USNA or NRTOC?

OldRetSWO said:
So do things at Whatsamatta State Univ .
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@OldRetSWO, I think we teach at the same place! I’ll keep an eye out for you!

While there was a bit of yo-yo effect to it, USNA mids did spend some time in classrooms this past year. And they’ve all (perhaps there are a few conscientious objectors) gotten at least the first round of vaccine, without the headaches and hassles of booking their own appointments. Don’t see that happening at our beloved WSU.
 
MidCakePa said:
@OldRetSWO, I think we teach at the same place! I’ll keep an eye out for you!

While there was a bit of yo-yo effect to it, USNA mids did spend some time in classrooms this past year. And they’ve all (perhaps there are a few conscientious objectors) gotten at least the first round of vaccine, without the headaches and hassles of booking their own appointments. Don’t see that happening at our beloved WSU.
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I've asked in my classes and its on the order of maybe 1 or 2 per class that have had the vaccination thus far. We have a vaccination site very close to us but we don't run it so the students have to fight the rest of the world to get an appointment.
 
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USNA vs. Whatsamatta State U.
Order vs. Entropy
Coherence vs. Chaos
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Dr. Strange Love said:
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I get the feeling that you may be leaning toward NROTC and UCLA. It’s a good school. Good choice. Is the SW your stomping ground?

Have you stepped foot on the Yard in Annapolis before this Covid ordeal?

Is your heart telling you anything?
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I have not had the chance to visit. In terms of making my decision, I’m at a stalemate. I know that it’s a honor and unbelievable opportunity to attend USNA. But UCLA is also a great in its own right.
 
CrewDad said:
@AcademyKid. This dilemma is quite simple.

UCLA Bruins
Strong National D1 NCAA athletic programs
Rumored to have the best food among US Colleges
Freshman dorms Rock!
UCLA Cafetarias Rock!
35,000 undergraduates
Academically, very competitive
Hard to get intro classes so takes time to register to classes you want
Many large classes
Small 4/C Class of 12, all UCLA MIDNs
Attend NSI 2 weeks
Staff support, 10 Officers and NCOs
Reserve status 4 years until Active Duty
Serve 5 years if Scholarship
Must have your own health insurance
Room and board you pay
You must take care of all your needs
No restricted life style, but cannot drink under age or do drugs
Cannot get married or get pregnant
Civilian College experience with twice weekly meetings and trainings
Required 1 summer training in 1/C summer
But recommend attend 2 summer cruises
Must pass PRT SWIM all years
You can leave campus go home at your pleasure
Can take Go summer language program to study abroad
You can find your own internship
Get paid same or slightly more monthly stipend
You’re in the nice part of LA, great weather
Ranked nationally with all other NROTC, size about equal to USNA
Career path, same as USNA

USNA
Strong National D1 NCAA Athletic programs
Military experience
Recently Yard food not good due to cut backs!
Academically most challenging 4/C and 2/C
Pass Plebe Summer 6 weeks
4/C Class of 1100, Company size 40
160 MIDNs Company size Chain of command Navy style
Active Duty status 4 years
Can use Tricare health insurance
All expenses paid for including laundry service
Academy takes care of all your needs
Limited classes to register so better register quick to get classes you want
Mostly small classes
3 summer blocks must be filled every summer
Training, summer cruise, summer leave, about 3.5 weeks each
Restricted life style. Cannot bring girl friend boy friend to sleep over.
cannot under age drink or do drugs
Must attend all school football games
Must attend Army Navy Game
stand watch about once a month during 4/C-3/C
Must take town liberty in uniform Plebe Year
Must travel in uniform Plebe Year
Must take intramural sports all 4 years
Must pass PRT and Swim all 4 years
Lock down at the pleasure of Dant/Supe
Town liberty and extra day off at the pleasure of Supe
Summer internship from 3/C is limited to what Academy allows. Cannot find your own internship. Cannot take paid internship
60% of Navy SEAL candidates are chosen from the Academy
Annapolis is beautiful with 4 seasons
Career selection and path are same as NROTC

You cannot beat the Navy pride as an Annapolis grad! It’s the most prestigious Navy commissioning source in my opinion ^^

I hope this was helpful!
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Quite simple indeed lol. Thank you for the great details. This is extremely helpful!!
 
UCLA ROTC alum...boy, do I have tales to tell. Sleeping at Pauley for basketball games, tailgating at the Rose Bowl, international quality track meets, beach in January. However....you must have the self discipline. It's easy to get lost in a class of 500 of your closest friends.

Feel free to DM me. I'm also the advisor for students applying the USNA from MMI, so I can give a bit of a comparison.
 
