NROTC (Marine Corps v Navy)

FØB Zero

Enthusiastically American
Joined
Jul 30, 2019
Messages
205
Howdy y’all,
I was curious whether how the route one chooses for NROTC (Marine Corps v Navy v Navy Nurse) affects his/her ROTC experience in college...

  • Does everybody in NROTC train together, participating in the same activities, regardless of which path in the navy ppl choose? Or do they split up.
  • Does the path you choose only affect you after graduation?
  • Are there more applicants for Marine Corps or Navy path for the NROTC scholarship? (Is one more competitive than the other?)

Thank you in advance!
 
You should start by researching at the various dot.mil sites for basic qualifications and application process. Then move to NROTC sites for schools in which you might be interested. Many will have a "Typical schedule" which includes both MO and Navy. Note the various requirements - major, academic and summer cruises. I think this will prepare you for a potential interview. And frankly, the choice is pretty stark.

My DS reports mostly hanging out with MO mids. The MO train together for PT but they drill as a group. As they progress the subject matter changes to reflect the service goals. MO have a separate lab focused on land navigation and other marine skills.
 
Some of the differences are STEM classes and PT.
Navy Options take Calc 1 and 2 plus Physics 1 and 2 Marine Options aren’t required. Marine Options PT three times a week vs Twice a week for Navy Options, Marine Options run 3 miles in the PRT and are required to do pull-ups during their PRT. No pull-ups for Navy Options and the run is a mile and a half.
 
They are both highly competitive in starkly different ways. NROTC values achievers in STEM fields and most scholarships are given for those majors. Marine option has a distinctive culture that seems to highly value an intangible leadership quality as well as a high level of fitness. That is what I have gleaned from this forum for six months as our son intensely pursued Marine Option.
 
+1 to above comments. At the core it's much the same while still having significant training differences specific to that service. Summer training will vary after freshman year... Marines taking one path and Navy another.
 
Coming from a MO mid:

At my unit about 50% of unit activities are performed as a battalion as the rest are split up Navy option and Marine option.

As I can only speak for the Marine Option side at my specific school, the main differences are:

1. We do extra pt
2. We primarily focus on OCS prep
3. We have longer field exercises and more prac apps
4. We have different coursework requirements
5. We spend a bit more time outside side of the required attendance. Whether that be getting haircuts more often, preparing for field exercises/tests, conducting pt on your own time, maintaining uniform, etc.

No matter which side you choose, prepare to work hard. You’re not the average college student, you’re a future officer.
 
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