Double Whammy

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ajmayfly

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Feb 3, 2022
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I found out today I was turned down for both an appointment at USNA and a NROTC scholarship. My endgoal still remains to commission into the Navy, but I also don’t want to break the bank. I plan on entering NROTC next year as a college programmer. However, does anyone know if there would be any financial advantage if I entered the reserves as well next year, or any other ways of keeping my wallet happy?
 
ajmayfly said:
I found out today I was turned down for both an appointment at USNA and a NROTC scholarship. My endgoal still remains to commission into the Navy, but I also don’t want to break the bank. I plan on entering NROTC next year as a college programmer. However, does anyone know if there would be any financial advantage if I entered the reserves as well next year, or any other ways of keeping my wallet happy?
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I don't know the answer to your question, but I wanted to just say I'm sorry. Tough day. Take a few days to grieve and accept the turndowns, knowing there are a lot of candidates each year who are qualified and worthy, there simply aren't enough seats for all each cycle.

Good on you for wanting to pivot and think ahead.
 
ajmayfly said:
I found out today I was turned down for both an appointment at USNA and a NROTC scholarship. My endgoal still remains to commission into the Navy, but I also don’t want to break the bank. I plan on entering NROTC next year as a college programmer. However, does anyone know if there would be any financial advantage if I entered the reserves as well next year, or any other ways of keeping my wallet happy?
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Sorry to hear. 😞

FWIW - I have extensive Navy Reserve experience (Commanded a Reserve Center, served for the 3-star in charge of USNR), which is the basis for the following.

Financial advantage: technically, yes. You'd get paid for your drill weekends, have access to fairly affordable health care, and there are some education benefits. Remember though: you'd be at boot camp for ~ 2 months and then your follow on schooling for as little as a few weeks to nearly a year depending on your rating. During that time you wouldn't be able to go to school but once you complete your training you'd transition to the Reserves and do the one weekend a month, two weeks a year thing. Once you're living that life you would presumably resume college (many of my reserve sailors were college students) and apply for active duty commissioning via OCS once you have your degree.

The biggest downside to the above option is the delay with starting school and the fact that the drill weekend pay as junior enlisted is not a ton. The upside is you'll build Navy experience and earn a little money. That said, if your desire is to commission ASAP with minimal debt my advice is the following:

Attend the best school you can that balances education quality with affordable in-state tuition. Work a part-time job your whole time in school and start planning for OCS applications your junior year. If you have the interest and engineering inclination, the NUPOC route is a very generous financial option as well.
 
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