Physicsguru said:
UCLA ROTC alum...boy, do I have tales to tell. Sleeping at Pauley for basketball games, tailgating at the Rose Bowl, international quality track meets, beach in January. However....you must have the self discipline. It's easy to get lost in a class of 500 of your closest friends.

Feel free to DM me. I'm also the advisor for students applying the USNA from MMI, so I can give a bit of a comparison
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It’s perfect since you have first hand experience. If you want to send me your email or something so we can chat further that’d be great.
 
AcademyKid said:
I have not had the chance to visit. In terms of making my decision, I’m at a stalemate. I know that it’s a honor and unbelievable opportunity to attend USNA. But UCLA is also a great in its own right.
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Connect with @Physicsguru, gather a whole bunch of info, and do anything you can to visit Annapolis. I hope that they can let you onto the Yard.

Collect your thoughts for a few days. Make your decision in the morning after breakfast, then close the book on it.
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Here's some positives to NROTC at UCLA that you wouldn't gain at USNA.

I have some very intelligent friends that have complained that they did not gain the amount of academic challenges they desired from the Academy. Attending a civilian institution allows you to utilize their specialized academic programs to the utmost of your capability; remember that USNA is a leadership school in the end, and so there are limits (especially within Group I and II majors) because the faculty accounts for the fact that your schedule will be inherently packed.

You have autonomy because the institution isn't mandating all of your time, and so you can attend parties and live up your "college life" experience. You'd be ahead of the curve in terms of the average USNA mid in terms of navigating leases, purchasing cars, and basic skills to live by yourself. Essentially, the world is more of your oyster for four years.

A lot of cynicism on the Yard gets generated by upper leadership's policies and some of our traditions (ironic, right?). Regardless of how attending mandatory sports and parades may sound when you apply, when you are a Mid, there are days when you wish that you could be doing ANYTHING else.

I think of USNA as a room with a bunch of toys, and a guy with a microphone telling you to execute orders. You can spend your four years here only doing what the guy tells you to do, or you can also play with these toys (which would be experiences like unique training opportunities, study abroads, internships, clubs, leadership positions, etc.) and make the most of your time within this room.

Plus side to USNA also is, once you graduate, you get access to an excellent alumni network. Additionally, there's the prestige of attending a service academy on your side as well.

Good luck with your decision!
 
Sheeesh said:
Here's some positives to NROTC at UCLA that you wouldn't gain at USNA.

I have some very intelligent friends that have complained that they did not gain the amount of academic challenges they desired from the Academy. Attending a civilian institution allows you to utilize their specialized academic programs to the utmost of your capability; remember that USNA is a leadership school in the end, and so there are limits (especially within Group I and II majors) because the faculty accounts for the fact that your schedule will be inherently packed.

You have autonomy because the institution isn't mandating all of your time, and so you can attend parties and live up your "college life" experience. You'd be ahead of the curve in terms of the average USNA mid in terms of navigating leases, purchasing cars, and basic skills to live by yourself. Essentially, the world is more of your oyster for four years.

A lot of cynicism on the Yard gets generated by upper leadership's policies and some of our traditions (ironic, right?). Regardless of how attending mandatory sports and parades may sound when you apply, when you are a Mid, there are days when you wish that you could be doing ANYTHING else.

I think of USNA as a room with a bunch of toys, and a guy with a microphone telling you to execute orders. You can spend your four years here only doing what the guy tells you to do, or you can also play with these toys (which would be experiences like unique training opportunities, study abroads, internships, clubs, leadership positions, etc.) and make the most of your time within this room.

Plus side to USNA also is, once you graduate, you get access to an excellent alumni network. Additionally, there's the prestige of attending a service academy on your side as well.

Good luck with your decision!
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Thank you so much for your input. These are some aspects of NROTC at UCLA that appeal to me. The increase of freedom is nice compared to a Service Academy. I will keep this in mind when making my decision.
 
Curious to know the 'Admissions Sequence' to colleges with NROTC >> Do you first apply for the NROTC Scholarship and - if awarded - do you subsequently apply to the college/UCLA? Do the colleges look favorably on a candidate who already received the NROTC award (does it help their cause in the private college's admissions office?)
 
First of all congrats! I was actually in your exact same position and I ended up choosing the academy. The other commentators made some great points but I think some important things to consider are what your longer term plans are. The academy gives you a lot more flexibility and information on service selection. While selection itself is on par with rotc (with the exception of marine aviation) you’ll get a leg up on the newest info about ships, subs, command climates etc at the academy vs rotc.

