ROTC - Anyone with family?

[tyniknate]

Does anyone on here have family members with ROTC experience? My DS is looking into this as an option for payment for school and I'm looking for all the information I can gather. I don't mind the idea of him joining the military, I just would like to be as "armed" as possible before we meet with the college ROTC office.

Can anyone give me the good, the bad or the ugly?

 

[LindaBabe]

No ROTC here, but military (ret) wife. Let me encourage you and him. Military life can be good life and certainly gives one a sound foundation on which to build a future. My husband would not have gone as far in any career, without the early career structure and environment of the military, and the GI Bill to fund his education after retirement. It paid off later in the civilian workplace, and is still paying dividends today.

Good Luck in finding the answers you seek.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Make sure he gets lots of info about that they do and do not pay for in terms of schooling. And do they set limitations on what school he can go to.

The idea of a GI bill has changed a lot over the years. DH ended up letting his go because while they would pay for him to get his pilots license they would not let him use it to get a degree in computer engineering.

Personally I don't think it's worth it.


Found this:

Officers (ROTC/Academy Grads)
Officers who graduated from service academies or received ROTC scholarships do qualify for Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33). However, time spent satisfying the ROTC/Service Academy active duty obligation does not count toward the active duty service necessary to qualify for the benefits.

These requirements are typically 5 years for academies and 4 years for ROTC grads. For example if an ROTC grad served 6 years after graduating college, their first 4 years would not count but their subsequent 2 years of service would qualify that office for 80% of the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

If an ROTC graduate becomes a reserve officer and then is activated on federal orders it is possible that this active duty service would qualify for Post-9/11 eligibility.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Our experience was the complete opposite as Linda's.

When DH got out of the Navy we were told by multiple potential employers that his military career was a detriment to DH's future career choice. He applied to over 80 companies before he convinced one guy to take a chance. We were told that if he had come right out of HS he would have had a better chance at landing a job than he did by having 5 years of service in the Navy.

 

[tyniknate]

Thanks for the replies. It seems there is no easy answer anywhere.

He is looking at this as an option because with the financial troubles we have had during the past 3 or 4 years, his dad and I will not qualify for any parent loans to help him out. The recession has hit us pretty hard and although we have been able to keep up with the necessities, we did have to default on a consolidation loan. We are working to set up payments on this loan now, but it no longer matters as far as college. They see it as a default and nothing more, and will not consider giving us any loans. It wasn't something we took lightly and believe me when I say there was no other way. It sent me into a bout of major depression and almost caused us to divorce and that is why I had to step away from the boards. It has put us between a rock and hard place. We really don't know what to do. Things are slowly getting better, but it seems its too late. The guilt I have over not being able to help our DS out is still a huge burden. Anyone have any suggestions what we can do?

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

It's not your fault you defaulted, sometimes saving your house and letting a CC go down hill is what you have to do. I've been there, trust me.

I guess the first thing to do is determine what he wants to be when he grows up. Does it need a 4 year college? A 2 year college? No college at all? An apprenticeship?

What grade is he going into? Are there any college courses he can take in HS? DS16 is taking 3 courses this year and 2 next year. The local community college has a program with Johnson and Wales where he can take a portion of his core subjects while in HS, at the HS and it counts as college credit. I just have to pay for the credits, I think it was $25 a credit for one class and the rest were free. He will graduate from HS with 14-21 credits.

The next step if he needs a 4 year school is look at your community colleges. DS will transfer to our local college to finish out his core classes, 1-2 years. This way he can live at home and work too. After that he wants to go to Johnson and Wales in either Providence or Denver, then maybe 1 year abroad. J&W is 25,000 a year, We don't have to money for that so he's going to have to try to do what he can without going into mega debt.
But in the mean time, when we go down to Disney in Dec he is going to talk to the chefs and other people there to see if college is better or if he should do an apprenticeship instead. His ultimate goal is to work at Boma so he has a clear plan for his future. He just needs to plan backwards now.

Also start looking into scholarships everywhere!!

