Major-related questions

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WCGuy

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May 8, 2023
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Hi, so I'm applying to the 3 ROTC programs, and had a question about majors. Most of my extracurriculars are related to earth science or math/CS, but I became interested in medicine after a summer camp and working as a research assistant. However, I would like the chance to explore in my freshman year to see which path is right for me. My question is if I apply to ROTC (itself) as, say, an applied math, CS, or environmental engineering major, how easy is it to switch majors once I am at the school? Or, if not easy, can I be a CS major and still get approval to apply to med school? (I've heard you have to get an extension granted).

My counselor has advised against applying premed to these schools, as I only have six months of pre-med extracurriculars compared to 3-4 years of good math/earth science extracurriculars. Most of the schools I am applying to, such as MIT, Yale, etc, don't even let you declare a major your first year, and you can declare whatever you want. But from talking with a previous cadet, it seems that there is some major switching form 1050(?) that I must fill out and get approval for that is the bottleneck. Also important, is if I apply and get ROTC scholarship as an applied math major, for example, can I apply to these universities as an environmental engineering major? (I mean since for these schools it's just indicating "interest", I think I'll be fine but I'm not sure about rules).

And then, of course, there is the headache of different majors being prioritized - such as premed technically being an "other" major for AFROTC. Is this the same if I am a CS major who takes the required premed courses and applies to med school? Because I am thinking of that option, as my research advisor has always said she loves seeing the rare med student with a tech background.

I've done a lot of digging on this forum and can't seem to find an answer about this - I'm worried that if I ask the local recruiters that I've been in contact with, it would be seen as duplicity for trying to cheat and switch majors, when I really am just a kid with many interests who wants to explore freshman year before committing.

Sorry this got really long, but there's a really big lack of ROTC support in my area, so it's been difficult to find people to talk to. Thank you in advance!
 
It’s not uncommon for ROTC cadets/mids to change majors (just as it’s not for any college student). But if you’re on an ROTC scholarship, there’ll be great interest from your chain of command for you to still graduate in four years. That’s the maximum the scholarship covers (with a few exceptions) and there’s an officer pipeline to fill. Changing majors once is do-able. Try to do it again and now timing really comes into play. So you need to do so thoughtfully.

Perhaps your bigger question is this: Is your higher priority right out of college to be an officer or a med student? Ultimately, the needs of the Army will take precedence. Make sure you’re open to the possibilities, because they’re not totally in your control.
 
Opinion of a parent of a child that went this route.

Pick your major based on interests now and for your longer term future - with and without med school as part of that future. A low % of students that start undergrad with the intent of medical school pursue that goal.

Many schools allow you to take gen ed classes before they declare a major - pick those gen ed classes that allow you to pursue the broad scope of your interests. An exception is if your final school of choice requires a separate application to their school of engineering, business school, or nursing for example. Or, at a school with 'Impacted' majors like in the University of California system that allow limited enrollment.

You can be a military officer or physician with almost any major. You may have to supplement your class schedule for medical school prerequisites. Consider summer school at your own cost and using AP/IB credits to meet your premed and schools gen ed requirements to open up scheduling options while at your undergraduate school completing ROTC.

Think long and hard about ROTC to medical school. The commitment is very long. Keep as many 'doors'/options open for as long as possible.
 
Great advice from @AROTC Parent. Adding to it, from my perspective as a college professor and cadet parent:

Most students change their major at least once. It’s hard to know, before entering, what you really want to do and study. You’ll learn a lot in that regard in just your first year.

I teach business at our flagship state university. Each term, I have a few students who tell me they flipped from pre-med or are thinking about doing so. Not trying to dissuade or discourage you from pre-med. Simply saying to keep an open mind about what’s out there and what you can do.

DS is an MS3 who received a four-year AROTC scholarship. He declared a major before entering, only because his college required it. He changed it after freshman year — to another STEM field — knowing it could affect his timing. He’s taken a couple summer courses, on our own dime, to keep pace. And he communicates regularly with his chain of command to ensure their support toward an on-time graduation and commissioning.

As @AROTC Parent says, keep as many doors open as possible, for as long as possible. In life, it’s good to have options.
 
Great advice above. Just my view after couple of decades helping high school students decide on college choices and ROTC…If you want to be a military officer, pursue this with that focus and understanding that the military services want you to be a line officer within four years, and your ability to get deferred for medical or other grad school is limited. If you want to be a physician pursue this with a focus on getting into and completing medical school as soon as possible (7 years or six with some early admission programs), and not anROTC contract to commission. You can always direct commission into military service with a direct commission once you have your MD.
 
Changing majors is not unusual at all. I have had several friends in ROTC change majors. There will be forms to fill out - this is to prove to your chain of command / cadre that you will still be on track to graduate and commission on time. They will typically want you to graduate within four years. And as previous posters have said, no matter what major you end up entering college with, you will take several gen eds freshman year that may help you decide what you eventually want to pursue.
 
For NROTC, there are tiers for majors: Tier 1 is most engineering majors, Tier 2 is rest of engineering and a lot of STEM majors, Tier 3 is everything else. They prioritize 1 then 2 then 3, with a distinct split between 1/2 and 3. Changing majors such that it changes your tier can get complicated. They'll usually approve going from 3 to 2 or 1, or from 2 to 1. They also may approve 1 to 2. But 1 or 2 to 3, that is very tough nowadays to get approved...
 
Some ROTC scholarships are tied to STEM majors-Air Force was this way a couple of years ago, thus I know of some Cadets that are either stuck with that, or give up their scholarship. Army is not specific. Once you are contracted you would need to go to your command and discuss with them the major change. Son on 3 year AROTC scholarship was able to change his major by simply letting his Professor of Military Science know. Army will grant 4.5/5 year scholarships to harder stem majors such as engineering, they understand it's difficult to get done in 4 years with the requirements and additional ROTC obligations.
 
For AFROTC, there are two categories for majors: technical and non-technical. Technical is basically any STEM degree with a few exceptions and it opens you up to different commission slots and job opportunities. Everyone else is in the non-technical (with the exception of a few random degrees like electrical engineering which have their own categories). It's super common to switch degrees from tech to non-tech and vice-versa. The only issue is if you have a scholarship that is on the condition of you get a technical degree. The AF is cutting down on high-school scholarships and the few that they give out generally go to technical degree majors (so I would recommend initially applying with the intent to go for a tech degree so that your odds are better). You can always work with your Cadre to figure out the paperwork side of degree switching. From what I've heard, it's not too hard, all you have to do is give an updated graduation plan. Also, you can extend to 5 years if needed and some scholarship programs allow the scholarship to also be extended if it's within a technical degree (plus a few other random degrees). Overall, major in what you're interested in because that'll probably give you the best grades (unless it's just a hard degree, in which case you get bad grades but personal satisfaction) and the good grades will open you up to better job prospects, grad school, etc.

Now I can't speak for Army or Navy, but from what I've observed being at a Senior Military College, Army doesn't really care about majors and Navy cares way too much.
 
Ah for some reason I didn't get any reply notifications, thank you for all the comments! My sibling is currently at a military academy, but has told me that I would probably get more out of ROTC -> officer route rather than SA -> officer route. I really enjoy math and science, so I'll take everyone's advice and apply as an Applied Math or something similar major and try for premed after testing the waters in gen ed. I do want to be a military officer, and being a physician is just my long-term education goal as well.
 
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