Financaia Aid?

[sanantone]

You should apply for a Parent Plus loan and put him into an ROTC program at a state school. Private school loans should be avoided.

You can't just "put him into an ROTC program" as your whim, you have to apply and be chosen, and you have to choose a school that accepts the ROTC program that you get accepted for.  If he did get it though, at that point, I don't think you don't have to switch schools, because the Citadel is one of the ones that takes ROTC students.  Tuition is 100% paid by the military.

The only thing with The Citadel is their tuition - I can't quite figure out how it works, because when I checked, there was no breakout of costs - tuition, room and board were all 1 price (ROTC normally only pays tuition).

I've been looking at NROTC programs because my son is interested, the Army, Navy & AF are all different, so you'd want to research the programs and see if he can get into any - assuming that he wants to join the military after college (required for all branches if you get a scholarship and use it for your 3rd/4th years).

If he doesn't want a military obligation, then an ROTC scholarship is not an option. In that case, it would make sense to go to a cheaper school.

There are schools, such as Texas A&M, with non-ROTC cadet programs, and the only prerequisite is admittance to the university. There are also a handful of junior colleges with military programs.