AFROTC Rankings
- Thread starter KO5791
- Start date
cooper1234
5-Year Member
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2010
- Messages
- 133
Purdue was ranked number 1 according to their website, and VMI, Loyola Marmount if California, and Oregon State were ranked right behind it
The Air Force does not want to publish which detachment(s) are in last place.
The AF rankings may not relate to what you are looking for, what are you trying to figure out?
Last edited:
gojack: My DS received an AFROTC scholarship and got accepted into all the colleges that he applied to. If he doesn't receive an AF appointment, he has to decide which school to attend. There are pros and cons to each one and knowing how the detachments rank, might be information to help him make an informed decision.
Pima
10-Year Member
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2007
- Messages
- 13,900
The ranking of the dets should never be the reason to select a university.
Here are the reasons why:
1. Det leaders are AD personnel, they will turn over at least some of them while your DS attends. Commanders usually only stay for 3 yrs., thus in 2 yrs from now there will be new leadership, with new leadership can come new direction.
2. If you notice how they award these dets it is a reflection of leadership and % of commissioning officers.
~~~Just because they are number 1 this yr does not mean they will remain that way in 3 yrs from now.
~~~Caveat: Purdue and Notre Dame have always been in the top because they have excellent programs. Better the program typically means higher performing officers to be selected as commanders, so it is always a positive spin in an upward trend.
3. For your DS when it comes to FT and AFSC selection, Maxwell does it like they do scholarships. It is a WCS scenario.
He can attend UT, but if he has a 2.8 gpa it isn't going to help anymore for being with the number 1 det than if he attended the number 15 det. That gpa is what will help or hurt.
The same can be said for the PFA and the AFOQT. The board looks at his scores from a nationalistic approach.
The only way it helps is if he has leadership positions within the det. The reason why is his packet will say something like:
As flight commander, cadet Smith was instrumental in his efforts to secure an "outstanding" rating for the det in the Unit Compliance Inspection.
However, notice what they will notice...flight commander
4. School is more than just ROTC, it is also school. To attend a school just for the ROTC program can hurt, because if they hate the school their grades will suffer. If their grades will suffer it will be unlikely to get a "job" in the det. No job, means they will become less competitive.
He needs to visit the dets and have one on ones with the leadership. From there he should make his decision with how he feels about the college also in his decision making process.
Many times candidates will pick schools based on what the det is "selling". For example, VT sells that they are 1 of 7 CoC in the nation and that helps the cadet when it comes to FT and AFSC boards. ERAU sells the fact that they traditionally have the second most UPT slots handed out to their cadets after the AFA.
There is truth in both. Now if you look further, you would find out that ERAU gives the 2nd highest number of UPT slots, but the % is @15% less than VT. So in essence, ERAU could actually hurt a cadet.
There is something that people forget when it comes down to this process. They forget that for freshman the hardest thing for many is they select a school too far away. If yo apply to UT and live in Maine, you need to discuss how they will feel about not coming home until T-Day. It is so easy to say that they would be fine with it because afterall, they are also applying to the AFA and that would happen there too. Yet, the reality is at the AFA nobody goes home. Dorms don't clear out when the football team is away or it is Columbus day weekend. Colleges they do clear out and it can be incredibly lonely.
Finally, there is one other issue; the major. Every kid goes in the engineering program thinking they like math and science, so this would be a good fit. Colleges with strong engineering programs are known to weed out about 1/3 to 1/2 in the 1st yr. They flat out say it to the kids...look left, look right, 1 of you will be gone!
Selecting a university that has a great det and an engineering program above your abilities can do more damage than you can imagine.
Some schools commissioning numbers are lower not because of the det., but because the students got accepted to a reach and failed out. Some leave because they can't handle both he scholastic program and the ROTC program so they leave ROTC in hopes of saving their educational career.
ROTC dets can't control if a cadet can make it academically or if a cadet decides that the military was not what they thought it would be. At our DS's det., a cadet went to SFT, came back and said "I am outta here". It had nothing to do with the det., it had everything to do with his 6 weeks at Maxwell over the summer. Another cadet 3 months prior to graduation was informed by the AF that they would not be commissioning him because his 2.8 gpa was deemed too low. Again, that had nothing to do with det. leadership it was all on him.
He needs to go to the dets. Meet the command, afterwards ask if he can talk to other cadets alone. He needs to find the fit that is right for him personally. Any list the AF may put out there should be on the low end of your decision making process.
Good luck.
OBTW FWIW, since your DS is applying to the AFA, have you discussed with him if he is going to try again next yr while at college? If so, that is something to discuss with the commander of these Dets. You should see if they are willing to support him next yr with an ROTC nom.
