I am just thinking that there is no incentive to commit to a program that will only award you about 10G a year and expect you to give them 5 years of your life afterwards.
This issue has been discussed in my house a few times. I will try to give you some insight into our thought process.
1. Although a few other people have also mentioned that there is a five year commitment from AFROTC, the standard commitment is actually four years:
http://afrotc.com/careers/service-commitment/
Of course some training AFTER ROTC can increase your active military commitment, the basic term is 4 active & 4 inactive reserve.
2. I've seen the $9000 amount quoted a few times on this board (and others). I'm not sure where it comes from. The actual quote is as follows:
"type 7 – Pays college tuition up to the equivalent of the in-state rate and $900 per year for books."
http://afrotc.com/scholarships/high-school/scholarship-types/
As far as I can determine the Type 7 Scholarship only limits you in two ways:
A. You cannot attend a private college
B. If you attend an out-of-state public college, that university must lower the tuition which you are required to pay to the same amount as those in-state students pay.
I have confirmed with the AFROTC PMS at my state college that a Type 7 will cover the 18K tuition at this school. I've also spoken with an AFROTC rep at a state school in another state that a Type 7 would cover the tuition at that school (because his school would reduce the tuition to an in-state rate for ROTC scholarship winners).
My daughter's top choice of schools was an out-of-state private that a Type 7 would not cover. In addition, there is very strong evidence that the AF (regardless of how well qualified) only gives Type 7 scholarships to HS seniors that want to be nurses.
OK. She knows that she can take a full (tuition) ride from either the Navy or the Army (she has received scholarships from both), but she
really wants to be an AF Nurse. Similar to most other students that are considering each of the ROTC programs she has to make a choice. Do you want to be an AF officer badly enough to take your second or third choice schools? Are you willing to join a different military branch just to attend your top choice school? Are you willing to go into debt (pay the first years tuition) and convert your Type 7 into a Type 2 to go to your top choice school?
Her choice is that she is willing to go into debt and pay the first years tuition (fortunately she has a lot of merit scholarship $ to help) to be an Air Force Nurse....
if she gets a Type 7. Of course she has to
first receive an Air Force scholarship...but she is leaving those little details to her staff (her mother and I) and the AF.
I don't know which is the right choice for your son. I will say that committing to 4 years of active duty to a military branch that isn't what you want is IMHO worse than taking on some debt or going to your second choice school.
Good Luck to both of you.