Posted: 2/19/2003 5:54:10 AM EDT
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Howdy all. I am a Sophmore (first semester) in EE and have been looking at ROTC (AF express scholarship to be exact) and have some questions. 1. Do the other services offer express or one year ROTC scholarships? 2. I have heard that ROTC can be quite good for the resume, is that true? 3. I have been thinking about going to Cuba (not with State department permission) over the summer (after summer school of course), would doing so bollucks any chance of being an officer? Any thoughts would be helpful. THX |
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Quoted: Howdy all. I am a Sophmore (first semester) in EE and have been looking at ROTC (AF express scholarship to be exact) and have some questions. 1. Do the other services offer express or one year ROTC scholarships? Minimum They offered for ARMY Rotc was a 2 year. That was only given if you were prior enlisted, or were contracting after completing your 2nd year of Military Science. 2. I have heard that ROTC can be quite good for the resume, is that true? Just curious if you have any intention of commissioning or are doing it for the hell of it. I suppose it couldn hurt but the employer might wonder why you stopped. IF you go and commission the fact that you served in the AF will look good on your record. 3. I have been thinking about going to Cuba (not with State department permission) over the summer (after summer school of course), would doing so bollucks any chance of being an officer? Any thoughts would be helpful. THX I dont think so. I havent heard or seen anywthing where it states one can not go to cuba. |
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My son is a sophomore in college attending on a 3.5 yr Army ROTC scholarship. IIRC, 2 yrs was the minimum for the Army, but I could be wrong. I'll email him to see if he knows and post a followup. You might try checking individual university ROTC web pages for info on less than 2 yr scholarships. Try Purdue as they have an excellent (that's the rumor) Air Force ROTC program and lots of info on their ROTC Dept website. IMHO, ROTC certainly does hurt a resume. I do ask questions regarding experiences with ROTC and reason for participating when interviewing a potential employee if I see it on their resume. Not to discourage you, but I thought I would share what I have learned first hand from my son's expereinces with Army ROTC so far. First, he loves it. Having said that, his goal is to join the Army after college anyways. Perhaps, career military. The particular college and Army ROTC program he participates in is NO cake walk. Prepare to spend several hours each week outside the classroom and keeping yourself in shape. Daily PT (everyday and every semester) starting at 7:00 (6:00 for him as he is member of Ranger team that competes against other universities), monthly PFT test to verify you can pass the 2 mile run, 2 min situps and pushups yardstick they use, height/weight checks (not sure how frequent) which is a joke and he is fighting this issue as we speak. He is 19 and has been body building for 5 years. Played sports in high school. 5'8 1/2", 178 lbs and 11.5% body fat (verified by skin caliper and hydro). The Army method- flunked BLM height/weight and girth measurements indicate 22.5% body fat. What a joke! He has to lose 8 lbs before mid-March to keep from losing scholarship. Yet, during his freshmen year and first time out, he placed 3rd overall in the individual Ranger PFT (score of 354 I believe) competition against 350+ male cadets from other universities. I do not see how West Point football players manage to pass [>:/] They do lots of stuff on weekends. Some of it mandatory I think. If you have specific questions I can email him. I do know that scholarships are fairly easy to get right now or it sure seems that way. Perhaps, that is always the case. I hope some of this helps! |
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[url]http://www.afrotc.com/scholarships/icschol/oneyear/index.htm[/url] I do not want to worry about getting my first job out of college. I am not interested about the ROTC experience (I am nerd) or need the the scholarship terribly, but loan repayment after I get out of college would be nice would be nice. |
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if you take a scholarship, you will be committed. which means you will serve, whether you like it or not. If you back out after your grace period is up, i believe you still serve anyway, and as an enlisted man. If you are just there for the money, fugeddaboutit. Quoted: I do not want to worry about getting my first job out of college. If youre an EE major, you won't have to worry. you are employable anywhere if you have a decent GPA. I am not interested about the ROTC experience (I am nerd) or need the the scholarship terribly, but loan repayment after I get out of college would be nice. If you aren't interested in the ROTC experience, and are just hopping along for the $$, you are setting yourself up for failure. The ROTC experience and the classes and the PT and the extracurriculars (ranger 1, pathfinder, pershing rifles, etc) are what helps make you an officer. Notice I said "helps". Doing it for the sole purpose of the money....well, i guess i don't know what to say. |
