AFROTC enrollment question

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cuckleCake1783

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Jan 8, 2017
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I currently havea 1.78 GPA, I'm going into my second semester as a college student and would like to join AFROTC as a noncontracted GMC freshman. Will they allow me to take the class with a low GPA? Or should I take Army ROTC instead with spring and summer courses to boost my GPA then try again in Fall of 2017? Thank you.
 
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From the AFROTC GMC website:

GENERAL MILITARY COURSE (GMC)
  • All cadets must complete aerospace studies classes with a grade of C- or above and must pass all Leadership Laboratories.
  • Cadets on scholarship must maintain a minimum 2.5 cumulative grade point average and be enrolled as a full-time student.
During the Professional Officer Course (POC), you must meet the following academic standards:

  • Must be enrolled as a full-time student at a college or university that offers Air Force ROTC classes or has a crosstown agreement
  • For cadets in the POC not on scholarship—2.0 on 4.0 scale
  • Cadets on scholarship—please check individual requirements for the scholarship you are interested in applying for.
  • Receive no grade lower than a C- in any aerospace studies course.
  • Pass all Leadership Labs with nothing less than a C-.

Source:
https://www.afrotc.com/program-requirements
 
The problem in my opinion is bigger than just being able to enroll in AFROTC. It is to commission out of AFROTC you must attend SFT (Summer Field Training). To attend you must be selected as an AS200 (sophomore yr). Selection is a national board where your cgpa is part of the score and the board meets @ Feb., thus you only have until the end of fall semester for your cgpa. The avg cgpa for the applicants is 3.3/3.4 for non-tech majors and 3.0/3.1 for tech majors.

Now that leaves you with the question of what grades will you have to pull over this spring and fall semester to get you to be at least close to a 3.0 if you are tech major (STEM)? Is it truly possible to obtain even somewhere around 2.9 cgpa?

JMPO, but I think it is wrong to go AROTC for one semester if you want to commission in the AF. Now before I get hit with wet lomein noodles, I am not saying not to go AROTC with eyes wide open because if you do you may like what the Army offers more than the AF, I am saying that it is unfair to AROTC if your true goal is to switch to AFROTC in the fall.
~ There are limited ROTC resources, and I am not talking just about scholarships, I am talking instructors and opportunities too. The more cadets they have the more the wealth has to be spread.

I do not see you gaining any edge by going AROTC now for 1 semester instead of waiting until the fall for AFROTC. AFROTC will bring you in as a 250 cadet. Use this time to openly talk with the AFROTC unit about what is expected from you as a 250. They may say you can do PT with the unit to get a glimpse of the future.

Good luck.
 
I totally agree with @Pima.

Rather than use AROTC as a route to get to AFROTC, work with your AFROTC staff to see if it is realistic to achieve the GPA necessary to contract.
Look at AROTC as a plan B ONLY if you are truly interested in exploring the Army as a way to serve.
 
TBH either branch is fine with me, they both have the same jobs I'm interested in. I don't get how people decide what branch when many have similar jobs.
 
cuckleCake1783 said:
TBH either branch is fine with me, they both have the same jobs I'm interested in. I don't get how people decide what branch when many have similar jobs.
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I agree that there are officer jobs in common between AF and Army. For example both branches have cyber divisions. On the other hand you cannot fly jets in the Army, nor can you command a tank platoon in the AF.

One big difference is that AFROTC is HIGHLY focused on STEM majors, where the Army is not. Also, the AF is almost always an Active Duty commission whereas in Army ROTC, your National order of merit score (OML) dictates if you are offered active duty or Reserves/NG.

In my opinion, you really should sit down and get your grades straight first, because right now your grades are below the threshold for BOTH branches. What's going to happen if you enroll in ROTC and are suddenly required to devote a significant amount of time to PT, military training, field exercises and more? As it stands, you need to prove you can handle college without ROTC.

I would recommend you speak to your college AF or Army recruiting officer and discuss what your realistic chances are given your current GPA.
 
According to the Bureau of Labor statistics 24% of air force officers hold STEM-related jobs while 25% of Army officers hold STEM-related jobs. Yet the army enlisted consists of 11% stem and air force is 19%. If you can graduate they will probably commission you. Get A's this semester and take a few summer courses, you're GPA should be up to be a 3.0 worst case, not exactly competitive but you'll atleast be qualified academically to contract,but youll need over a 3.5 to be competitive. Army ROTC, especially a reserves commission sounds the best if youre not interested in a military career. But it's up to you.
 
Not to divert the thread, but I wonder what they consider STEM related jobs because I would think the AF number would be much higher. If you look at how many go rated alone every year compared to how many commission than I would place that number much high. Plus, when you add in cyber the numbers go up even more. And when you finally add in the engineers you would be even higher.
 
Although ROTC can help many in these cases to improve grades with mandatory study hall, you need to focus on grades first and foremost. At your current path remaining in school should be your #1 priority. Nothing wrong with talking to ROTC and seeing what your best options are. I agree with also looking at summer school as an option. It can really help, especially if you can knock out some difficult classes while not having a full academic load if you focus only on those.
 
AROTC-dad said:
I agree that there are officer jobs in common between AF and Army. For example both branches have cyber divisions. On the other hand you cannot fly jets in the Army, nor can you command a tank platoon in the AF.

One big difference is that AFROTC is HIGHLY focused on STEM majors, where the Army is not. Also, the AF is almost always an Active Duty commission whereas in Army ROTC, your National order of merit score (OML) dictates if you are offered active duty or Reserves/NG.

In my opinion, you really should sit down and get your grades straight first, because right now your grades are below the threshold for BOTH branches. What's going to happen if you enroll in ROTC and are suddenly required to devote a significant amount of time to PT, military training, field exercises and more? As it stands, you need to prove you can handle college without ROTC.

I would recommend you speak to your college AF or Army recruiting officer and discuss what your realistic chances are given your current GPA.
Click to expand...

FYI, there's no such thing as an "Active duty commission". You're either commissioned into the Regular Army (or Air Force) or commissioned into the Reserve Army (or Air Force). I know what you're trying to say, it's just that everyone who takes a commission through any ROTC program (as well as the academies if I'm not mistaken), is given a commission as a Reserve officer, regardless of whether or not they will be going into the Guard/reserves or on active duty.
 
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