General ROTC question for newbie

E

epatterson1015

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Joined
Sep 27, 2023
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I apologize for my ignorance but someone just directed me to this forum and my son and I are completely ignorant of how this all works. He wants to attend USAFA but is considering AFROTC as a backup. I understand that we need to apply to universities that have AFROTC first then apply for the AFROTC scholarship but my question is, does it have to be an in state college to get funding? Does it have to be a public university? I'm confused about what the parameters are.
 
No need to apologize. Questions like this are what a forum is for. I'd first recommend your son learn everything about this website https://www.afrotc.com/scholarships...VsvXICh0CbQMkEAAYAiAAEgLnV_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds and also the application guide https://www.afrotc.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/AY24-25_HSSP_Applicant_Guide_v2-cao-13-Jun-23.pdf

Its best to get the information straight from them. I believe you do have to chose some in state public schools, but not all. You can pick a out of state or private school that has a AFROTC program.
 
Here is a good link to start with on the AFROTC site: https://www.afrotc.com/scholarships/high-school/application/

Generally, ROTC applications follow the same route, including naming the schools that an applicant desires to attend and will apply to. As just noted by @Ihavenoidea, as I was typing, these primary sources will provide good insights. I ask my students to educated themselves with the process of applying to both USAFA and ROTC. By the way, many private schools also host ROTC units, including Harvard, Stanford, MIT and others.
 
As long as the school has AFROTC, either on campus or crosstown, he can apply there. It doesn’t matter if it’s state, in-state, or private. But as he’s considering, you should talk to him to have visit both academy and regular universities to make sure that he definitely wants the lifestyle of the Academy.
 
Building on the very good advice above:

Pick the school, not the ROTC detachment. ROTC will be a small percentage of his time, whereas the school is all-encompassing. If he’s happy with the overall school experience, then he’s more likely to be happy with ROTC as well.

Pick a school that you can afford — either self-funded or with financial aid — should ROTC end for any given reason. You don’t want to be in a position where ROTC ends and school is unaffordable without that scholarship.
 
Hello, I'm a newbie here. I have a senior who has already started applying for early acceptance to universities. He's interested in applying for an ROTC Scholarship but hasn't had any luck finding the right website or recruiter to talk to. Although an Army recruiter reached out, they weren't very helpful, as they seemed more focused on enlistment. Could you please point us in the right direction?

Thank u
Kat
 
MidCakePa said:
Building on the very good advice above:

Pick the school, not the ROTC detachment. ROTC will be a small percentage of his time, whereas the school is all-encompassing. If he’s happy with the overall school experience, then he’s more likely to be happy with ROTC as well.

Pick a school that you can afford — either self-funded or with financial aid — should ROTC end for any given reason. You don’t want to be in a position where ROTC ends and school is unaffordable without that scholarship.
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Agreed! One caveat, ROTC is what you make of it. My DS is a 2nd year, and what started off as 3 days a week is now 5 days and once he becomes an AFROTC POC it will amp-up even more, even though he's an engineering major, his life revolves around the Detachment, no time for a fraternity or club sports, it's all about the AF, but that's on him.
 
flightdeck said:
Agreed! One caveat, ROTC is what you make of it. My DS is a 2nd year, and what started off as 3 days a week is now 5 days and once he becomes an AFROTC POC it will amp-up even more, even though he's an engineering major, his life revolves around the Detachment, no time for a fraternity or club sports, it's all about the AF, but that's on him.
Click to expand...
My son was in Honor Guard at a major (and winning ;) )SEC school and his 3rd year he also was in the marching band and head of Honor Guard and an Engineering Major. He did not receive his scholarship until his 2nd year in college. His first year he only had his in-state, state scholarship.
 
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