Should I list ROTC on graduate application?

[chris54321]

Hello,

I’m applying for grad school and hope to be involved in rotc in grad school and maybe get an rotc scholarship. This might be a weird question, but on my statement of purpose (or anywhere else on the application) would it either help or hurt my chances of acceptance if I mention that I’m planning on doing rotc concurrently? Do grad schools want their students doing rotc? Do they care one way or the other? I guess I was thinking they might feel that I would be too overcommitted, or perhaps that I am not hardworking and want a scholarship because I don’t want to work through college etc...(which is not why I want to do rotc). Or maybe they think rotc is great and looks matte and responsible. Either way, I just want to be safe.


Thanks!

 

[AROTC-dad]

Most grad schools seek a wide variety of students with different life experiences. A military background is not as common as it once was, so my feeling would be that mentioning ROTC would enhance your application, not detract from it. Perhaps there is an outside chance that if the school is super liberal to the point of being anti-military, it could work against you, but I'd think that is the exception.

Keep in mind, this is just my opinion and I am not an admission counselor. For a better perspective, I'd suggest you speak to the ROO or cadre of your unit. He/she will have a better sense of the culture of the college.

 

[ders_dad]

Most college "kids" never interact with anyone connected with the military. IMHO this is detrimental to the students, the college, and our citizens at large. For so many college-educated young people, the military is "the other". Having an ROTC student in their midst could be spun as adding diversity to the student body and enhancing the education experience.

Allow me a personal anecdote. When I was in grad school (long time ago), my office mate was AD special forces captain, assigned for two years to complete his MS in an engineering field. He was about 6 years older than me and had served two tours in Vietnam. His wife was a former army nurse. I just thought of him as another fellow grad student and we became fast friends. One day, the ROTC ROO (major) knocked on our open office door to ask my friend a quick question. My friend snapped to attention. He was quickly told to be at ease. But it shocked me and I never forgot it. Until that moment, it hadn't occurred to me that my office mate was also a soldier. That was 35 years ago and he is still my good friend (and a good judge of whisky). He changed some of my snarky, ill-informed, post-Vietnam attitudes about military service. ROTC students are important components in our nation's colleges - for everyone's sake.