Dr. Kat’s List: Civilian Colleges for G.I. Joe Fans

Compiled by the counselors at IvyWise and ApplyWise.com

Maybe you’ve just returned from seeing GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra at your local theater, and thought, “Hey—I could do that!” Maybe you’ve dreamed of serving your country since the days you played with G.I. Joe, the action figure.

A life of military service requires incredible dedication and sacrifice—but can also reap worthwhile rewards. Since the G.I. Bill, the armed services have provided thousands of young people with the means to afford higher education.

Of course, service academies like West Point, the Naval Academy, and the Air Force Academy commission the greatest number of officers. But if you’re looking to explore military life, think about ROTC: the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. College students enroll in ROTC programs at their respective schools, taking military science courses along with regular academic classes and participating in physical training. Many ROTC programs offer scholarships to their students, and some require a prescribed amount of service upon graduation.

We’ve looked at assessments and enrollments of ROTC programs around the country, as well as opportunities for both civilians and future military personnel at schools with ROTC detachments. Here are our five picks for the G.I. Joe fan:

Texas A&M University
College Station, TX

“Aggies” are really into the military: even their college newspaper is called The Battalion. It’s a great college paper, by the way—it’s the winner of the 2008 Pacemaker Award, or ‘student Pulitzer,’ and is distributed throughout College Station, A&M’s hometown, which is a short drive from Houston, Dallas, and Austin. Texas A&M is the largest of the country’s six senior military colleges, with more than 46,000 undergrads—and it also has the largest ROTC program in the country. Texas A&M has graduated seven Medal of Honor Recipients. Currently, A&M has two Air Force wings, three Army brigades, and two Navy and Marine regiments. The Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band is also considered a subset of the corps, whose cadets are dubbed “Keepers of the Spirit” for their dedication to A&M’s sports teams. Sports are a big deal at this Big 12 school, which holds midnight yell practices at Kyle Field before each home football game and nurses a longtime rivalry with UT-Austin. Spirit and camaraderie are important at A&M, whose students smile and tell each other “Howdy,” making Aggies feel at home even on this expansive 5200-acre campus.

Villanova University
Radnor Township, PA

If you want to be made into a midshipman, enroll in Villanova’s Navy ROTC program. ‘Nova,’ a Catholic university with 6,335 undergrads outside of Philadelphia, has commissioned more U.S. Navy admirals and Marine Corps generals than any school except the U.S Naval Academy. Midshipmen here compete on sailing teams, scrimmage other ROTC detachments in basketball, and serve as tutors and mentors to local kids through the “Adopt-a-School” program. Villanova, which has an acceptance rate around 40%, is known for its preppy and athletic student body, its highly-ranked law master’s programs, and its dedication to service: Villanova hosts the largest student-run Special Olympics in the world. Popular majors here include communication, finance, and nursing; Nova alums have also secured leading officer spots in the Navy’s Nurse Corps. Nova trains its ROTC students for war, but they also know how to push for peace: 2009 commencement speaker and alumnus Admiral William J. Fallon, former Commander of U.S. Central command has been called “The Man Between War and Peace” for pushing George W. Bush to pursue diplomacy in Iran.

Baylor University
Waco, Texas

Students at Baylor University, the oldest college in Texas, are used to rules. Baylor’s Baptist affiliation means that it is a dry campus, with single-sex dorms and no Greek houses allowed. This discipline, as well as the sense of respect and community one feels on Baylor’s campus, translates into ROTC success: Baylor has the number one large Air Force ROTC detachment in the country. Baylor’s detachment produces 22 new officers each year (the average is 15), and has recently established the Air Force living and Learning Center, where junior and senior cadets live with younger students and provide them with support, guidance and camaraderie as they fulfill AFROTC’s requirements. Baylor is a private college of 12,000 undergrads with an acceptance rate of 43%. Baylor is strong in engineering and business, especially entrepreneurship, but also has a theological seminary and a school of music that teaches theory, instrumental performance, church music, and music education. A Baylor degree is well regarded around the country, but especially in Texas: five of the state’s governors have been alums.

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech)
Blacksburg, VA

Until 1964, enrollment in the corps of cadets at Virginia Tech, which, like Texas A&M, is a senior military college, was mandatory. Now it’s optional, but the cadets are still a distinctive presence on campus: they wear uniforms to class, march to meals in formation, and live in special housing. However, surprisingly, corps cadets are NOT required to serve in the military upon graduation (although about 80% of them choose to). Like Texas A&M, Virginia Tech has graduated seven Medal of Honor recipients. Its Army ROTC cadets have been given high marks for Rifle Marksmanship, Land Navigation, and Physical Fitness. No wonder they’re in shape— Outside Magazine called Blacksburg “a dream town for outdoor enthusiasts.” Located in the river valley between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny mountain ranges, Blacksburg offers plenty of opportunities for students to hike, fish, canoe, and kayak, providing adventure for students in and out of the corps. Although Virginia Tech is known for engineering, business, and agriculture, it offers 80 different bachelor’s degree programs.

University of California at Berkeley

The most surprising school on this list, Berkeley, or “Cal,” is widely regarded as one of the most liberal universities in the country. Actually, in the center of this diverse campus of 25,000 undergrads are the headquarters of Air Force, Navy, and Army ROTC programs, some of the oldest detachments in the country. In fact, students from UC-Davis and Stanford University come to Berkeley for its ROTC program. Besides the standard military science curricula and physical training, Berkeley cadets and midshipmen participate in color guard, military balls, paintball competitions, and language immersion trips abroad. The three service branches compete in a Tri-Service Field Meet, with Army, Navy and Air Force sparring in basketball, volleyball and tug-of-war. For Air Force cadets, there’s airborne training and flying; for midshipmen, there’s sailing at the California Maritime Academy. Berkeley is a standout option for combining officer training with serious academics: the university offers more than 7,000 courses, produces more Ph.D.s than any college in the country, and has an acceptance rate that hovers around 26%.

* Although our list is called ‘Civilian Colleges,’ Virginia Tech and Texas A&M are senior military colleges: schools that grant baccalaureate degrees but also organize some or all of students into a corps of cadets.

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