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Quoted: My son is a sophomore in college attending on a 3.5 yr Army ROTC scholarship. IIRC, 2 yrs was the minimum for the Army, but I could be wrong. I'll email him to see if he knows and post a followup. You might try checking individual university ROTC web pages for info on less than 2 yr scholarships. Try Purdue as they have an excellent (that's the rumor) Air Force ROTC program and lots of info on their ROTC Dept website. 2 years is the minimum because MS3 and MS4 year are mandatory to get a commission. Throughout ms3 year you will be evaluated and then the summer of that year you go to advanced camp to be evaluated again. Those evaluations rank you amongst all the other cadets in the country and you then get a branch based on performance and slts available according to your ranking. IMHO, ROTC certainly does hurt a resume. I do ask questions regarding experiences with ROTC and reason for participating when interviewing a potential employee if I see it on their resume. Not to discourage you, but I thought I would share what I have learned first hand from my son's expereinces with Army ROTC so far. First, he loves it. Having said that, his goal is to join the Army after college anyways. Perhaps, career military. The particular college and Army ROTC program he participates in is NO cake walk. Prepare to spend several hours each week outside the classroom and keeping yourself in shape. Daily PT (everyday and every semester) starting at 7:00 (6:00 for him as he is member of Ranger team that competes against other universities), monthly PFT test to verify you can pass the 2 mile run, 2 min situps and pushups yardstick they use, height/weight checks (not sure how frequent) which is a joke and he is fighting this issue as we speak. He is 19 and has been body building for 5 years. Played sports in high school. 5'8 1/2", 178 lbs and 11.5% body fat (verified by skin caliper and hydro). The Army method- flunked BLM height/weight and girth measurements indicate 22.5% body fat. What a joke! He has to lose 8 lbs before mid-March to keep from losing scholarship. Yet, during his freshmen year and first time out, he placed 3rd overall in the individual Ranger PFT (score of 354 I believe) competition against 350+ male cadets from other universities. I do not see how West Point football players manage to pass [>:/] They do lots of stuff on weekends. Some of it mandatory I think. If you have specific questions I can email him. I do know that scholarships are fairly easy to get right now or it sure seems that way. Perhaps, that is always the case. I hope some of this helps! Scholarships depend on the size of the ROTC battalion. Obviously smaler ones get less and larger ones get more funding. halfway through the first semester of MSI you can apply for a 3 year scholarship. A lot of people who did wound up getting 3.5 year retractive scholaships. This kicked in half way through the secnd semester and they recieved the money owed to them for that semester. This money came around every year and even allowed for 2.5 year retroactive scholarships as well. |
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Being in ROTC helped me a lot when I was applying for medical school. The level of responsibility you can attain is orders of magnitudes greater than the average college student. Being an XO in charge of 70 cadets (small program) requires planning, commitment, and interpersonal skills that will dwarf what you can get from being a fraternity treasurer or helping out with Habitat for Humanity. Schools and employers know this, not to mention all the ex-military folks you will run into. Serving a few years on active duty will season you tremendously and again, the level or responisbility for an officer in the military is HUGE compared to fresh graduates in civilian jobs. Unless there have been big changes in the past few years, the Army has a minimum 2 year commitment. You will probably have to go to ROTC basic camp (NOT the enlist BOOT CAMP/Basic Training!! :) between your 2nd and 3rd years, then go to advanced camp between your 3rd and 4th years. Lots 'o fun!! But it sounds like you are behind a semester (1st semester sophomore in feb 2003), so you may be on a different schedule if you are going to take longer to graduate. You could probably start ROTC classes now with no commitment, then decide to contract before your third year, in case you don't like it. That is what I did. Only I loved it and regret not getting a scholarship from the get go. As for Cuba, hard to say. It might come up during a security clearance review if you go into some type of classified job, so just be sure you keep a good record of your activities and associations while you are there, just in case. Other wise have fun and stay out of trouble. Later. |
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First off I am ahead a semester, not behind! Here is a link to info about the one year scholarship. [url]http://www.afrotc.com/scholarships/icschol/oneyear/index.htm[/url] I was hoping that serving my coutry and making the resume look better for later on in life were both doable without drasticly changing my college life. This is why I like the idea on the one year ROTC gig. The school I attend cost me less than 3.5k (2500 tuition, 500 books, plus bus fare) a year all told. This is all loans so I will likely have 10k in loans when I get out of school. Even if a one year schollarship nothing before it goes into effect, I will not be seriously in debt. btw Army and Navy both have crappy ROTC websites. |
