I'm a freshman at Virginia Tech and I'm having a lot of trouble deciding whether to do ROTC or OCS. Virginia Tech is a senior military college and so ROTC is an intensive program unlike that at most schools. In high school, I was very reclusive--I didn't have any friends or go to parties and I felt that this social aspect was important to me in order to grow as a person. Because of this, coming into college I wanted to enroll as a civilian student, enjoy it, live it up, and then gaurentee myself a SNA slot through OCS once I graduate.
However, now that I'm halfway through my first year, I'm starting to doubt my choice. I look at the cadets and feel like I should be apart of them. I feel like I should be apart of that community and surround myself with others who are also on the same path as me. Additionally, I'm out of state and was offered a scholarship from the VTCC that I turned down. My parents say they can afford the tuition, but I feel guilty that they're paying extra for me (no financial aid) to attend an out-of-state school when I could likely get a SNA slot from the ROTC program at a cheaper cost--all because I wanted to have more fun in college. On the other hand, I really want to be an SNA and OCS is the only way to gaurentee it. But I also want to know if the networking the VTCC says they provide would be beneficial down the road in my military career.
I'm writing on this forum to see if there are any VTCC alumni and if they can talk about their experience--wether they enjoyed it, what they thought of it, and in the end if they feel it was worthwhile. I wanted to enjoy college but at the moment it's not as fulfilling as I thought it would be. Maybe it's because I'm lacking a sense of community and that's whats drawing me towards the corps--I'm not sure. I think part of the reason I'm having such trouble with this decision is because I'm haunted by my regrets from high school. I really feel like I wasted my 4 years of high school. In a way, that's actually been a good thing because it's made me realise the value in this time of my life. At the same time, it's putting a lot of pressure on me to not regret throwing away my college years, which is what I was afraid of would happen if I joined the corps. I plan on rushing a fraternity this semester and then rethinking this over the summer to make a final decision before I'm no longer eligible for ROTC. I've talked to one cadet in my class who was a senior, he recommnded I avoid the corps and do OCS. I plan on talking to more but I thought it worth while to ask on this forum as well.
TLDR: Does anyone have any experience with the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets that they can share? and is the benefit of being in a large ROTC program worth missing out on some college
However, now that I'm halfway through my first year, I'm starting to doubt my choice. I look at the cadets and feel like I should be apart of them. I feel like I should be apart of that community and surround myself with others who are also on the same path as me. Additionally, I'm out of state and was offered a scholarship from the VTCC that I turned down. My parents say they can afford the tuition, but I feel guilty that they're paying extra for me (no financial aid) to attend an out-of-state school when I could likely get a SNA slot from the ROTC program at a cheaper cost--all because I wanted to have more fun in college. On the other hand, I really want to be an SNA and OCS is the only way to gaurentee it. But I also want to know if the networking the VTCC says they provide would be beneficial down the road in my military career.
I'm writing on this forum to see if there are any VTCC alumni and if they can talk about their experience--wether they enjoyed it, what they thought of it, and in the end if they feel it was worthwhile. I wanted to enjoy college but at the moment it's not as fulfilling as I thought it would be. Maybe it's because I'm lacking a sense of community and that's whats drawing me towards the corps--I'm not sure. I think part of the reason I'm having such trouble with this decision is because I'm haunted by my regrets from high school. I really feel like I wasted my 4 years of high school. In a way, that's actually been a good thing because it's made me realise the value in this time of my life. At the same time, it's putting a lot of pressure on me to not regret throwing away my college years, which is what I was afraid of would happen if I joined the corps. I plan on rushing a fraternity this semester and then rethinking this over the summer to make a final decision before I'm no longer eligible for ROTC. I've talked to one cadet in my class who was a senior, he recommnded I avoid the corps and do OCS. I plan on talking to more but I thought it worth while to ask on this forum as well.
TLDR: Does anyone have any experience with the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets that they can share? and is the benefit of being in a large ROTC program worth missing out on some college
