NROTC Marine Option Chances

[sideloadlad]

Also I was wondering: when should I contact my OSO regarding a contract? Thank you.

If you’ve been in touch with your OSO for the national scholarship application and plan on submitting an air contract, I would do it ASAP.

 

[Flaps]

Also I was wondering: when should I contact my OSO regarding a contract? Thank you.

If you’ve been in touch with your OSO for the national scholarship application and plan on submitting an air contract, I would do it ASAP.

I am still in high school, how is it possible for me to negotiate an air contract if I haven’t been selected for the scholarship?

 

[sideloadlad]

I am still in high school, how is it possible for me to negotiate an air contract if I haven’t been selected for the scholarship?

It’s not a negotiation, just ask your OSO about a flight contract. He will help you out with it, the Marine Corps needs pilots.

 

[Flaps]

I am still in high school, how is it possible for me to negotiate an air contract if I haven’t been selected for the scholarship?

It’s not a negotiation, just ask your OSO about a flight contract. He will help you out with it, the Marine Corps needs pilots.

Ok, thank you for this information and I’ll do my best. Best of luck to you.

 

[sideloadlad]

Ok, thank you for this information and I’ll do my best. Best of luck to you.

Yeah sure thing brother, good luck. Here if you need a resource

 

[rocatlin]

Just to offer a clarification. The OSO checking into air contracts really only applies to the PLC program.

The 4 year NROTC scholarship does not have an air contract out of the gate. Once you get into the unit, you start the process. The Marine Corps has needed pilots recently. My son was one that was "encouraged" to take the ASTB his sophomore year. After doing well on the ASTB, he took his flight physical, and then contracted for air. He graduates TBS in a couple of months and then starts the wait in Pensacola.

 

[rocatlin]

I have a 3.2 GPA and run a 275 PFT, which is borderline competitive for a ground spot but very competitive for air.

Hold on there, Salty Dawg. It almost sounds like you're saying that aviators have lower standards than "ground" spots--which can include everything from infantry to admin in context of this air vs. every other MOS thread. There are some good 0302 officers that don't have 300 PFTs. Some don't run that 18min 3 miles -- but have that endurance to keep on humpin.

Remember all Marine Officers learn to be 03Lites first at TBS. There have been aviation contracts go to IOC before Pensacola pics up -- some ended up as infantry officers in OIF/OEF. (You can actually make a decent argument that a Marine that has gone through IOC may be a better aviator.)

Dreaming and pursuing dreams is great, but you need to be grounded (pun intended) as a Marine first. You don't get to call yourself a Marine until you are handed that EGA. It also takes a couple of years to get wings -- and the aviators on this thread have pointed out the fact there are a lot of things that can trip you up.

A summary comment of this overall thread and the advice of "old people":
1) Put your best effort forward to compete for a Marine Option scholarship.
2) Have backup plans -- re-apply if you don't make it the first time, join a unit as a college programmer and also be competitive for a sideload. Look into the PLC program (which is handled by the OSO)
3) If you make it in, then the MOI will assist you in aviation contracts. Right now they may be easy to come by. No one on this thread can guarantee what it will be like 6 months from now.
4) Once you commission, be prepared to be trained to fill a role of an infantry platoon commander -- and some boot brown bars will suck at it.
5) TBS is grueling and not glamorous.
6) You may not make it in the aviation pipeline. That's okay, because you are Marines first.
7) If you get your wings, you'll still do boring stuff -- and can still do gruntish stuff. That's okay, because you are Marines first.

 

[sideloadlad]

Just to offer a clarification. The OSO checking into air contracts really only applies to the PLC program.

The 4 year NROTC scholarship does not have an air contract out of the gate. Once you get into the unit, you start the process. The Marine Corps has needed pilots recently. My son was one that was "encouraged" to take the ASTB his sophomore year. After doing well on the ASTB, he took his flight physical, and then contracted for air. He graduates TBS in a couple of months and then starts the wait in Pensacola.

