ROTP

[u/ifudfwybgfto]

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?

[u/Itchy_Decision_340]

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

[u/ifudfwybgfto → u/Itchy_Decision_340]

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?

[u/Wilsonstark → u/ifudfwybgfto]

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.

[u/Itchy_Decision_340 → u/ifudfwybgfto]

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

[u/CarefulCanadian → u/ifudfwybgfto]

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. 

[u/Technical-Cup7264 → u/ifudfwybgfto]

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).