NROTC or OCS, Opinions needed

[StrandedSailor]

I don't know too much about either one, but I am about to transfer and I want opinions on how to get commisioned. PROS, CONS of NROTC or OCS? Big decision for college chosing. Thanks

 

[Paul Burke]

It kind of depends on what your situation is. There are distinct pros and cons to each. Are you currently enlisted and pcs'ing somewhere? Are you a college student and looking into going to another college?

 

[StrandedSailor]

Actually I did my 4 years enlisted Navy, now in active reserves. I am at a local Junior college and need to apply to transfer in a few months. Only a few state schools have NROTC so that would leave me with not too many options.

 

[Paul Burke]

I did 4 years enlisted also but did not do active reserves. If you already know without a shadow of a doubt that you want to be an officer in the Navy then do NROTC. Apply for the scholarship. There is a high degree of probability that you will get it. That along with the GI Bill makes paying the bills really convenient. When I got out of the Navy I wasn't sure if I wanted to make the commitment to go back in as an officer or not. All the O's in my command were telling me that if I wanted a NROTC scholarship that all I really had to do was sign on the dotted line for it. I didn't do it for 2 reasons. I couldn't get a slot as an aviator locked in like you do with applying to OCS and secondly, I wasn't necessarily sure that the Navy was where I wanted to be after college. I spent all of my time in college geared 100% towards landing a marketing job somewhere and settling down with that. The more I got to networking with people at trade shows and conventions, the more I realized just how different the military is from the civilian sector. To make a long story short, I weighed all the pros and cons about a billion times over and knew that the Navy was the way for me.

As far as picking a school goes, you don't have to go to a school that has an NROTC unit to have the scholarship but you would be required to drive to the nearest school to you that has one and drill with them which would be a big hassle driving all over the place.

 

[Ed Williams]

I graduated OCS in oct. and can vouch for the fact that is sucks. Now that i'm in the aviation pipeline and get the chance to talk with ROTC people, it is definately the way to go, no doubt about it.
ed

 

[StrandedSailor]

Im wondering if with ROTC, is it possible in any way to get a guarantee of the aviator pipeline. I know how the Navy is without getting it in writing!

 

[Phiman]

From what I hear from all of the officers in my school's ROTC unit, as long as you have over around a 2.8-3.0 gpa and decent PRT scores you are pretty much going to get what you want. Of course that is just the scuttlebutt and nothing is guaranteed, so just bust ass and do as well as you can and you'll be fine.

 

[Phiman]

Oh yeah, unless you're going for SEALs because from what I've heard it's rediculously hard to get into BUDS as an officer. There just aren't that many slots for that community. Again, just scuttlebutt.

 

[Mahler]

Unfortunatally, there is no garauntee for a flight slot with NROTC. When I did my interview for an NROTC scholarship, the Captain that interviewed me made sure I understood that. Now, if you sign for OCS, you know what job you have from day one, but there are drawbacks to this too. First is you have to go to OCS. Secondly, you don't get school paid for. Now if you get picked up on the BDCP, you're going to end up getting a lot more money than you would with an NROTC scholarship. But I just heard today that all BDCP slots are filled through FY2003. There are a lot more factors going into a decision like this however. The biggest is weather or not your school even has an NROTC. If you can get into the BDCP I highly recommend it. There are a few of us on here that are in it, so feel free to ask any questions.


James

 

[Ed Williams]

BDCP is the way to go. Not only do you get paid, you begin to earn leave days which come in very handy after graduating OCS. ALso, you have the option to do PDS moves and make yourself a substantial amount of money. IF you can get into that program, og for it. It was one of the best decissions that i've made. OSC sucks, but you'll get over it.
ed