Hoo-rah

[308Mike]

Well:

Embry-Riddle's Campuses
Two Residential Campuses and 130+ Worldwide Locations

Embry-Riddle offers a comprehensive education in major fields that prepare you for leadership in the career of your choice – in aviation/aerospace or any industry. No matter what field you choose to pursue here, you study with faculty who are also industry experts, in excellent facilities with leading technology, and in programs that are career-oriented.

Residential campuses in Prescott, Arizona, and Daytona Beach, Florida, provide education in a traditional college campus setting.

Embry-Riddle's Worldwide Campus consists of an extensive network of more than 130 learning centers throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East, along with Worldwide Online -- a Web-based distance learning program. The Worldwide Campus was created to serve civilian and military working adults.

[blackeagle603]

Yep, he'd be a full ride commitment cadet. NROTC will cover up to $180K currently (books, tuition, fees) plus monthly stipend. That starts at $300/mo as a freshmen and goes up to $500/mo or something for seniors. You have to name 5 schools & apply. They then tell you which schools they'll pay for after you get accepted (or something like that).

I looked at Embry-Riddle way back when. Great school. He wants small and as close to home as possible.

Cal Maritime is the school that got him fired up about engineering.
Con: farther from home, 8-9 hour drive north/increased living cost for dorms vs staying home
Pros: Long list...
Small student body (~800). Small class sizes. Only 6 degrees offered.
Mech Eng classes run about 10-12 students.
School's nearly invisible. They bond like crazy, wear uniforms, muster daily, do nothing but work/study/play hard together.
Super tight/strong Alumni Assoc. Heavily recruited by industry. We have seen friend kids go through there. The quality of education is matched by the quality of employment they get offered. Besides shipping, Merchant Marine, USNS types; they also get hit up oil companies, GE, CAT, any one looking facilities engineers, even Lucas Films.
Heavy practical lab emphasis. It's like going to trade school at the same time you're studying engineering -- welding, turning, milling, grinding, , diesel propulsion sim, steam propulsion sim, ship board firefighting, watch standing and summer cruises on the school's ship (California Bear). All do major senior design/fab project. Most finish with USCG Class 3 license.
The only disadvantage/challenge is the distance and cost of living away from home (ROTC covers all the rest).

University San Diego is an excellent engineering school here in town. BIG bucks private Catholic Univ -- but in the NROTC system and they do pay for some to go there. That makes it cheaper since he can live at home. I'll be surprised if they approve that school for scholarship but he can hope. Big appeal there is the strong classical liberal education they combine with their engineering degree. Extra liberal arts work makes it a longer program but he really digs that big picture stuff.

Fall back school is Point Loma Nazarene Univ.
Cons: No mech eng program. He'd have to to Electrical/Software.
Have to live in "Jesus jail" with no wheels allowed as a freshman (every first year student required to be in dorms)
Pros: Good network/alumni. Would be virtually assured an paid internship at SPAWAR while enrolled there.
Epic winter surf at Sunset Cliffs just a walk down the cliff from the dorms. Oh and did I mention the quality of the female gene pool represented in the student body?

[mekender]

Oh and did I mention the quality of the female gene pool represented in the student body?

Yeah, that's one of the major irritations of Embry Riddle. 18% female enrollment, and many of those... bat for the other team, shall we say?

We called the Prescott campus "The Monastery" for a reason. It used to be 10 miles outside of town which made it even worse, but Prescott has grown up to the edge of campus.

Thus why i suggested the FL campus... if you cant meet women in central FL, you arent alive...

[blackeagle603]

I'd spaced the fact that ER had an AZ campus. When you say Embry-Riddle I automatically think Florida. He wouldn't be interested in FL but may give AZ a thought. Not sure about application cycles/windows -- it's late in the year for that but I'll have him take a look at it.

Edit: Nope. No NROTC at Prescott. Only Army and AF.

[g-man]

You can go Army ROTC and cross-commission. Doesn't happen very often, but if you're set on the Marines, Army would be most similar, and as I understand it, cross-commissioning isn't too much of an issue. I'd check with the school on that one though.

[Netpackrat]

AlaskaTRX (my brother) attended ERAU in Arizona as an engineering major for a year, before transferring elsewhere. He wasn't ROTC, but his perspective might also be useful. He probably won't find this thread on his own, so you might want to send him an email.

[Dedicated_Dad]

Surprised noone else has mentioned it.

Not to be contentious, but VT is a hell of a school, and the Corps of Cadets definitely made a MAN out of our Boy.

His roomie was the son of an Admiral, and he sent both his boys to the VTCC when he could have gotten them into any ROTC program anywhere. We've rubbed elbows with a couple of 1-3 stars and they said similar things - the VTCC is among the best programs in the country and all the aforementioned officers said VTCC makes better Officers than the service academies... I'll withhold their judgment of the relative merits of A&M vs VT out of respect for my Texas friends, here...

My point is, VT ROCKS.

DD

[blackeagle603]

2 non-negotiables in his mind:
1. He's going USMC. The Force" is strong in this one. We're in San Dog next to MCAS Miramar and close to Camp Pendleton. A key letter of recommendation came from Marine F-18 jock (Iraq combat vet).
2. He's going West Coast and has his college app's submitted (well one more to go -- private school deadline is later).

He's got the USMC scholarship so it's just a matter of hearing back from schools on the list that was on his ROTC app.
As a final option if it means enlisting and trying to be a Mustang or getting GI Bill. He'll do that. There's other options before that though, including community college and doing ROTC w/out scholarship.

If the stars don't align on his selected schools then he'll have to regroup and hustle to find a NROTC detachment with open slots at a school that he can into on late app (read: private school 'cause public universities filled up already -- deadlines last fall).

[drice]

Sounds like you and I are neighbors BlackEagle. I live right near Camino Ruiz and Manilla Mesa Blvd. Congrats to your son, and "Well Done" to you.

[blackeagle603]

Yep. East County actually but drive the 52 to work. Son drives it to school and part time work in a sailboat/kayak shop on the bay.