NROTC

Intel2011

Active member
What is it life being a midshipmen in NROTC? Is it a problem that I would be entering after 1 year at a community college? Whats it like as an officer?
 
Generally with ROTC, it doesn't matter that you transfer in after a year of community college and in fact, if your BN has a satellite program at a community college, you may find a few cadets having come over from the community college ROTC program.
If you missed a year, some ROTC BNs will allow you to take MS I and MS II level classes simultaneously.
 
We had a midshipman this year who transferred from a community college; unfortunately, he didn't make it through the year. People who have a "normal" first year of college sometimes have trouble adjusting to the NROTC lifestyle.

What school are you looking into going to?

And feel free to PM me if you want to ask more specific questions. I just commissioned after four years in NROTC.
 
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Well I'm going to a small community college because I made my decision to do NROTC to late to get in for this year. I actually just sent in my application yesterday. The community college is just to get credits for my degree in Mechanical Engineering out of the way...I want to go to Iowa State for the other 3 years and commision as a Surface Warfare Officer
 
We had a midshipman this year who transferred from a community college; unfortunately, he didn't make it through the year. People who have a "normal" first year of college sometimes have trouble adjusting to the NROTC lifestyle.

Probably unable to come to terms with the sort of charlie foxtrot the whole thing is. The faggotry of it all.
 
Well I'm going to a small community college because I made my decision to do NROTC to late to get in for this year. I actually just sent in my application yesterday. The community college is just to get credits for my degree in Mechanical Engineering out of the way...I want to go to Iowa State for the other 3 years and commision as a Surface Warfare Officer

My main advice academically is to make sure that your credits will transfer; schools are picky about that kind of thing. As for the Navy, as long as you want it and put in as much effort as you can, you'll get through the program without much trouble. Make sure you have time management squared away - one of the main reasons that gets people kicked out of NROTC is lack of time management. They have too much on their plates, have no idea how to handle it, and their grades suffer.

I also selected SWO, so if you want information on that I'm available.

Probably unable to come to terms with the sort of charlie foxtrot the whole thing is. The faggotry of it all.

How would you know? Aren't there rules against that in this forum?
 
Yeah, I'm gunna check on all that transfer stuff...what exactly do you do as a SWO. I've read all the stuff I can find but I'm still kinda confused as to exactly what I'd be doing, and is there anything I should be studying before I go to NROTC to be ahead of the game?
 
SWOs are the officers in charge of ships. You'll be in charge of a division of about 15-20 Sailors - what that division is (communications, gunnery, etc.) is totally up to your first CO. You'll basically be splitting your time between running that division and standing watches on the bridge, "driving" the ship.

For a head start:
- Navy uniform regulations (chapter 6, section 1): http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/support/uniforms/uniformregulations/chapter6/Pages/6101.aspx

- Marine Corps General Orders of a Sentry: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/marinejoin/a/11genorders.htm

- Leadership Traits and Principles:
http://millennium.fortunecity.com/redwood/352/usmc16.htm

Know those and you'll be gold for orientation.
 
Sweet....what was your application like? I'm worried about not getting in...

I did wrestling all 4 years of high school, did football for 3. Got good grades in school (approx GPA is a 3.2)...I got a composite of 27 on the ACT with a 31 in reading and a 28 in math...I got alot of awards in music for both singing and musicianship with my saxophone...I did a lot of service hours with a church group and attended a private Catholic High School.....think I'm good????
 
Varsity track 3 years; varsity swimming 1 year; SAT Reading 690; Math 690, lots of APs, and a 4.5ish GPA.

Your current grades will matter more than your high school ones. If you're doing okay (especially in Mech E), you have a shot. Slots for 3-year scholarships are very restricted right now, so even if you don't get in, it doesn't mean you aren't qualified.
 
There's a program called the Baccalaureate Degree Completion Program (BDCP), which pays you as an active-duty E-3 while you to to school. Immediately after graduation, you ship out to OCS and commission after graduation from that. That program is full at this time, as far as I know. I think they're projecting openings starting in 2012, though.
 
I'm a 1/C MIDN on the Marine Option side. I go to OCS in about 2 weeks.

I see that there have been a lot of questions answered already, but I thought I'd take some time to add my 2 cents.

First off, I know about six or seven Mids right now who transferred into our battalion after a year of regular school, both University and Community college, who are doing just fine. It's all about how much you want to put into it, how dedicated you are to leading Sailors and/or Marines.
There are a lot of times you will make sacrifices that a normal college student wouldn't, there may be times when you wish you were a normal college student again, but on the whole NROTC is incredibly rewarding. It will test you mentally and physically, but if you're dedicated to success you'll have no problem.

Also, your NROTC experience will differ by what school you are going to. Different programs have varying levels of involvement. Also, the satellite schools or "Crosstowns" that are offered can be a great choice too. Our unit has two crosstown schools.

One thing that I'd point out is that due to the reduction of scholarship numbers, the focus of the applications is even more on grades and technical majors and less on leadership experience over all. Granted, they will still look for someone who competed, and displays strong work ethic and leadership potential. But now they are focusing even more on technical majors. and grades. Let's face it, the Navy is...well...technical. Mech E is a good one for that.
And your HS app looks pretty similar to mine. I would include any work history as well.

Also, a new NROTC Scholarship focus (similar to the Nurse specific one) is the new LREC which is where you would focus studies on a specific region, language and culture, but I think if you're in Mech E. the regular scholarship would probably be the best.

In my opinion there is no better leadership training you can receive than a good NROTC program. (and OCS/TBS for MO's) Shoot me an email if you have any other questions.

Glad to see I'm not the only ROTC-type on the forums.
 
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Thanks man, your info was really really helpful...all of you guys were. I'm really hoping I get the scholarship because I don't like the idea of loans lol. How did you pay for room and board? cuz I know the NROTC scholarship doesn't pay for that.

Also, to up my application, I had the Congressman from my District (Bobby Schilling) write me a letter of recommendation because I figured it would help. I'm close friends with his family.
 
Well, that depends on the school you go to. For instance, some schools I know give a certain amount to ROTC scholarships called the ROTC Enhancement which is like... 3500 towards room and board + meal plan + other college related expense. Others don't. I still ended up having to take out one small Stafford Loan and then the next year I qualified for the Pehl Grant which covered me.
 
My school gave free room and board to NROTC students, but that's rare. It's definitely a thing to ask each school that you apply to; saved me as much as $40,000 over the course of four years in school.
 
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