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Yup. At my school, we had to put down a $50 deposit; I'm guessing it's the same for other schools. You should get that money back if you either quit and return the uniforms or stay in the program long enough. I'm sure it varies by branch, too.

As for time:

Depends on your school and which branch, how many new cadets there are, and whether they have enough uniforms lying around in storage or if they have to order new ones.

At my school for Air Force ROTC, it took them the whole year to get us all of our uniforms. We got our physical training uniform (PTU) shirt and shorts about a month in. Then we got our PTU jacket and pants a few weeks after that. About two or three months in, we got our short sleeve blues (SSBs) and our service dress coat to go over that. Some of us had to get our SSB pants and coat adjusted. During the last couple of weeks of school, we were finally given our Airman Battle Uniforms (ABUs), which is the camo. One thing that delays stuff is if you have the whole uniform. If one thing is missing, you can't wear it. Also, remember that wearing a uniform is tougher than you think. You'll get harped on by the upperclassman for every little mistake on your uniform.'

I think Army cadets get their's quite a bit faster, and all at once.

Yes. At the very beginning. Depends on the school as far as the exact time.

For NROTC, yes. You don't even have to pay for them.

You get them during Freshman Orientation, or shortly thereafter if you don't participate.