phillips77
Member
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2022
- Messages
- 35
Hello, I am currently a senior in high school who did not apply for the class of 2027 for reasons unimportant to this post's question. I am currently planning on applying for the USNA & USAFA for the class of 2028, and I need to decide where I am going to go to college. There are two main routes that I can take: attending my local community college, or attending a 4-year university. There are pros and cons to both options, but I am not sure which one would be best for my situation. Here is a run down.
Attending My Local Community College
Pros:
Pros:
What would be my best option? Attend community college and stay near home and have enough money to get a pilot's license (but be in AFROTC), or attend a 4-year university, where it would presumably look better on my USNA application and I can be apart of their NROTC program (but be far from home and unable to get my PPL)?
Alongside USAFA & USNA, I will be applying for NROTC & AFROTC scholarships. Here, I have a question. If I attended the community college and was in their AFROTC program, could I apply for an NROTC scholarship and, if I receieved one, could attend a school off of an NROTC scholarship as a sophomore the following year? If this is the case, it may be best for me to stay at community college, as I would be able to still serve in the navy if I am offered an appointment to USNA or an NROTC scholarship.
Thank you for your help.
Attending My Local Community College
Pros:
- Close to home (Largest upside of this is that during the summer/fall, I will be a teacher/instructor in my high school's marching band program. Living close to home would allow my transit to the school to be simple).
- Cheap (the 4-year university I am looking into is an hour and a half away from home. This means I would have to pay for a dorm or place to live, on top of all of the costs of attending a 4-year university).
- After surfing this forum, it seems that it looks better to attend a university rather than a community college. I do not understand why, so if someone could help explain, that would be awesome.
- At my community college, only AFROTC is offered at a nearby university to students attending the community college. I love both the Air Force and Navy, but Navy would be my first pick. If I did not get accepted into USNA, that may mean I would stay in AFROTC, which is not what entirely what I want to do. At the 4-year university, they offer NROTC.
Pros:
- Looks better on application (at least from what I've heard on these forums, correct me if I am wrong).
- Offers NROTC (I am applying for both USAFA & USNA, but serving in the Navy is what I want to do the most).
- Much more expensive than community college (I am not in the financial situation to afford university out of my own pocket, so scholarships and (hopefully not) loans may have to help).
- Far from home (It would be a long commute to my high school to teach the marching band program, which of course would be worth it, but not easy).
What would be my best option? Attend community college and stay near home and have enough money to get a pilot's license (but be in AFROTC), or attend a 4-year university, where it would presumably look better on my USNA application and I can be apart of their NROTC program (but be far from home and unable to get my PPL)?
Alongside USAFA & USNA, I will be applying for NROTC & AFROTC scholarships. Here, I have a question. If I attended the community college and was in their AFROTC program, could I apply for an NROTC scholarship and, if I receieved one, could attend a school off of an NROTC scholarship as a sophomore the following year? If this is the case, it may be best for me to stay at community college, as I would be able to still serve in the navy if I am offered an appointment to USNA or an NROTC scholarship.
Thank you for your help.