NROTC on scholarship is probably a better financial deal--no college loans after graduation, which can be huge, esp if you went to a private school. If you are on in-state tuition or not on scholarship, PLC can be a better financial deal if you sign early since your PLC time counts towards years of service for pay purposes. This means your paycheck could be a couple hundred fatter each month for the whole time you're in the Corps.
I thought I got a ton out of NROTC. Perhaps if I was PLC at a school with a good Semper Fi Society I'd have gotten the same, but I doubt it. The training, comraderie, and leadership opportunities in NROTC can't be crammed into a few weeks. Plus, your first 2 summers you get to do the summer training bit, which was really cool. After freshman year, I went on a cruiser in the Persian Gulf; after sophomore I did CORTRAMID on the West Coast, basically doing fastasy-camp-style-training in submarines, airplanes, the Marine Corps, and surface Navy (okay, that last one was lame).
I went to a campus as liberal as any, and the uniform was never an issue.
I thought I got a ton out of NROTC. Perhaps if I was PLC at a school with a good Semper Fi Society I'd have gotten the same, but I doubt it. The training, comraderie, and leadership opportunities in NROTC can't be crammed into a few weeks. Plus, your first 2 summers you get to do the summer training bit, which was really cool. After freshman year, I went on a cruiser in the Persian Gulf; after sophomore I did CORTRAMID on the West Coast, basically doing fastasy-camp-style-training in submarines, airplanes, the Marine Corps, and surface Navy (okay, that last one was lame).
I went to a campus as liberal as any, and the uniform was never an issue.
