• Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?

    Go here:

    Edit Account Details and Profile

NROTC and Summer Classes

JWL

Member
Hi,

I am wondering if it is possible to enroll in college summer classes while also participating in NROTC? I realize that there are cruises/training during the summer that span about 5 to 6 weeks in length. Obviously, I would not be able to take a class during this time. But, are there different start dates for the training cycles so that I may enroll in a 6 week summer session while not in ROTC? Has anyone done this?

Thanks.
 

Python

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
Hi,

I am wondering if it is possible to enroll in college summer classes while also participating in NROTC? I realize that there are cruises/training during the summer that span about 5 to 6 weeks in length. Obviously, I would not be able to take a class during this time. But, are there different start dates for the training cycles so that I may enroll in a 6 week summer session while not in ROTC? Has anyone done this?

Thanks.

I was on a 4 year NROTC scholarship and was able to spend one of my summers taking classes and ended up not doing a Second Class Cruise. If you can work the schedule to take classes and do summer cruise then that's great, otherwise you should be able to talk to your class officer about your options. Unless the rule has changed, only the First Class Cruise is required to commission; the others are just really good to do and should be done (i.e, unless you have serious extenuating circumstances like needing to take classes or a family emergency, you will do them).
 

sickboy

Well-Known Member
pilot
Yes, just talk to your unit early, they can work cruises around your schedule. If I remember correctly, those classes will be out of your pocket. Not that that's a bad thing.
 

JWL

Member
Thank you. I would like to both take the cruises and take at least one summer session in order to lighten the load during the year. I understand that the summer session would be out of pocket, but that is still fine with me if I can manage to graduate in four years. However, that leads to my next question: what happens if it takes an extra semester to graduate?
 

Python

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
Thank you. I would like to both take the cruises and take at least one summer session in order to lighten the load during the year. I understand that the summer session would be out of pocket, but that is still fine with me if I can manage to graduate in four years. However, that leads to my next question: what happens if it takes an extra semester to graduate?

I think that is looked at on a case by case basis. Usual factors include your degree's requirements and intensity combined with your individual circumstances.

I've known quite a few who took extra time and got it paid for. They were for the most part engineers and science majors.
 

JWL

Member
Thank you. Yes. That is my situation is exactly. I could easily finish in 4 years if I don't go with the Physics major. However, if I go Physics, I am looking at a quite a course load in order complete in four years. It can be done (on paper, at least) with a few summer sessions. Or, by hanging around an extra semester. Alternatively, something like Economics or Applied Math looks very manageable in 4 years (with perhaps one summer session).

So, is GPA king provided one meet the one year calculus and physics requirements? Or, are STEM majors really valued that much more in the Navy regardless of the community.
 

Hayley D.

Well-Known Member
Thank you. Yes. That is my situation is exactly. I could easily finish in 4 years if I don't go with the Physics major. However, if I go Physics, I am looking at a quite a course load in order complete in four years. It can be done (on paper, at least) with a few summer sessions. Or, by hanging around an extra semester. Alternatively, something like Economics or Applied Math looks very manageable in 4 years (with perhaps one summer session).

So, is GPA king provided one meet the one year calculus and physics requirements? Or, are STEM majors really valued that much more in the Navy regardless of the community.


Do you have a preferred community? The majors are tiered for a reason, but might not matter as much if you don't plan on being a Nuke.

Also, have you been accepted yet? When do you graduate? Getting a scholarship could be dependent on having an at least Tier 2 major, depending on the rest of your stats.
 

ea6bflyr

Working Class Bum
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Thank you. Yes. That is my situation is exactly. I could easily finish in 4 years if I don't go with the Physics major. However, if I go Physics, I am looking at a quite a course load in order complete in four years. It can be done (on paper, at least) with a few summer sessions. Or, by hanging around an extra semester. Alternatively, something like Economics or Applied Math looks very manageable in 4 years (with perhaps one summer session).

So, is GPA king provided one meet the one year calculus and physics requirements? Or, are STEM majors really valued that much more in the Navy regardless of the community.

