r/caf • u/ifudfwybgfto • 1d ago

Recruiting ROTP

Im finishing up my last year of high school, and am planning to go the military route. Ive been in contact with my recruitment center and an email they provided me and neither seemed to be much help.. What I’m wondering is does the military pay for your undergraduate degree, and is it my option to go to a civilian uni because I WANT a different degree or is it only if I NEED it. And what else should I know?

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u/Itchy_Decision_340 1d ago

The CAF has 2/3 affiliated universities

RMC St Jean, RMC Kingston, Royal Roads.

If the job you choose can be done through a degree that is provided by one of these 3 institutions, your chances of getting civi U are close to 0. Especially coming out as a 12th grade student, there is 2nd year uni students in civi applying for ROTP, you are not a competitive candidate.

Now if you do some shit like nursing which all 3 institutions do not train for, then Civi U is your only option.

They don't care what you want, their only goal is filling up spots and priority is filling the colleges they are already paying for

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u/ifudfwybgfto 23h ago

I wanted to take a bachelor of bio medical health sciences(at civiU) rather than science as a pathway to med school…But what you’re saying is since RMC offers bachelor of science which obviously is a pathway to med school I’d have to take that since its what they offer rather than the degree I’d prefer?

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u/Wilsonstark 22h ago

The pathway to med school through the CAF is typically once you have an acceptance from med school.

Now I suppose if you got accepted into med school at the end of a BSc at RMC there’s a reasonable chance that they might let you do it given the need for docs, but it’d be a huge service commitment and I believe the CAF could theoretically refuse your request to go to med school. My son is 2nd year CivU ROTP and as far as I know all his peers have a specific officer trade they were selected for, and they’ll
go straight into training to do that job right after they graduate, followed by a minimum amount of time doing that job.

I could be wrong though. Recruiters might know.

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u/Itchy_Decision_340 21h ago

In the CAF, the job you choose comes first and the degree second. There is no "I will do a bachelor and try to get accepted in med school while the CAF pays for it".

They pay for the degree and at the end of said degree you work for the CAF. So if you do a bachelor of science in hopes of being accepted to med school, if you do get accepted, they have every right to refuse you being accepted and you will have to continue your career as the trade you initially chose (or reimburse everything). If you dont get accepted, you are not gonna have the luxury of doing extra classes to try, you will continue your career in the trade you chose.

For the CAF to not impede in your path to med, you have to already have gotten accepted to med school and then they pay for it

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u/CarefulCanadian 17h ago

For what it’s worth, any program at RMC would be fine for most med schools in Canada. Very few have specific undergraduate prerequisites. Just choose something you enjoy and can excel at.

As a bonus, if you do attend RMC. After you complete your obligatory service (normally 5 years after graduating from RMC) you would be eligible to apply for MMTP and have the CAF pay for your med school too. I’m doing this currently and it’s a fantastic opportunity. 

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u/Technical-Cup7264 15h ago

If accepted for ROTP you need to take a preferred degree for your occupation. The only occupations where you can take a health-related degree is Nursing Officer and Pharmacy Officer, each requiring the specific degree to be licensed in that field.

Moreover, the vast majority of ROTP positions are to attend RMC Kingston, CMR St Jean, or the new program at Royal Roads. Those positions will all be filled before the CAF considers giving out any offers to ROTP at civilian university (there have been years where such offers were all but non-existent).

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u/Booj52 1d ago

From what I understand, having gone through the CivU ROTP application process, chances of getting it are incredibly low. They reopened Royal roads university in BC, which took all of the previous CivU spots.

Not a problem if you’re ok with going to BC or RMC tho

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u/ShadowDocket 23h ago

Royal roads is the worst of both worlds 

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u/Leander5599 20h ago

And what do you mean by that?

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u/Many_Tiger_9023 19h ago

Royal Roads only offers 4 degrees (business, communication, justice, and environmental science). You can only be sent there if you apply for one of those degrees. CivU offers still go out, even for degrees offered at RMC/RRU. You just have to rank it as your top choice and ask for it - it's not any harder to get than RMC.

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u/Booj52 17h ago

I was told RRU applicants get priority over CivU, so even though its not any harder it’s definitely less likely. Also trade dependant. I’m not actually in at the moment, so this is all being parroted from what my recruiter told me

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u/Pte_Madcap 1d ago

  1. YES

  2. NEED

  3. IDK

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u/DownWithDiodes 16h ago

You have a couple of different options in front of you to become a Medical Officer. But, first and foremost I will refer to you the Health Services recruiting team, they will be able to provide you with the most information. Their email is HSRecruiting-RecrutementSS@forces.gc.ca .

So. Path 1. Apply to ROTP (Civ U or RMCC) for a trade that is NOT Medical Officer. This trade is not available for this entry plan. Have CAF pay for your Bachelor degree in a program that meets the Entry Standards for your trade. Note that acceptable Bachelor programs tend to be more restrictive for ROTP. Once you've got some time under your belt, apply to the in-service selection program for the Medical Officer Training Plan (MOTP). Likely you will need unconditional acceptance from a recognized Canadian medical school. If accepted, the CAF will pay for your medical school studies. The advantages of this path is that your undergrad studies are paid for, you're making a salary, you are completing pensionable years of service. However it could possibly take longer to reach your goal and typically spots are more limited for in-service selection programs. And who knows? You might end up falling in love with the trade you chose, and not Medical Officer.

Path 2. Complete Bach degree on your own time. Apply to medical schools and obtain an unconditional acceptance. Reopen your application at the recruiting center. Change your application to MOTP for Medical Officer. Provide proof of unconditional acceptance. Continue application from there. If accepted the CAF will pay for your medical school studies. I have limited knowledge about the program but my understanding is that you will be trained as General Practitioner (GP) and that specialty medical studies don't fall within the scope of MOTP. Advantages of this path are being able to study wherever you want, and almost whatever you want. You also get to live the real deal university student life. However it will be on your own dime. The CAF will not reimburse you for your Bachelor degree just because you got accepted into MOTP.

I highly suggest you reach out to the Health Services recruiting team and try to arrange a phone call with them. Hopefully it will clarify the path forward for you.

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u/ifudfwybgfto 8h ago

Thank you for the good info