I will only speak about the two colleges my children attend.
UMDCP and VATECH
They are night and day differences from every standpoint.
UMDCP:
AF ROTC has been there for decades. The det has a close camaraderie, with not only multiple military fraternities, but on Thursday nights the GMC's hang out socially at the det lounge, playing foosball or crud.
The det requires mandatory volunteer hours, and they aren't fun...typically it means cleaning up Byrd stadium or Comcast Center.
They are also very involved within the community, which is volunteer. They do not only Relay for Life, but also Susan G Kohman run.
They have 3 military fraternities. Arnie Air Society, Angel Air, and Md Honor Guard.
They are close knit, one reason why is that UMDCP has a dorm shortage and only guarantees housing for the 1st 2 yrs, thus, many ROTC members will rent an apt together as jrs+. Currently, they have several houses/apts that just keep changing names, but has always been an AFROTC home for yrs. Our DS when he returns will be living off campus with AFROTC cadets.
The campus is near DC with a Metro stop to take them there.
The buildings are Federalist style...if you want to get a glimpse of what it looks like watch the opening of St. Elmo's Fire (that is their frat row) or National Treasure Two.
VATECH:
My opinion, but it seems as if AFROTC is the smallest branch there, sim. to the Navy at UMDCP. I cannot or will not speak about the det.
They are only 1 of 7 Corps for colleges nationwide. You can be in the Corp, but not have any intention of going military after graduation.
The campus is gorgeous. Watch Harry Potter and Hogwarts and you will get the feel of Tech.
The campus is isolated if you compare it to UMDCP. No trains, no buses, you are stuck within the area on the weekend. However, they are an ACC school so you do have football and basketball.
TECH and MD are strong engineering schools, thus, if you are looking at just the curriculum, than they are even. If you are looking at the overall picture, than you need to visit the campuses because college is more than just ROTC. If they hate where they are at than it can impact their grades. If it does impact them, than it doesn't matter about the level/quality of the school because they will be unhappy.
Our DS loves UMDCP and the campus. It has the feeling of being a traditional, big, sprawling campus with city life. He would hate to be at Tech, because to him it is confining.
Our DD loves Tech, and the campus. To her, she wants mountains, not city. She thinks the buildings at UMDCP are cold. She also hates the fact that dorms and class rooms are spread all over the place.
You need to not only look at the det, but the school and what they have to offer to the student.
Fortunately, AFROTC doesn't request that you rack and stack for the scholarship, this will allow you time to whittle away what is the best det for your child.
Best thoughts...go AF 2015!
OBTW, in our son's det. he said for his class @15% are scholarship as foreign language major, Arabic, Chinese and Russian. People take the assumption that the majority of AFROTC cadets want to fly, but in reality they are in the minority. Many do not want that extra commitment of UPT and have long term career goals. As I stated earlier UMDCP allows the opportunity of great internships. Our DS did one on the Hill for a Senator, a couple in his det interned at Goddard for engineering, and some got translator internships. They do this to build their future career. If that is a factor than UMDCP is a better choice than Tech based solely on location and internships as a cadet.