Can you complete AF/NROTC while doing your master's degree?

Yukon

5-Year Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
Messages
15
Hello,
Can I do the first two years of AF/NROTC as a freshman and sophomore, then the remaining two when doing my master's?
 
You can take this with a grain of salt, but from my knowledge and not looking at the reg, no, you can only do your masters for half of your POC, so senior year. But, you can declare a minor or change degrees to extend your bachelors if you really wanted to.
 
One of our DS's friends did get his Masters, BUT that was because he entered later on, and his college had the 5 year program where you got your Masters too.

This was two years ago, and things may have changed in AFROTC.

That being said the AF will pay 75% of your Masters through TA. Every base has an education office, and the majority of members will do it online or at night through this program. The colleges vary base by base, but usually UMD and ERAU are at the majority of bases. Webster and Troy are also popular on base.

You can also apply for ED upon commissioning.AFIT is the most popular, but you must compete for it, and AFA gets first dibs. Thus, if they cut the numbers, there will be less AFROTC slots.
 
Yukon you could also enter as a 250 and skip the 100 year so you would be ok.
 
That being said the AF will pay 75% of your Masters through TA. Every base has an education office, and the majority of members will do it online or at night through this program. The colleges vary base by base, but usually UMD and ERAU are at the majority of bases. Webster and Troy are also popular on base.
Not sure how the Air Force pays 75% of your Masters through TA. Do you have a source other than the following?

"The Air Force Tuition Assistance (TA) program is designed to help active duty personnel pursue voluntary, off-duty educational opportunities. Currently, the program pays 100% (up to $250 per semester hour or equivalent) of the cost of college tuition with a limit of $4,500 per fiscal year. Courses and degree programs may be academic or technical and can be taken from two- or four-year institutions on base, off base or by correspondence."
http://www.airforce.com/benefits/commissioned-officer-education/
 
I am going off what Bullet got eons ago. It may have always been 100%, but when you add in costs of textbooks, it is not 100%, thus in my mind it is 75%!

The bigger thing to understand, especially if you are non-rated and plan on doing 4 and the door, is although it is concurrent with the commitment, the likelihood of completing a Masters degree and that together is slim to none.
~ They can force you to PCS and the 4 and door is now gone.

AFROTC grads can wait up to 9 months to report. I have known grads that started their Masters online while waiting to report, and then use TA to finish it up so they could do 4 and door.

The reality in corporate America, a grad degree is only part of opening the door, and unless it is from a renown academic university the weight of it is non-player, it is just a square filled. Your managerial experience will matter more.

Back on topic for the OP. No you cannot do it the way you were asking...start/stop AFROTC to align with graduation of a Master degree, BUT as Reoinand I have stated, under certain circumstances you can get your grad degree and commission


Ag,

I also want to say that my old brain may also be confusing it with my grad degree. We were OCONUS and they offered TA to spouses, I know mine was 75% They did not require which signing more commitment papers, and it is a unique process, but I was fortunate to get the funding. I highly doubt the program exists anymore,
 
Like most things in the AF, TA goes up and down like a yoyo. In the ‘80s when I got my bachelor’s degree, it was 90% and there was no cap on the semester hour charge or an annual cap. Give it a few more months or years and the current program will change.
 
Thank you Pima and USAFretired1996! I agree....TA is a moving target. Is $250 a credit a workable number anymore for a Masters degree? Seems the undergrad credits were substantially more expensive than that at a PA "state related" college.
 
Thank you Pima and USAFretired1996! I agree....TA is a moving target. Is $250 a credit a workable number anymore for a Masters degree? Seems the undergrad credits were substantially more expensive than that at a PA "state related" college.


It depends in the program that you want. Box-checking programs like AMU will price their degree credits to match the TA so that there is no out-of-pocket expense. Other programs can be substantially more. My son is doing his through Florida International University in Miami and his varies from around $600/credit to around $800/credit. That is for a mixed curriculum of online and night/Saturday classes. This is the in-state rate for these since Florida allows military stationed in-state to get resident rates.

Stealth_81


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My son is doing his through Florida International University in Miami and his varies from around $600/credit to around $800/credit.
Thank you Stealth_81! The price per credit at FIU seem comparable to the prices my daughter is seeing for her Masters (Nurse Practitioner) degree also.
 
If I am reading this right...4500 per year, 600 per credit hr. each class is 3 credits, means approximately 1800 per class, and at 4500 the AF will pay for only two classes per year.

Why would anyone extend for that pitiful amount?
 
AFROTC

I can pay on my own without a scholarship, the reason I'm asking is because I'll get my citizenship senior year, and the 3rd and 4th years of ROTC require citizenship
 
If I am reading this right...4500 per year, 600 per credit hr. each class is 3 credits, means approximately 1800 per class, and at 4500 the AF will pay for only two classes per year.



Why would anyone extend for that pitiful amount?


Out of pocket for him will be about $10k and the AF will be paying $13,500 (about 60%). So it's an investment in a better degree than the cheap online square-filling degrees. Also, his additional ADSC will be concurrent with his pilot ADSC so he loses nothing there.

Stealth_81


Sent using the Service Academy Forums® mobile app
 
Stealth,

Yours and my DS are rated and owe 9 years upon winging, and when you add in UPT, plus wait time to attend UPT it is more like 11 years before they can bolt.

I am talking AFROTC non-rated where they owe only 4 years.

Too many posters don't understand how hard it is to leave at the 4 and door marker.
~ Commission May 2014
~~ Report to Intel/Maintenance school an 2015
~~~ Graduate July 2015
~~~~ Report to 1st Operational base Aug 15... Ramstein for a 3 year tour...on time to hit the door at 18.
~~~~~ Take TA, now you can't leave until 19, however the AF PCs you in 18, 13 months before you can bolt. What do you o? Non Vol to Mt.Home and spend every dime flying to where you want to live, or accept that ONE more assignment and plot your exit?
~~~~~~~ Kids come along, mtg and car pmts do too. Do you now leave for the unknown or stay with the security of a paycheck.

Rated is different, once they are MQ at their 1st base they would be dumb not to take advantage of TA because they are locked in for at least 7 more years. Non-rated AFROTC and want to bolt at 4 years, they need to think about it long and hard.
 
I am talking AFROTC non-rated where they owe only 4 years.

Too many posters don't understand how hard it is to leave at the 4 and door marker.

With all the news about the AF lately, it seems that it might be harder to even make it to the 4 year marker.
 
..an internal policy change that Defense Department officials approved July 7 but did not publicly announce.
The DoD is so often announcing "bad" news and cutbacks that now they've chosen to just avoid making the announcements. :cool:
 
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