If you’re unsure about how long you want to stay in, and especially if you’re planning on 5 and diving, UCLA might be the way to go. While the usna network is close knit, the only major field of work that the academy has over UCLA is in the gov/pol sector and the only major metro area that academy types outnumber UCLA grads is dc.

if you’re planning on going aviation (10+ Year commitment) or are aiming to stay in longer term then I’d lean more heavily towards the academy. One thing that is absolutely necessary for long term advancement in the navy is having higher ranking mentors and that’s where the academy connection is invaluable. You’ll have friends essentially anywhere you go while in the service.

these are just a couple points that I would consider on top of everything else. Up to you on how important they are. Good luck!
 
Physicsguru said:
UCLA ROTC alum...boy, do I have tales to tell. Sleeping at Pauley for basketball games, tailgating at the Rose Bowl, international quality track meets, beach in January. However....you must have the self discipline. It's easy to get lost in a class of 500 of your closest friends.

Feel free to DM me. I'm also the advisor for students applying the USNA from MMI, so I can give a bit of a comparison.
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I am interested in your perspective on MMI and sent you a DM. Thanks so much for your time!
 
Paine1776 said:
Curious to know the 'Admissions Sequence' to colleges with NROTC >> Do you first apply for the NROTC Scholarship and - if awarded - do you subsequently apply to the college/UCLA? Do the colleges look favorably on a candidate who already received the NROTC award (does it help their cause in the private college's admissions office?)
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When applying for NROTC you put down the five colleges where you would like to have the scholarship for and if you get the scholarship you have it for those five schools. You have to get accepted into those schools as well though in order to use the scholarship.
 
Modernamusement said:
If you’re unsure about how long you want to stay in, and especially if you’re planning on 5 and diving, UCLA might be the way to go. While the usna network is close knit, the only major field of work that the academy has over UCLA is in the gov/pol sector and the only major metro area that academy types outnumber UCLA grads is dc.
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In Aerospace and High Tech, I worked with a lot more USNA grads than UCLA grads, especially when you move out of the Southern California area. Working in MA, NH, NY, NJ and MD, I saw far more USNA (and USMA) grads, especially as you climb higher in the organizations.
 
Sheeesh said:
I have some very intelligent friends that have complained that they did not gain the amount of academic challenges they desired from the Academy. Attending a civilian institution allows you to utilize their specialized academic programs to the utmost of your capability; remember that USNA is a leadership school in the end, and so there are limits (especially within Group I and II majors) because the faculty accounts for the fact that your schedule will be inherently packed.

You have autonomy because the institution isn't mandating all of your time, and so you can attend parties and live up your "college life" experience. You'd be ahead of the curve in terms of the average USNA mid in terms of navigating leases, purchasing cars, and basic skills to live by yourself. Essentially, the world is more of your oyster for four years.
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I teach at a STEM University and I do not think that the academic level is higher than that at USNA. MIT, CalTech and a few others are a different story.
As for learning how to "do stuff", a large number of my students either live at home or dorm and go home on weekends. They have not done leases, etc and Mom does their laundry. With the career starter loan, far more mids at USNA get a new car while in college than my college students.
 
AcademyKid said:
Hello everyone. I was just recently given an appointment for the USNA Class of 2025. I have also been awarded the 4 Year NROTC Scholarship and it was placed at UCLA. These two are my final choices on where I will be attending. Now I know these two options are quite different and they both have certain advantages. I was wondering if anyone could weigh in on helping me with my decision. Some various aspects I am looking at are career transitions into the Navy, networking opportunities, the balance of schedules, and the overall experience in each respective route. It would be great if you could give me your opinion or tell a personal anecdote of your experience with either USNA or NROTC. Thank you and Go Navy!
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I'm currently in NROTC. Definitely a lot more college experiences and freedoms. If you're not totally, 100% set, on the academy and giving up things to be there - i'd say NROTC! Good Luck!
 
anon3478 said:
I'm currently in NROTC. Definitely a lot more college experiences and freedoms. If you're not totally, 100% set, on the academy and giving up things to be there - i'd say NROTC! Good Luck
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It's funny. I know at least a few mids who'd write the above sentence a bit differently:

"I'm currently at USNA. Definitely a lot more leadership experiences and rewards. If you're not totally 100% set on NROTC and giving up things to be there, I'd say USNA! Good luck.
 
anon3478 said:
I'm currently in NROTC. Definitely a lot more college experiences and freedoms. If you're not totally, 100% set, on the academy and giving up things to be there - i'd say NROTC! Good Luck!
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I never looked at it as giving up things. If you default to this anytime you are bummed while at USNA, frustrated or wonder why you aren’t doing something ‘other college kids are’ then the USNA experience will suck. There are so many opportunities with either path. It’s about talking advantage of the opportunities for which ever path you choose.
 
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