Agree with
@airborne1030 about sharing your reservations with your parents and having discussions about how your education can be financed, if you haven't already. Don't do any ROTC program just for the money, but financial conversations are important so expectations are clear.
I can't speak to AFROTC; my DS is NROTC. His experience was that participating in NROTC as a freshman was a positive one. It did not alter his ability to have a fun "normal" college experience. The time commitment was not great, but it does increase as you progress through the program. He had an instant group of friends in his fellow 4/c midshipmen. People who were new to college, had at least some similar interests with and had a means to open a conversation. The unit hosted some activities to bring them together. He also had instant access to upperclassmen who acted as guides and mentors to him. There were no barriers to talking to them for advice on ROTC, educational or even social matters. These upperclassmen were working on their own leadership skills and generally welcomed this interaction. There are some differences from your average college student though. Certain violations can carry more severe consequences. As a non ROTC student, if you get a minor in possession of alcohol violation, you may get a fine and some alcohol abuse awareness classes. As an ROTC student, you could face these, plus the potential loss of your scholarship. Violate the school honor code for cheating, you face whatever consequences the school imposes, plus potential loss of scholarship. Drop below the required GPA, you have any school action plus face consequences from your ROTC unit. Follow the rules and do the right thing and these aren't an issue, but just want to put them out there. As stated above, if you are still interested, but uncertain, there is no disadvantage to trying it out to see how it fits for you. You can drop anytime in the first year. I have seen DS grow tremendously over his 3 1/2 years in college. I'm sure part of this is natural maturation; part of it is his exposure to some of his professors; but certainly I credit a big part of it to his participation in NROTC. He was exposed to some fine leaders in his unit staff and learned good leadership skills. He was surrounded by people of high moral character. My DW had no exposure to the military prior to this and is a pacifist by nature. She was worried for DS and did not understand his choice although she embraced it and supported him. We attended a parents' brief when we dropped DS of his freshman year. The CO addressed the parents and explained the program and what to expect. It was obvious this was a man of high moral character and integrity and that he took his duty to develop his mids into leaders with moral courage seriously. DW felt much better after that and said she was relieved he was in the hands of these types of people.
I like to think of DS as a sculpture. No doubt he started of as a fine block of granite. Solid; no major cracks or weaknesses; ready to be sculpted. DW and I, along with his teachers, coaches, scout leaders and others did good work on the rough chiseling through the years. Our work revealed what the finished product could be. His NROTC leaders, both student and staff, have been doing a lot of the fine chiseling; developing and defining the details and fine features. Now you can really see what the sculpture will be. When he graduates this spring, the sculpture will not be complete. He will then be shipped out to his next group of sculptors; the senior officers, Chief Petty Officers and other enlisted personnel who he will work with on his first ship. They will further chisel away and define him. The sculpture will never be completed, because each new assignment he experiences will continue to define him.
Please excuse the long post. I guess I'm feeling a bit nostalgic as graduation approaches. Talked to DS last night and he just found out his position on the ship selection list and was pleased with his ranking. He is excited to pick his first ship soon.
