Want Out of NROTC

Clepstein75

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Joined
Apr 30, 2016
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I'm nearing the end of my first year in NROTC, and I don't think the military is the right place for me. I want to leave, but I want to figure out the financial consequences before I do anything I can't take back. I have a four year scholarship. Obviously I won't get money for the next three years, but do I have to pay back the money I was given for this past year's tuition? How about monthly stipends/textbook stipends? I'm going to be in a tight spot financially, so I need to know this. Thanks
 
No! No! No!

You have no financial obligation to pay anything back at this time. You are free and clear. However, step foot on campus on the first day of Sophomore year and you will, in fact, incur an obligation.
 
No! No! No!

You have no financial obligation to pay anything back at this time. You are free and clear. However, step foot on campus on the first day of Sophomore year and you will, in fact, incur an obligation.

Actually you can remain on campus, you just can't register or show up for any NROTC classes. you can still attend the same college, in other words you're not required to leave the school.
 
Thank you Jcleppe - absolutely correct. I wasn't clear in my response.
 
The deadline for making this decision is not now - it is at the beginning of the academic year after summer break. I hope that you will at least choose to go through CORTRAMID, which is intended to give you a first-hand look at what junior officers do in real life once they are commissioned. It is an integral part of the "first-year-free" test-drive. Right now, you can only make an educated guess as to what the Navy will be like and whether it is the right place for you to be after you graduate. Perhaps you will have a different opinion after seeing it first-hand. Or perhaps not, but in any event you can still dis-enroll before school starts without any penalty, and you will have spent a month living at the beach getting to ride on ships, submarines, planes - and even hang out with the Marines for a few days - with other mids from all over the country. It beats any other summer job that you are likely to get.

I am giving this advice from personal experience - my own as an AFROTC cadet almost forty years ago, and that of my son (NROTC) much more recently. Each of us initially thought that enrolling in ROTC was a mistake, and we each assumed that we would drop before our commitment kicked in. But summer training was a game-changer. It gave each of us the much needed perspective that ROTC is not, and is not intended to be, like active duty. The things about NROTC that you may find to be petty, inconvenient, or unnecessary intrusions into your other activities are going to go away once you commission- and then you will have opportunities and responsibilities that will be truly rewarding. You have nothing to lose by going to CORTRAMID, and I think you owe it to yourself and the Navy to do so before deciding to drop out of the program.
 
I so agree with DeskJockey. My DS was miserable his freshman year and was sure he wanted out of his marine option NROTC scholarship. We highly encouraged him to at least go to CORTRAMID before disenrolling. He came home ready to continue and has never looked back. He is a very happy 1Lt now.
 
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