Do you meet with a recruiter prior to applying for an ROTC scholarship?

Sorry if this is a "dumb" question, or a question that has already been asked.

No, I received a 3 year scholarship and still haven't met with the ROO at my school. I was contacted by him once I was offered the scholarship.

For Army ROTC - no. I believe for Navy/Marines you do, but someone will come along to confirm that.

For AF you do not meet with a recruiter. Honestly, recruiters typically know very little of the in and outs regarding ROTC. The reason why is that their priority is to recruit enlisted or OCS, not ROTC or SAs.

There is no requirement to meet with a recruiter for NROTC. They suggest you review your application with one but we didn't bother. For NROTC you WILL interview with an officer at some point. I agree with Pima that their mission is to recruit enlisted, so take whatever they say with a grain of salt. Many will do their best to recruit you, which is generally not in your best interest.

1000+ agreement with kinnem. JMPO, you are better off contacting the detachments at the colleges you desire to attend for guidance, if not for any other reason to get your name and face out there.

Off track now:
My very best advice I can give is something I have stressed over and over again....when you take the school tours contact the detachment and ask to meet up with them + some cadets that are in your intended major. More specifically POCs (jr/sr in college). Ask the folks to not attend this with you. Cadets/mids will speak more freely without the folks around and see you as a peer.

ROTC units are like colleges, they have their own personalities. This is where it is going to impact your decision. Many kids find difficulty in their decision. Many times they fall in love with the college and not the unit or vise a verse. It will take time to feel this out. The more knowledge you know the more likely you will be successful.

To the candidates of the class of 2021 Thank you for wanting to defend this great nation. To the parents of 2021, welcome to a unique world, one that is filled with joy and pride when you pin on those butter bars (1st lt.).

kinnem said:

There is no requirement to meet with a recruiter for NROTC. They suggest you review your application with one but we didn't bother. For NROTC you WILL interview with an officer at some point. I agree with Pima that their mission is to recruit enlisted, so take whatever they say with a grain of salt. Many will do their best to recruit you, which is generally not in your best interest.

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My DS started with a Navy recruiter. The recruiter had come to 3 of DS's classes in high school and DS put his name on a list to be contacted for more information. When the recruiter called to interview DS, I was asked to go along because he was under age 18 (he was a junior in high school). It is true that the recruiter pushed enlistment, but DS was resolute that NROTC was the route he was going to take. Once the recruiter figured out he would not persuade DS differently, he was very helpful. He gave DS a online test - did great on that. Once the recruiter heard DS's stats, he was actually pretty excited to help DS get the application process started. He was very helpful throughout the remainder of the application process as well.

Soap said:

Sorry if this is a "dumb" question, or a question that has already been asked.

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wrestle24/7 said:

No, I received a 3 year scholarship and still haven't met with the ROO at my school. I was contacted by him once I was offered the scholarship.

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This is true, however, a "recruiter" and a ROO (recruiting operations officer) are two very different things. If you are going AROTC, you do not need to ever go talk to an Army recruiter, think of at a recruiting office. In fact their job is to try to get you to enlist, not get a scholarship for college. However connecting with the ROO at the schools you are interested in can be very helpful and they can give you very good information and help with the processing even if you end up going to a different school. The difference is, their job is to get you to joint ROTC and can help you with getting a scholarship to help you do that.

For NROTC you will not need to meet with a Navy recruiter, but you will have an Officer interview. If you somehow get routed to a recruiter for any branch, do NOT sign anything until you have your parents or someone you trust review the documents. I am sure that 99.9% of the recruiters are honorable, but you hear so many stories of kids signing up for somethings they later regret.

You do not. You apply online and once you are a percentage done with the application online you will receive a call from your local recruiter.