I have always wanted to study abroad and participate in ROTC. I applied for the study abroad program and realized that I can't do both. I would be spending the summer in Paris, France, the fall and spring semesters in Valencia, Spain, and the next summer in Florence, Italy. I don't want to give that up.
The reason I believe I can't do ROTC is because I earned my AA in high school so I only have two years left of college. The minimum we can spend in ROTC is three so I was willing to spend the extra year in college. When I come back from study abroad I can't stay in college for 3 years because of financial aid & having too many credits. I also don't want to try OTC because as a business major I probably don't stand a chance.
I don't know what to do. Any advice?
I'm not sure this is all that helpful (as my circumstances were a bit different), but I was able to do a summer abroad
and complete my ROTC obligations while in college. I was in AFROTC at VMI for four years, so I didn't have to cram my pre-commissioning requirements into a shortened period. I went to Camp after my soph. year, and I did my study abroad in the summer after junior year (at St. Anne's College, University of Oxford). I even had an ROTC obligation the same summer I went to the UK, but I was able to complete it before I crossed the pond (it was called "Operations Air Force" or something like that-I spent three weeks with AFSOC at Hurlburt Field).
This is more of a general comment regarding study abroad, as yours is not the first post I've seen on the topic. If you can, I highly encourage anyone to study abroad. You will never get an opportunity like it again, and you can spend weeks/months in Europe at a fraction of what it will cost you as a "grown-up." My experiences at Oxford were some of the most enriching I have ever had. That said, you need to be smart about it if you are doing ROTC. If you are on a compressed schedule, it may be hard to fit in the overseas experience. Also, I think it's easier to schedule around ROTC in the summer than if you went for a semester/year. I was commissioned with a guy who spent a year abroad, but he had to double up on Air Force classes his senior year.
For the OP, if you have the time, go for the study abroad. If you think that finances and the lack of time prohibit being able to go abroad, then you have your answer. You just have to figure out what is more important to you, and nobody on the forum can tell you that. You may want to consider shortening the time you'll be overseas; however, if you don't want to do that, just do what you think is best.
