aka tech. degrees. Nothing you do your senior year will be reviewed for selection, except new SAT/ACT scores. Also the other huge difference compared to A/NROTC is they will not superscore these exams. It is best sitting. The avg. best sitting ACT for a type 7 is 29+. The best sitting SAT is @1290+. For the type 1. It is 31 and 1380+
 
Last edited:
3.72 UW GPA
4.0 W GPA (hopefully rising heavily next year b/c I am taking 8 weighted courses)
Wrestling both years high school, continuing all 4
Lacrosse this year, will finish with three years
Starting cross country next year, will finish with 2 years
First Sergeant in AFJROTC, hopefully will be officer next year
Civil Air Patrol cadet, should earn Billy Mitchell Award sometime next year
Don't remember PSAT scores. Roughly 1200 estimate for 2 part. Not great but did part of it incorrectly, long story
Plan on taking SAT at minimum 4 times and ACT 2-3 times (maybe more). May take SAT this june as well
Going to two summer leadership camps with my JROTC group this summer. One is at the Citadel.
Will be working hard to be getting good PT scores.
Currently in search of job. Will have one this summer.
Will be trying to get around 200 hours of community service over the summer.
Two years advanced in math, taking 1 AP class now, taking 5 AP/IB courses next year and other 3 are advanced courses.
That's all I could really think of off the top of my head
 
AFROTC requires all of their cadets to go ADAF. The key difference for AFROTC is as a sophomore you must compete for summer field training. If not selected they can disenroll you. Last year the selection rate was @60 %, this year it is @90%. Nobody here will know what you will be looking at for your year group.
~~ The selection board does not care if you are on scholarship or not, but your intended major can have an impact on selection, also if you intend to go rated. Although the overall rate last year was @60%, if the cadet was a non tech major wanting to go nonrated the selection rate was 17%.

I would take this time and investigate not so much about going AD, but career fields that you find desirable because be it for ROTC scholarship or SAs, you will be asked what your career intentions are for yourself

Thanks. This was very helpful. Is their a way to find out how competitive the specific job slots are like aviation and stuff like that?
 
Thanks. This was very helpful. Is their a way to find out how competitive the specific job slots are like aviation and stuff like that?
It varies year by year.

This year the pilot slots for the class of 16 awarded were 391 out of the 800+ that were selected. There are 4 types of rated. Pilot, CSO (navigator), Air Battle and RPA. Not everyone wants pilot, some are out of the running because of medical issues, thus they go a different rated route. Some accepted scholarships that required them to go the non pilot route.

Honestly, that is step 1669 and you are only at step 6. Take the time investigate the ROTC websites.
 
Hello everyone. I am currently a sophomore in high school and am pursuing a military officer route. I have no bias to any branch honestly. Just want to have an active duty career as an officer. I plan on applying to the academies and applying for ROTC scholarships. From what I've heard although, their is a cut-off line for getting active duty slots after completing ROTC. So I was wondering if anyone knew what branch would give someone the best chances at an active duty career? By the way, VMI is probably my first choice school if I am not accepted into an academy if that makes any difference. Thanks
Navy ( and by extension Marines) also require everyone to go AD. The OML cut-off line you speak of only applies to Army.
 
Ohh im sorry. I thought it was all the branches. My bad. Thanks for the information!
 
3.72 UW GPA
4.0 W GPA (hopefully rising heavily next year b/c I am taking 8 weighted courses)
Wrestling both years high school, continuing all 4
Lacrosse this year, will finish with three years
Starting cross country next year, will finish with 2 years
First Sergeant in AFJROTC, hopefully will be officer next year
Civil Air Patrol cadet, should earn Billy Mitchell Award sometime next year
Don't remember PSAT scores. Roughly 1200 estimate for 2 part. Not great but did part of it incorrectly, long story
Plan on taking SAT at minimum 4 times and ACT 2-3 times (maybe more). May take SAT this june as well
Going to two summer leadership camps with my JROTC group this summer. One is at the Citadel.
Will be working hard to be getting good PT scores.
Currently in search of job. Will have one this summer.
Will be trying to get around 200 hours of community service over the summer.
Two years advanced in math, taking 1 AP class now, taking 5 AP/IB courses next year and other 3 are advanced courses.
That's all I could really think of off the top of my head

You will find old posters like me will not ask about academic stats because there are over 2000 HSs in the nation.
~ ROTC scholarships are national. SAs are at 1st geocentric (MOCs)
~~ Your cgpa, ranking doesn't matter the way you think. For AFROTC they will ask for a school profile. IE you can have a 3.72 and top 25%, but if 0% go Ivy, 15% go 4 year private, 25% go 4 year public, 35% go to CC and 25% work force, you might not be seen as competitive compared to a candidate with a 3.58 top 25%, and 20% go Ivy, 35% go private, 25% go CC and 15% go into the work force.
~~~~ One school says A's are not handing out like candy on Halloween. That the majority 55% compared to 40% go to 4 year colleges.

CAP and Billy Mitchell will help for AFROTC ECs. I don't know about A/NROTC

Finally, you are a sophomore. Study for the PSAT. Reason why is the way to become a National Merit Semi Finalist you need to be in the 95% for the PSAT as a junior to become an NMSF.
~ It is an award to place on your resume for the SAs and MOCs
~ Many colleges boast on their websites and brochures how many are NMSFs.
~~ They tend to give nice merit packages to those applicants.
~~~ ROTC, any branch will not pay the full bill. AFROTC only pays tuition, and depending on your college choice the cap not pay for the entire tuition. A/NROTC allows either tuition or Room and Board, but not both.
~~~~~ Want a free ride, than you will need merit.

Again, good on you for being proactive, and now welcome to the world that just because in your pool you are strong, it doesn't mean you are nationally. Many candidates do not get ROTC scholarships, but do get appointments. Many get ROTC scholarships, but no appointment.

kinnem also didn't tell you the pittfall for NROTC. If not on scholarship, like AFROTC sophomores, they will meet a board. Not picked up and they can be disenrolled.

Every branch has their own negatives. AROTC won't guarantee AD. AF/NROTC will. Problem is there is no true guarantee until your sophomore year in college at the earliest for many.
~ Kinnem can probably tell you the stats for NROTC. I will tell you for AFROTC statistically the chance of getting a scholarship is the same as getting an appointment to USAFA. 16-18%. USAFA and HQ AFROTC do not talk when it comes to selection. There are candidates that got both, one and none.

I am not trying to be negative, mean or unkind. Just trying to reiterate that be it an SA or ROTC scholarship this path is not easy. The more you go to sites like www.goarmy.com or www.usafa.org you will feel more comfortable about how to proceed as a junior.
 
kinnem also didn't tell you the pittfall for NROTC. If not on scholarship, like AFROTC sophomores, they will meet a board. Not picked up and they can be disenrolled.

Every branch has their own negatives. AROTC won't guarantee AD. AF/NROTC will. Problem is there is no true guarantee until your sophomore year in college at the earliest for many.
~ Kinnem can probably tell you the stats for NROTC. I will tell you for AFROTC statistically the chance of getting a scholarship is the same as getting an appointment to USAFA. 16-18%. USAFA and HQ AFROTC do not talk when it comes to selection. There are candidates that got both, one and none.

Pima is correct about needing to be approved for the advanced course after sophomore year for Navy. I suppose I looked a little too narrowly at the original question. From the one year I had exposure to the stats for Navy/Marine sideload (in-school) scholarships the average stats were a bit higher than the average stats for USNA. Keep in mind that's AVERAGE. Some were higher, some were lower.
 
Back
Top