The University of Tampa has been named a military friendly school for 2014 by Victory Media, a designation that ranks UT in the top 20% of all colleges and universities nationwide. UT will be listed in the 2014 Guide to Military Friendly Schools.
When a university makes the Military Friendly Schools list, it means the school actively recruits and retains military students and embraces America’s military service members, veterans and spouses as students.
“I was deployed overseas while registering for school,” said senior and member of the Marine Corps Reserve Matthew Sachs. “Not only was UT’s responses faster than other universities, they also made the entire registration and orientation process very smooth.”
The university presents opportunities in all ROTC programs. UT’s Army ROTC program, also known as the Spartan Battalion, is often ranked as one of the best in the nation. The Air Force ROTC and Navy ROTC programs are offered by an intercampus agreement with the University of South Florida.
UT provides many scholarships and financial aid programs for those who are interested in the ROTC. The Army, Air Force and Navy ROTC’s waive up to 100% of tuition fees for veterans and their dependents.
“I receive 100 percent GI Bill for my service up to this time,” Sachs said. Mostly veterans receive full scholarships, but every member, no matter their rank, gets some type of financial aid.
“I have not received a full scholarship for my years in ROTC like many other cadets, but I do receive a monthly stipend which comes in handy,” said senior Zachary Van Hout, a member of the Army ROTC at the university.
The Spartan Battalion is now accommodated in a new facility on campus. The General Peter J. Schoomaker ROTC and Athletic Building houses all the operations for the ROTC unit, including offices, classrooms, computer labs and a library, training space and rehabilitation space.
“At the moment there are many prior service men and women in the ROTC program (Green to Gold) earning their commission with the rest of us,” Van Hout said. “It is great having them there, doing the day to day alongside the rest of us. They have such a wealth of knowledge about the Army and help the rest of us cadets choose the paths that we want to go upon commissioning.”
Students graduate as commissioned officers in the U.S. military, ready to take on anything and everything that comes their way.