NROTC Navy Nursing Corps

USNA '16

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Can anyone give me insight in the selection process for the Nursing NROTC or any advice you see fit for me? Thanks in advance.
 
If there is no one around here familiar with navy nursing I might be able to answer general questions... even though I am AROTC.
 
Not sure what information you might already have....
Look here: http://www.military.com/ROTC/1,15281,nrotc_nurse_programs,,00.html

Selection doesn't seem to be very different from normal NROTC process except it would seem to be handled by a different board. If I read the info correctly you are still going to be expected to pass the PFT so you'll need to be in shape... up to Navy standards anyway. :biggrin:

We might be able to provide more help if you had some specific questions.
 
Seriously, don't bother with NROTC for Nursing. Go to the college of your choice, get your BSN and get good grades. Stay in shape and you can contract while still in college for OCS and skip all the ROTC stuff.
These days they are giving a signing bonus and will pay off at least some student loans.
 
Seriously, don't bother with NROTC for Nursing. Go to the college of your choice, get your BSN and get good grades. Stay in shape and you can contract while still in college for OCS and skip all the ROTC stuff.
These days they are giving a signing bonus and will pay off at least some student loans.

Do you feel the same way for AROTC? Why do you think it would be better to skip ROTC and just do OCS after getting your BSN?
 
Seriously, don't bother with NROTC for Nursing. Go to the college of your choice, get your BSN and get good grades. Stay in shape and you can contract while still in college for OCS and skip all the ROTC stuff.
These days they are giving a signing bonus and will pay off at least some student loans.

I humbly disagree for a few reasons.

1. The program the army had set up which is called Army Nurse Candidate Program is very competitive and since the army is past goal for nurses FY12, boards have no mercy. Granted, this is an excellent program and eases a lot of the stress for nursing students as opposed to those who do traditional ROTC but its just getting harder and harder to get a slot.

2. ROTC is the best way to guarantee you will be an army nurse. We all hear about scholarship boards on here, but the boards for even experienced RNs to direct commission are even more cut throat.

3. ROTC gives you the opportunity to get your feet wet with the army and experience 4 years of the same training every other officer who graduated ROTC experiences. Sure its more difficult because you have to juggle ROTC and nursing which is not an easy task, however many battalions are understanding to your situation.

4. BOLC will be a breeze (rehash of a lot of ROTC training)

The bonuses fluctuate, but are usually steady for advanced practice nurses such as CRNAs (up to 50k per year). As far as I know the loan repayment is still in effect for a certain amount.
 
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Do you feel the same way for AROTC? Why do you think it would be better to skip ROTC and just do OCS after getting your BSN?
Nope, not at all.

Nursing is different. The NAVY has a program called NCP - Nurse Candidate Program. After your sophomore year you can contract - get $10,000 and $1000/month until you graduate. After you graduate you go to OCS and then begin work as a Navy Nurse. Total = possible $34,000.
It's hard to beat. Seriously, why get bogged down doing NROTC for 4 years when you can concentrate on doing the best you can in your major in college.

Financing education is no small matter! Tuition, books, and supplies all add up to a hefty financial liability that can take years to overcome. The Nurse Candidate Program provides a monthly stipend for full time students in accredited Bachelor of Science Nursing programs. Students can enroll after their sophomore year and receive an initial grant of $10,000 (paid in two installments of $5000 each), plus $1000 a month for up to 24 months.
http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/navmedmpte/accessions/Pages/NurseCandidateProgram_Prospective.aspx


PS don't confuse the services here. the OP asked about Navy Nursing and NROTC.
 
After your sophomore year you can contract - get $10,000 and $1000/month until you graduate. After you graduate you go to OCS and then begin work as a Navy Nurse. Total = possible $34,000.
If you are just looking at the financial benefits of each program, I think NROTC wins handily.

