I am with everybody else. This is the time you should do some intense research regarding career options.
College is not 40+ hrs a week, 52 weeks a year. You get to decide where you will live the next 4 yrs and what your major will be. Once in the military the cliche Service before Self is true. Just because they have a base or post somewhere really great with your top career pick, like Hawaii, Germany, Florida, etc, does not mean they aren't going to send you to Korea, Oklahoma or Texas with your number 3 pick.
I would also add that the AFROTC program also has that make or break point like NROTC. As a sophomore you would compete for a slot to attend Summer Field Training (SFT). If not selected than your chances are great that they will dis-enroll you from AFROTC.
I do not believe anyone thinks that you should def. know which branch or career field you want right now, but I think you need to really think about it. My DDs friend went to an SMC as an AROTC scholarship cadet, she was sure she wanted Army when she was in HS, by Thanksgiving she already informed the unit that she was dropping out of AROTC after the end of the fall semester and would be enrolling in NROTC for spring semester. Her vision of what AROTC would be like and reality did not meet up for her once she got there.
~ She attended VT, Corps of Cadets there live in a separate dorm compared to the traditional students. There they will socialize with kids going through all of the different ROTC programs. Thus, you do see different views among your peers.
~ Obviously she lost her scholarship for spring semester, but as others have stated, she put her nose to the grindstone and applied for the NROTC scholarship, which she received starting her fall semester. She is now an O1 in the Navy.
My point is you can change your mind, but the idea that you will just enter in either the AF or AROTC program and apply for an NROTC scholarship is to me not realistic or fair to those branches.
1. JMPO, but I see it as not all in, and instead keeping one foot out the door before you even start if you enter saying I want Navy, but I am going to go Army or AF and if I can get an NROTC scholarship than I will leave.
2. If you are looking at a scholarship perspective while in ROTC than you need to ask yourself one question. Why should the NROTC Commander support you for an NROTC scholarship (In College Scholarship Program) over a mid in the NROTC program when you are in a different ROTC program?
~ The mid in the NROTC program has been proving their abilities to the unit since the day they arrived. You are in another unit, thus, you have some unknown factors.
~ The mid that went NROTC with no scholarship went all in before they started, knowing they would not have that security like an HSSP recipient.
There is always a caveat, like my DDs friend, but again, she was all in for AROTC from the get go, it was only when she had more exposure to the programs and her career opportunities did she realize the Army was not the right fit. She was mature for her age (18) and before approaching NROTC, she went to her AROTC leadership to discuss her desires to leave. They respected that her decision was not emotional, it was a well thought out idea regarding what she intended to do upon commissioning. They knew through her dedication to the Corps and AROTC, plus her maturity that it would be best to 1000% support her decision. That meant they went the extra step and contacted their counterpart at the NROTC unit to personally vouch for her character and abilities.
Sorry, for the novella, but I hope it also gives you some food for thought.