My dd, who appeared to be "all-in" about ROTC when she is in college, is suddenly concerned about the time commitment. My dh has experience from the early 80's, but am looking for a more recent estimate. Other than PT (which I know is usually early in the am and 2-3 mornings a week), how many hours a week are devoted to ROTC? I am certain this varies by school, by branch of service and by cadet - just trying to gather information. Many thanks and Happy Independence Day!
How many hours per week
- Thread starter PRBWJB
- Start date
In reading through my boy's message traffic and such, about his particular Army ROTC program:
PT is 3x per week in the morning. 1 hour
One ROTC class per week. 1 hour
One ROTC seminar per week ("Lab," maybe?) 2 hours
And expect one or two "team building" events per week. No clue on time commitment for those.
If I had to guess...8-10 hours per week, all-in.
PT is 3x per week in the morning. 1 hour
One ROTC class per week. 1 hour
One ROTC seminar per week ("Lab," maybe?) 2 hours
And expect one or two "team building" events per week. No clue on time commitment for those.
If I had to guess...8-10 hours per week, all-in.
My son did AFROTC. Honestly, it's not a big deal in terms of time. The biggest pain is having to wake up early for PT. However, it really depends more on what her college life is like. How many classes is she taking? Does she have other activities like sports, sorority or other hobbies she is interested in? If she has a normal class load, then she shouldn't have an issue but again it also depends on the classes she is taking. She wants to do 4 years in 3 or 5 years in 4, it could be hard.
Herman_Snerd
5-Year Member
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2017
- Messages
- 1,411
Good points by posters above. This time commitment question is a great question to ask ROTC participants during an on-site visit in your final short-list of schools and I'd ask how that changes per year, as it sometimes does. Also if Navy, explore Navy option vs Marine option time commitments - Marines may be on an overnight weekend march, not so much for Navy option.
But as you stated , it varies per school and military branch. For example, there are schools in which the ROTC participants will be attending every home football game, working as security, or spending hours cleaning the stadium after the games. also may be spending hours clearing snow from parking lots or the stadium in colder climates every time it snows. Also, does your unit do community outreach, color guard, recruiting events, etc. ? and if your child opts to advance in leadership there will be additional responsibilities in higher years as you advance to a work supervisor, unit lead, brigade leader etc.
One other point - time commitments have so greatly changed during covid - I don't know when and how fully they will come back. so vet that out, too.
Some events, like nights in, are fun but also take time.
Bottom line even with those details is that time management is just necessary but I agree with other posters that it's surmountable if one is focused, not overextending outside of ROTC, etc. I think a lot of our young adult children are finding time to have a fun 4 years in addition to their schoolwork and ROTC training. If your DD is interested to serve then I think learning to manage time through ROTC participation and college is a great opportunity. Honestly I've seen a maturity in my DS and his classmates already in their first couple of years in training- Pretty great group of young people *well most of them but those who were a little not fit for the program are getting weeded out
Honestly others look to the education cost but to me the main benefit of ROTC vs OCS path, IMO is 4 years of this pressure and experiences shapes these young leaders. Good luck to your DD and thanks for her willingness to serve. good luck!
But as you stated , it varies per school and military branch. For example, there are schools in which the ROTC participants will be attending every home football game, working as security, or spending hours cleaning the stadium after the games. also may be spending hours clearing snow from parking lots or the stadium in colder climates every time it snows. Also, does your unit do community outreach, color guard, recruiting events, etc. ? and if your child opts to advance in leadership there will be additional responsibilities in higher years as you advance to a work supervisor, unit lead, brigade leader etc.
One other point - time commitments have so greatly changed during covid - I don't know when and how fully they will come back. so vet that out, too.
Some events, like nights in, are fun but also take time.
Bottom line even with those details is that time management is just necessary but I agree with other posters that it's surmountable if one is focused, not overextending outside of ROTC, etc. I think a lot of our young adult children are finding time to have a fun 4 years in addition to their schoolwork and ROTC training. If your DD is interested to serve then I think learning to manage time through ROTC participation and college is a great opportunity. Honestly I've seen a maturity in my DS and his classmates already in their first couple of years in training- Pretty great group of young people *well most of them but those who were a little not fit for the program are getting weeded out
Honestly others look to the education cost but to me the main benefit of ROTC vs OCS path, IMO is 4 years of this pressure and experiences shapes these young leaders. Good luck to your DD and thanks for her willingness to serve. good luck!
nature boy
Member
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2019
- Messages
- 104
1 hour class, 2 hour lab each 1X a week= 3 hours
PT- 3x's a week 1 hour= 3 hours- as an athlete I get out of the in-season PT, and for my sport I get out of the off-season morning lifts-since I do the ROTC PT
1 Off-site FTX per month some were just 8 hours and sometimes we were gone for about 36 hours
PT- 3x's a week 1 hour= 3 hours- as an athlete I get out of the in-season PT, and for my sport I get out of the off-season morning lifts-since I do the ROTC PT
1 Off-site FTX per month some were just 8 hours and sometimes we were gone for about 36 hours
She should calculate 10-15 hours a week. My son is in NROTC. They have PT 2 days Lab 2 hours. The navel science class is 3 credits which means 3 hours a week split in 2 classes. They also will have a job in the unit and that will take 1-2 hours a week. Mandatory study hours are 2-3 hours a week and she will want to spend time at the unit between class.
FastFood44
5-Year Member
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2017
- Messages
- 443
I would say 10 hours a week if you include class, studying, waking up early time to get ready, PT, and other required NROTC miscellaneous tasks. Honestly for me, it was not that big of a commitment, and that's coming from someone who was pretty involved!
airborne1030
Member
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2020
- Messages
- 137
As a former Army officer who commissioned through AROTC, I can tell you that she should expect the following.
PT - 3 x per week - 1 hour
ROTC class - 1 hour
Leadership Lab - 2 hours
Team building activity - varies
Total time commitment - 8 to 10 hours per week
If you're DD was involved in athletics and clubs in high school, it should be relatively normal to commit to that much time per week out of the classroom.
Great responses already, but I may add that there are always the 'other hours'- may have to do some community service hours for your unit, or the 'voluntary' intramural teams you may be asked to be a part of with the unit, not mandatory, but probably frowned upon if you don't do them. However, as stated earlier, there are ways to manage your time to enjoy some of your college years. Only way to find out is to try the first year.
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2010
- Messages
- 15,994
+1 to above. I would add that as leadership roles are added and responsibilities are increased over time, then additional hours will be required to fulfill those responsibilities.