My daughter is a second year nursing student on an AFROTC scholarship. For this semester ONLY (Fall 2011) the AF is paying $10,283 in just tuition costs. The same thing a NROTC nursing student would receive. Project this over 8 semesters = $82,283.
Then add in the NROTC monthly stipend, and a nursing student would receive another $11,690 over four years.
Plus the book allowance for 4 years = $3000.00
Total = Over $97,000

Plus (borrowing from a post above):
1. NROTC is the best way to guarantee you will be a Navy nurse. We all hear about scholarship boards on here, but the boards for even experienced RNs to direct commission are even more cut throat.

2. NROTC gives you the opportunity to get your feet wet with the Navy and experience 4 years of the same training every other officer who graduated NROTC experiences. Sure its more difficult because you have to juggle NROTC and nursing which is not an easy task, however many Units are understanding to your situation.

3. You will receive Nurse Training during the summer while in NROTC. Giving you an opportunity to "get your feet wet" before receiving your BSN/RN and having those increased expectations.

4. And last...only because it hasn't been mentioned yet....NROTC provides guidance, physical fitness and a tremendous core group of friends that you can count on to support/help you when you need it. I believe all ROTC programs are worth the effort/time if for no other reason than this one.

If you are sure you want to be a Navy nurse then NROTC is the best path....IMHO.
 
If you are just looking at the financial benefits of each program, I think NROTC wins handily.

My daughter is a second year nursing student on an AFROTC scholarship. For this semester ONLY (Fall 2011) the AF is paying $10,283 in just tuition costs. The same thing a NROTC nursing student would receive. Project this over 8 semesters = $82,283.
Then add in the NROTC monthly stipend, and a nursing student would receive another $11,690 over four years.
Plus the book allowance for 4 years = $3000.00
Total = Over $97,000

Plus (borrowing from a post above):
1. NROTC is the best way to guarantee you will be a Navy nurse. We all hear about scholarship boards on here, but the boards for even experienced RNs to direct commission are even more cut throat.

2. NROTC gives you the opportunity to get your feet wet with the Navy and experience 4 years of the same training every other officer who graduated NROTC experiences. Sure its more difficult because you have to juggle NROTC and nursing which is not an easy task, however many Units are understanding to your situation.

3. You will receive Nurse Training during the summer while in NROTC. Giving you an opportunity to "get your feet wet" before receiving your BSN/RN and having those increased expectations.

4. And last...only because it hasn't been mentioned yet....NROTC provides guidance, physical fitness and a tremendous core group of friends that you can count on to support/help you when you need it. I believe all ROTC programs are worth the effort/time if for no other reason than this one.

If you are sure you want to be a Navy nurse then NROTC is the best path....IMHO.


The army has the same program for the summer between your Junior and Senior years called NSTP (usually 3-4 weeks). Everyone I know who has gone has said it was more beneficial than 4 years of clinicals at nursing school. You get full hands on access as well as your own patient load allowing for a wider range of skills to be used. Personally I have not gone because my summer was taken up with a CTLT (line officer equivalent to NSTP) slot in an armor unit...go figure.

Honestly, nursing is nursing* and the benefits are roughly same for both branches. I was heavily leaning towards navy nursing then I chose army, in reality all the nurse corps of every branch work closely together.

*Exception is flight nursing which is almost elusively AF, however the army has now introduced a new course meant specifically for trauma nursing on helicopters. My nurse counselor talked in depth about the placing of critical care and ER nursing into one trauma course and this flight nursing option seemed pretty high speed.
 
If you are just looking at the financial benefits of each program, I think NROTC wins handily.
Sure - but hopefully no one is signing a commitment soley for the financial benefits.
I absolutely concede that if the scholarship is necessary for the education - go for it.

Certainly almost no one needs to spend $20,000/year in tuition for a BSN. That is an educational choice and some may feel that some programs are worth it and need the scholarship.

