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What are the Best NROTC Colleges?

Sean Fox

Sean Fox

New Member
I was just wondering which colleges had the best programs for NROTC. Do some send more to aviation/nuke, etc? Also are some units more friendly towards greeks than others? I'm a high school junior and I'm looking at BC, Villanova, BU, Tulane, Maryland and Holy Cross for now. Thanks a lot!
 
Penn State has an exceptional program. I doubt that you'd be able to piece together the stats about which college has a higher pilot selection rate. When you say Greeks, I assume you are speaking about fraternities? Most NROTCs will highly discourage Midshipmen from joining a FRAT during their freshman year. NROTC will keep you busy enough.
 
Sean Fox said:
I was just wondering which colleges had the best programs for NROTC. Do some send more to aviation/nuke, etc? Also are some units more friendly towards greeks than others? I'm a high school junior and I'm looking at BC, Villanova, BU, Tulane, Maryland and Holy Cross for now. Thanks a lot!
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In the 3 years I was at the University of Colorado, over half of our MIDN were selected Pilot/NFO, each year. Many of these students even had SWO listed as their number one choice when they were told they were being forced into the better life of aviation ;)

If you want to get selected Nuke, I highly recommend you select one of the schools that STA-21 nuclear option members are required to attend. http://www.sta-21.navy.mil/education.asp

Hope that helps, just remember that in the end, it is all about the needs of the Navy and your selection is only slightly influenced by how well you do in College, at the NROTC, and how you did on the ASTB/OAR. Don't forget that no matter what you get selected for, it is a once in a lifetime chance that many people wish they could do, and that even more people will just be plain amazed when you tell them what you do in the Navy.
 
You have a great list of target schools. Take a look at Michigan, Duke, UNC, and UVA if you want to stay in that tier of academic reputation.
 
Well, I am slightly biased as PenguinGuy was NROTC at NCSU.:cool:

Based on what he has told me of his time in NROTC coupled with what I know of Greek Life, (I was a founding member of the sorority at my college.) the two need to be mutually exclusive. That being said, by joining the USN you are joining one hell of a fraternity already! If you still yearn for an additional level of 'brotherhood' out in the fleet/real world, there are still opportunities. Between the Freemasons, KoC (for the Catholics) and other similar groups there are lots of organizations for you to achieve that goal outside of Greek Life.
 
PenguinGal said:
...there are still opportunities. Between the Freemasons, KoC (for the Catholics) and other similar groups there are lots of organizations for you to achieve that goal outside of Greek Life.
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PG: I've been a 3rd Degree Knight in the KofC for over 40 years. It's about as "Greek" as is the Tailhook Association…which is to say…not at all. But both are very good "Bands of Brothers" with a common bond…just much less by way of unintended uses of mayonnaise, paddles, etc… :)
 
If by "Maryland" you mean UMCP, just know that their NROTC is actually an agreement with GW, and you'd have to drive to D.C. to participate because Maryland isn't the host school for the program.
Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong but this is how it was in 2010

USF in Florida also has all possible ROTC options and very nice facilities
 
I didn't do the Greek thing in college, but that and NROTC are NOT mutually exclusive, depending on where you go to school. When I was at Vandy at any given time I'd say 1/3 to 1/2 of the mids were in a frat or sorority.
 
I know Embry-Riddle's pretty polarizing around these parts, but I'll throw it in there because: a) they have great engineering programs, and getting them on someone else's dime is a no-brainer; b) like half the students there are either ROTC or vets on the GI Bill; and c) it's in Daytona Beach.
Plus they used my tuition to put in a brand-spanking-new Welcome Center just after I left (but I'm not bitter...)

Caveat: based on the assumption that OP is considering an aviation designator. If you're looking for anything other than aerospace/aeronautical engineering, there are better programs out there.
 
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Go to schools that have a good academic reputation for the majors you're considering. The name of a school can add extra worth to a degree and help make a strong Plan B. The name of an NROTC unit is worthless and will get you nothing.

As to Greek life, my NROTC my NROTC unit didn't condone or discourage it. If you wanted to go Greek, that was cool. If not, also cool. I'd say about 50% of my unit was Greek. Any unit, however, will expect you to prioritize NROTC over a Fraternity since Navy is paying your bills. But if you get good grades, do all your NROTC requirements, and still manage to be active in the Greek system, no one should care.
 
Sean,
I'm sure others may have more current information, but the hard core engineering schools seem to send a lot of their graduates to nuke or aviation. For example, a recent NROTC CO at Purdue was a post-command tour nuke, and the XO was an aviator, so those communities got a lot of play with the midshipmen. Remember also that the Navy now wants 75% of their NROTC students enrolled in science or engineering majors, so choose your school such that your major is a nationally recognized program at a top-tier university. I would recommend that you choose a school with it's own NROTC program, rather than one that is part of a consortium. Driving to another school is a harassment package that you don't need.
R/
 
Norwich University. Oldest, private military college in the country and the birthplace of ROTC. I didn't go there but my son does.
 
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