Hello! I have the opportunity to attend Cornell for Mechanical Engineering but my attendance is contingent on receiving the NROTC scholarship for financial reasons.
I checked with the NROTC on campus and they didn’t guarantee it, but they put a hefty amount of belief in me getting the scholarship to cover the tuition for my last 3 years at Cornell given my cited physical fitness and academics.
I’m red-green colorblind, so the only possible route would be the marines (the only branch that doesn’t care about my colorblindness) as the navy really thinks I outta know the difference between port and starboard lights for whatever reason. That part sucks because I want to go into aerospace, which the navy/air force would have made sense for (Air Force won’t offer for colorblindness either believe it or not). From what I can tell though, and with their confirmation, there’s not really a demand for a mechanical engineer in the marines, and the only transferrable qualities would be something along the lines of my cognition in rough situations. That doesn’t impact my odds of getting the scholarship, but it is a factor to consider for my future career after service.
I also don’t think Im allowed to pursue any internships during my time at Cornell, and if I could it would be case-by-case permissions. I could do stuff like design teams and whatnot though, and there are potential opportunities to work on projects with DARPA while I’m there. I don’t think I can pursue any career plans on the side while I’m in the marines for the 4 required service years unless I’m lucky enough to go on reserve, but I could maybe take classes. Bottom line is I can’t attend Cornell without this scholarship, but I’m not sure if being a Cornell alumni plus a marine corp vet would be a positive in my pursuit of working in defense contracting (aerospace). I think I’d get clearance easier given my service, but would aerospace contractors hire me? I hear they value veteran service and I may get some preference, but would it outweigh just working the same amount of time in the industry for hands on experience?
I may also be eligible for the GI bill to get a masters in aerospace after my service.
My alternative would be attending Missouri Science and Technology, which wouldn’t be free but it would be affordable. I could graduate in 2-3 years, and probably get a masters in my early 20s should I choose to. I would be lacking the networking from Cornell, and the benefits of being a marine veteran, but I would have a head start.
Given I’m dead set on defense contracting, I feel like working in the marines, even though it’s not an application for my major, may make sense, and it would definitely build ties to the military industry down the road. I could also potentially leverage the Cornell prestige, but is all of that putting me better off than 2-3 years of grinding a mid college pursuing the same career?
Thank you all so much for your input.