Campus life: Service Academies vs. ROTC

In today’s post, I compare service academy life to ROTC life. 

While this comparison will lump all of these programs together, understand that not all service academies or all ROTC programs are created equal. 

Just as West Point, Air Force Academy, Naval Academy, Coast Guard Academy, and Merchant Marine Academy, all have their differences…so do ROTC experiences at Fordham, Princeton and Texas Tech. 

Take this overview with a grain of salt and use it to better inform yourself going forward. 

WORD ASSOCIATION

What are some words or concepts that leap to mind when thinking about service academy life:

• Stress
• Discipline
• Structure and organization
• Intensity and inspiration
• Limited down time
• No slackers
• Mandatory leadership
• High standards
• Uniformity
• Common purpose
• Respect (shown and given)
• Daily routines 
• Shared suffering
• Deep relationships
• Marching and drill
• Camaraderie
• teamwork
• Inspections
• Technical learning
• Sports
• Spirit
• Full scholarship
• Learning
• Overwhelm
• Pride
• Confidence

SERVICE ACADEMY GRIND

Most of you know that at service academies, students wear uniforms on campus, in their dorm rooms, all day, every day. 

There are no days where you wear a Hawaiin shirt and board shorts to class. 

When you walk around campus, you’ll hear a lot of “yes, ma’am, no, ma’am and yes, sir, no sir.” 

You see people saluting one another as they pass each other on the walkways. 

Students walk around campus with a purpose. They usually have somewhere to go, something to do, or someone to see.  

Most students in the same year group maintain similar schedules. They wake up, tidy up their room, polish their boots, eat breakfast, go to class, have lunch, go to more classes, play activities/sports, do homework/study hall, and then lights out. It’s quite regimented. 

Sometimes teams will drill together, participate in leadership labs, or exercise together. 

In the end, there is not a lot of time for mindless, purposeless, hanging out. 

It happens, but it’s rare. 

Academy life is more of a business than it is like an extended version of high school. 

Many academy students don’t particularly love their every day routine, but they know that they are there for a reason, and they are willing to endure some short term discomfort and inconvenience to realize their long-term goals. 

As challenging as academy life can be, it’s tough to find a graduate who would say that it wasn’t worth it or that they would have chosen a different path. 

Many (if not most) graduates of service academies have fond memories and feelings toward their overall experience. This is one of the reasons why service academies have one of the most engaged and dedicated alumni networks in the world.  

Relatedly, a benefit of attending service academies can sometimes be seen in the promotional process. Since service academy graduates normally have a lot of friends in the military, they are known to have strong relationships with a ton of peers and alumni. 

Sometimes, this network can be a benefit as you begin to move up the ranks. 

That’s not to say that an ROTC graduate has no chance at promotion, but they may have to work a little harder to build such a robust network. 

ROTC LIFE

Here are some words or concepts that leap to mind when thinking about ROTC life:

• Is it ROTC or Rot-sie?
• Wearing uniform sparingly 
• Personal freedom
• Academic flexibility
• Traditional college experience
• Playing frisbee on the quad
• Wearing flip flops
• Fun campus life
• Greek life
• Part-time military obligations
• Leadership labs
• Summer cruises
• Friendships
• Breathing room
• Diversity 
• Major choices

Remember, there are ROTC programs at many different colleges all over the country. 

Some of the colleges are super selective and nearly impossible to get into, and others are nearly impossible not to get into. There are a lot of choices. 

When you are an ROTC student on campus, many of your classmates won’t even know it. They may never see you wearing your uniform. Sometimes, you only wear a uniform once a week.

On some campuses, the ROTC unit has a very small footprint and they keep to themselves. On other campuses, the ROTC program is big and bold and a well-known institution on campus. 

Some campuses have ROTC programs for Navy, Army, and Air Force. Others have programs for just one or two of the branches. 

Most ROTC students are being supported financially through ROTC scholarships (though the amount of scholarship may vary). 

An ROTC student often feels like they have a part-time military job compared to a service academy student who feels like they have a full-time military job. 

ROTC students have a lot more academic freedom with respect to their major choice, class selection, schedule choice, etc. 

Sometimes, service academy students are jealous of the freedom and lack of structure enjoyed by their ROTC counterparts.  On the other hand, ROTC students are often envious of the deep relationships and camaraderie that are forged through the shared suffering of their service academy counterparts. 

In the end, service academy grads and ROTC grads all graduate with the same rank. 

If you have the opportunity to do both, you’ll have to decide which of these “experiences” you would prefer. 

Would you prefer the more hard core, highly-structured lifestyle that leads to tight bonds of friendship? 

Or, would you rather have more freedom and flexibility, but possibly miss out on building deeper and personal relationships with your friends? 

Let’s not forget that in order to have such a choice to begin with, you’ll need an appointment to a service academy, an ROTC scholarship, and a college acceptance at a school that has room for an ROTC student. 

If you’ve done all of that, you’re probably in good shape no matter what choice you make.