Does the OML take into account what University or College I choose to attend or are they all weighted the same?

2021-03-27T11:40:25-04:00

Does the College or University I choose to attend have an impact on my competitiveness for an Active Duty slot and the Branch I want when I commission? For example, would it matter if I went to a small, local 4 year school with an ROTC program rather than a large, city, 4-year school with an ROTC program? One of them is also far better than the other education-wise but they both have Army ROTC programs so I wanted to know if it had an impact on ROTC and my possible ranking.

Response by MAJ Ron Peery made Mar 27 at 2021 11:55 AM

2021-03-27T11:55:57-04:00

No, it doesn't. What matters is the effort you put into your studies, your participation in the ROTC program, your demonstrated leadership, and your attitude.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 27 at 2021 12:26 PM

2021-03-27T12:26:48-04:00

You will be rated on many things in the Army, but the expense of your college and choice of degree program are not one of them

Response by CW2 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 27 at 2021 1:09 PM

2021-03-27T13:09:28-04:00

This would imply that the Army has a list ranking all colleges. While it wouldn't be worse than the Stryker or UCP, it is not a thing.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 27 at 2021 1:20 PM

2021-03-27T13:20:29-04:00

The college you went to has little on where you fit on the OML. When we went through it was your average PT test scores (should take six in your junior year). Then the accessions commander would look at degree and GPA (LTG Thrasher said he would have waited a 2.5 in Biological Engineer higher then a 4.0 in elementary education). The rest comes from your performance at camp. Some has probably changed over the last 20 years but probably not where you went to school.

Response by MAJ Byron Oyler made Mar 27 at 2021 1:27 PM

2021-03-27T13:27:01-04:00

Excellent question and others have answered it.

Response by Lt Col Timothy Cassidy-Curtis made Mar 27 at 2021 1:41 PM

2021-03-27T13:41:52-04:00

The biggest impact will be from your grades, and these will include grades you get from your ROTC classes. Select a school with a curriculum where you believe you do well. Your participation in the ROTC program will have an impact as well, but it won't be quite as big as your grades. Don't ignore your ROTC participation and give it a good effort. With that said, make sure your grades are as good as you can make them. Lastly, don't get into trouble. Just don't. If somebody says that something might be "fun" don't be succored. Think; you've got your whole career to enjoy.

Response by MAJ Ronnie Reams made Mar 27 at 2021 2:20 PM

2021-03-27T14:20:54-04:00

So a southern military college, Citadel and VMI come to mind, no longer influences a shot at a USA commission. Interesting.

Response by COL David Turk made Mar 27 at 2021 5:46 PM

2021-03-27T17:46:32-04:00

Guess I’m going to be the contrary one here. Granted this was from the mid 70’s. I was informed by my ROTC cadre that my engineering degree and the specific school enabled me to be awarded a RA commission in CE, now EN. My grades were midrange for the school, but it was/is a tough school. Other possible items in my favor were, my prior enlisted service and my very high finish in ROTC summer camp. But again, I was commissioned in year group 1976.

Response by COL Jon Thompson made Mar 27 at 2021 6:29 PM

2021-03-27T18:29:19-04:00

Your college grades are an important part of your OML score but it does not matter what University you attend. Every school that is an ROTC host, extension or cross-town unit is an accredited college. Your field of study may have some impact but your overall grades are best. So you want to major in something you will enjoy and do well in vs. taking a STEM major that you struggle with. The other big parts of your OML score will be fitness, performance as a cadet at the school, and Advanced Camp performance. You can also get points for volunteering, doing events like Ranger Challenge, etc.

Response by MAJ Roland McDonald made Mar 27 at 2021 6:40 PM

2021-03-27T18:40:41-04:00

Yes, there is a difference. Academies by nature get active duty. Next by law is the 6 senior military colleges(SMC). Then the rest. The SMC's are protected by law, all other ROTC programs are subject to reduction or loss of programs. Therefore they get a higher preference in active duty selection.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_senior_military_college

United_States_senior_military_college

Response by CW3 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 28 at 2021 6:02 AM

2021-03-28T06:02:53-04:00

I think the answer in general is no in terms of how you asked your question. I attended a bit of college ROTC before applying to become a Warrant Officer. Being that grades play a role in the OML arguably attending an "easier" college and / or enrolling in an "easier" degree program could affect your OML positively twice fold both though better grades and allowing more time to focus on the leadership graded aspects of ROTC. There were cadets that were very goal orientated in terms of branch selection to the degree that they picked their major and minor based on what they felt would get them the best grades meanwhile the engineering students griped about a potential lower OML associated with the difficulty of their program. The more of yourself you can give to the program the more successful you will be. I was attending though a satellite college that didn't have a ROTC program, thus drove up to an hour to attend ROTC at another college, I had a civilian job, and was in the National Guard. I didn't find myself as successful as the students that lived on the same campus as the ROTC program and had no outside obligations.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 29 at 2021 12:03 PM

2021-03-29T12:03:30-04:00

Nope, I went to NMMI and that didn't matter at all. It is all about the performance, leadership, GPA, extracurricular activities and etc. I had friends that went to a small university and got active duty slots and some of my friends who went to a lot more of the "big name" schools that didn't get slotted active duty. Honestly, to me it is all about what you put into it while in ROTC. It really also depends on the Army needs as well.

In my case, I did everything I could while being nursing major (I did the ECP ROTC route). I did ranger challenge, was apart of school club/organizations and made sure I kept up with PT.

Best of luck!

Response by COL Jeff Williams made Apr 1 at 2021 11:12 AM

2021-04-01T11:12:29-04:00

Your performance at Advanced camp and your GPA weigh heavily in your OML.