In exchange, ROTC cadets must drill and train during the academic year. Whitt worked out a minimum of three times a week and squeezed in lab exercises like rappelling down a building and classes in, say, military history, all the while maintaining a full academic load. And, of course, trying to carve out a social life. "If you don't goof off a lot," says the international relations and history major, "then it's not that hard to manage."
Now a second lieutenant, Whitt must serve on active duty in the Army for the next four years, followed by four more years on active or reserve status. That suits Whitt, who is training in Fort Knox, Ky., and is slated to lead a Stryker platoon in Fort Lewis, Wash. He hopes to one day sign up with the CIA or the FBI. "It helps if you join the military first."
Tit for tat Katie Rutan, who is finishing her last year at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho, has two loves: She adores Idaho's Boise Valley, where she grew up, and she's passionate about sharing her knowledge of history. So applying for the Education Incentive Loan Forgiveness Program, which pays the college tuition of aspiring teachers who agree to work in Idaho, was a no-brainer. Each year, the state chooses 16 recipients by looking at grade-point averages, teacher recommendations, and, in some schools, essays. Initially, Rutan, 22, was designated an alternate and resorted to student loans to pay her first-semester tab. But by the second semester, she had secured one of the coveted spots.
The state has paid Rutan's $3,126 tuition at Lewis-Clark every year (and even reimbursed her first tuition payment). In return, she must earn an undergraduate degree in teaching and work as an educator in the state for at least two years. It's a program offered in nearly every state for in-demand occupations such as teachers and nurses. Failure to fulfill the obligation means repaying the entire sum herself. "I always think it's funny they want me to be here for two years," Rutan says. "I could stay for 25."
Rutan didn't qualify for any need-based aid, but she received a $1,500 annual scholarship for good grades from her college's foundation. Her mother, a first-grade reading instructor, and father, a school superintendent, give her an allowance and pay her rent (currently $255 a month in an off-campus apartment). And Rutan raised money by working 20 hours a week in the admissions office. Even her book bill had less bite: For helping out with freshman orientation each year, Rutan garnered a $200 gift certificate to the bookstore.
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