Advantages of a SMC
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The only formal advantage that I'm aware of concerns Army ROTC. The advantage is SMC Army ROTC grads, under federal law, are guaranteed active duty so long as their PMS recommends it. Non-SMC AROTC grads have to compete nationally for it based on OML. In truth, I suspect that amounts in the vast majority of cases to a marginal advantage, but it is potentially one nonetheless.
Milarmymarinelady
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With a kid at an SMC right now, the advantage for him that I see, is that he’s learning so much military stuff right off the bat with the lifestyle. The corps of cadets has him marching, rappelling, PT-ing at a high level, keeping his room ready for inspection and learning everything army right off the bat. He’s immersed in military rank structure and bonding tightly with his squad, platoon and company. They’re pushed to be the best students and cadets. With a husband that did ROTC at a normal college, I’ve heard him say “he’s so lucky” that he’s doing this at his SMC.
If you believe that a more structured environment with closer to a 24x7 military environment, then a SMC could be a good fit. You need to evaluate what environment feels best for you. Some want a more balanced college experience with freedom to extend more outside ROTC. At an SMC you will get more of a constant team environment, structure, rules, etc. if going Army, active duty guarantee. Ultimately it is what environment is best for you to thrive.
so7
NWP 2020, AFROTC Det 330/875
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Currently at VT, but I transferred from a traditional ROTC school. For VT and A&M, it's basically the structured life of an academy, but at a public university. For VT specifically, you also get the experience of working joint (with other branches) and learning how they operate. Right now I'm in AF, but my roommates are Army and Marine Corps. I know this isn't true at some other SMCs though since they segregate units by ROTC. In addition to the Corps of Cadets (basically the day to day cadet life), you also have your ROTC once week, and PT 2-3x a week just like a normal ROTC. You definitely get a lot more of the academy-type training as well with room standards, daily formation, multiple parades or regiment marches per semester, and daily uniform wear. That being said, the standard of training is very Army-centric at VT which is not the most applicable or useful for me as an AF Cadet as I have to learn a lot of stuff I will most likely not utilize in the future. Also, the training style is a lot more aggressive than a typical AF training style, but that's to be expected. There are obviously pros and cons to both traditional and SMC, but it really depends on what lifestyle you're looking for.
They live together in an area of campus known as the Quad, which has 12 dorms. Cadets are assigned to a company (Army and Navy units generally) or squadron (Air Force units generally). There are also Band-only units. ROTC is required of all cadets the first three semesters after which it is optional. About 40% of cadets commission. Most of the units are coed, but a few are male-only.
There is an exception is for military veterans, who have their own company but do not have to live on the Quad.
Thank you for taking the time to answer. I do have a question. Do only 40% commission due to people dropping out / being "invited" to leave the program, or at the two-year mark not meeting the requirements and getting dropped? I'm not referring to the band only corps of cadets. I mean kids who are in the ROTC program and benefitting from the scholarships.
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I will be honest, I don't see a huge advantage of SMCs. If you want AD, you will likely get it. I didn't notice SMC cadets performing better at LDAC either. In fact, I observed that many had a chip on their shoulder for some reason as if they were USMA-lite (anecdotal obviously). After spending 10+ years as an officer, I have grown to REALLY appreciate my college experience. It is something you really only get once. Enjoy it.
A SMC environment is not a real military environment, this is something both USMA/SA and SMC grads have in common. It's a pretty jarring reality when you get to your first unit. Oh boy, the shenanigans I had to deal with at 23...
Obviously, everyone is different, just my perspective.
A SMC environment is not a real military environment, this is something both USMA/SA and SMC grads have in common. It's a pretty jarring reality when you get to your first unit. Oh boy, the shenanigans I had to deal with at 23...
Obviously, everyone is different, just my perspective.
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The Secretary of the Army shall ensure that a graduate of a senior military college who desires to serve as a commissioned officer on active duty upon graduation from the college, who is medically and physically qualified for active duty, and who is recommended for such duty by the professor of military science at the college, shall be assigned to active duty.
That's huge in my opinion.
I'm not sure today but AROTC grads in the late 80's and 90's had to be DMG to get RA/reserve officer on AD with branch of choice. Scholarship grads had to be very high on the OML list to get branch of choice. Everyone else had to settle for what's left over to get AD.