However..... consider this - many many BSN students drop out of the program. It is intense, time consuming and stressful. Many nursing students spend weekends doing clinicals. GPA is very important for those who wish to continue their education - Nurse Practitioner or Nurse Anesthetist. BSN majors take a very full schedule of course work. Let's just say - it's a bit more intense than criminal justice.
NROTC requires several additional coursework and weighs down the course load, add that to required PT on the NROTC schedule plus other requirements and it eats into one's time. Time is finite.
The overarching goal in ROTC is to produce leaders of soldiers, sailors an airmen. The overarching goal of a Nursing major is to become a Professional Nurse.
This is the exact route than many military physicians take.

Why not consider putting all resources - time, energy, stress, academic into becoming a professional Nurse and passing the boards? Then choose your service along the way. You can contract at the end of your second year or after. My daughter's roommate just contracted with Navy at the beginning of her senior year. She gets the bonus plus a hefty monthly stipend. She was able to attend a college without an NROTC program and got a nice scholarship from the college to help with costs.
After graduation she will go to Newport for a few weeks to learn how to wear a uniform. Unlike the Army, the Navy doesn't require you to learn how to crawl through the mud and shoot.

It is an OPTION and not a bad one.
To be clear - I am NOT anti ROTC at all. However, in this case - there is a good alternative that can work for many Nursing students.
 
Well, that's these days. Who knows about 4 years from now? Just sayin'.
This is true of every military program. No one knows. Some are finding that contracting is no guarantee of future employment.
 
Sure - but hopefully no one is signing a commitment soley for the financial benefits.
I absolutely concede that if the scholarship is necessary for the education - go for it.

Certainly almost no one needs to spend $20,000/year in tuition for a BSN. That is an educational choice and some may feel that some programs are worth it and need the scholarship.

However..... consider this - many many BSN students drop out of the program. It is intense, time consuming and stressful. Many nursing students spend weekends doing clinicals. GPA is very important for those who wish to continue their education - Nurse Practitioner or Nurse Anesthetist. BSN majors take a very full schedule of course work. Let's just say - it's a bit more intense than criminal justice.
NROTC requires several additional coursework and weighs down the course load, add that to required PT on the NROTC schedule plus other requirements and it eats into one's time. Time is finite.
The overarching goal in ROTC is to produce leaders of soldiers, sailors an airmen. The overarching goal of a Nursing major is to become a Professional Nurse.
This is the exact route than many military physicians take.

Why not consider putting all resources - time, energy, stress, academic into becoming a professional Nurse and passing the boards? Then choose your service along the way. You can contract at the end of your second year or after. My daughter's roommate just contracted with Navy at the beginning of her senior year. She gets the bonus plus a hefty monthly stipend. She was able to attend a college without an NROTC program and got a nice scholarship from the college to help with costs.
After graduation she will go to Newport for a few weeks to learn how to wear a uniform. Unlike the Army, the Navy doesn't require you to learn how to crawl through the mud and shoot.

It is an OPTION and not a bad one.
To be clear - I am NOT anti ROTC at all. However, in this case - there is a good alternative that can work for many Nursing students.

I certainly agree that it's an option the original poster should consider.
 