The NROTC unit has two options for extra semesters past your 4-year scholarship.
1. They can pay for it (rare occurrence).
2. Put you on Leave of Absence; Not paying for anything (more likely).

Both options require you to tell the NROTC your plan. You would then commission after finishing your final semester. Good luck.
 

Meow

Member
pilot
Current NROTC instructor here. I'll answer your initial question and some of the others that came up in the thread:

1. Yes, you can take summer courses. We have mids every summer who do it. We have them work the courses around their summer cruises and haven't had a conflict yet. The only cruise that has "set" dates is CORTRAMID, between your freshmen and sophomore years. And even that can be flexible - we've sent mids to CORTRAMID West (with different dates) to accommodate their summer school requests.
2. Responding to Python - yes, only first class cruise is required. However, (and this depends on the unit culture and CO's guidance), in our unit it would be a rare case where a mid misses a cruise opportunity for class. There are just too many options, with colleges offering multiple sessions, for a cruise not to work out.
3. The unit may actually pay for it - it all depends on your major and why you're taking courses over the summer. The CO has a lot of flexibility in this regard, and some grant summer benefits more liberally than others.
4. I haven't seen "extended benefits" - paying for additional semesters - work out favorably. Usually we place the mid on leave of absence, which means you continue in the program but the Navy doesn't pay your tuition.

One of the first things you'll do in the program is develop a "degree completion plan" with your class advisor. It'll have all of the courses you need (geneds, major and NROTC) to finish spread out over four years. With it, you can have an immediate tentative plan of how many courses you need to graduate and whether or not summer school is required.

That said, we have plenty of physics majors who don't need extra time. I guess it all depends on how many courses you transfer in. Hope this helps, and I'm happy to answer more of your questions if you have them.
 

JWL

Member
Current NROTC instructor here. I'll answer your initial question and some of the others that came up in the thread:

1. Yes, you can take summer courses. We have mids every summer who do it. We have them work the courses around their summer cruises and haven't had a conflict yet. The only cruise that has "set" dates is CORTRAMID, between your freshmen and sophomore years. And even that can be flexible - we've sent mids to CORTRAMID West (with different dates) to accommodate their summer school requests.
2. Responding to Python - yes, only first class cruise is required. However, (and this depends on the unit culture and CO's guidance), in our unit it would be a rare case where a mid misses a cruise opportunity for class. There are just too many options, with colleges offering multiple sessions, for a cruise not to work out.
3. The unit may actually pay for it - it all depends on your major and why you're taking courses over the summer. The CO has a lot of flexibility in this regard, and some grant summer benefits more liberally than others.
4. I haven't seen "extended benefits" - paying for additional semesters - work out favorably. Usually we place the mid on leave of absence, which means you continue in the program but the Navy doesn't pay your tuition.

One of the first things you'll do in the program is develop a "degree completion plan" with your class advisor. It'll have all of the courses you need (geneds, major and NROTC) to finish spread out over four years. With it, you can have an immediate tentative plan of how many courses you need to graduate and whether or not summer school is required.

That said, we have plenty of physics majors who don't need extra time. I guess it all depends on how many courses you transfer in. Hope this helps, and I'm happy to answer more of your questions if you have them.
Thanks. I appreciate the wealth of information. I would not expect the Navy to pay for an extra semester or two. However, I was concerned about getting commissioned and still being able to obtain at least some of the nrotc scholarship benefits while in college. Would the Navy be as flexible if one took the extra semester or two to complete a voluntary minor or even double major? Or, simply wanted to take classes of interest?

Thanks.
 

Meow

Member
pilot
Regarding paying tuition for a double major or optional minor - it all depends on the unit and what your CO is willing to approve. Our unit doesn't approve requests (summer school, extended benefits, etc.) for anything outside of the required major and minor (naval science). You might be able to convince your chain of command to put you on leave of absence (essentially put your scholarship on hold) to complete the extra major, but this too depends on the CoC.
 
Top