Remember TAMU C of C is really more of a SMC on a SEC 80k student body population, Football is king and the real "Keeper of the Spririt of Aggieland". This is the last year cadets march into Kyle Field pre-game, why.....Football.
If you want an SMC experience look for the smaller schools with the "4th class system."
My son is at Norwich with no regrets.
Can’t speak for other SMCs, especially the large universities like TAMU or Va Tech, but having graduated from The Citadel and being involved with admissions as a volunteer interviewing prospective cadets, I can provide some perspective. Personally, I believe a civilian college can offer just as good an ROTC experience as an SMC. I often reflect that General Colin Powell, one of the finest generals to ever serve, graduated from CCNY. I served in the Army with graduates from WP and all the SMCs and many large and small civilian colleges. Most were excellent officers.
At SMCs the ROTC units are larger than most civilian schools and you may find the facilities and opportunities for individuals leadership both in the Corps and the units suit your interests. In surveys, over 80% of applicants to The Citadel indicate an interest in military service. But a lot changes in four years of college, and especially in the first two years. Academic and career interests change, medical or physical conditions change, and the needs of the services change. Some students desire to attend medical, law or grad school without having to serve on active duty first, and making a contracting decision at the end of freshmen or sophomore year difficult. And there are a lot more career options and ways to serve today than just a few decades ago. 36% of last year’s Citadel graduating class commissioned into one of the military services. This is far different than when I graduated some 50 years ago when about 70% of us accepted a commission. Today, however, the largest employer of Citadel Cadets after the military are the several national security and Homeland Security agencies as well as government contractors. They are especially interested in Intelligence, computer and cyber security majors and the federal agencies offer very attractive scholarships. Engineering majors today can essentially pick their employer of choice, and often receive six figure plus first year compensation offers, making the decision to take an ROTC scholarship with a 4 year active duty obligation a difficult choice.
Hope this is helpful and best of luck.
TAMU C of C have many cadets who do not pursue AD or reserve commissions. It's a big deal in Texas a very large state population to be a grad of TAMU and even a bigger deal to be a TAMU C of C grad. They are D and C cadets who are jr's and sr's. They choose to be in th C of C for the military lifetsyle experiences and networking not only for TAMU but newtowrk with in the TAMU C of C.
All the SMC have cadets who are non-pursuing.
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It ebbs and flows but competition for AD slots in general is not difficult as of now. Even when I was commissioned and the Army was "downsizing", as long as you weren't bottom of the barrel you at LEAST got AD and one of your top 3-5 choices.
As I said, just my opinion as a current officer who has seen the gambit of commissioning sources. No one really cares once you pin on anyway.
Two-part answer starting from the end of your response.
1) Not all ROTC students come in with ROTC scholarships, so not all are "benefitting from the scholarships." That may help clarify the rest of the answer.
2) Believe it or not (and it took me a while to grasp this myself, not having any connection to A&M until my son -- now a senior Army ROTC cadet -- went there), many people join the A&M Corps of Cadets with little or no interest in commissioning. They are referred to as "D and C" (drill and ceremonies) cadets. As mentioned above, it is a big thing in Texas to be a Corps graduate, whether or not having commissioned. Also, I suspect many are following in family footsteps. But whatever the case, many don't commission, and it's almost always because they don't want to. (I would guess, although I don't know one way or the other, that those who are "invited to leave" ROTC probably leave the Corps altogether.)
Hope that helps.
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Absolutely true. My dad was a West Pointer, and he told me that decades ago. I went regular ROTC, and when my son was entering A&M, which I think is also a great experience for a variety of reasons, I impressed on him that the "real Army" is nothing like being in the Corps of Cadets. And I suspect spending four weeks in Germany at CTLT this summer drove that home, which is a good thing.
smokey%
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I've never really thought of it like that, that's a really good perspective. You truly only are young and in college once, I suppose ROTC at a "regular college" would be the better fit for me. I've been looking forward to graduating high school and going to college somewhere new, meeting new people, and having personal freedom for a while now, I still can't believe I graduate in 9 months...
Yes, helps very much. Thank you!
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Like I said, everyone is different. Let's just say my "hooah" has cooled since I have been in for a decent while. I had similar thoughts when I was finishing HS.
SMCs are totally viable for the right person though.