NAVY has a program called NCP - Nurse Candidate Program. After your sophomore year you can contract - get $10,000 and $1000/month until you graduate. After you graduate you go to OCS and then begin work as a Navy Nurse. Total = possible $34,000.
It's hard to beat.
If you are just looking at the financial benefits of each program, I think NROTC wins handily.
Sure - but hopefully no one is signing a commitment soley for the financial benefits.
When did this discussion become about enrolling in ROTC "solely" for financial benefits? After quoting dollar figures for the Navy's NCP program you said that "it's hard to beat". I pointed out that if evaluating the two programs financially then the Navy's NCP program is easily surpassed by the NROTC scholarship program.
Certainly almost no one needs to spend $20,000/year in tuition for a BSN.
Almost no one needs to spend $20,000 a year for ANY major. However, if your are a Pennsylvania resident that wants to attend an in-state school that has either AFROTC or NROTC on campus and a nursing program....good luck spending much less than $20,000 in tuition. I'm sure other states/majors are in a similar situation.
That is an educational choice and some may feel that some programs are worth it and need the scholarship.
Aren't all college choices educational choices?
However..... consider this - many many BSN students drop out of the program.
How many BSN students drop out of nursing? How many engineering students drop out of engineering? Many students drop out of college during their freshman year. Many students drop out of Service Academies. Many drop out of ROTC. Nursing does not have a monopoly on difficult classes or time consuming labs and clinicals. I have yet to hear of any ROTC program that doesn't work hard at accommodating a nursing students schedule.
BSN majors take a very full schedule of course work. Let's just say - it's a bit more intense than criminal justice.
NROTC requires several additional coursework and weighs down the course load, add that to required PT on the NROTC schedule plus other requirements and it eats into one's time. Time is finite.
Yes - time is finite. It is finite for all ROTC students and all have to balance academics, physical training and military classes. Somehow, every year quite a few students (including nursing students) manage to balance all of these time consuming requirements and still graduate and get commissioned. It is definitely doable. Some people actually believe the entire process helps them become better at time management and handling stress. Go figure.
The overarching goal in ROTC is to produce leaders of soldiers, sailors an airmen. The overarching goal of a Nursing major is to become a Professional Nurse.
You do realie that military nurses will become leaders of soldiers, sailors and airmen...right? All leaders don't lead wo/men into battle. They lead people in many different jobs. Even nurses.
Why not consider putting all resources - time, energy, stress, academic into becoming a professional Nurse and passing the boards?
This same argument can be made for engineering students. Many majors are difficult. Using this logic why would anyone taking a difficult major "bother" with ROTC instead of just putting all resources - time, energy, stress, academic into becoming a _________?
After graduation she will go to Newport for a few weeks to learn how to wear a uniform. Unlike the Army, the Navy doesn't require you to learn how to crawl through the mud and shoot.
Wow...I'm surprised. I thought that training to shoot and crawl through the mud was pretty much the standard for all OCS programs. But there you go. If not learning how to shoot or crawl correctly through the mud is important than it sounds as though the Navy's NCP would be correct for the OP.
 
Army ROTC

Last year when my DD was a senior in HS she applied to both Army and Navy ROTC scholarships in Nursing. She received both, but ultimately chose Army due to the school choice and is absolutely loving it. She passed her APT with flying colors and contracted right away. She is a nursing major with a full academic load, but decided to do Ranger Challenge this year and is loving all aspects of ROTC, morning PT, land nav, M-16 assembly, rope bridge, ruck marches and all that good stuff that one could argue have little to do with becoming a nurse. It does however have a lot to do with being a soldier and a leader in the US Army and I believe she will be a better one for the experience.
 
Last year when my DD was a senior in HS she applied to both Army and Navy ROTC scholarships in Nursing. She received both, but ultimately chose Army due to the school choice and is absolutely loving it. She passed her APT with flying colors and contracted right away. She is a nursing major with a full academic load, but decided to do Ranger Challenge this year and is loving all aspects of ROTC, morning PT, land nav, M-16 assembly, rope bridge, ruck marches and all that good stuff that one could argue have little to do with becoming a nurse. It does however have a lot to do with being a soldier and a leader in the US Army and I believe she will be a better one for the experience.

That's awesome she is getting involved with the battalion and representing the ROTC nurse cohort, however I urge caution when doing these events. I am assuming she is in the pre req phase of nursing school and is mainly focused on getting into the actual SON. Over the last few years my school has had a 20% success rate with nurses getting into as well as maintaining them nursing school status. This is not to say one should not be involved with ROTC currics, yet I urge all of my nursing cadets (as their mentor) to focus on school soley except for ROTC essential tasks (is it possible to have a job, do ROTC, do ROTC currics and be a nursing major? Sure but how long can you keep up the stress?). You are useless to the army w/o graduating with a BSN and the school becomes more demanding as the years progress. Freshman year is especially critical for a number of reasons.

1. Getting in to the school (often 300 people apply for 80-100 slots)
2. Setting a firm transitions from hs to college studying and class preparation. They are two separate entities

Even for the brightest cadets it is seriously a burden balancing ROTC and school. I am big on nursing cadets being on par with the other line cadets and excelling in PT as well as LDAC even when they are both not a huge factor in our accessions.

