Start enlistment process, or wait for USNA?

They are only AROTC programs that assure active duty army for AROTC graduates, so long as approved by the PMS.

Can you clarify? Its seems like too much power to the PMS.

Sure, here it is from the U.S. Code:
U.S. Code § 2111a - Support for senior military colleges

(e)Assignment to Active Duty.—
(1) The Secretary of the Army shall ensure that a graduate of a senior military college who desires to serve as a commissioned officer on active duty upon graduation from the college, who is medically and physically qualified for active duty, and who is recommended for such duty by the professor of military science at the college, shall be assigned to active duty.
(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the Secretary of the Army from requiring a member of the program who graduates from a senior military college to serve on active duty.


Source:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/2111a?quicktabs_8=1#quicktabs-8
 
Norwich is a private college.
If you attend on a ROTC scholarship the university will award an additional scholarship that pays room and board.
If you do not have a ROTC scholarship they award "automatic" scholarship based on GPA and SAT/ACT score.
There is a tool on the website to determine the amount.
My son has been accepted and was awarded a $19,000 per year scholarship for 4 years.
If he ends up getting a ROTC scholarship the he will not get the $19k, but would have essentially have a free ride, minus uniforms and a few other fees.
Norwich is his #1 school on his ROTC school lists.
 
+1 AJC
I stand corrected.

Norwich is indeed the only private SMC of the six.
 
University of North Georgia is an all-Army school with a small contingent of Marine-option cadets. All students accepted into the UNG Corps of Cadets receive in-state tuition, wear uniforms, live in the military village in barracks and participate fully in the chain of command. I don't think I would characterize life in a senior military college as some kind of college teen drama fest. It's academic work, plus mental, emotional and physical training in preparation for military, corporate and civic leadership. 30% of the UNG Corps of Cadets are members of the National Guard.

I think your DD needs to visit some of these colleges before writing off the SMC experience all together. There are plenty of intense NROTC units as well. With competition to earn a commission so fierce, the students often work pretty hard to remain competitive. Sounds to me like the DD is the one being the immature drama queen.

Not so sure enlisted 19-year-olds don't partake in a kegger and some major teen drama now and then anyway.

Agree whole-heartedly with researching all options carefully and independently of military recruiters before signing a single thing.
 
She's mature for her age and has no patience for typical teenage drama - I can't imagine her going to college with ROTC and having roommates going to keg parties, ha ha.

I thought this part was harsh. No patience for typical teenage drama, doesn't want college because doesn't want to deal with keg parties so will enlist instead of doing the mature thing and RESEARCHING all of the options intelligently. Not everyone spends their college years in a beer coma.
 
^^^ I agree. Part of the reason you should visit ANY college you are serious about applying to is to get your own impression of what it is like. People who provide you sweeping generalizations about a college are probably not providing good input.
 
My son's choice to attend a SMC rather than ROTC at a regular college is based on a similar sentiment.
He is not interested in a continuation of high school.
The Cadets at SAs and SMCs are a self selecting group. Not just going to college because it is expected of them.
 
I went to an excellent university on a full ride, same size school as USNA. My roommates did go to keg parties. That was their choice, fine by me. I never studied in my room, as that was for socializing. I was required to maintain a 3.75 to retain the tuition part of my scholarship, so I kept to the straight and narrow, found plenty of like-minded people to be with. We had our fun, but priorities were focused on graduation and staying out of trouble. I started dating an AROTC guy junior year, liked how disciplined and organized he and his ROTC friends were, how they had goals, plans and a known career after graduation. I was ripe for the Navy officer recruiters, had the requisite grades and well-rounded profile, no troublesome incidents, and off I went to OCS.
The point is... ROTC is a superb Plan B, and is often a better fit than a SA for some. If an ROTC mid or cadet has their priorities straight, they will make wise choices in friends and actions. There are all kinds of people to hang out with at college or a service academy, and it's a simple matter of avoidance of other social groups if they are bothersome. And yep, there are plenty of roommates at the Service Academies who manage to go to keggers, underage too, though admittedly at more restricted times and with higher penalties, and lead a "party life." SA mids and cadets are not perfect, and while generally all-around good "kids," they have feet of clay and make their share of bad choices.
Amongst our USNA sponsor plebes, there are always a few each year who are shocked by some of the behaviors they see in Bancroft Hall, having believed that all mids were just like the official Admissions videos. Yes, mids come back drunk and throw up in awkward places, roommates don't respect others and sneak in the mid GF or BF for "activity," do clique-ish things, gossip, hide contraband in the room or do things and expect the roommate to tolerate it. Not all, not all the time, but enough to demonstrate their humanity. It's a great reality laboratory for learning how to handle inter-personal relationships and gaining social skills that will help them in close quarters on ships, subs, planes and the battlefield.
Lots of other excellent points made by posters - the more research and information, the better.
 
They are only AROTC programs that assure active duty army for AROTC graduates, so long as approved by the PMS.

Can you clarify? Its seems like too much power to the PMS.

Any AROTC cadet at an SMA is guaranteed by law a commission into active duty upon approval by the PMS. It is his responsibility to ensure cadets commissioning have met the standard. The PMS is typically at least a LTC and does have lots of power, but no more than he'd have if he was commanding an active duty battalion.
 
