Paying for College With Military Scholarships

When you are done with college, do you want to have a guaranteed job with a respected organization? Then all you have to do is let the military pay for your education. After you finish school, you will become a commissioned officer with a 3 to 8 year active duty commitment.

The military academies are perhaps the best known route to military service. The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York (Army), the Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD, and the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO all provide officers for the military services. Marine Corps officers come from the Naval Academy. When an Officer graduates from one of the Academies, he or she is a “regular” instead of a “reserve” officer. Most of the military’s top leadership comes from the Academies.

Students who go to the Academies are offered full rides. There are absolutely no fees associated with going to school. Indeed, they receive a salary courtesy of the U.S. government.

One step down from the Academies are the six senior military colleges. These are the Citadel in South Carolina, the Virginia Military Institute, Virginia Tech, Texas A&M, North Georgia College, and Norwich University in Vermont. These programs offer school-wide ROTC programs. One difference between these military colleges and other schools is that the graduates become “regular” rather than “reserve” officers.

Everyone else who goes to school on a military scholarship takes part in the Reserve Officer’s Training Program on their campus. Only a small percentage of students on these campuses participate in the ROTC program. The ROTC program produces 56 percent of the Army’s officer corps, 41 percent of the Air Force’s corps, 20 percent of the Navy’s corps of officers and 11 percent of the Marine Corps officers.

ROTC scholarships can cover up to full tuition at a college. Many also come with a small stipend. If a student accepts a scholarship, he or she is committing to serve in the military when they finish college.

A final way to get the military to pay for college is to join up after you have finished school. As an inducement to get you to sign up, the military may pay off all of your college loans.

Professional students in law and in health related fields may also be able to get the military to pay for some of their expenses in exchange for future service. Law students who want to join the JAG corps or medical students who want to join up with MASH units are two examples.

Because the United States has been involved in two unpopular wars for several years, the military is finding it difficult to meet their officer recruitment goals. As a result, there are many good military scholarships available.

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