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Yes, as I understand it, you are committed/ contracted if you accept scholarship; therefore, you will serve. In my son's case, it does not matter he was going to serve anyways. So, why not let Uncle Sugar pick up the tab. You said you do not really need the money or as a previous post said, if you are just in it for the money, forget it! If you are not really interested in ROTC or military, I agree with a previous post you will probably fail. I disagree with previous post re: guaranteed finding a job just because you have an EE degree. I see Elec E's, Chem E's, Mech E's fresh out of school and can't find a job. Yes, with excellent GPA's. Yes, Advanced Camp is required if contracted. Basic Camp is not required at some schools. Substitute with class room. 4 courses to be exact at the college my son attends. Yes, you can take classes to get feel if its for you. |
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Quoted: Yes, as I understand it, you are committed/ contracted if you accept scholarship; therefore, you will serve. In my son's case, it does not matter he was going to serve anyways. So, why not let Uncle Sugar pick up the tab. You said you do not really need the money or as a previous post said, if you are just in it for the money, forget it! If you are not really interested in ROTC or military, I agree with a previous post you will probably fail. I disagree with previous post re: guaranteed finding a job just because you have an EE degree. I see Elec E's, Chem E's, Mech E's fresh out of school and can't find a job. Yes, with excellent GPA's. Yes, Advanced Camp is required if contracted. Basic Camp is not required at some schools. Substitute with class room. 4 courses to be exact at the college my son attends. Yes, you can take classes to get feel if its for you. Your points would be valid if fearless here was going Army ROTC. However, he seems determined to go the Air Force route. After all, they have the coolest website [rolleyes]. Air Force ROTC seems to have a lot fewer requiremetns than the Navy and Army programs, and they actually seem to actively recruit people with no real sense of commitment. He may just do fine. |
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You missed the point, asshole. (see post directly above) I have no problem spending five in the military, but I do not want to spend college in the military. I am not only looking at the AF, but they have much more info on their website than any other service. The navy has all sorts of broken links last I checked, and the army site has a bunch of solider stories rather than hard info. I was hoping to get hard info about the other services here, and one fellow with a .mil has sent me a PM. Thanks (most) all. Edited to direct less than kind words. |
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Quoted: You missed the point, asshole. No, YOU missed the point. Do you not understand that the ROTC program is what helps train you to be in the military? Regardless of branch? It is the experience you get by taking an active part in the program which teaches you some of the skills that you need to lead. That includes being in charge of a bunch of 1st year cadets, going to the FTXs, doing the PT, staying in shape, getting off your ass, and taking the initiative. but I do not want to spend college in the military [rolleyes] Once you commit, you don't get a choice. in addition to taking the classes, you take part in and make happen a bunch of leadership labs, extracurricular groups (ranger 1 or ...), lead PT (it's a little bit tougher than it sounds), and the like. It's basic stuff, but important nonetheless, and it will take up a lot of your time. You sound a little naive about the whole commitment thing. Take the classes, and find out if you like it first (and in my opinion, the classes reflect very little of what you'll actually be doing) so it is best to get involved in the other extracurriculars they offer, that will give you a true taste of what it's like. you seem to be a little more concerned with getting your loans repaid than actually wanting to serve...and that seems to indicate that the military may not be for you. Oh yeah, coming here with an attitude and calling people assholes after they point out the obvious isn't the best way to get help. grow up. |
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Ok... Before I start: I was an AFROTC cadet for 1 year (1998), didn't have a scholarship, and was there to get into the AF.. My knowledge of ROTC comes from that year, and subsequent inquiries about weather to apply for OTS or return to ROTC. I chose OTS (Still waiting for the decision, due to medical test paperwork issues (it took them almost 3 months to schedule an eye exam)), but allong the way I picked up some info that may help. Quoted: Howdy all. I am a Sophmore (first semester) in EE and have been looking at ROTC (AF express scholarship to be exact) and have some questions. 1. Do the other services offer express or one year ROTC scholarships? Don't know. I was AFROTC, but here's what I know about their program (you may have this allready): As an EE, AFROTC may have something for you. There is a straight 2 year program, however it would be advised that you visit your local detatchment and see about joining up this semester, so as to get some more time in before you have to go to field training (Basically a mix between OTS and basic, which takes 10 weeks of your summer. Full-program cadets do it between sophmore and junior year. You'd probably go next summer). As for scholarship specifics, you can apply for the true full-ride scholarship program on merit of your field. You will also get a small 'POCI' incentive once you reach 'upper class' (cadet-officer) rank. This would probably be Senior year (since they'd have you do your 200 (Sophmore) year next year, and then finish your senior year as POC. Some of the above varies by detatchment and detachment CO (aka 'PAS'. Usually an 06 or 05). So go talk to your local detachment. Trust me, they'll be more than happy to answer all your questions... 