numerous scholarship offer

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USMA2019

5-Year Member
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Aug 4, 2013
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Hello all,
I just received a phone call today from my Marine recruiter informing me that I won the scholarship today. My question is that since I have already accepted the Army scholarship, what do I do in regards to this one? Can I accept both of them and then choose one later? At this point of time I'm torn between which branch I would rather be in. Could someone also elaborate the difference between the two please? Thanks.
 
I would talk to your recruiters to get the specifics of each scholarship and what commitments are required to accept(and maintain) each during your college years...they do vary.
Also, ask yourself what you want to be doing in the military after commissioning...Army and Marines offer some similar and some very diferent roles. Your best source of what that might be like would be to speak to junior officers in each branch to see what they do and if you see yourself doing their roles.
Not sure about accepting both and then declining one of them...be sure to keep an eye on the deadlines for accepting them though as you certainly don't want to miss one and regret it later.
 
I might add, in all fairness to those awaiting a scholarship decision, as soon as you do know it would be helpful to notify that branch as it may "free up" that slot for another hopeful. Congrat's on having two offers and good luck with your decision.
 
I accepted the Army one first because I awarded in the first board and had a December 1st deadline. I'll look around to find some junior officers to talk to and figure out what I want and I'll do that very soon so like you said to give a hopeful another slot. Thanks
 
Accept both. Decline one before the deadline or when you have made the decision as to Army or Marines....You earned them. Congratulations.
 
OP, there are numerous threads on this exact topic within the last year or so. Might try searching the ROTC and USMC forums. I know there are several. Ultimately you should ideally be selecting the service in which you want to serve in vice school or unit, but those are realities and your success will be dictated greatly on an environment that works best for you. What school and unit feels best? Also, the size of each unit probably varies. NROTC (MO) can be pretty small at a lot of schools. Small or big battalions, neither is right or wrong, but what is best for you? From an ROTC perspective, what Major or Tier were you give in the scholarship? From my understanding, changing from that major is difficult down the road and could jeopardize your scholarship. Did you put engineering, but maybe that isn't what you really want to do? NROTC (MO), from my understanding (kinnem please correct me if I wrong) doesn't care about your major. Also, you are guaranteed Active Duty for the NROTC (MO) unlike AROTC. AROTC you could end up going reserves, having this option is appealing to some and not to others. When you graduate from AROTC you will have your branch and know where you are going. If you go Marines, you will go to TBS and not know your MOS and duty station until 1/2 way through TBS. I think its important to research the MOSs that interest you and see the career paths. Most are very similar and others are not. For instance tanks is much large in the Army. In the USMC, there are usually 1-2 tank spots for entire TBS company. Army has Chemical Corps, the USMC does not (well we have it, but its called something else and warrant officers serve in those roles, not regular line officers).

I served with a ton of soldiers while I was a Marine. There are differences, mostly in culture and mind set. Marines are very passionate about being Marines. If you ask a Marine what they do they will tell you a Marine first. Ask a Navy or Air Force pilot what they do and they will tell you Pilot first and service second. Both services obviously very field oriented, but with the Marines you could serve on ships also. Marines have MEUs and you can be at sea for months on end. MEUs are a huge part of the USMC, good chance you would serve on one as a Marine officer. I also believe the Army selects for Company Command (if this has changed someone please correct me). In the USMC we do not. If you are a Capt, you expected to be ready for Company Command when the time comes. Army, do you select for XO also? Just curious, wasn't sure on that one. The Army is much bigger than the Marine Corps, that can be good or bad, all on depends on the person. Each has career level schools, expects a lot of their officers and be prepared for the field!
 
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+1 to AROTC Parent. You may accept both and decide later. While assessing options, one thing to keep in mind is that Army doesn't guarantee active duty while USMC does. Army Additionally, I think Navy is much better organized with respect to summer training programs - as you might be able to tell from some of the Army summer training threads on the forum. On the other hand, with all due respect to the Army, PT as a Marine is going to generally be more demanding than Army.

The important thing is to explore both services with an eye to what you want to do after college.

Finally, once you've made a decision let the other service know you'll be declining their offer after all. There is no reason you shouldn't shoot to complete this exercise in the next 30 days. If you can do that it should free up your unused slot for some other deserving kid.

Congratulations on your wealth of riches... and my DS who is sitting across the room from me says "Go Marines!"

EDIT: Cross-posted with NavyHoops who is correct that Marines don't care about your major. Nevertheless you'll need permission to change it, which is just a formality as far as I know.
 
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USMA2019: Congratulations on your two scholarships.

There are significant differences between the Army and the Marines. I assume you don't come from a military family. Like the others, I recommend you research this forum, the internet and speak to others to learn more about the careers of officers within each branch.

NavyHoops did a great job summarizing some points - I will try to add some generalizations to consider.

The basic mission is different for each branch.
Army is land based, Marines are sea based.
The Army has a lot more bases where you might be stationed. The Marines have essentially two in the US and one in Okinawa.
The culture is significantly different within each branch of the service.
The Army is huge, the Marine Corps is pretty small.
From Army ROTC you can go active, reserve or National Guard. Marines go active duty after ROTC.
Some similar jobs (Military Occupational Specialty = MOS) but the Army has many more options

I want to stress these are generalizations and presented as a way of comparing and contrasting. I was a Marine and while I had the opportunity to train with Army units on Army bases, conducted joint operations and was socially friendly with Army officers, I don't pretend to be an expert.

Research the two branches and consider what your goals are and then pursue that path towards commissioning.
 
Thank you for all these great advice! I was under the impression that with a 4 year scholarship from the Army that I would automatically be guaranteed going active duty contingent I pass all their requirements or is that incorrect (I do not particularly want to be in the reserves or national guard)? So with the Marine scholarship I would automatically go active? I am slated as a Psychology major and I am considering potentially pursuing law afterwards. For the Army scholarship I have selected VMI, the Marines have not notified me what school they have given me yet (but my hope is that it is also VMI). Yes, I do not come from a military family so I'm doing the best research I can.My concern is that as a woman will I be more limited in the field as a Marine or in the Army? As of right now I don't have a particular preference because either choice is a wonderful opportunity, but another concern for me is the Active duty.
 
Also, is it safe to assume you have applied to, and been accepted to VMI and your other ROTC schools? Failing to get accepted to the school where the scholarship was awarded will result in the scholarship not being activated. Transferring schools can be done but it is another hoop to jump through and not guaranteed.
 
My DD got both the AROTC and NROTC scholarships last year. She said she would have been truly happy to serve in either branch of service, but NROTC won out with their guarantee of active duty, which was most important to her. Her AROTC school offered free room and board, so that was hard to give up, though.
 
If you take your AROTC scholarship to VMI, you will be "guaranteed" active duty, assuming you meet all the requirements and have the recommendation of the PMS. This is the case at any SMC, but not at other schools with AROTC.
 
AROTC and attending an SMC does generally mean you will receive Active Duty with a positive endorsement from your leadership and completing all training requirements. I think there was a thread on here a week or two ago that someone mentioned that 2 VMI cadets (I think it was VMI, someone correct me if I am wrong) who requested Active Duty did not receive it. Not sure as to why. It is important to understand all these factors and good questions to ask of each Battalion you are considering. If you have the chance visit the school and meet with each ROTC unit there. Meet with Cadets and Mids in each unit, this will help the most. The Army has summer training and you will for NROTC, as mentioned Army training is in a state of transition. NROTC (MO) is pretty steady. OCS is the most biggest hurdle, but MOIs in my opinion do a great job preparing Mids for it.
 
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