NAPS vs NROTC

Jveez7

5-Year Member
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Apr 16, 2014
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I am looking for advice on making a decision for college next year. My ultimate goal is to become a Marine Corps officer and I have striven to do so from a very young age. I received an offer to NAPS however I did not receive the NROTC scholarship. I understand that there are positives and negatives to both programs however I'm just interested in a little outside advice in order to make an informed decision. The downside of NAPS for me would be the distance from home and of course the extra year of school. The downside for NROTC of course is that scholarships are becoming harder to to receive. Is this still true even with the opportunity of Advanced standing?
 
Hands down ... If you want a guaranteed path to Marine Corp Officer ranks: Take NAPS!

There is not only no guarantee of NROTC scholarship if you enroll at as a College Applicant at your chosen university, there is also no guarantee of Advanced Standing either. It is quite possible (particularly in the current military draw-down environment) that, after two years of working your tail off with your NROTC unit, that you'll be told you must leave the unit. The particularly distressing part is that the final decision with Advanced Standing does not rest with your local commanders. They can try to influence the decision, but that's about it.

NAPS, on the other hand, only requires you to meet the minimum requirements of the NAPS program for 1 year. Do that and you are virtually assured into the USNA Class of 2019 -- and a clear path to your goal to become an officer. As far as the extra year goes, I'd point out that you'll likely look back on that year of prep as a really good thing. My son, who has been accepted into the USNA c/o 2018 this year, just spent a year as an NROTC College Applicant at a state university. His take (which I believe to be a good one) is that this past year has allowed him to mature and better prepare for the rigors of the Academy. He's glad it worked out the way it has (even though the stress of two years of applications was tough). I've heard similar stories many times from others. The college and NAPS plebes seem to, as a general rule, have an easier time adjusting to life on the yard.

Congratulations on the NAPS appointment!
 
I am looking for advice on making a decision for college next year. My ultimate goal is to become a Marine Corps officer and I have striven to do so from a very young age. I received an offer to NAPS however I did not receive the NROTC scholarship. I understand that there are positives and negatives to both programs however I'm just interested in a little outside advice in order to make an informed decision. The downside of NAPS for me would be the distance from home and of course the extra year of school. The downside for NROTC of course is that scholarships are becoming harder to to receive. Is this still true even with the opportunity of Advanced standing?

If you really want to go to the Naval Academy, this is a no brainer. NAPS your in. If you want to be an Marine officer and don't really care the path, take NROTC.
 
NAPS seems like a no-brainer in your case. Only downside is you are not guaranteed Marine Corps, but if you want it and work hard, especially at PT, I'm sure you can achieve it.

If you don't like Math follow the NROTC course. No guarantee of achieving the goal but there will still be other paths available to commission. OCS and PLC would be the other options if NROTC doesn't pan out. But.... there is no Math requirement for NROTC MO other than the college's core math requirement which can usually be addressed with statistics. Plus if you do at least get advanced standing then Marine Corps is guaranteed (assuming you make it the rest of the way to commissioning).
 
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