Is Air Force ROTC worth it?

bleach340 · 05-23-2012, 07:06 PM

I plan on going to a top ranked college but I have no money and basically get no financial aid. I've always wanted to join the military (specifically the Air Force) but always thought it would get in the way of my life. Now I need some kind of way to pay, I'm highly considering this.

My question is how much would ROTC affect my life? Can they call me back in to the army whenever they want? If I were running a reasonably large company (just hypothetical haha) would they just randomly ask me to serve in the air force and then my career would be ended?

FInally I'm muslim and I've heard muslims are not well accepted in the us army so how much would that affect my situation?

Thanks.

annasdad · 05-23-2012, 07:13 PM

Quote:

My question is how much would ROTC affect my life? Can they call me back in to the army whenever they want?

They could, at any point until your obligated service period (8 years, though not all of that is necessarily on active duty) is over.

Erin's Dad · 05-23-2012, 07:45 PM

I doubt they would call you back in the Army for Air Force ROTC. Half of your comments are about Army and half are Air Force so it seems you don't know what you want to ask. If you're not sure you want to go in then don't go.

bleach340 · 05-23-2012, 08:08 PM

@Erin's Dad: I'm sorry. I'm such a noob at this I get "military" and "army" mixed up. However I really want to serve my country and would love to serve in the Air Force. I haven't really researched into this as I just became aware of this option.

Erin's Dad · 05-24-2012, 12:43 PM

There is some information here: U.S. Air Force ROTC - College Scholarships and Careers

And I would recommend you look at the AF Academy forum (under colleges) where questions like this come up.

ArielsMom · 05-24-2012, 01:40 PM

There is a separate category for ROTC on the Service Academy Forum. You will get a very good idea of what it takes to get a scholarship (and keep it). The link to the forum is: United States of America Service Academy Forums - Powered by vBulletin.

85% of award winners are typically STEM majors. If you are pursuing a non-STEM field Army ROTC is a better bet.

Here's the statistics on this year's AFROTC scholarship recipients (my daughter was one of them).

Nationally, over 13,000 high school seniors applied for AFROTC scholarships for Fall ’12 start.

4,825 met minimum standards to be interviewed and then evaluated by a central scholarship board.

1,449 (30%) were offered scholarships:

77 Type 1 offers; 5% of total offers; avg 1440 on SAT reading/math or 33 on ACT;

216 Type 2 offers; 15 % of total offers; avg 1360 on SAT reading/math or 31 on ACT;

1,156 Type 7 offers; 80% of total offers; avg 1280 on SAT reading/math or 29 on ACT;

Wolverine86 · 05-24-2012, 06:55 PM

bleach340...A few things to think about regarding ROTC scholarships.

Quote:

Cadets in the Professional Officer Course and scholarship cadets are called contract cadets. There is no service commitment until you are on contract. After completing all Air Force ROTC and academic degree requirements, contracted cadets accept a commission appointed by the President of the United States as a second lieutenant in the Air Force.
•Most cadets incur a four-year active-duty commitment.
•Pilots incur a 10-year active-duty service commitment.
•Combat Systems Officers incur a six-year commitment.
•The minimum service obligation for the Air Battle Management career field is six years.

These are ACTIVE DUTY commitments which you will incur, not Air Guard or Air Force Reserve. You will be a full-time Air Force Officer for at least 4 years (potentially longer depending on your career field). So regarding your question

Quote:

My question is how much would ROTC affect my life?

It won't affect your life...it will BE your life. Make sure you fully understand that before pursuing AFROTC as a potential option.

Also, look at the stats that ArielsMom posted. The vast majority of scholarships offered are Type 7, which means they'll cover in-state tuition at public university rates and $900 per year for books. Is that amount of money sufficient for you to attend? You'd still have to come up with money for room and board on your own.

Quote:

I plan on going to a top ranked college

Check the AFROTC scholarship pages and see what universities offer AFROTC. Do any of the schools you are interested in have ROTC programs?

Quote:

I'm muslim and I've heard muslims are not well accepted in the us army

You are bound to encounter some anti-"fill in the blank" sentiment from a few members of any branch of the Armed Forces, just as you might from members of any group in society. No matter where you go in life you will find some ignorant individuals, and unfortunately the military isn't immune to it. But speaking from 20 years of military experience, you will find the percentages to be MUCH smaller than what you'd find in regular civilian society.

Quote:

If I were running a reasonably large company (just hypothetical haha) would they just randomly ask me to serve in the air force and then my career would be ended?

Again, just make sure you understand what commitments an AFROTC scholarship entails. You will be an active-duty, 24/7 Air Force officer until your initial commitment is fulfilled. That will be your career. You won't be running any companies on the side, you'll be serving your country full-time. Once the commitment is served, if you choose to leave the military for civilian life you can do as you please and should not be subject to recall.

With all that in mind, if serving in the military is something you're truly interested in then an AFROTC scholarship may be something worth pursuing. Good luck with your college plans and whichever path you choose to achieve them.

bleach340 · 05-24-2012, 07:18 PM

Thanks guys for your insightful posts. I think based on the SAT scores and just my application in general I'm good enough for a Type 1 or at least Type 2 scholarship. I'm guaranteed admission into my state school (% rule) and should be able to get a significant scholarship. I had this question in mind for colleges such as MIT or Caltech. MIT seems to have a AFROTC program and Caltech has their program based at USC. Four years is quite a while but on the other hand getting to serve my country and having the air force pay for my education is a pretty sweet deal. I'll have to think on this a while...probably while I get in shape over the summer.

annasdad · 05-24-2012, 07:25 PM

bleach, good luck with whatever you decide. And there are some guys (and gals) who go into the military planning to do four-and-out and decide that the military life is for them and wind up staying 30 years.

Scutrules · 07-17-2012, 05:21 AM

Sorry for budding in on an old post but I think it's importnat that you realize that ROTC is not some extracurricular or part time job, it becomes your life te second you swear in freshman year. If you don't want to be an officer in the AF more than anything in the world, then ROTC is not for you. It can become really tough, especially when you see friends going out at night and you can't because you have to be up at 5 for PT. You may think it'll be easy but it will test whether you really want to be in the AF or are just looking for a way to pay for school.

You should never ask "is it worth it?" as if you really want this, the answer will already be obvious. If you aren't doing this because you truly want to serve, then it will be just like any other job you're stuck in (but worse, because you can't just quit when you feel like it).

That being said, ROTC (and serving your country) is an incredible thing to do and putting on that uniform knowing you are dedicating yourself to your country is one of the proudest things you'll ever do.