Agagles has given you great advice.
I will add that many kids are like you when they are coming close to that day where reality is about to meet theory. Be it an SA, SMC, or ROTC scholarship recipient they are finally facing the daunting fact of what life will be like.
That being said, some of your misconceptions make me chuckle.
djames said:
Also, I do not want to go to college for more than 4 years, which I will likely have to do if I decide to stick with ROTC.
Huh? The AROTC scholarship is only good for 4 years. The program is 4 years. Yes, you can extend it to 5, but that usually occurs if the engineering program you are in requires 5 years to graduate as an engineer,
~ ROTC is a 1 credit class.
djames said:
I want to have fun in college; I want to be able to party on weekends and enjoy my time away from school.
Are you going to an SMC? Most colleges these days, unless they have a huge ROTC pool of students don't even offer ROTC dorms.
~ Are DS did not live in a ROTC dorm, his college (ACC) didn't even offer it. He lived on campus as a freshman with everyone else that was in the university's Scholar program. Heck, they didn't even guarantee on campus housing after their freshman year. He lived off campus with both ROTC and non-ROTC friends for his final two years.
~~ He got married in May, and his best man was not ROTC, another groomsmen was. After the wedding we all hung in our suite and ROFL regarding the stories of mischief they got into those 4 years.
~~~ His wife graduated from a SCC college. They dated 2 years long distance. He went to her college, she came to his, @every 4-6 weeks. His weekends for the most part were his weekends.
OBTW...ROTC and your college will probably have the same level of acceptance regarding "having fun". All of my kids had to sign a zero tolerance underage drinking letter for admittance to their college.
~ Usually you get in trouble with the college first, and then it floats down to ROTC. Not the other way around, where ROTC finds out first and informs the college.
~~ In the bowels of this forum, there was an NROTC mid at PSU that was arrested during the upheaval of Sandusky. Cars were tipped. The mid lost his scholarship, and suspended. It was PSU that informed NROTC of his academic standing due to his arrest.
djames said:
I see what he is doing; the money he will be making, and I think to myself how I would also like to do that
Look the fact is you may or may not be making 65k out of the gate. Google BAH Ft. Dix. Between base pay, BAH, and BAS, plus tax benefits and health care you are over 65k a year.
~ I don't know where you live, but I doubt that if he is Louisiana or Texas, you'll pull the 65K out of the gate.
I also don't know how much as an O1 you will be working in your career field like your brother. It is something to think long and hard about.
That being said, it is also true that you may fall in love with the Army and hate CE. I know at our DDs college (SMC in VA) the engineering majors are told on day one...look left, look right 1 of you will not graduate as an engineer.
~ So many drop during finals week that the only building the registrar sets up a portable office is in the engineering building.
~~ Kids assume because they are good in Math and Science it translates into being happy in engineering. It doesn't. (Theory meeting Reality)
I am not trying to be negative. It is the opposite. I am trying to remind you that you are young and your concerns/fears/questions are very common.
Good luck.