I am going to say that I think your DD needs to do a lot more investigation.
I thought payits words were a tad harsh, but I also think your DD is being shortsighted regarding how it works from the enlisted side jumping over to the officer side if they are active duty.
If she has not spent a second to investigate SMCs than I think she is on the wrong path.
I admire her desire to serve, but financially if she is a viable candidate for an SA, the SMCs will probably offer merit too.
Do you know that if she is an E3 at 22 with 4 yrs in, they make less than 24K a year? However, that 22 that went ROTC scholarship and got merit from the college will enter at the same age (no or little college debt) with a starting salary of 40K .
~ The enlisted member will be juggling full time work and college. Doubtful they will earn their undergrad in 4 years like a ROTC student. Thus, going enlisted straight out of the gate may hurt her in the long term.
Plus, I do agree with payitforward, she is being very naive to think that the 18-22 yr olds AD aren't being just as immature as the college kids. In fact, I believe that the ROTC kids maybe even more mature because they live with the fact that 1 false step and they can lose everything. Getting drunk on campus underage is a huge No No. It typically ends in disenrollment from ROTC and depending on the school they can decide to politely ask the student to leave. I am not talking about an SMC, I am talking about a traditional college.
Additionally, if she really wants that appointment, I would say it is much harder and longer to go the enlisted route. Compare and contrast the 2 paths. The kid that goes off to college plan B due to receiving the thin envelope will:
1. Need no approval from anyone to reapply the following year.
~ Enlisted member will need their Commanders approval to apply. Hard to get if they are only in basic training at this time next year.
~~ They are now at least 1 year behind the kid that went ROTC.
2. Academically the ROTC student will most likely taking harder courses, IE on par with the academics of an SA for that year.
~ Enlisted member that 1st year they are learning their job. Taking college level Physics is just not on the top of their list.
~~ Assume that both the ROTC kid and the enlisted member both get an appointment 2 years later. The enlisted member brings a lot to the table from the service side, but usually not as much from the academic side. This is why it is not uncommon for enlisted members to be offered NAPS. They want them to get back into that academic mode/level after a few years out of HS. Whereas, the ROTC kid will typically get the direct admit because they have been following the rigor of USNA at college. In other words, even if they both get the big fate envelope in 2017. The ROTC kid is more likely to go directly to USNA and commission in 2022. The service member may do both NAPS and USNA, commissioning in 2023.
3. Going ROTC on scholarship or not gives them an option that is not offered to enlisted members.
~ ROTC members on scholarship can walk up to the 1st day of their sophomore year with no penalty if they decide this is not a fit for me. Enlisted members do not have that option. They are on the hook for 4 year, no if and or buts.
~~ Trust me, you can say all day long she knows this is for her, but she really doesn't. It is emotionally hard for many 18 yr old kids that want to fly the nest as soon as they can, and then the holidays roll around, and reality sets in. There is no guarantee that they will grant her leave for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. More importantly even if they do, chances of her being able to afford to come home from wherever they are assigned will be an issue too. See above regarding pay. My DS is in Texas. Flying home to Dulles VA from Dallas is several hundred each time during non-holiday times. My guess is that flying from Norfolk to let's say Billings would not be cheap, nor easy from a traveling aspect.
4. Service Members do have another nomination source, but so does the ROTC student. (ROTC students can get a ROTC nomination) on top of their MoCs noms.. Both are no guarantee of winning an appointment
~ I know of several MoCs that like 2nd time applicants and will do principal for those applicants. I know when Eric Cantor was in office that he did this. In this case that ROTC student as a freshmen in college (18/19) will have an almost 100% guarantee that they will now commission in 2021. Again, next yr. the enlisted member will probably miss out applying next year due to the process for enlisted. Additionally, if the MoC does principal, and that year they have 2 reapplicants, their decision could come down to looking at academics as the final decision.
It is just my personal opinion that it is a much harder path to become an officer via the enlisted route than going ROTC. I admire her desire to serve, but I think she is truly being short sighted from a long term aspect. Thus, in a way payitforward is right regarding immaturity. It is not an insult in any means. It is a fact that most 17/18 yr olds in HS are not thinking about life after graduation. They are not thinking that if they go enlisted that instead of being 27 when they can dive, they will be closer to 30. Saying 30 to a 17 year old is a little mind blowing to them regarding how long they will be in it before they can bolt, compared to them thinking they are only committed until they are 22 if they go enlisted, and decide it is not for them.
Sorry for the novella, but I think you need to sit back, and really think about every point that you will be facing in the near future with aspects that you may not have even contemplated yet.