Is this a good path towards SF?

[janoycresva]

Hello men,

As of now, I'm a freshman in college and part of an NROTC unit (non-scholarship, although I would potentially be getting one next year). Without an NROTC scholarship, this college would be impossible to pay for but my dad wanted me to go to the best possible school that I could get into (mainly because he paid for all of my SAT tutoring and other college related affairs for 3 years) so here I am.

I've wanted to go SF for a couple of years now but the reason I chose NROTC (with wanting to try and become a SEAL later on) is because I believe that becoming a SEAL officer is a lot more doable than becoming an SF officer through ROTC (don't get me wrong though, I know that both pipelines are extremely hard which will bring me to my next point). However, as I continue my education here, I'm realizing how slim my chances of becoming a SEAL officer are as well (I'm not at the Naval Academy and ROTC has very limited spots) and I really wouldn't want to do anything else in the Navy other than be a SEAL (I think I'd be miserable as a SWO, a Sub officer and I'd make a horrible pilot).

Following this logic, I'm now looking at transferring to a very affordable local college and then enlisting in the Army as an 18X after graduation. This way I'll have a much greater chance at becoming SF (still extremely hard, harder than anything I'll ever do, I understand that, not trying to downplay the enlisted route). I wouldn't want to enlist right now at 18 for a couple of reasons. For one, I do think that an education is important (and I do want to make my dad proud, considering that he's done a lot for me in life). Secondly, I feel as if I need some maturity before I make my final decision and embark on this path. I've heard that guys enlist with degrees and that being 22+ years old really opens ones eyes to the world in a greater sense. Finally, I do need to work on fitness a great deal and am currently being coached by an Army Ranger Officer from a powerlifting background (just like myself, powerlifting, not the ranger part haha). Does this sound like a good path or am I being stupid? Final question, if it is a fine path, what would you consider to be a good degree for potentially wanting to be a medical sergeant if I am fortunate enough to make it through in the long distant future? Thank you for reading, and thank you for your service. Also, I apologize if this has been answered before, I've read similar threads but I'm looking for some specifics.

 

[Philopalope]

Speaking specifically on the NROTC part (I was also originally doing this in college) it is damn hard to pick up a scholarship, and when you do you'll be pressured incredibly to pick a technical job. The board is super picky on who they give the scholarships to and one of the big criteria for Navy is what tier degree you are going for. So if you really are looking to go the SEAL route with a scholarship through NROTC I'd suggest you go for any type of STEM degree and bust your ass off for a 4.0.

Obviously don't be too much of a slouch but seriously your grades and your degree are what determine if you'll get that Navy scholarship or not. I had some of my peers pick up scholarships with horrible PT scores / average grades while other studs with non technical majors were screwed over and over on the review board. Basically if you're majoring in something like psychology or history... you're fucked.

 

[Red Flag 1]

Hello men,

As of now, I'm a freshman in college and part of an NROTC unit (non-scholarship, although I would potentially be getting one next year). Without an NROTC scholarship, this college would be impossible to pay for but my dad wanted me to go to the best possible school that I could get into (mainly because he paid for all of my SAT tutoring and other college related affairs for 3 years) so here I am.

I've wanted to go SF for a couple of years now but the reason I chose NROTC (with wanting to try and become a SEAL later on) is because I believe that becoming a SEAL officer is a lot more doable than becoming an SF officer through ROTC (don't get me wrong though, I know that both pipelines are extremely hard which will bring me to my next point). However, as I continue my education here, I'm realizing how slim my chances of becoming a SEAL officer are as well (I'm not at the Naval Academy and ROTC has very limited spots) and I really wouldn't want to do anything else in the Navy other than be a SEAL (I think I'd be miserable as a SWO, a Sub officer and I'd make a horrible pilot).

Following this logic, I'm now looking at transferring to a very affordable local college and then enlisting in the Army as an 18X after graduation. This way I'll have a much greater chance at becoming SF (still extremely hard, harder than anything I'll ever do, I understand that, not trying to downplay the enlisted route). I wouldn't want to enlist right now at 18 for a couple of reasons. For one, I do think that an education is important (and I do want to make my dad proud, considering that he's done a lot for me in life). Secondly, I feel as if I need some maturity before I make my final decision and embark on this path. I've heard that guys enlist with degrees and that being 22+ years old really opens ones eyes to the world in a greater sense. Finally, I do need to work on fitness a great deal and am currently being coached by an Army Ranger Officer from a powerlifting background (just like myself, powerlifting, not the ranger part haha). Does this sound like a good path or am I being stupid? Final question, if it is a fine path, what would you consider to be a good degree for potentially wanting to be a medical sergeant if I am fortunate enough to make it through in the long distant future? Thank you for reading, and thank you for your service. Also, I apologize if this has been answered before, I've read similar threads but I'm looking for some specifics.

You need to post an introduction before posting anything else. Read the site rules and follow them. This is not a suggestion.

 

[Red Flag 1]

Speaking specifically on the NROTC part (I was also originally doing this in college) it is damn hard to pick up a scholarship, and when you do you'll be pressured incredibly to pick a technical job. The board is super picky on who they give the scholarships to and one of the big criteria for Navy is what tier degree you are going for. So if you really are looking to go the SEAL route with a scholarship through NROTC I'd suggest you go for any type of STEM degree and bust your ass off for a 4.0.

Obviously don't be too much of a slouch but seriously your grades and your degree are what determine if you'll get that Navy scholarship or not. I had some of my peers pick up scholarships with horrible PT scores / average grades while other studs with non technical majors were screwed over and over on the review board. Basically if you're majoring in something like psychology or history... you're fucked.

This is an SOF site, and this is a Special Forces (SF) thread. People asking questions about SF expect and deserve a reply from a real, vetted SF member. You are out of your lane by addressing questions about SF.

 

[Red Flag 1]

Thread locked for multiple reasons.