@wperry722 My DS surprised the heck out of me and his mom about a year ago when he said he wanted to go to USMA. At first, I was thrilled. I had visited as a kid, gotten to know some kids from USNA when I was in college and was very impressed by them. Then I started thinking further and had some misgivings. I had some of the same concerns about the Big Army that you voiced, and I wasn't sure that I wanted him spending time on certain things at USMA that would fill so many hours. Suffice to say, I did more research, talked to a bunch of folks and spent many hours on this forum. My opinion turned around dramatically and I was very hopeful that he would get appointed. He ended up getting an LOA but abandoned it after a great PMS interview down at Vanderbilt and decided to apply there ED2. I was shocked and a bit disappointed b/c I had fallen so hard for the unique experience that is USMA (as you can tell my super lame/long and now irrelevant screen handle!). He heads to Vandy in August and I'm super excited for him. But let me share what turned me around in general on his decision to start his career in the Army and to start his Army training in college (whether at USMA or ROTC).
1, learning about leadership, teamwork, command etc is never, ever going to be a waste of time. You would likely draw upon it for the rest of your life.
2, the potential for camaraderie within the ROTC unit, plus the time-management skills and commitment for success
3, the opportunities for summer training, internships and other programs during school
4, if you are offered a scholarship, whether for 2, 3 or 4 years, that's a substantial savings, plus you receive a stipend
5, upon commissioning, as others have said, a 4 year commitment is not that long at 22 years old. You'll likely save money for grad school during your 4 years or decide to stay in longer and go to grad school on the army's dime. Even if you did that, you'd get out (if you wished) before you were 30
6, service and leadership training is valued by most employers. I work for one of the major tech companies that we all know and love and I was on a call the other day with a new employee. He had just left the Navy after serving as a SEAL. Another senior leader was in ROTC and our head of Corporate Development graduated from a service academy.
7, I don't want to over-glamorize especially since I literally have zero direct experience, but whether in ROTC training or when you're posted, you'd likely derive some pretty unique experiences that your friends who went into banking or marketing right out of college are just not going to have in their lives, ever.
8, if you wanted to make a career out of the army, you can likely stay in as long as you like, retire with a pension and then do something else. I know that's a small minority of new officers, but it's an option.
So as you can tell, I'm pretty pumped that my DS has chosen to start his adult life as part of ROTC and the Army. It seems like a great path and he'll learn and do things that no one in my immediate family ever has, and I'm happy he'll be serving the country. One thing that I'm going to be sure to impart to him before he starts school is that it really is what you make of it. There will be opportunities of every kind and it's up to him to make the most of them.