Thanks for clarifying that. Like i said I never applied at the National level with any intent on doing anything other than ground. The sideload boards offer air and ground contracts.

 

[sideloadlad]

Hold on there, Salty Dawg. It almost sounds like you're saying that aviators have lower standards than "ground" spots--which can include everything from infantry to admin in context of this air vs. every other MOS thread. There are some good 0302 officers that don't have 300 PFTs. Some don't run that 18min 3 miles -- but have that endurance to keep on humpin.

Remember all Marine Officers learn to be 03Lites first at TBS. There have been aviation contracts go to IOC before Pensacola pics up -- some ended up as infantry officers in OIF/OEF. (You can actually make a decent argument that a Marine that has gone through IOC may be a better aviator.)

Dreaming and pursuing dreams is great, but you need to be grounded (pun intended) as a Marine first. You don't get to call yourself a Marine until you are handed that EGA. It also takes a couple of years to get wings -- and the aviators on this thread have pointed out the fact there are a lot of things that can trip you up.

A summary comment of this overall thread and the advice of "old people":
1) Put your best effort forward to compete for a Marine Option scholarship.
2) Have backup plans -- re-apply if you don't make it the first time, join a unit as a college programmer and also be competitive for a sideload. Look into the PLC program (which is handled by the OSO)
3) If you make it in, then the MOI will assist you in aviation contracts. Right now they may be easy to come by. No one on this thread can guarantee what it will be like 6 months from now.
4) Once you commission, be prepared to be trained to fill a role of an infantry platoon commander -- and some boot brown bars will suck at it.
5) TBS is grueling and not glamorous.
6) You may not make it in the aviation pipeline. That's okay, because you are Marines first.
7) If you get your wings, you'll still do boring stuff -- and can still do gruntish stuff. That's okay, because you are Marines first.

I agree with what you’re saying, and I am certainly not saying that the standards are lower. Commissioning as a Marine Officer is the same either way, and everyone’s a preliminary rifle platoon commander first.
However, the fact of the matter is that you have a better shot right now at getting a sideload scholarship of you apply as an aviation contract, based off of first hand experience the past couple years with people in my unit and other units.

 

[Flaps]

I have a 3.2 GPA and run a 275 PFT, which is borderline competitive for a ground spot but very competitive for air.

Hold on there, Salty Dawg. It almost sounds like you're saying that aviators have lower standards than "ground" spots--which can include everything from infantry to admin in context of this air vs. every other MOS thread. There are some good 0302 officers that don't have 300 PFTs. Some don't run that 18min 3 miles -- but have that endurance to keep on humpin.

Remember all Marine Officers learn to be 03Lites first at TBS. There have been aviation contracts go to IOC before Pensacola pics up -- some ended up as infantry officers in OIF/OEF. (You can actually make a decent argument that a Marine that has gone through IOC may be a better aviator.)

Dreaming and pursuing dreams is great, but you need to be grounded (pun intended) as a Marine first. You don't get to call yourself a Marine until you are handed that EGA. It also takes a couple of years to get wings -- and the aviators on this thread have pointed out the fact there are a lot of things that can trip you up.

A summary comment of this overall thread and the advice of "old people":
1) Put your best effort forward to compete for a Marine Option scholarship.
2) Have backup plans -- re-apply if you don't make it the first time, join a unit as a college programmer and also be competitive for a sideload. Look into the PLC program (which is handled by the OSO)
3) If you make it in, then the MOI will assist you in aviation contracts. Right now they may be easy to come by. No one on this thread can guarantee what it will be like 6 months from now.
4) Once you commission, be prepared to be trained to fill a role of an infantry platoon commander -- and some boot brown bars will suck at it.
5) TBS is grueling and not glamorous.
6) You may not make it in the aviation pipeline. That's okay, because you are Marines first.
7) If you get your wings, you'll still do boring stuff -- and can still do gruntish stuff. That's okay, because you are Marines first.