Not everyone goes to college. As a matter of fact, DH is a HS drop out. He was 2 weeks to graduation and they discovered he needed 1 english class. They wouldn't let him test out, or take the one class. He had to take the class and fill the rest of the schedule with study halls and electives. The principal suggested he drop out and get his GED. DH was already working full time at a car dealership. Before he joined the Navy he got his HS diploma by testing out at a local not school, never set foot in a classroom again and now he's a teacher in his field. Go figure!
Now I'm not gonna lie, it hasn't been easy but he is now at the top of his field. When people ask where he went to school, he just says the school of hard knocks or he tells the truth. People always said, hey don't tell anyone you never went to college, but he's not ashamed of it.

If he wants to go the ROTC route, just make sure he does his homework. If say UCONN is the school he wants to go to, he needs to call them and make sure that his GI Bill will cover that school and that degree.

 

[wdwmickey]

Danielle we have also been there, done that.

DH was in the Navy for 11 years and was "passed over " for his last promotion because of a comment in his file that his first commanding officer made. That meant we had to leave the Navy. His luck at finding a job for the first few years was not great. He worked odd jobs and part time for a long time. Things got so bad that we had to move in with his parents for 6 months. Not something you want to do with a 3 & 4 year old in tow His mom still feels like our finances are her business.

Anyway, Sarah's first day of college is today. She looked at lots of schools, but, nothing felt quite right. Until she got a postcard from a tiny school in Nebraska. Because of her good grades and test scores she qualified for a full tuition scholarship for 4 years! She applied for tons of other scholarships and only needed to get a small loan to cover the rest of her costs for this year. We are still paying off DH's loans (from the classes he took after he got out of the Navy, so he would qualify for a job) so I applied for a parent loan. I got it, but, it is quite small, just enough to help with extra living expenses.

Rachel is a high school senior this year. She know that we will only be able to help her out a little bit too. She is already looking for scholarships while she is looking at colleges.

There is a ton of scholarship info available on the web. Good luck and tell your son to apply, apply, apply. Someone gets the scholarship and lots of scholarships go unclaimed every year.

 

[tyniknate]

Ty starts his senior year one week from today. He is hoping to get a degree in chemical engineering. He has looked at Penn State, but they don't have much in the way of help for us and they are uber-expensive as far as state schools go. They get so many applications for their engineering program that they don't need to work with those who have "money challenges". We are going this month to look at two more smaller schools, but I feel so overwhelmed at this point. He really loved Penn State and isn't really interrested in looking elsewhere. It's a tough pill to swallow when you have to tell your kids that it probably just can't happen because of the mistakes that mom and dad have made.
I'm just hoping that one of the other state schools we visit will catch his eye and he will find what he is looking for. In the meantime, I'm totally stressed out over all of this. DH doesn't seem to think much about any of it, so it's totally on my shoulders.
Thanks for all the kind words. We will just have to keep chugging along and see what happens from here. I keep telling myself that what is meant to be, will be.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Part of your answer is right in front of you.
Penn State has such a big engineering program Ty would be like a dime a dozen. Just a number.

A smaller school would be the way to go because he would get more focused attention. Even if he gets his core classes at a smaller school and moves to Penn for his final year, that would be good. It's totally and option if the smaller schools will transfer his credits.

 

[tyniknate]

I guess you are right. Didn't even think of it that way. I was just kinda spinning my wheels until school is back in session and we can have a sit-down with the guidance counselor. I'm hoping she can give us some direction on where to go and what to do for him.

I appreciate all the words of wisdom. I will take any info or advise any of you can provide. This is our first time through it and it seems like a jungle.

 

[wdwmickey]

DH wanted me to tell you if Ty does decide on ROTC y'all should be talking to them very soon, and to try for Air Force if at all possible. According to DH the Air Force is run much more like a business than the other branches of the service.

My girls both knew we wouldn't be able to help them much financially with school even before we really talked about it. You DS may know much more about the finances in your house than you realize. Our girls seemed to just pick it up even though DH and I thought we were being very careful when we talked about money.

The HS counselor should have lots of info about scholarships, etc. I do know that the dorm and food costs for Sarah in Nebraska are about half of what room & board costs are in Colorado. So that was very helpful for us. I would say look at any options that come your way and know too that there are lots of people in the same boat. DH freaked when he realized that one year of school for our girls would cost more than his entire four years did (back in the day ). College is expensive!!!

