Are you allowed to apply for both NROTC and Marine Corps ROTC?

[J.Col123]

I couldn't find anything online about this. I've already applied for Army and Navy ROTC but the end goal is to serve. I'm unsure if I'm able to apply for Marine Corps if I've already submitted an app for Navy. As many of you know they both share very similar applications and they're on the same web page. All you have to do is click a button to move between apps if you want to change from Navy to Marines or vice versa. Thank you all in advance for your help.

 

[kinnem]

You can app,y for Navy option , or Marine option, not both. You might be able to change a current application to Marine Option (I do not know) but you've almost certainly missed the first Marine Option board. There are only 2.

 

[USMCGrunt]

+1 Kinnem.

While both applications reside on the same site, they are different. Different prompts, different recommendations, different interviews, different physical fitness test. You can not flip a NROTC application to NROTC MO. If you were to get a NROTC scholarship and desire to move to Marines (who wouldn't ) there is a process to request that change but it is not a slam dunk.

 

[Impulsive]

There is no Marine Corps ROTC, it is NROTC (MO) for Marine Option. I do not know if you have to specify MO on the scholarship (I think you do), but I think once in the program you can likely switch over to MO if you want that versus straight Navy. But, my understanding is it is not two different opportunities, but one program that does both.

 

[Herman_Snerd]

I think OP that your question about applying to both and related options has been nicely answered above. I would recommend you and those interested just seek to fully understand the differences in NROTC experiences MO V NO. In short it is not fully the same training or standards.

Read the differences in Marine v Navy option requirements:
Physical Requirements; https://www.nrotc.navy.mil/physical_requirements.html
Academic requirements: https://www.nrotc.navy.mil/acad_requirements.html

At a high level, MO marines at least in the programs I am most familiar with, have a far more grueling physical demands during their training. Talk to a NROTC buddy about 20 mile weekend hikes? Yes from MO, not necessarily for NO. And the NO folks have more academic demands with more calculus/ physics, I believe. Not that the NO option is easy physically by any stretch - just as a point of fact the MO option path is physically harder.

Service career wise, one of several appealing aspects of MO is "guaranteed aviation". At NSI, some cadet candidates were pitched this from a Marine leader presentation. Which means if you qualify and pass through the gauntlet of physical and ocular exams, and want to, you can serve in aviation (others please clarify more specifically as desired). For NO there is no such program/ guarantee... . And there are both fixed and rotary wing pilot opportunities in both NO and MO paths. But I think the majority of MO pilots statistically are rotary wing. (Please correct / add if those reading have more data).

I think at Cortramid summer training, NO scholarship track cadets spend a week with the marines, subs, surface, and aviation. If they love the Marine experience and find a "home" there, it's my understanding they can change focus in the remainder of their training, and pursue a path to serve as a marine officer in their commission. https://www.nrotc.navy.mil/summer_cruise.html

There is a great camaraderie in the unit that for my DS no one cares who is or isn't what option. Most of his new buddies are MO. But I'm not sure that's the same everywhere.

Good luck.

 

[kinnem]

There is no Marine Corps ROTC, it is NROTC (MO) for Marine Option. I do not know if you have to specify MO on the scholarship (I think you do), but I think once in the program you can likely switch over to MO if you want that versus straight Navy. But, my understanding is it is not two different opportunities, but one program that does both.

Switching options is not a slam dunk. Far from it. You have to basically re-apply and it goes to a national board. Some are approved and some of those can cause a loss of scholarship.

 

[rocatlin]

Switching options is not a slam dunk. Far from it. You have to basically re-apply and it goes to a national board. Some are approved and some of those can cause a loss of scholarship.

True that.

Best advice: Be sure of what you want ahead of time. If you don't get the scholarship you applied for, go college program and compete for it again as well as for a sideload.