If you could offer me any advice on this subject I would greatly appreciate it: my current number 1 school is The Citadel military college of South Carolina, everyone who enrolled at The Citadel has to mandatorily join ROTC, does this mean that PLC is simply not available at this school? Basically, if a school offers ROTC does that mean no PLC and vice versa?

 

[sideloadlad]

If you could offer me any advice on this subject I would greatly appreciate it: my current number 1 school is The Citadel military college of South Carolina, everyone who enrolled at The Citadel has to mandatorily join ROTC, does this mean that PLC is simply not available at this school? Basically, if a school offers ROTC does that mean no PLC and vice versa?

I can’t speak specifically on the Citadel, but here’s he gist of PLC. Platoon Leaders Class is a program run through a regional OSO. If you apply for PLC, your package gets sent to two boards: one to get you contracted initially, and one to get you actually sent to OCS. You can either do two 6 week sessions of OCS, with the first “OCS Juniors” being between either your freshman and sophomore or sophomore and junior years depending on when you apply, and the second 6 week phase being between junior and senior year. The other option is getting sent to one 10 week phase between junior and senior year, or potentially after college.

Being located right here in State College, our OSO naturally gets a lot of NROTC guys who don’t have scholarships applying as a sort of fall back option, and he acknowledges that. For instance, I’m applying for PLC now as a fallback in case I don’t pick up a scholarship. If I do pick up, I can drop PLC without any repercussions. If however I do not pickup a scholarship I will earn a commission through the PLC program.

As far as the Citadel goes, I don’t know where the nearest OSO is located. If that’s where you do end up at school but you do not have an NROTC scholarship, I would talk to a nearby OSO more about PLC options. Hope this helped.

 

[kinnem]

NROTC MO and PLC do not make sense together. They are both paths to a commission. NROTC is done while in college during the academic year with some summer training. PLC is done only in the summer, usually 2 6 week sessions in Quantico over 2 summers. In fact, during the PLC 2nd summer they will be doing OCS right alongside NROTC MO midshipmen. There are no commitments for PLC candidates during the academic year. Aviation contracts can be obtained via either route. The details of how that is done varies between the two.

EDIT: I would add thatone does not need a scholarship to commission via NROTC MO. One does need to be awarded advanced standing to continue past sophomore year. I personally know several midshipmen who commissioned without benefit of a scholarship via NROTC.

 

[Flaps]

NROTC MO and PLC do not make sense together. They are both paths to a commission. NROTC is done while in college during the academic year with some summer training. PLC is done only in the summer, usually 2 6 week sessions in Quantico over 2 summers. In fact, during the PLC 2nd summer they will be doing OCS right alongside NROTC MO midshipmen. There are no commitments for PLC candidates during the academic year. Aviation contracts can be obtained via either route. The details of how that is done varies between the two.

EDIT: I would add thatone does not need a scholarship to commission via NROTC MO. One does need to be awarded advanced standing to continue past sophomore year. I personally know several midshipmen who commissioned without benefit of a scholarship via NROTC.

Thank you for this response, very informative; the only reason I’m taking so much action on this is because I fully expect to NOT get awarded the scholarship.

 

[kinnem]

Thank you for this response, very informative; the only reason I’m taking so much action on this is because I fully expect to NOT get awarded the scholarship.

So this is what I would recommend and is really the path @sideloadlad took.
Enroll in NROTC MO. Call the unit to let them know you plan to enroll, say mid April or first week of May. They can help get you set up and arrange for orientation at Great Lakes over the summer. You can then avail yourself of several scholarship opportunities over your first two years in the program. My DS did this and was awarded a scholarship during his sophomore year.

If a scholarship doesn't come through for you then apply for advanced standing. If awarded advanced standing you can complete the program and are entitled to the stipend. You would commission at college graduation.

