Admissions: Service Academies vs. ROTC

In this post, I’d like to walk through some of the similarities and differences in the admissions process between service academies (SAs) and ROTC programs.

Just to review, service academies (e.g. West Point, Naval Academy, Air Force Academy, etc.) have their own discrete campuses where you will live, work, study, drill, and play for four years. They are traditional military academies, known for their grandeur, structure, discipline, military bearing, tradition and uniforms - the whole 9 yards.

ROTC programs, on the other hand, function like smaller organizations within bigger traditional college campuses like Duke, Wake Forest, Syracuse, Princeton and hundreds of others. However, not every one of the 4,000+ traditional colleges in the United States has an ROTC unit on campus.

As an ROTC student, you will live like a regular college student, on a regular campus, eating regular dining hall food, like every other student. At the same time, you will have additional military commitments and responsibilities that regular students do not.

For example, as a ROTC student, you will take extra military classes, “PT” together in the mornings, wear a uniform around campus (periodically), and train to become military officers upon graduation.

I like to think of ROTC as a part-time job vs the service academies as a full-time job.

With that in mind, it’s good to know how the application process for ROTC compares with the one for service academies.

 SIMILARITIES

SA and ROTC selection boards both want:

1. Excellence in the big 3 (academics, athletics, leadership)
2. High moral character
3. Excellent letters of recommendation
4. Strong fitness test scores
5. Great interview and communication skills 
6. A desire to serve your country

DIFFERENCES

1. For one, the SA process can feel more streamlined and organized because it’s run by the academies themselves. Whereas, the ROTC programs, while national in scope, are made up of a lot of independent ROTC Units spread throughout the country. For this reason, it may seem less organized.
2. Unlike the SAs (except for the Coast Guard Academy) the ROTC application does not require a Congressional Nomination (from a MOC, member of congress). That’s a big load off for some students because nominations are difficult to come by in some districts.
3. ROTC scholarships are awarded from a national pool and are not tied to where you live as they are with the service academies.
4. ROTC applications require a slightly different fitness test 
5. ROTC applications require only one interview (SAs require more)
6. On your ROTC application, you have to list your top choice colleges, in priority order, that you wish to apply your scholarship to if you get the scholarship.

The bottom line: If you’re thinking about applying to one or more of the SAs, it’s a good idea to consider ROTC as well. If you’re preparing a SA application, you’re pretty much doing all of the work and more that you need for an ROTC application. You may as well take advantage of that.

And, lest we forget, it’s exceedingly competitive to get an appointment to a SA. Remember, Naval Academy, West Point, Air Force Academy only select approximately 1,000 males and 400 females every year.

If your ultimate goal is to become a military officer, and have the military pay for your education, then it makes sense to apply for ROTC scholarships as well, even if your ultimate dream right now is to attend a SA.

Conversely, for those of you who are only considering an ROTC experience, I would consider the SAs as well. They both have their pros and cons which we’ll discuss at length in the coming weeks.

One last pitch for considering both options. During the process, SAs and ROTC programs will almost expect you to apply to both programs because it signals your interest in serving in the military as an officer no matter what path you take.

Much more on this important topic in the coming months.