ROTC Scholarship - How to choose branch.

aburns0213

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My son is 16. He wants to join the military, and wants to apply for a ROTC scholarship this spring/summer before senior year. But he is unsure of which branch. I think he is torn between Army and AF. When he begins the application process, does his mind need to be made up on this? Or can he do both and see which one he'd get approved for, if any? Just a little unsure how it works. IF this has been asked already I apologize. Thank you so much!!
 
Plenty of kids do both -- as well as service academy applications. No harm and no foul.
 
My son is 16. He wants to join the military, and wants to apply for a ROTC scholarship this spring/summer before senior year. But he is unsure of which branch. I think he is torn between Army and AF. When he begins the application process, does his mind need to be made up on this? Or can he do both and see which one he'd get approved for, if any? Just a little unsure how it works. IF this has been asked already I apologize. Thank you so much!!


The scholarships are extremely competitive. As he/she said, everyone applies for both. I applied for Navy, Air Force, and Army and I only got Army! Also, you have time after you win the scholarship to choose to accept it. And you don't sign a legally-binding contract until you arrive on campus.


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While I agree with the above, and he should in fact apply for both, he also needs to do his research to make a decision. If he wins one from Army and one from Air Force he will be facing the same decision. Look at the jobs available in each. Think about what he'll be doing for 5 years after graduation and the places he might be stationed. Think of what he wants to major in. Air Force wants about 85% STEM majors, Army not so much.

Finally look at how the program operates. For Air Force he will need to be selected for SFT between sophomore and junior years. When they make their selections they won't care if he has a scholarship or not. If one is not selected, one generally disenrolled from the program. Selection is based on GPA and performance in the unit.

One more thing is active duty vs Guard/Reserves. Although everyone who completes the Army program gets a commission, many end up branching to the reserves. Air Force is active duty only as I recall. Don't know if that would make a difference to your kid, but it does to many.

So bottom line.... apply to both but research the programs in the interim. There is a lot of good info on these forums in past threads.
 
When my DS started the whole process he started applications for AROTC, NROTC , USMA , USNA and CGA. After spending time at USNA, USMA, CGA and TAMU with a spend the night with the Corp his decision became clear. I urge you to have your DS visit any prospective schools , SA's , etc. My DS ended up not finishing his ARTOC app and pulled his USMA application ( even after an LOE). He spent a lot of time researching and talking to former Army and Navy alumni about jobs in both branches.

Good luck :thumb:
 
Thanks!

Thanks for the info. We know the competitive part is hard. He's holding a 3.75 gpa in honors classes, football team, volunteer at fire station, etc. He's really trying. My husband, his dad is career army, (enlisted) but I'm guessing that doesn't help us any huh? lol One more question then. Instead of trying to pick a college based on popularity/brand name, does it make more sense to apply to ones that offer the most benefits. Like paid room and board?
 
Thanks for the info. We know the competitive part is hard. He's holding a 3.75 gpa in honors classes, football team, volunteer at fire station, etc. He's really trying. My husband, his dad is career army, (enlisted) but I'm guessing that doesn't help us any huh? lol One more question then. Instead of trying to pick a college based on popularity/brand name, does it make more sense to apply to ones that offer the most benefits. Like paid room and board?

Pick a college that he would want to attend, has the major he's interested in, etc. If he doesn't get the scholarship, can you afford the tuition/R&B? Another thing to consider. Also, the process of receiving a scholarship is independent of getting accepted into the college, so some candidates have found themselves receiving a scholarship to a college they were denied acceptance to, then trying to scramble to get it transferred (which may or may not work).
 
Also, he will have to interview, at least for the AROTC scholarship, so in addition to visiting the colleges he lists for that application, it is helpful to interview at his top choice. If you can't because it is too far away, he can still interview at a closer school and not be penalized. But actually visiting the schools will give him a better feel for the CoC/ROTC program and the school in general. (My DS interviewed at his #6 school on his app (because of cost/timing), but received a 4 yr to his top 3.)
 
I think it's common for people to be unsure of which branch they would like to serve. My son started out with an interest in the Navy. His grandfather was in the Navy for 30 years and my son was interested in the elite Seal program. However, his color deficiency was a big deciding factor in his eventual choice of the Army. He knew that with the Army his options would be open and he wouldn't have any limitations.

It is a good idea to visit some schools. Some have programs to stay a night with the cadets. My son did it at Texas A&M and loved it.

Many colleges have ROTC programs, but some of them are military colleges and have very strong cadet programs. It is a good idea to look into the benefits. I think on this site there is a list of colleges that will pay for room & board or assist with it if you get the scholarship.
 
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