AFROTC help

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AF9

5-Year Member
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Jul 26, 2013
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Hey guys I have a couple of questions about AFROTC.

I am currently in high school and have been considering military forever. I love everything about the idea of serving my country and serving those who serve my country. That is why I have decided I want to be a nurse in the military. My parents are extremely supportive but the only thing they have asked is that I go to college first and get my nursing degree which I completely agree with. I am mainly interested in Air Force because I have researched all branches and Air Force nursing seems to have all that I want to do. My goal would be to become a flight nurse/ critical care. That's my dream job. I would really be interested in the ROTC scholarships offered by the AF and I've researched them immensely. My questions are

1. What would make me an exceptional applicant? Since I am going into a non technical field idealize it is much more competitive when it comes to scholarships. I keep a 4.0 in high school and I'm also taking online early college where I keep a 3.5 GPA. I do sports and community service and also have a couple of officer titles in SGA, Class Rep, and Mu Alpha Theta.

2. Does ROTC interfere with school? I want to keep my grades high. From what I have read, ROTC takes as much time as a club or sport. Will it drown me in responsibilities so much that I can't keep good grades?

3. Do I have to live on campus for ROTC? I live close enough to the college I want to attend (25-30) minutes that I don't need to live on campus.

4. I read that even after you complete ROTC you have to take a test to make sure that you go into your designated field (nursing). If you don't pass that then they put you wherever they need you. Can someone PLEASE give me more info on that? It would be much appreciated.

5. Is AF really the way to go for nursing? I have also researched army and it seems pretty equal except there I no flight nurse opportunity.

Any personal experience would be highly appreciated and also any advice!! Thanks ahead of time.
 
AF9 said:
1. What would make me an exceptional applicant? Since I am going into a non technical field idealize it is much more competitive when it comes to scholarships. I keep a 4.0 in high school and I'm also taking online early college where I keep a 3.5 GPA. I do sports and community service and also have a couple of officer titles in SGA, Class Rep, and Mu Alpha Theta.

2. Does ROTC interfere with school? I want to keep my grades high. From what I have read, ROTC takes as much time as a club or sport. Will it drown me in responsibilities so much that I can't keep good grades?
No it shouldn't; in ROTC - academics come first. At least your first two years, you won't have quite as much responsibilities, but this will progressively increase. Essentially you put in, what you put out; you can be extremely involved with your Det, or not.

3. Do I have to live on campus for ROTC? I live close enough to the college I want to attend (25-30) minutes that I don't need to live on campus.
No you do not - however, it would make it easier to things such as PT and other events if you lived on campus, but you certainly don't have to.

4. I read that even after you complete ROTC you have to take a test to make sure that you go into your designated field (nursing). If you don't pass that then they put you wherever they need you. Can someone PLEASE give me more info on that? It would be much appreciated.

5. Is AF really the way to go for nursing? I have also researched army and it seems pretty equal except there I no flight nurse opportunity.
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I can't answer all of your questions, but the ones I do are marked in blue. Pima will chime in with the more nitty-gritty details.

One other thing you should be aware of, if and when you do get the high school scholarship, please note that the scholarship is really only guaranteed for 2 years; that's right: two years. In order to advance into the Professional Officer Courses (POC), in between soph. and jr. year cadets attend Summer Field Training (SFT). If you do not go to SFT, you are pretty much disenrolled from ROTC and there goes your shot at becoming an officer. The thing is, unlike Army's LDAC, SFT is not something everyone goes to - you have to be selected to go. I think it's in the fall of your soph year, your "whole candidate" package is put together + your Det CO's recommendation letter, which then goes before a board for approval/denial. Approved: go to SFT; denied: likely to be dis enrolled, however there is a chance that you may be allowed to stay and try again next year. So regardless of whether you receive a scholarship, in order to advance into the POC and commission you need to be selected to go to SFT.
 
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agagles is the one that can walk you through all of this. His DD is an AFROTC cadet with a nursing major, she is a rising senior if I recall correctly. His DS is an AFA cadet, and he usually posts more on the AFA thread.

Until then there are a few things I do know.

1. Nursing majors are not really placed in the non-tech or tech pile per se. I do not if nursing is still being considered a critical manning field, but it has been for yrs lately and it gives you an edge, not only for the scholarship, but SFT selection. This is what Thompson was discussing.
~~~ In the yrs I have been here, I don't know of a nursing cadet with @3.0 that did not get selected for SFT.

2. As far as time required for AFROTC, I disagree with Thompson. By your 2nd semester freshman yr. they will give you a det. job, by your soph. yr. you will have even more time consuming jobs. Yes, your grades come 1st, but it will require time management. You can't just say "thanks, but no thanks, I don't want to be the PT flight instructor, or whatever job". That would be the kiss of death for SFT selection. The biggest chunk of that score is your CoC's rec. I would say expect fresh/soph yr to spend about 15 hrs. a week on ROTC. As you become a POC those hrs will be higher due to the jobs, and that is also when it starts to become harder for nursing especially when your are doing your practicals.


3. Regarding the test, every nurse that I know of has to pass the nursing exam too. It is IMPO like getting a law degree, you can't practice law unless you pass the bar. SO, yes, if you don't pass the nursing board exam, than the AF can place you in any career field they want.
~~~ They actually can also cut you lose. Our friend's DD is a nurse, and I recall her taking her exam prior to graduation, so if that is the case, and you fail it. The AF can actually dis-enroll you from AFROTC, never commission you and ask for the lump sum total of the cost of scholarship to be re-paid :eek:


As far as flight nurse, yes they exist, I am sure again agagles can tell you the process regarding the path. I would take a guess that it would require you meet a flight board. Your grades will matter along with your nursing exam results.
They will probably require a more thorough DoDMERB exam prior to commissioning (not the same as the FCI for rated, but not the same as a non-rated exam).
They may also say to meet the flight nurse board you 1st have to work as a nurse AD for a couple of yrs.
They also may require you to agree to serve more time as an ADAF nurse because the cost of training you to be a flight nurse.

Finally, look into your college selection very closely. I know some schools you enter pre-nursing and than fight for a spot for nursing at the end of your soph yr. Some schools you enter the nursing program as a freshman.
 
UofPortland has a great nursing program - you enter as a freshman. Great AFROTC program -2013 ROL winner (best mid size detachment) and if you get ANY scholarship (not limited to in-state), they make up the difference plus room and board (R&B freshman year even if you get a type 2 - 3 year scholarship). Sorry - thought this was a great opportunity to put a plug in for a great program! And you get to be a Pilot just for enrolling (go Portland Pilots!):thumb:
 
AF9 said:
1. What would make me an exceptional applicant?
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How outstanding of an applicant you are will vary depending on the grades/SAT/ACT scores of the other nursing applicants for an AFROTC HSSP....and how many nurses the AF projects it will need when you graduate. From what I have observed during the last 4 years, a 3.7+ GPA and a SAT score above 2000 will generally get you a Type 7 HSSP. Obviously you should strive to get the highest GPA and standardized tests scores possible,

I believe Pima nailed this question in relation to SFT.
AF9 said:
2. Does ROTC interfere with school? I want to keep my grades high. From what I have read, ROTC takes as much time as a club or sport. Will it drown me in responsibilities so much that I can't keep good grades?
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Again I agree with Pima....mostly. AFROTC will take up quite a bit of your time and you will be expected to balance both your AFROTC responsibilities and your grades. That said, your AFROTC cadre will closely monitor your grades and will (if necessary) adjust your AFROTC responsibilities to help you find the necessary time to focus on your grades. My personal opinion is that they expect you to be able to do both and will be very much interested in whether you are using your time management skills as well as you could.:eek: FWIW: most AFROTC nursing majors are able to keep their grades reasonably high and fulfill their AFROTC duties.

Let me quote this part of Pima's answer for emphasis:
The biggest chunk of that score is your CoC's rec.
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AF9 said:
3. Do I have to live on campus for ROTC? I live close enough to the college I want to attend (25-30) minutes that I don't need to live on campus.
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No... you do not need to live on campus. Keep in mind that PT usually starts at O'Dark Thirty and you are expected to be there at least 10-15 minutes early. Additionally there are other Detachment activities that you will want to participate in during the evenings/weekends and don't forget that most of your nursing clinicals will also begin at O'Dark Thirty. Allowing for driving time, finding a parking spot plus all the other time you need to get "ready" might require you to leave home VERY early in the AM.

AF9 said:
4. I read that even after you complete ROTC you have to take a test to make sure that you go into your designated field (nursing). If you don't pass that then they put you wherever they need you.
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All RNs are required to take (and pass) the NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) to become "Registered Nurses". The AF requires (currently) all of it's nurses to have a BSN and to pass the NCLEX within the first two attempts. If you fail both tests then the AF can (and probably will) assign you a different AFSC (needs of the AF). I do not know of any AFROTC nurse that has failed the NCLEX twice. Hopefully my daughter won't be the first. :redface:

AF9 said:
5. Is AF really the way to go for nursing? I have also researched army and it seems pretty equal except there I no flight nurse opportunity.
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The AF is one way to go for nursing. There are advantages to Army nursing and Navy nursing. It all depends on what you want. This question is far to broad for me to answer here but if you review this forum I think you'll find quite a bit of information on the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Unless you are planning on making the AF (or any branch) your career, I would not let Flight Nursing job prospects influence your choice of branches. The likelihood that you will become an AF Flight Nurse within your first 4 year commitment is not very good. On the other hand if you are willing to stay longer then the AF might be your best bet for Flight Nursing. JMPO

Good Luck!:thumb:
 
Thank you EVERYONE for the info. It was very informative! I have one question. Everyone keeps stressing COC..what is that?
 
Thank you so much. All of you have been a tremendous help. I graduate in 2015 and will use all your infor in planning! Any additional info is welcomed and appreciated :)
 
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