 

[morgansmom2000]

My DH's nephew is ROTC (Air Force), but I honestly don't know much about it (they live in Texas, I'm in Massachusetts).

Another nephew (on my side) is planning on ROTC (he's going to be a freshman at a Technical High School). I believe he is interested in the Navy and being a pilot on an aircraft carrier...but not positive.

Another nephew (I'm the youngest of seven) is an engineering major at UMass Amherst. An EXCELLENT school. No, it's not Penn State, but it has a small and very impressive engineering program. It's a Massachusetts state school, but the out-of-state costs should be lower than Penn State, for sure!

As far as not getting to go to Penn State - he could start anywhere, do really well and transfer. No, not ideal, but it may be what it takes if he really wants to go there.

He is eligible for loans. Again, not ideal, but if he gets them and you get your feet under you, you can always help him pay them back.

 

[tyniknate]

DH wanted me to tell you if Ty does decide on ROTC y'all should be talking to them very soon, and to try for Air Force if at all possible. According to DH the Air Force is run much more like a business than the other branches of the service.

My girls both knew we wouldn't be able to help them much financially with school even before we really talked about it. You DS may know much more about the finances in your house than you realize. Our girls seemed to just pick it up even though DH and I thought we were being very careful when we talked about money.

The HS counselor should have lots of info about scholarships, etc. I do know that the dorm and food costs for Sarah in Nebraska are about half of what room & board costs are in Colorado. So that was very helpful for us. I would say look at any options that come your way and know too that there are lots of people in the same boat. DH freaked when he realized that one year of school for our girls would cost more than his entire four years did (back in the day ). College is expensive!!!

We have a tour scheduled at a local campus and a meeting with the ROTC officer in early September. I'm really hoping he likes this campus, its so much cheaper than Penn State. If not, we have several more visits scheduled. I'm sure we will find the "right" school, he just has his mind made up without having seen anything else but Penn State. There is a very nice state school less than 10 miles from our home, so living at home and working might have to be part of the equation. He, of course, just wants to go away to college.

As for the money and kids, we haven't really kept it a total secret what problems we are having. It has been part of the discussions when I tell the boys "not going to college is not an option." I really don't want them having to struggle financially the way we have. Of course they don't know all the gory details, but they know it has been very hard.

Of course it's our luck that for the past 4 or 5 years DH's paychecks have been half of what they should be. Now this year, when they will count our income for his loans, DH is back to work full time. Doesn't really show the full picture of how hard it has been for us the past several years when all they will be looking at is our finances for this year. Doesn't seem like we can catch a break anywhere.

Oh well, I'm not the kind to just give up, so we will find a way somehow. Just may not be exactly how DS has pictured.

 

[tyniknate]

My DH's nephew is ROTC (Air Force), but I honestly don't know much about it (they live in Texas, I'm in Massachusetts).

Another nephew (on my side) is planning on ROTC (he's going to be a freshman at a Technical High School). I believe he is interested in the Navy and being a pilot on an aircraft carrier...but not positive.

Another nephew (I'm the youngest of seven) is an engineering major at UMass Amherst. An EXCELLENT school. No, it's not Penn State, but it has a small and very impressive engineering program. It's a Massachusetts state school, but the out-of-state costs should be lower than Penn State, for sure!

As far as not getting to go to Penn State - he could start anywhere, do really well and transfer. No, not ideal, but it may be what it takes if he really wants to go there.

He is eligible for loans. Again, not ideal, but if he gets them and you get your feet under you, you can always help him pay them back.

We keep hearing that Air Force is the only way to go for ROTC. That is what he is thinking in terms of service, so that makes me happy.

As for transfering credits, Penn State is nearly impossible to get credit transfers through. They really want the student to receive the whole degree through the university, so they don't work well with transfers. They have 10 smaller "cheaper" campuses ($25,000 per year instead of $31,000 per year main campus), but that doesn't really help us out much. Ugh, why Penn State? I keep asking him and he doesn't have an answer other than "that's where I want to go." Hopefully one of the upcoming visits we have to other places will show him something he likes.

