Service Academies vs. ROTC: Similarities and Differences

Over the last few weeks, we’ve reviewed the basics of the service academies and ROTC programs.

This week, I’d like to do a side-by-side comparison of the two options so you can start to appreciate their similarities and differences.

Despite the differences, these programs can be so competitive that it’s often a good idea to pursue both options at the same time.

SIMILARITIES

The biggest similarity between service academies and ROTC programs is that once you graduate from both programs, you will begin working as a junior officer in the US military, leading a group of soldiers, sailors, airmen, or Marines, for a minimum of 5 years.

Some people call this 5-year period a service commitment or a payback period. I like to call it a guaranteed job. In both options, once you graduate, you will start at the same rank (or title).

For example, when you graduate from the Naval Academy or from a Navy ROTC program, you will be called an “Ensign” — or the most junior officer rank in the U.S. Navy.

Both options require a long application process (e.g. interviews, fitness tests, medical reviews, extra essays and personal statements, letters of recommendations). This may be one reason why you’ve enrolled in ServeWell Academy, because these tasks can become overwhelming and tough to manage.

Both options deliver a world-class education with highly-transferable skills, often in the STEM field.

Both options provide extensive leadership training, prestige, and name recognition.

Both options offer international travel.

Both options are physically demanding and require a baseline level of fitness.

Both options pay a monthly stipend that can be used for books and other expenses.

Finally, both programs often give you the option to remain in the military at the end of your minimum commitment.

DIFFERENCES

Let’s break the differences up into a few different categories.

1. Lifestyle
2. Academics
3. Leadership
4. Catch all (diversity, pride, career prospects)

LIFESTYLE

Service academies are more “immersive” than ROTC programs. When you attend a service academy, you live within a self-contained military campus. There is a lot of “structure”, students wear uniforms 24/7, everything is neat, orderly, and in its place.

You will see common military etiquette like saluting and acknowledging people with “Yes, sir. No, sir” and “Yes, ma’am, No ma’am”.

Service academies have a more intense and serious “vibe” than does an ROTC experience.

Remember, as an ROTC candidate, you’re attending a traditional college - like Vanderbilt, Duke, UCLA, or Harvard.

In many cases, nobody on campus even knows that you are an ROTC student (unless you are in uniform - which may happen once or twice a week).

The campus environment is much more laid-back and less intense. There are students from all walks of life wearing whatever clothes they want, playing frisbee on the quad, riding bikes, walking around barefoot, and generally doing whatever they want.

On a service academy campus, you will not find yourself ordering hot wings and pizza to your dorm room at 2am for a study break. That just doesn’t happen.

Service academies are more restrictive when it comes to free time and how you spend that free time.

This is a far cry from what can happen on the campus of a traditional college as an ROTC student. 

As an ROTC student, you look, feel, and act like a regular college student about 80% of the time. This is why I often say that the difference between a service academy and ROTC is the difference between a “full-time” military experience vs a “part-time” military experience while in college.

ACADEMICS

Service academies have a very structured approach to academics. There is not a lot of flexibility when it comes to what classes you’re taking — especially in the beginning.

Most students are on a similar academic trajectory until it’s time to select their major preference.

In other words, at a service academy, there are a lot of “mandatory” classes that must be taken by everyone whether they like it or not.

Most service academies put a high priority on STEM classes and majors. They have a mandate to teach technical skills that will be put to direct use in the field.

ROTC students, on the other hand, typically have more flexibility when it comes to academics — largely dictated by the college and the ROTC unit on campus.

ROTC students do have to pursue the major they selected on their ROTC application, but as long as they're tracking in that major, they can often take other classes as well.

While there are no guarantees, sometimes there are opportunities to change majors after you get to college.

In ROTC programs, while still focused mostly on STEM, there are opportunities to major in something outside of STEM (e.g. History, Political Science, Economics).

For example, my sons went to Yale as ROTC students. One is a History major and the other is an English major. It’s more difficult to get ROTC slots for these non-STEM majors (because there are fewer of them), but it’s possible.

ROTC students normally have to take “military classes” in addition to their traditional curriculum, which can add extra work.

LEADERSHIP

While it’s hard to measure “leadership”, per se, certainly the service academies have an edge when it comes to the exposure and raw number of leadership opportunities.

After all, the students at the service academies are required to take leadership roles as they move up the ranks from freshman to sophomores to juniors to seniors.

They also receive a lot of hands-on training and get to observe how their classmates handle their leadership roles.

As an ROTC student, on the other hand, there just aren’t as many formal opportunities to lead. There are opportunities within the ROTC Unit, but just not as many.

ROTC students don’t spend as much time together as the service academy students do, so there are fewer leadership options.

Of course, time permitting, ROTC students can take on leadership roles within the college itself, whether in intramural sports, Speech & Debate, clubs and student groups — and I’m sure that’s encouraged by the ROTC leadership.

While most ROTC candidates do participate in weekly “leadership labs” (if you will), which provide more formalized leadership training, it would be tough to compare a weekly leadership lab with the 24/7 leadership challenges at the service academies.

DIVERSITY

Generally speaking, most people would agree that the student body on traditional college campuses is more diverse than at service academies. Traditional colleges draw students with a wide variety of interests, orientations, backgrounds, aspirations, life experiences, and ideologies.

While the service academies are diverse in some ways, they also tend to attract people with similar outlooks, backgrounds, and personal goals.

ROTC programs are held on campuses with more diverse geographic locations, sizes, climates, and academic programs.

Some ROTC programs are on campuses with 20K, 30K and 40K students, which is a much different experience than the relatively smaller service academies which typically have about 5,000 students. 

CAREER PROSPECTS

I’m sure this is a subject for intense debate, but some service academy graduates feel that their more “immersive” or “intense” undergraduate experience creates stronger bonds among their peers, wider networking opportunities, and potentially more upward mobility when it comes to advancement.

After all, service academy graduates will simply know a lot more people in their respective branches than someone who didn’t attend a service academy, and that may translate into better career prospects down the road.

FINANCIAL

If you attend a service academy, you pay $0 for your education. Everyone is on a 100% scholarship. 

As an ROTC student, it’s not quite that simple. 

Some branches (like the Navy) pay full tuition for four years, others pay a portion of the tuition, and still others may pay for only 1-3 years. These packages vary based on the branch, the applicants, and the needs of the branch.

Suffice it to say, both options make affording a college degree a lot easier.