Charles Edward
Member
Is it only because you get money for college, or is it because ROTC does a better job or preparing one to become a naval/marine officer, or does ROTC get priority for aviation and SEAL slots over OCS?
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Why is ROTC Considered a Better Deal Than OCS?
- Thread starter Charles Edward
- Start date
ROTC is not a better deal, its a different deal.
You do ROTC (like me): chance the government pays for your tuition, and you spend some summers getting firsthand experience in various communities as you narrow down your priority list. Overall with ROTC, you agree to become an unrestricted line officer first, community second - you submit your dream sheet and hope for the best. If you want pilot but get SWO, either deal with it or pay back all your tuition + training costs.
You do OCS (which I did not): you go to wherever college you want, major in whatever you want, and do whatever you want. No check ins, counseling, formations, uniforms, nothing. When you apply for OCS, you shoot for a community and if you don't get it, then you can back out. Until you start, you owe them nothing. Plus, you can go OCS for restricted line jobs (intel, supply, seabee, etc).
Personally, ROTC was great for me. I did JROTC (nerd I know) and was moderately comfortable with what I was getting into. Plus, having a four year scholarship was awesome. If you want to play D1 sports, ROTC can be difficult but club sports are no issue. In ROTC a lot of people who want the niche unrestricted line jobs like EOD and SEAL get something else, and they have to live with it or pay up. You also get some exposure to Marine life, and I've known multiple people who started blue and went green after getting exposure to both (same unit for both branches), and vice versa.
You do ROTC (like me): chance the government pays for your tuition, and you spend some summers getting firsthand experience in various communities as you narrow down your priority list. Overall with ROTC, you agree to become an unrestricted line officer first, community second - you submit your dream sheet and hope for the best. If you want pilot but get SWO, either deal with it or pay back all your tuition + training costs.
You do OCS (which I did not): you go to wherever college you want, major in whatever you want, and do whatever you want. No check ins, counseling, formations, uniforms, nothing. When you apply for OCS, you shoot for a community and if you don't get it, then you can back out. Until you start, you owe them nothing. Plus, you can go OCS for restricted line jobs (intel, supply, seabee, etc).
Personally, ROTC was great for me. I did JROTC (nerd I know) and was moderately comfortable with what I was getting into. Plus, having a four year scholarship was awesome. If you want to play D1 sports, ROTC can be difficult but club sports are no issue. In ROTC a lot of people who want the niche unrestricted line jobs like EOD and SEAL get something else, and they have to live with it or pay up. You also get some exposure to Marine life, and I've known multiple people who started blue and went green after getting exposure to both (same unit for both branches), and vice versa.
OCS (through the BDCP program) was a great deal for me. Floridas lotto-funded bright futures program took care of tuition for me anyways. Each one has its own benefits, and depending on one’s personal situation, could be better for them.
Slots for different communities go to academy and rotc folks first, then OCS is the spigot they can turn on and off more quickly (relatively speaking…). If aviation slots are light, there may not be any available for OCS applicants. On the flip side, you can apply for whatever you want (and not apply for things you wouldn’t take) as an OCS guy, for ROTC you get what you get. As taxi said above, they’re different.
Slots for different communities go to academy and rotc folks first, then OCS is the spigot they can turn on and off more quickly (relatively speaking…). If aviation slots are light, there may not be any available for OCS applicants. On the flip side, you can apply for whatever you want (and not apply for things you wouldn’t take) as an OCS guy, for ROTC you get what you get. As taxi said above, they’re different.
FormerRecruitingGuru
Making Recruiting Great Again
Say it with me, "there is not a better commissioning source over the other".
Also, been a while since you asked a weird question on here.