If advanced standing doesn't come through, or looks unlikely for some reason, then pursue PLC as a backup plan to that. The reason I have it last is that PLC is like a water spigot. If the Corps badly needs new Lts they will open the spigot wide. If there is not a large need they'll open it for just a trickle or even shut it off. So PLC is the safety valve to achieve the Corps needs for officers. ROTC is a surer path to a commission if you can pull it off that way.

Good Luck!

 

[Flaps]

Thank you for this response, very informative; the only reason I’m taking so much action on this is because I fully expect to NOT get awarded the scholarship.

So this is what I would recommend and is really the path @sideloadlad took.
Enroll in NROTC MO. Call the unit to let them know you plan to enroll, say mid April or first week of May. They can help get you set up and arrange for orientation at Great Lakes over the summer. You can then avail yourself of several scholarship opportunities over your first two years in the program. My DS did this and was awarded a scholarship during his sophomore year.

If a scholarship doesn't come through for you then apply for advanced standing. If awarded advanced standing you can complete the program and are entitled to the stipend. You would commission at college graduation.

If advanced standing doesn't come through, or looks unlikely for some reason, then pursue PLC as a backup plan to that. The reason I have it last is that PLC is like a water spigot. If the Corps badly needs new Lts they will open the spigot wide. If there is not a large need they'll open it for just a trickle or even shut it off. So PLC is the safety valve to achieve the Corps needs for officers. ROTC is a surer path to a commission if you can pull it off that way.

Good Luck!

Hello, this is great information I haven’t even heard before, so you say PLC as a sort of failsafe, but if I don’t earn advanced standing through NROTC, won’t it be too late for me to enroll in PLC? Don’t I have to choose one path and stick with it?

 

[kinnem]

Not at all. DS was considering PLC if he didn't get a scholarship or advanced standing. You could do PLC in 10 weeks over the summer between your junior and senior year. Or, if you concluded you would not be awarded advanced standing, or that wasn't enough to keep you in NROTC then you could arrange to do the normal route over 2 6 week sessions in sequential summers.

Why would someone decided advanced standing isn't enough to keep one committed to NROTC? Well, the stipend is nice but you won't get rich on it. NROTC can be very demanding of your time, especially as you progress through the program and take on bigger leadership roles. Plus there is PT, lab, NROTC academic courses and requirements. Some folks feel it would be easier to skip the last two years of ROTC and do PLC over the summer. My own thinking is that this is a short sighted outlook. The leadership opportunities and the time available to develop as a leader in NROTC far outshines those opportunities in PLC. Just one man's opinion.

PLC might be someone's first course over NROTC when they essentially make the determination I described above, or they simply do not have an NROTC unit at their college, so PLC or OCC (think PLC after college gradation) becomes the only available option.

Hope this makes sense.

 

[Flaps]

Not at all. DS was considering PLC if he didn't get a scholarship or advanced standing. You could do PLC in 10 weeks over the summer between your junior and senior year. Or, if you concluded you would not be awarded advanced standing, or that wasn't enough to keep you in NROTC then you could arrange to do the normal route over 2 6 week sessions in sequential summers.

Why would someone decided advanced standing isn't enough to keep one committed to NROTC? Well, the stipend is nice but you won't get rich on it. NROTC can be very demanding of your time, especially as you progress through the program and take on bigger leadership roles. Plus there is PT, lab, NROTC academic courses and requirements. Some folks feel it would be easier to skip the last two years of ROTC and do PLC over the summer. My own thinking is that this is a short sighted outlook. The leadership opportunities and the time available to develop as a leader in NROTC far outshines those opportunities in PLC. Just one man's opinion.

PLC might be someone's first course over NROTC when they essentially make the determination I described above, or they simply do not have an NROTC unit at their college, so PLC or OCC (think PLC after college gradation) becomes the only available option.

Hope this makes sense.

