Choosing to Serve
A Call To Service
Joining the armed serice is a big step that takes a lot of thought and a big commitment. It also has big benefits – including offering lots of career options, competititve salaries, on-the-job benefits, and help with college. If you think you may be interested, the Junior Reserve Officer’s Training Corp (JROTC) is a great way to learn more about what military service is all about.
You can enlist in the military straight out of high school, but there are also options, which allow you to gain a college degree before your years of service.
The Service Academies include the following:
To learn more, visit the academy website, take a look in NAVIANCE, or talk with your school counselor or college advisor to get more information. And start planning your application early. There are lots of steps, so it’s best to begin researching, as early as 9th or 10th grade, why a particular service academy feels right for you. If you are already in the 11th or 12th grade, don’t hesitate. Get a jump start today!
You can enlist in the military straight out of high school, but there are also options, which allow you to gain a college degree before your years of service.
- Service Academies: The competition to get in is tough, but if you’re admitted to one of the academies that trains officers for different branches of the U.S. armed forces, you can earn a college degree at no cost – in exchange for a committment to serve after graduation.
The Service Academies include the following:
- U.S. Naval Academy (Annapolis, Maryland) http://www.usna.edu/homepage.php
- U.S. Miltary Academy (West Point, New York) http://www.westpoint.edu/SitePages/Home.aspx
- U.S. Air Force Academy (Colorado Springs, Colorado) http://www.academyadmissions.com/
- U.S Coast Guard Academy (New London, Connecticut) http://www.uscga.edu/
- Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point, New York) https://www.usmma.edu/
To learn more, visit the academy website, take a look in NAVIANCE, or talk with your school counselor or college advisor to get more information. And start planning your application early. There are lots of steps, so it’s best to begin researching, as early as 9th or 10th grade, why a particular service academy feels right for you. If you are already in the 11th or 12th grade, don’t hesitate. Get a jump start today!
- ROTC: The Reserve Officer’s Training Corps is stationed at many colleges right here in Baltimore, such as Morgan State University (http://www.morgan.edu/college_of_liberal_arts/departments/military_science/what_is_rotc.html) , Johns Hopkins University http://www.jhurotc.com/page.php?page=home), and at colleges around the country. ROTC scholarships are available to help pay for college, in exchange for a service commitment after graduation. NAVIANCE can help you find colleges with ROTC programs, both in Maryland and throughout the United States.