Best ROTC programs

I would really recommend Georgetown or GWU. The Army ROTC is ran by Georgetown. While I currently not planning to enroll there, while I was committed to GWU and looked into the Hoya Battalion, the people I met there are top notch! Mr. Ray is one of the nicest and most supportive person I've met. You'd have a good time there as well as said before, it's 2 blocks from State Department and who wouldn't want to study in DC. Good luck to your DS!
 
but also try UC San Diego! the IR program is one of the best in the US (I'm a bit biased haha) and who wouldn't want to live near the beach it's so nice! I heard great things about the Aztec Battalion as well! Go Tritons! If you have any questions just DM me!
 
Daisy12 said:
My son (rising Junior) really wants to do ROTC. He is looking at SMCs, but is open to ROTC at a typical college if they have a strong program. Can anyone suggest colleges that have great ROTC programs? Extra scholarships for room and board would be nice, but what I am asking about is strong programming and culture at civilian colleges. Thanks so much!
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My daughter is at Creighton and they have a great program at a great school. They pay room and board too. We're so happy she picked there. They mandate tutoring if you are carrying any C as a part of ROTC. My daughter did Ranger Challenge and Color Guard and loved their field exercises. They do range time, different weekly small trainings and group pt. The school donated a building they just remodeled too. I went to West Point and I'm impressed with the unit.

The school has great business and medical field with a lot of pre professional training.
 
I agree with choosing the school and not the ROTC program but when he visits the schools he is interested in, talk to the ROO at the ROTC program. He will get an idea of how active they are around campus - at some schools they allowed the prospective students to spend time with cadets and at others they didn’t return phone calls/emails and didn’t show up for accepted student days. Another thing is if the school is not a host program, find out how many students from that school are in ROTC. Some schools had fewer than 5 cadets and that may matter to him. My son also wanted a small school and once he narrowed it down to his top 5 schools, we looked at ROTC and this worked out great for him (and he has free room and board) He didn’t eliminate any of the schools, just changed his preference.
 
tgtl said:
I agree with choosing the school and not the ROTC program but when he visits the schools he is interested in, talk to the ROO at the ROTC program. He will get an idea of how active they are around campus - at some schools they allowed the prospective students to spend time with cadets and at others they didn’t return phone calls/emails and didn’t show up for accepted student days. Another thing is if the school is not a host program, find out how many students from that school are in ROTC. Some schools had fewer than 5 cadets and that may matter to him. My son also wanted a small school and once he narrowed it down to his top 5 schools, we looked at ROTC and this worked out great for him (and he has free room and board) He didn’t eliminate any of the schools, just changed his preference.
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Thanks! This was helpful.
 
Daisy12 said:
My son (rising Junior) really wants to do ROTC. He is looking at SMCs, but is open to ROTC at a typical college if they have a strong program. Can anyone suggest colleges that have great ROTC programs? Extra scholarships for room and board would be nice, but what I am asking about is strong programming and culture at civilian colleges. Thanks so much!
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One of the 6 SMCs without a doubt. North
Georgia is always in the top, small university in Dahlonega GA. Great training, great strong friendships for life. Graduates of the program are well respected through the Army Officer corps and leadership. Lot of generals as graduates compared to size.
 
THmom said:
Take a look at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA. Sounds like it would fit the parameters.
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My daughter attends Dickinson and works part-time as an assistant in the ROTC office. She loves the school and has had a fantastic experience there. As a parent I’ve been so impressed. (She would have been very happy if her “little” brother did ROTC there but he was set on Navy!)

Other than being Dickinson fans, the schools I think of when I think “state department” are GW and American.
 
Our DS is finishing up his sophomore year at Furman University in South Carolina. He has had an awesome experience. Smaller school but serves as host battalion with two other colleges. Free room and board option is a plus.
 
My son has had a great experience at William & Mary. Currently an MSIV. Studying IR. Participated in Project Go. Branched MI. Agree with all of the above to pick the school, not the ROTC program.
 
Jabor3 said:
My daughter attends Dickinson and works part-time as an assistant in the ROTC office. She loves the school and has had a fantastic experience there. As a parent I’ve been so impressed. (She would have been very happy if her “little” brother did ROTC there but he was set on Navy!)

Other than being Dickinson fans, the schools I think of when I think “state department” are GW and American.
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I love that the Army War College is right there (cool benefits to that) and that it’s the host school.
 
There has to be a good academic fit so the student can get good grades and get a good education. Barely getting in to a top school as the 25% kid and spending four years chasing your betters might not be as productive as a place where the match is closer to the 50-75% mark and success is more likely. Grades matter in terms of getting and holding scholarships, and getting killed just so you can say you went to Wake Forest or where ever might be putting vanity ahead of common sense. Fit matters.
 
These are all great pieces of advice. However, if he is looking for an "immersive" military experience while attending school akin to USMA, then SMC is the way to go. Lastly, not sure if I saw mentioned here, but the is also Title 10 of the US Code, which bodes well for SMCs if your DS definitely wants an ACTIVE DUTY assignment and not a reserve assignment.

TITLE 10 OF THE US CODE: “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.”
 
Choose the school first. He has to be successful at the school and enjoy his stay there in order to be successful at Rotc. If he is miserable at school, he will be miserable at Rotc. Additionally, the leadership changes every certain number of years. So the detachment could currently have great leadership and then next year have terrible leadership.
 
Daisy12 said:
Should have mentioned he is interested in a small or midsize school. He does not want classes with several hundred students in them. He would prefer East Coast.
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Daisy12 message me. I have some insight.
 
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