Your recruiter didn't tell you about it because he doesn't want you to know about it. Every recruiter has a monthly quota of enlistments. If he misses that quota, the command may require him to work longer hours. They may even send him back to sea duty early. Recruiting is a cushy job (compared to a lot of other types of duty) with almost no direct supervision. They will do ANYTHING they can legally do to get those contracts signed. If that includes not telling you about other ways to go... well, that's not his job is it? Recruiters get no credit for people who receive NROTC scholarships. They get extra points for finding nukes. As luck would have it, both programs are after the same people. He showed that stuff about finding jobs after college to scare you away from college. Besides, if you get an ROTC scholarship, you will have a job - you'll be an officer in the US Military. (Don't limit yourself to Navy Rotc. Give Army and Air Force a chance too.)
The STA-21 program keeps you on Active Duty pay, but it only pays $10k/year toward all your college costs. You have to make up the rest out of the salary of an enlisted sailor. Good luck trying that. Have you looked at tuition rates lately?
ROTC pays:
Four-year Scholarship:
o Full tuition at one of the listed college or universities
o All colleges/university educational fees
o Stipend for text books
o Provide all uniforms
o Subsistance allowance each academic month
YEAR CURRENT EFFECTIVE
1 OCT 2002
Freshmen $250
Sophomore $300
Junior $350
Senior $400
You also get paid for you summer duty tours.
Go here: https://www.nrotc.navy.mil/index.cfm
Ask your school counsellor and/or college admissions office. Books can be bought used and resold. Living expenses can come from part time jobs, the subsistence allowance you receive from nrotc (He didn't tell you about that either, did he?), and your loving parents. Together, these can put a huge dent in the costs. You can also do things like; stay on your parents' medical insurance, live on campus or join a fraternity, get on the meal plan, sell your car and take mass transit (assuming you have a good reason to go anywhere anyway).
In any case, if you can swing a free college education, don't get stalled by minor money problems.