Here are the reasons why:
1. Det leaders are AD personnel, they will turn over at least some of them while your DS attends. Commanders usually only stay for 3 yrs., thus in 2 yrs from now there will be new leadership, with new leadership can come new direction.
2. If you notice how they award these dets it is a reflection of leadership and % of commissioning officers.
~~~Just because they are number 1 this yr does not mean they will remain that way in 3 yrs from now.
~~~Caveat: Purdue and Notre Dame have always been in the top because they have excellent programs. Better the program typically means higher performing officers to be selected as commanders, so it is always a positive spin in an upward trend.
3. For your DS when it comes to FT and AFSC selection, Maxwell does it like they do scholarships. It is a WCS scenario.
He can attend UT, but if he has a 2.8 gpa it isn't going to help anymore for being with the number 1 det than if he attended the number 15 det. That gpa is what will help or hurt.
The same can be said for the PFA and the AFOQT. The board looks at his scores from a nationalistic approach.
The only way it helps is if he has leadership positions within the det. The reason why is his packet will say something like:
As flight commander, cadet Smith was instrumental in his efforts to secure an "outstanding" rating for the det in the Unit Compliance Inspection.
However, notice what they will notice...flight commander
4. School is more than just ROTC, it is also school. To attend a school just for the ROTC program can hurt, because if they hate the school their grades will suffer. If their grades will suffer it will be unlikely to get a "job" in the det. No job, means they will become less competitive.
He needs to visit the dets and have one on ones with the leadership. From there he should make his decision with how he feels about the college also in his decision making process.
Many times candidates will pick schools based on what the det is "selling". For example, VT sells that they are 1 of 7 CoC in the nation and that helps the cadet when it comes to FT and AFSC boards. ERAU sells the fact that they traditionally have the second most UPT slots handed out to their cadets after the AFA.
There is truth in both. Now if you look further, you would find out that ERAU gives the 2nd highest number of UPT slots, but the % is @15% less than VT. So in essence, ERAU could actually hurt a cadet.
There is something that people forget when it comes down to this process. They forget that for freshman the hardest thing for many is they select a school too far away. If yo apply to UT and live in Maine, you need to discuss how they will feel about not coming home until T-Day. It is so easy to say that they would be fine with it because afterall, they are also applying to the AFA and that would happen there too. Yet, the reality is at the AFA nobody goes home. Dorms don't clear out when the football team is away or it is Columbus day weekend. Colleges they do clear out and it can be incredibly lonely.
Finally, there is one other issue; the major. Every kid goes in the engineering program thinking they like math and science, so this would be a good fit. Colleges with strong engineering programs are known to weed out about 1/3 to 1/2 in the 1st yr. They flat out say it to the kids...look left, look right, 1 of you will be gone!
Selecting a university that has a great det and an engineering program above your abilities can do more damage than you can imagine.
Some schools commissioning numbers are lower not because of the det., but because the students got accepted to a reach and failed out. Some leave because they can't handle both he scholastic program and the ROTC program so they leave ROTC in hopes of saving their educational career.
ROTC dets can't control if a cadet can make it academically or if a cadet decides that the military was not what they thought it would be. At our DS's det., a cadet went to SFT, came back and said "I am outta here". It had nothing to do with the det., it had everything to do with his 6 weeks at Maxwell over the summer. Another cadet 3 months prior to graduation was informed by the AF that they would not be commissioning him because his 2.8 gpa was deemed too low. Again, that had nothing to do with det. leadership it was all on him.
He needs to go to the dets. Meet the command, afterwards ask if he can talk to other cadets alone. He needs to find the fit that is right for him personally. Any list the AF may put out there should be on the low end of your decision making process.
Good luck.
OBTW FWIW, since your DS is applying to the AFA, have you discussed with him if he is going to try again next yr while at college? If so, that is something to discuss with the commander of these Dets. You should see if they are willing to support him next yr with an ROTC nom.
Last edited:
Pima
10-Year Member
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2007
- Messages
- 13,900
That's nothing, try this one on for size:
DS is C300 at UMDCP awaiting the AFSC board after taking his TCBM to determine if he is even going to get UPT/CSO/UAV/ABM. He is currently the FCC of C200s preparing them for SFT. He also is in AAS as pledge leader.
Conversion:
Son is a jr at UMD College Park up for his career ROTC board, because he wants to fly, he had to take the additional test of Tactical Combat and basic Maneuvers (Sim to the AFOQT, but for jrs who want a flight slot). He is trying for Pilot, Nav,Unmanned Aerial and Air Battalion Managers. He is the Flight commander of Sophomores preparing them for Field Training. He is also the Arnie Air Society pledge leader.
Just wait until you are AD, you can literally carry an entire conversation in acronyms.