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Hello. I was wondering if anyone could comment on how exactly ROTC scholarships work for law school. I would like to join an ROTC program that leads to officership in the National Guard. My understanding is that this is possible, but I have been able to find almost no information on precisely what I am looking for. If you could point me in the right direction or tell me a little about it that would be great. Thank you for your help!

I'm looking at doing the same thing, but active duty rather and guard/reserves. I know from talking to different schools that each has it's own allotted pot of money for scholarships. Your best bet is to call the schools you are choosing between (if you're not applying for this year you might want to check with a few different schools of varying size and tier) and discuss options with them. I know there are different opportunities depending on whether you want active or guard/reserves, so everything I have learned doesn't necessarily apply to you. Also depends on the branch. I'm going Army but things may be very different for Navy, Marine Corps or Air Force. Some schools have flat out said that there I would be guaranteed a Guard/Reserves scholarship but not an Active Duty scholarship.

Good luck.

ROTC scholarship involves the federal government paying for undergraduate degree while you are a cadet or midshipman in school. The money does not come from the school but from the DoD. Once they pay for school you are obligated to either serve or repay the loan.

Trooper12 wrote:ROTC scholarship involves the federal government paying for undergraduate degree while you are a cadet or midshipman in school. The money does not come from the school but from the DoD. Once they pay for school you are obligated to either serve or repay the loan.

Only Army, don't how other branches work:

It depends. At least in the Army, if you go active, it's federal money. If you go reserves, it's federal money. If you go guard, then it's probably from both state and federal. Regardless, if you don't get the scholarship, reserve & guard get tuition assistance. $4,500/yr from the feds, more from state if you're Guard.

Also, if you're looking to branch JAG, I don't know if that's in the books for people on an ROTC scholarship. You'll probably be branched in the basic branches. And it's not like you can ask for an educational delay because you're doing ROTC during law school.

If you're non prior-service (NPS), you have to finish 4 yrs worth of ROTC classes. MS1 & MS2, which is very easy, can be compressed in a year but do you have extra time as a 1L? I dunno. Then the summer after MS3, you attend a month long course that is your final "test" for commissioning. MS4 is a breeze. The other option is to attend a month long course at Ft. Knox called the Leader Training Course (LTC) which would substitute for MS1 & MS2, then complete MS3 & MS4 the next two years.

I believe JAG has a program that you can apply to and they'll pay for your law school. Something to look into.

If you're set on going Reserve/Guard, determine which one is better for you. Guard has all the branch options that the gung-ho like (i.e. Infantry, Armor, Aviation, SF, etc..). The reserves only has Military Intel, MPs, Engineers, Trans, Ordnance, Quartermaster, Chemical and maybe a couple others. It's more support oriented. That being said, the Reserves are hurting for company grade officers (2LT to CPT) and the projections are showing that they'll be hurting for field grade officers (MAJ to COL) when it comes around to your time to be promoted. So my former LTC told me that the chances of being promoted as a career reservist are looking better than my counterparts in the guard and active duty. Just an issue of more command positions open and not enough bodies. Of course after your 8 yr contract is over, you can switch to whatever component you want to.

ROTC will pay for 2 years of grad school if you go into the Army at the Federal level, i.e. Army Reserve or Active Duty. To go into the Reserves, you will want to look up the General Reserve Forces Duty contract (GRFD). The National Guard's program, the Dedicated National Guard (DEDNG), will pay for all three years. This will tie you down to the state you are contracting with, but that may not be an issue depending on which school you plan to attend.

ROTC will not commit you to the JAG Corps. This may be a benefit if you think you would like command experience.

ROTC will pay your Tuition and give you a stipend for each year you are contracted.