Am I able to drop out of Army ROTC and still fulfill my contract by enlisting into the Marine Corp?

2018-07-29T09:45:28-04:00

I have completed 4 years of ROTC and all I needed was to finish one more year of school for my degree and go to advanced camp, but some severe personal and financial problems caused me to drop out. Now I either have to enlist or pay back the scholarship money. I want to stay in the military as I know I was born to be a warrior, but if possible I would love to serve as a Marine and eventually become a commissioned officer there. Is this possible or am I stuck going the army route?

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 29 at 2018 9:48 AM

2018-07-29T09:48:11-04:00

Sorry to hear about issues stopping your admission process. Ultimately you will need to talk to the counselors at your school as they will be the ones to fill out the application anyway. My school had two officers who went enlisted rather than commission but they we both Army not a sister service.

Response by SGM Bill Frazer made Jul 29 at 2018 9:53 AM

2018-07-29T09:53:16-04:00

Let me get this straight, you have spent 4 years preparing to be an Officer in the Army, and now you decide to go to the USMC? But check with a recruiter.

Response by CPL Douglas Chrysler made Jul 29 at 2018 10:21 AM

2018-07-29T10:21:02-04:00

The Army is not a 2nd class service. I don't know what your mos would be, but in infantry every action is well coordinated augmented with excellent training.

Response by SFC Ralph E Kelley made Jul 29 at 2018 10:58 AM

2018-07-29T10:58:46-04:00

You can't get a college loan to pay for the last year? - This makes absolutely no sense.
Try Great Lakes, Citizens One, Wells Fargo, CommonBond or even Discover Card Loans.
Either way you are in debt - either to a loan institution or the debt of a service obligation.

Response by LT Brad McInnis made Jul 29 at 2018 11:01 AM

2018-07-29T11:01:30-04:00

Navy Federal Credit Union or USAA could probably give you a loan for the last semester. My advice, is to do whatever you can to finish the degree.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 29 at 2018 12:22 PM

2018-07-29T12:22:36-04:00

I understand everyone is telling you to get a loan, but as I understand with ROTC, since you dropped out you have no chance of meeting the time obligations. I actually saw something similar happen to a guy who finished his degree a year early and had to enlist because he broke the terms of his contract.
Enlisting in the Marines won't satisfy the terms of your contract any more than it would to borrow money from your uncle John and pay it back to your uncle Bill.
The Army is filled with people who left the Marines. The Army has more opportunities, larger branches, and better promotions. You should search through some of the threads on here to see what people have said about their experiences being in the Army after the Marines. If you want to go Infantry, Infantry is pretty much the same everywhere. You'll find that an infantry platoon looks the same in the 82nd, the Marines, and the 101st.

Response by LCDR Robert S. made Jul 29 at 2018 12:41 PM

2018-07-29T12:41:43-04:00

Lots of people are throwing out advice, but none of them are answering your question.

The cadre (probably one of the administrative staff) of your ROTC unit can give you the actual answer.

But unless things have changed since I was in ROTC (25+ years ago), the answer to your question is *probably* yes. Technically, the Army can probably require you to serve in the Army or pay back the scholarship, but the purpose of the service obligation is to discourage people from gaming the system by having Uncle Sam pay for most of their school and then dropping out of the program, so the US government's interest is for you to serve in *some* branch of the military.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 29 at 2018 1:47 PM

2018-07-29T13:47:24-04:00

If your education has been paid for by the Army then you owe them at least some time.

Response by CW2 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 29 at 2018 2:01 PM

2018-07-29T14:01:07-04:00

I left Navy ROTC after 3.5 years, finished my degree on my own. Then enlisted in the Army and after 2 years my debt was relinquished. It was a painful process getting it dropped but $36,000 going away was nice. Now I’m a WO in flight school. Do what makes you happy man and it will work out.

Response by LTC John Mohor made Jul 29 at 2018 2:55 PM

2018-07-29T14:55:28-04:00

Have you Read your own contract?

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 29 at 2018 3:00 PM

2018-07-29T15:00:54-04:00

You will more than likely be ordered to Army Active duty.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 29 at 2018 3:02 PM

2018-07-29T15:02:18-04:00

Oh and now needs of the Army. I do Army contracts at MEPS and see this a lot. Be prepared to enlist in whatever MOS the Army needs you to be.

Response by COL Dana Hampton made Jul 31 at 2018 9:11 AM

2018-07-31T09:11:17-04:00

Something is missing from your question and statements. Where’s the bottom line? You speak of personal and financial issues, yet want to enlist in the Corps with a possible scholarship repayment debt hanging over your head?

There is not enough information here to offer any truly relevant advice and recommendations other than you need to have a sit down with your PMS and have an open conversation about your future and the military as a career. The PMS should be able to offer you the best point of fact advice.

Response by Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 7 at 2018 10:50 AM

2018-08-07T10:50:25-04:00

I don't know what the Army's rules are. We had a cadet in AFROTC fail out last year and was going to be forced enlisted in the USAF. He wanted to do the Army instead and the USAF released him after coordinating with a recruiter.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 29 at 2019 10:36 AM

2019-01-29T10:36:30-05:00

You just made some life choices.
You will probably be stuck in the Army, so at least you have that going for you.

Response by SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 7 at 2019 2:24 PM

2019-02-07T14:24:08-05:00

I do not think you will be disappointed with the Army. My advice: Stay Army! Finish your degree while in. Then go Green to Gold. What MOS are you pursuing?

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 7 at 2019 6:56 PM

2019-02-07T18:56:24-05:00

Marine Corps (with an 's' on the end)

Response by Bill Swagger made Apr 14 at 2020 4:30 PM

2020-04-14T16:30:30-04:00

I apologize if I am overstepping my bounds here. If you do not mind sharing what was the result of this? How did it work out for you?

Response by Bill Swagger made Apr 14 at 2020 4:30 PM

2020-04-14T16:30:38-04:00

I apologize if I am overstepping my bounds here. If you do not mind sharing what was the result of this? How did it work out for you?

Response by CW2 Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 9 at 2020 2:17 PM

2020-06-09T14:17:39-04:00

So, I was in NROTC for 3.5 years and my grades slipped and I lost my scholarship and left the program. I finished my degree then enlisted in the Army. After 3 yrs DFAS started deducting money from me for my ROTC repayment. It took me almost a year to get it sorted out but they relinquished the debt and returned all the money that I had paid. That’s a long winded answer but yes it’s possible just MAKE SURE you talk to Cadet Command and get in writing that 2 yrs regardless of Branch will satisfy your repayment requirement.

Response by COL David Turk made Nov 22 at 2020 6:59 AM

2020-11-22T06:59:17-05:00

As Bill Harvey would say, “ and now, the rest of the story!” So what happened?