Final College selection AFROTC

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NYmom

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My son has a Type 7 AFROTC scholarship but doesn't want in-state so he will convert to Type 2 (we are in NY and no state schools have AFROTC on campus anyway). He has narrowed it down to 3 schools: University of Alabama, RIT, Penn State.

Alabama has given him a presidential scholarship and engineering scholarship (worth $28,500/year) bringing his cost down to $0 after year 1. He has additional outside scholarship money as well. If he decides ROTC is not for him, still very affordable. He would be in their Honors college and he really loved the school when he visited.

RIT has given him a scholarship of $12,000 a year, some F/A grant money plus gives ROTC free R&B so cost with additional outside scholarships is pretty low- on average definitely under $10,000/year. Didn't love the school as much, even though he is a techie, but still liked it.

Penn State he liked a lot and it's closer to home than Alabama, but it is $$$. He's definitely taking out loans if he goes there. With all current scholarships it will average $26,000/year so $104,000.

So I think go with Alabama since he loved it there and the cost is right. I have researched the program and it looks strong, has competition teams he is interested in, is 60% OOS so he won't feel like he is the only non-Alabama kid, and just has a super friendly atmosphere. His concern is that its reputation might not be as strong. Any differences in AFROTC programs that he should be aware of? Any other advice? Thanks!
 
Sounds like Alabama is the right decision to me. I'm sure there are minor differences between programs, but they all stdy the same material, go through the same training, have the same organization and leadership billets (for the most part). The officers roll over every 2 -3 years so the officers there now, who help to define the program, will not be there when he finishes.
 
Agree with Kinnem.

By far, finding the college with the best "fit" is the most important factor. ROTC programs change out their management so you cannot count on individuals being there for the duration.

If your DS is happy and successful in college, academically and culturally, he will likely do well in AFROTC. If he struggles in school, it will bleed over to his military progress as well.

Congratulations!

Oh, one more thing: Roll Tide!
 
If he's been to Tuscaloosa and actively explored the milieu that he's signing up for - ie a big state school in the deep south - and he likes what he saw, then this is a no-brainer: go with Alabama. The combination of low cost, Honors College and his own personal preference make this an easy choice.

As to the academic reputation, Engineering programs have more in common than not. Any ABET-accredited program will be solid.

In any case, Penn State's engineering programs do not belong to a totally different echelon from Alabama's engineering programs. It would be a different story if he were focused on say, Aerospace Engineering and the alternative to Alabama were Georgia Tech, or Michigan or Purdue. Or if he wanted to study Computer Science and were evaluating Alabama vs U. Illinois or U. Washington. Penn State and Alabama are both solid schools that will likely attract the same types of recruiters should your son opt out of ROTC and go directly into industry.

Re RIT, if, for some reason, he changes his mind about ROTC, the R&B benefit will go away, whereas at Alabama he'd still be debt-free.

He's in a great spot. Congratulations to him and best of luck.
 
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NYmom said:
Alabama is lovely, the people are lovely, and I have family in Alabama. Though I am a native New Yorker, I have lived in Virginia and South Carolina. I prefer the south.
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I've yet to meet an Alabaman that considers Virginia the "South", haha! Alabama is hot and muggy, but nice people and the living is cheap. The Gulf has probably the best beaches I've been to in the US.

The only drawback in my opinion is that Maxwell/Gunter is pretty much the only AD AF base in the state, and it doesn't have an AD flying wing. But, your son will spend several long TDY's at Maxwell throughout his career. We all do. :)
 
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Tbpxece said:
I've yet to meet an Alabaman that considers Virginia the "South", haha!
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You made me laugh.
My kids spent a large chunk of my DH's career in NC (3 different assignments), we moved to No VA when he retired Nothing made my DD get ticked off more when her friends would say we live in the SOUTH! She would say/do a few things.
1. Show her feet if it was warm weather
~ In the South your flip flops are the Rainbow brand if you could afford them bc of their lifetime warranty.
2. Ask if they have ever had Sweet Tea, and do they know how to make real sweet tea. Every southerner knows that you don't add sugar to your glass of ice tea and call that sweet tea. I think the 1st thing my kids learned how to make was homemade sweet tea.
~ This was about 10 yrs ago, so finding Sweet Tea was only at Chick Fil A
3. When does the community pool (outdoor) open and close.
~ In NC our neighborhood pool always opened 1st weekend of April, and closed the 1st weekend of Oct. This meant opened everyday. Not the weekends only starting in May, with an everyday opening Memorial Day.
4. You had to know what a BoBerry is. In the south you go to Bojangles, not Popeyes.

To her if you could not answer those questions to her you were not a southerner. She does agree that those in VA below Emporia can classify themselves as a southerner.

Back to the regular scheduled program.
 
Southern sit-down restaurant waitress to diner: "What would y'all like to drink?"
Diner: "A Coke."
Waitress: "What kind?"
Diner: "A Sprite" [ or Dr. Pepper or other sugary beverage].
 
I went to the University of Alabama and it was an incredible experience. It's a fantastic school and very reasonably priced for the quality of education you get.
 
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