This seems to be one of the better ways to get into this...before the more random things start to pop up. I'm currently a c/PFC (or Cadet Private First Class) with the Charles River Battalion's Bravo Company, i.e. the BearHawks. I love ROTC. When everything else has gone to hell in college, ROTC is what ties everything back together. My best friends at school are the guys in the program, and I've met a lot of other solid people from other schools I never would have met if it wasn't for ROTC. I've gotten used to getting little sleep and waking up at 4 am in the morning just to go work out, or crawl through mud, or go on a ruck march. For any prospective cadet out there, you have to keep this in mind: you have to want it.
If you're thinking of joining the program so you can lay back, party all the time, wear the uniform around campus to pick up chicks, and live out a fantasy role, think again. Your life will not be that of the average college student. Its important to keep in mind that we're currently in the midst of two very challenging wars. At the end of your four years at school, don't make the naive mistake of thinking you wont be thrust into them. You are going to get up at 4 to 5 am, pretty much all the days out of the week. You're going to be working out, or learning battle drills when your roommate is sleeping, and you better wear your uniform appropriately (also...just on a side note...if you're planning on using your uniform to pick up chicks..you might want to reconsider if you're joining the program for the right reasons). Depending on your battalion, you may have study halls 3 days a week, (including Friday) in order to make sure your GPA stays, or gets close to a 3.0.
If you really want it, you'll end up loving it. Your ROTC friends will be your best friends, because nobody outside of ROTC will understand why you love working out at 7 am in a squad v. squad competition.
Bottom line: Ask yourself why you want to join before you get into the program. If you want to join solely for the free tuition, you might want to look at other scholarships. I have a lot of fun in the program, but I also remember at the end of the day, I'm signing on my life for a required 4 years of active service, and an additional 4 years in either the Army Reserves, or the National Guard (if I dont choose another 4 years of active). However, if you want the challenge, I'd give yourself the chance to see if you can hack being a different breed of student.