 

[ban26ana]

I was offered 2 ROTC scholarships. My first was an Air Force one to Notre Dame to major in aeorospace engineering. My second was a Navy one to Penn State to major in chemistry. I took the Navy one for a few reasons. One, the Navy was what I wanted to do. I wanted to make a career out of it. Two, Penn State was my first choice school. And three, Penn State was closer to home, so it would be cheaper to travel home.


The program itself was great. I had orders to report about a week before move-in day. We did a mini-boot camp at Fort Indiantown Gap. During the semester, I had to take an ROTC class and report to PT in the mornings. They checked up on us to make sure we were going to all of our classes. And we had a certain number of hours of study time that we had to do in the ROTC building each week. They paid for my tuition and academic fees, and had a library of books for me to borrow for classes. If my class books weren't in their library, I was reimbursed for buying them at the bookstore. I was also given a stipend each month.

However, I have a heart problem that was found by the Navy. I was in the process of appealing to be waivered into staying, when I had a head trauma in the Penn State bus accident of 1999. So now I can never serve in the military, and they demanded I pay them back for the semester. By that point, it was November. All of my scholarships that I had declined for other schools, were obviously given away. I'm still paying on my student loans, and I don't even have my degree yet.


I'd say that ROTC is a great decision, but make sure he gets a complete medical work-up so he doesn't end up in my position. It's so frustrating because I did everything right: I worked hard in high school, I got my first choice scholarship for my first choice school, and I had my first choice career just waiting for me to graduate and fall into it. And then my whole life just crumbled beneath me.

 

[tyniknate]

I was offered 2 ROTC scholarships. My first was an Air Force one to Notre Dame to major in aeorospace engineering. My second was a Navy one to Penn State to major in chemistry. I took the Navy one for a few reasons. One, the Navy was what I wanted to do. I wanted to make a career out of it. Two, Penn State was my first choice school. And three, Penn State was closer to home, so it would be cheaper to travel home.


The program itself was great. I had orders to report about a week before move-in day. We did a mini-boot camp at Fort Indiantown Gap. During the semester, I had to take an ROTC class and report to PT in the mornings. They checked up on us to make sure we were going to all of our classes. And we had a certain number of hours of study time that we had to do in the ROTC building each week. They paid for my tuition and academic fees, and had a library of books for me to borrow for classes. If my class books weren't in their library, I was reimbursed for buying them at the bookstore. I was also given a stipend each month.

However, I have a heart problem that was found by the Navy. I was in the process of appealing to be waivered into staying, when I had a head trauma in the Penn State bus accident of 1999. So now I can never serve in the military, and they demanded I pay them back for the semester. By that point, it was November. All of my scholarships that I had declined for other schools, were obviously given away. I'm still paying on my student loans, and I don't even have my degree yet.


I'd say that ROTC is a great decision, but make sure he gets a complete medical work-up so he doesn't end up in my position. It's so frustrating because I did everything right: I worked hard in high school, I got my first choice scholarship for my first choice school, and I had my first choice career just waiting for me to graduate and fall into it. And then my whole life just crumbled beneath me.

I'm so sorry to hear about your experience. I truly hope that you are doing ok. Thanks for the ROTC info. We meet with the campus ROTC office in early September, so we will see what happens. Everyone I talk with has a different explanation of how the program works and I'm so confused about all of it. Even their website doesn't clarify much. I've heard everything from horror stories about lies their children have been told in order to have them sign up, to glowing reviews from parents who say it was the best experience ever. I really didn't think it would be that hard.

I will be giving my son the info you provided and having him look it over and add it to the packet he has compiled. But at this point, its more like a book, than a packet

Thanks again!

 

[LindaBabe]

If he doesn't decide to go ROTC, he might try looking for small expensive, private schools that are well endowed. If they have big endowment funds, it's easier to get scholarships so that the net cost can be less than at state schools. I'm thinking in particular Union College in Schenectady NY. I had a full ride there which would have continued for the 4 years, if I hadn't given it up to take the "job of my dreams".