Just a thought..oh and those cadets who didn't get into the SON were all at least 3.5gpa+ in HS and even one or two valedictorians.

2nd point:I chose army because the breadth and scope of further education programs far surpassed the other branches.
 
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I am assuming she is in the pre req phase of nursing school and is mainly focused on getting into the actual SON.
Why would you assume this? There are MANY nursing programs that are "direct entry". You enter the SON as an incoming freshman and then STAY in the SON unless your CGPA drops below a certain number...usually 2.5.
Over the last few years my school has had a 20% success rate with nurses getting into as well as maintaining them nursing school status...
1. Getting in to the school (often 300 people apply for 80-100 slots)...
This is a problem for nursing students in non direct entry nursing programs (1+3 or 2+2) and one of the reasons that the direct entry programs fill up so fast. The competition for a limited number of slots (100 or so) can be fierce. In the direct entry programs the competition usually occurs before admission to college is offered. For instance Pitt had over 1100 students apply for 120 freshman SON spots.

I was under the impression that ROTC (at least AF & Navy) required students to actually be accepted into the SON before awarding a scholarship. Is it different for the AROTC? I realize that you may not be on scholarship but I was curious whether it was different for AROTC.
 
Air Force vs. Army vs. Navy Nursing

DD, a high school junior is considering ROTC nursing, but is unsure which branch she wants to pursue or exactly which specialty she might prefer. Anyone have any comparisons of the three or suggestions on where to find objective information on pros and cons of each branch for nursing? Any information would be greatly appreciated.
 
Why would you assume this? There are MANY nursing programs that are "direct entry". You enter the SON as an incoming freshman and then STAY in the SON unless your CGPA drops below a certain number...usually 2.5.

This is a problem for nursing students in non direct entry nursing programs (1+3 or 2+2) and one of the reasons that the direct entry programs fill up so fast. The competition for a limited number of slots (100 or so) can be fierce. In the direct entry programs the competition usually occurs before admission to college is offered. For instance Pitt had over 1100 students apply for 120 freshman SON spots.

I was under the impression that ROTC (at least AF & Navy) required students to actually be accepted into the SON before awarding a scholarship. Is it different for the AROTC? I realize that you may not be on scholarship but I was curious whether it was different for AROTC.

No, for AROTC you do not need to be accepted into the SON before getting a nursing dedicated scholarship. In time however this may change. I assume this because the acceptance is in large part only notional. Cool, you are in the SON out of high school (my school just implemented this a few years back after I was already in) the failure/kick out rate is almost the exact same with pre reqs only the paperwork is different. I honestly think it's a horrible idea for direct entry, there is a reason why pre-med/dental/law all have pre reqs prior to admission to weed out applicants As for 2.5 I find that rather low for most schools out here on the west coast with at least most requiring a "B" (not B-) or better in pre and co reqs. Obviously this differs from school to school, but if you are pulling out a 2.5-3.0 in a your first 1-2 years the rest of nursing school will not be kind.

DD, a high school junior is considering ROTC nursing, but is unsure which branch she wants to pursue or exactly which specialty she might prefer. Anyone have any comparisons of the three or suggestions on where to find objective information on pros and cons of each branch for nursing? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

I prefer army because:

1. There are many more slots available as well as post/duty locations
2. The AMEDD is very well structured, including planned residencies for all new nurses in a dedicated MEDCEN.
3. The CRNA program (as well as PA) is the number one program in the country and at least semi-realistic to get into.
4. You are pretty much guaranteed a 16 week specialty skill identifier course (trauma, OB, public health etc). In the civilian world these are expensive and often hard to find courses.
5. In the army you have a higher chance to deploy and gain vital field experience while in a FST or CSH.

I could go on, but the AF with its flight program and navy with its various courses are still good options. In my opinion the army just provided a better preparation for the civilian world.
 
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