Army/Navy/Air Force ROTC and VMI

AROTC-dad said:
+1 @sandnnw

My DS's first choice two years ago was USNA and plan B was an SMC. Ultimately he ended up at neither. But for him it worked out well for him.

My DS is attending a State University that our family could afford without any financial aid loans. This has allowed him the following:
  • Be only a 3 hour drive away from home. (as opposed to cross country).
  • Get a weekend job as a ski/snowboard instructor.
  • Earn a Campus based 3 1/2 year AROTC scholarship
  • Wear his uniform only to his MS classes and AROTC activities.
  • Learn time management on his own, while carrying 20 semester units and engaged in multiple EC's.
  • Not worry about affording to finish his degree if he became injured and lost his scholarship.
As an MS-II, he has made Dean's list and ranks in the top 10% on the OML at his battalion.

He has no regrets about his choice to pursue a "regular" college that was affordable that still offered a means to commission as an officer.
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Couldn't agree more. ROTC teaches so many valuable life lessons that you don't really find at SMCs. Finding housing and signing a lease, budgeting, being frugal and finding deals, or even cooking.
 
Sled said:
Couldn't agree more. ROTC teaches so many valuable life lessons that you don't really find at SMCs. Finding housing and signing a lease, budgeting, being frugal and finding deals, or even cooking.
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Yes! My DS has learned the joys of ramen noodles, and buying some clippers and giving himself his own "buzz" cuts.
 
AFJROTC_C/Capt said:
Yes that's the plan, I am just going for ROTC. Mostly because, I figured there's time to do military stuff 24/7 after college in the military, but for college I still want a somewhat normal college experience. Obviously it's not fully normal due to ROTC of course.
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I think the point was to maybe look at non-military colleges....
 
Hey OP, if your sole interest is computers. I would think hard about ROTC at all. There's no certainty (or even close to it) that you will be able to do that if you commission. Furthermore, if those are your interests and you still are set on commissioning, definitely don't go Navy (Marine Corps is hardly better). It's essentially a certainty that you won't be in a computer related field. Your best bet is definitely Air Force (branching Cyber in the Army is one of the most competitive branches to get, if not the most competitive because there is a lot of interest and very few slots). The Air Force has the most cyber assets and although there is a lot of interest, sooo many people just go for the rated slots.
 
There's OTS as well. Maybe someone more knowledgeable can comment on OTS and how it now stands as a way into the AF.
 
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