2. I have heard that ROTC can be quite good for the resume, is that true? Don't know about while you're in school, but if you finish, having spent time as an officer (provided you're not a still a 2Lt when you leave) certainly will... 3. I have been thinking about going to Cuba (not with State department permission) over the summer (after summer school of course), would doing so bollucks any chance of being an officer? No, but your security clearance form (I had to do it twice (once for ROTC, once for OTS). It's long enough to warrant getting a typewriter from your local thrift store, and they ask every question you could immagine) would get picked over with a fine toothed comb. Also, they would be quite interested in the purposes and motivations of any agency/organization (if any) that sponsored your trip... The PFT for the Air Force is 1.5 miles in 12 minutes, 42 push-ups, and 54 sit-ups. You will have to pass it first-shot if you want a scholarship.. The 'official' maximum time commitment (per AF regs) is 2 hrs/wk, but NO ONE gets away with only 2 hours, as there are plenty of 'officially' optional activities that you WILL find yourself participating in. I usually found myself spending 5-7 hours a week on ROTC, and that was as a freshman cadet. Upperclassmen spend ALOT more time (command meetings, planning, operations), as with the exception of teaching classes and administrative tasks, they do most of the day-to-day operational work. And as mentioned before, 'resume value' depends on motivation. Most civillian employers who will be impressed will also care why you joined, and what you did while inside... |
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Quoted: Quoted: You missed the point, asshole. No, YOU missed the point. Do you not understand that the ROTC program is what helps train you to be in the military? Regardless of branch? It is the experience you get by taking an active part in the program which teaches you some of the skills that you need to lead. That includes being in charge of a bunch of 1st year cadets, going to the FTXs, doing the PT, staying in shape, getting off your ass, and taking the initiative. but I do not want to spend college in the military [rolleyes] Once you commit, you don't get a choice. in addition to taking the classes, you take part in and make happen a bunch of leadership labs, extracurricular groups (ranger 1 or ...), lead PT (it's a little bit tougher than it sounds), and the like. It's basic stuff, but important nonetheless, and it will take up a lot of your time. You sound a little naive about the whole commitment thing. Take the classes, and find out if you like it first (and in my opinion, the classes reflect very little of what you'll actually be doing) so it is best to get involved in the other extracurriculars they offer, that will give you a true taste of what it's like. you seem to be a little more concerned with getting your loans repaid than actually wanting to serve...and that seems to indicate that the military may not be for you. Oh yeah, coming here with an attitude and calling people assholes after they point out the obvious isn't the best way to get help. grow up. I agree, Fearless, you need to an attitude adjustment as well as a little growing up to do. Otherwise, you will not do well at anything in life. If my post was enough to flip your trigger, I seriously doubt you will be able to deal with the rigors of ROTC. All of the posts inlcuding mine were to help you out, give you first hand real world experiences with college ROTC programs. In other words, what you are commiting to and what to expect. I'll ignore your assessment of the type of person I am due to your age and maturity level. Good luck. |
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Quoted: You missed the point, asshole. (see post directly above) I have no problem spending five in the military, but I do not want to spend college in the military. I am not only looking at the AF, but they have much more info on their website than any other service. The navy has all sorts of broken links last I checked, and the army site has a bunch of solider stories rather than hard info. I was hoping to get hard info about the other services here, and one fellow with a .mil has sent me a PM. Thanks (most) all. Edited to direct less than kind words. I'm surprised that you got the information that you did, considering how you're coming across in your posts. Just to give you a heads-up, [b]Adam_White[/b] is an active-duty Army O-3 (Captain) commanding a unit in the 2d Infantry Division here in South Korea. He could've been a good source of information. A look at the [i]Service Records[/i] thread in the [i]Hall of Heroes[/i] forum will give you an idea of the incredible amount of military experience on this board. If you look at it the way I do, it would humble you and make you [b]think[/b] before writing in the manner like you've done. I hope the way you're presenting yourself through your posts is not representative of who you are as a person. If so, regardless of the branch, you're going to be in for a ROUGH ride IF you ever get commissioned. Chris |
| Do not go to Cuba if you are interested in a military career. There is a seldom (or never)enforced law forbidding US citizens from going to Cuba, and any trip you make that is not sponsored by the US government would be highly suspect. If I were doing your background investigation, I wouldn't even allow you to have unescorted access to the latrine if you had this in your record. |