This makes sense I believe, and I know it sounds cheesy but I mean it when I say I want to do what maximizes my chance of being an officer in the Marines; not the easy way there. This really is what I want with my life and whatever gives me the best shot at getting my dream shot, regardless of the work and time, I’m going to take it over the faster route. Not bashing PLC, in fact PLC was my preferred route for a long time, and I’m not trying to pick sides because in the end it all leads to my dream. But what I’m hearing is that one way ends up more certainly in the end goal, so I think I’ll go NROTC and work my ass off for a flight slot, because like it or not, aviation is in the fact the icing on the cake for me.

 

[KuzNROTC]

Not at all. DS was considering PLC if he didn't get a scholarship or advanced standing. You could do PLC in 10 weeks over the summer between your junior and senior year. Or, if you concluded you would not be awarded advanced standing, or that wasn't enough to keep you in NROTC then you could arrange to do the normal route over 2 6 week sessions in sequential summers.

Why would someone decided advanced standing isn't enough to keep one committed to NROTC? Well, the stipend is nice but you won't get rich on it. NROTC can be very demanding of your time, especially as you progress through the program and take on bigger leadership roles. Plus there is PT, lab, NROTC academic courses and requirements. Some folks feel it would be easier to skip the last two years of ROTC and do PLC over the summer. My own thinking is that this is a short sighted outlook. The leadership opportunities and the time available to develop as a leader in NROTC far outshines those opportunities in PLC. Just one man's opinion.

PLC might be someone's first course over NROTC when they essentially make the determination I described above, or they simply do not have an NROTC unit at their college, so PLC or OCC (think PLC after college gradation) becomes the only available option.

Hope this makes sense.

This makes sense I believe, and I know it sounds cheesy but I mean it when I say I want to do what maximizes my chance of being an officer in the Marines; not the easy way there. This really is what I want with my life and whatever gives me the best shot at getting my dream shot, regardless of the work and time, I’m going to take it over the faster route. Not bashing PLC, in fact PLC was my preferred route for a long time, and I’m not trying to pick sides because in the end it all leads to my dream. But what I’m hearing is that one way ends up more certainly in the end goal, so I think I’ll go NROTC and work my ass off for a flight slot, because like it or not, aviation is in the fact the icing on the cake for me.

Marine options don't get advanced standing, only Navy options.
The order would go...

1. Apply for the 4 year
2. Apply for the 4 year in college
3. Apply for the 3 year
4. Apply for the 2.5 year
5. Apply for the 2 year
6. You can't be in NROTC anymore... Get a contract through PLC
7. Get an OCS slot

This is what would happen if you want a commission as a marine corps officer.

 

[sideloadlad]

Marine options don't get advanced standing, only Navy options.
The order would go...

1. Apply for the 4 year
2. Apply for the 4 year in college
3. Apply for the 3 year
4. Apply for the 2.5 year
5. Apply for the 2 year
6. You can't be in NROTC anymore... Get a contract through PLC
7. Get an OCS slot

This is what would happen if you want a commission as a marine corps officer.

That’s true, for the most part. Marine Options CAN get advanced standing, though it is much rarer for MOs over Navy. We have one junior MO on advanced standing and another who just commissioned via advanced standing.

 

[KuzNROTC]

Marine options don't get advanced standing, only Navy options.
The order would go...

1. Apply for the 4 year
2. Apply for the 4 year in college
3. Apply for the 3 year
4. Apply for the 2.5 year
5. Apply for the 2 year
6. You can't be in NROTC anymore... Get a contract through PLC
7. Get an OCS slot

This is what would happen if you want a commission as a marine corps officer.

That’s true, for the most part. Marine Options CAN get advanced standing, though it is much rarer for MOs over Navy. We have one junior MO on advanced standing and another who just commissioned via advanced standing.

Interesting. At my unit, our CO advertised that for marine options, it was either 2 year scholarship at the end of sophomore year, or you're out. We never have had a marine MIDN get advanced standing here, only scholarships, so they must be a rarity.