Let me throw in another alternative. You can also have your daughter go to one of the five military junior colleges. All the schools have Service Academy Prep programs in place, and have a military atmosphere. If you look into each of them, you'll find that each school has unique opportunities as well as membership in the respective Corps of Cadets. Credits earned are transferable to four year colleges should she not get into USNA.
 
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She's mature for her age and has no patience for typical teenage drama - I can't imagine her going to college with ROTC and having roommates going to keg parties, ha ha.[/QUOTE]

I thought this part was harsh. No patience for typical teenage drama, doesn't want college because doesn't want to deal with keg parties so will enlist instead of doing the mature thing and RESEARCHING all of the options intelligently. Not everyone spends their college years in a beer coma.[/QUOTE]

Wow, you really took this out of context. I was trying to explain that DD is ready to serve in the US Navy.
 
You said DD is "ready to serve in the USNavy" as enlisted, on the basis that "going to college with ROTC and having roommates going to keg parties" would put her in the company of people with potentially questionable behaviors if she didn't get into USNA.

But you need to understand that people other than you are reading these threads. Your comment about ROTC was ill-informed. I'm happy that smart posts followed that would inform readers of the realities of the choices. Hopefully your DD will make fully informed choices as well. I wish her, and you, the very best.
 
Several things:
For EOD/Seal mom, I believe I heard at I Day for my DD last July that the Seal program was going to open up for women for this class (2019). This was presented at the meeting in alumni hall for the parents. Can anyone confirm this?

For physicsguru , sorry to be naive but what are the 5 junior military colleges? My daughter did not want look at the SMA's but they seemed like great plan B's. So thank you all for the info about those. She had ROTC at civilian schools and USCGA as other choices. My 9th grade son is now interested in USNA but not sure of his ability to get there and this thread really helpful for a non military parent to learn these other options.
 
For physicsguru , sorry to be naive but what are the 5 junior military colleges?

Really? It took me all of 30 seconds to Google this...
Five institutions are considered Military junior colleges. These five schools participate in the Army's two-year Early Commissioning Program (ECP), an Army ROTC program in which qualified students can earn a commission as a Second Lieutenant after only two years of college. The five Military Junior Colleges are:

 
There are also these Maritime colleges:
State-supported maritime colleges and universities[edit]
Students at these academies are organized as military academy cadets, and graduate with appropriate licenses from the U.S. Coast Guard and/or U.S. Merchant Marine, with an option to become commissioned reserve officers with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, or the U.S. Marine Corps.

Google is your friend
 
You said DD is "ready to serve in the USNavy" as enlisted, on the basis that "going to college with ROTC and having roommates going to keg parties" would put her in the company of people with potentially questionable behaviors if she didn't get into USNA.

But you need to understand that people other than you are reading these threads. Your comment about ROTC was ill-informed. I'm happy that smart posts followed that would inform readers of the realities of the choices. Hopefully your DD will make fully informed choices as well. I wish her, and you, the very best.

And, many enlistees are still teenagers. Plenty of teen drama, poor choices, bad conduct, underage drinking to go around, mixed in with stellar and average Sailors. Typical bell curve reflective of the population from which they came. Any military person on here can confirm that! At USNA, my fellow Battalion Officers and I used to say some mids did the same boneheaded things as our enlisted Marines and Sailors had been known to do, but used much better grammar and vocabulary while trying to explain their way out of it!

There are many paths to a commission. Research, go to Summer Seminar at USNA, do a candidate visit weekend at USNA, visit campuses, ask questions.

Comments and advice on SAF are in general kindly meant. Pick and choose what works for you.
 
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Refining my previous post...

There are many paths to a commission. Given where OP's daughter is in her timeline, IMPO enlisting should be Plan E. It's possible, but "needs of the Navy" could catapult her way off the direct path. ROTC, senior or junior military college, maritime college are all worthy routes to a commission. USNA will most likely have the most exposure to BUDS/SEAL ramp-up for women, as they did for submarines, but ROTC will definitely be right up there with briefings. And, there is absolutely nothing wrong with re-applying to USNA while taking a rigorous schedule at another college, even if NROTC is not there. Many, many mids do not get in on the first try, go to a civilian college, deliver stellar grades in courses that mirror USNA first-year courses, keep up fitness and community activities, show commitment - all the while growing more mature and possibly already checking the block for "living successfully away from home." Re-applying shows desire.

Bring ready to serve is a good thing. Being smart about when and where will deliver a better shot at achieving the long term goal.

Meanwhile, be a beast in the pool and open-water swims and cross train!
 
You said DD is "ready to serve in the USNavy" as enlisted, on the basis that "going to college with ROTC and having roommates going to keg parties" would put her in the company of people with potentially questionable behaviors if she didn't get into USNA.

But you need to understand that people other than you are reading these threads. Your comment about ROTC was ill-informed. I'm happy that smart posts followed that would inform readers of the realities of the choices. Hopefully your DD will make fully informed choices as well. I wish her, and you, the very best.

Actually, I'm quite well informed about my DD. And while ROTC is a great program, it is not something that she is interested in. I didn't realize a question posted to this site about our own situation should be strictly for the benefit of others; I thought I could ask a question about a personal situation and get valid feedback - which I have from many others. While I can appreciate your enthusiasm for ROTC, and wish all in ROTC nothing but the best - please stop berating me and DD for ROTC not being a good fit.
 
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