Chances?

H

heesfan5

5-Year Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2010
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29
Hey Guys,

I am applying for all of the ROTC scholarships (first choice marine option-NROTC, second choice AROTC, and third choice AFROTC) and I am also applying to all of the senior military colleges. I was wondering what my chances are in getting the scholarship for any of the branches and in getting into any of the colleges. Also what I could do to improve my chances.

-GPA:3.42 weighted Cum
-ACT: 23 with 9 writing
-SAT:620 math, 530 reading, 570 writing
-Class rank: 167/398
-2 years Varsity Football (captain this year) lettered both years, varsity wrestling
-4 years of AFJROTC (going to be an officer this year)
-Have part time job
-I have not done much community service but plan on having about 70 hours by the end of summer.
-Have a PFT score of about 257.

Thanks,
Clayton
 
I can only really speak for AFROTC, but Id say its going to be tough. Especially since theyve been trying to slim down on the number of cadets we have.

The GPA and test scores are the biggest things and you should try to bring them up as much as possible. To be honest, telling them you'll major in some kind of engineering/technical field will help your chances. But that could end up hurting in the long run if you cant keep grades up.

When you go into the interview, talk alot about the ECs youre involved in. Focus on leadership roles and convince them you've got things to offer that other applicants dont.



Good luck
 
Speaking for Army ROTC, you really need to work on that ACT score. I was awarded a scholarship this past year. My weighted GPA was 3.45, BUT my ACT score was 28. I would definetly retake the ACT. I was about the same as class rank, your sports and AFJROTC are pretty good. That captain spot will look good. I was unable to do JROTC because my school didn't offer it, but I lettered three years and football and was a captain senior year and an All-State offensive tackle. So, even with only 1 or 2 sports or ECs, captain spots and leadership positions are valuable. Part time job looks good. I was kind of so-so in the community service portion too, but still got it.

Honestly, right now it will be pretty tough for you. Best advice: retake the ACT or SAT and shoot for a higher score. If you get a 26 or 27 on the ACT, there may be some hope for the AROTC scholarship.
 
Thanks, I retook the ACT in early june and should be getting my results back monday and I felt like I did a lot better.
 
heesfan5 said:
Thanks, I retook the ACT in early june and should be getting my results back monday and I felt like I did a lot better.
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That's good. If you want to post your new ACT scores on here when you get them, I can give you an idea of your chances as far asthe Army ROTC goes. I'm sure other members on here can give you idea for the other branches too.

Also, a lot of people say that the major you select makes a difference. I guess the military is looking for a lot of science, technology, and engineering cadets now.
 
Ya that is what I heard. The army really didn't specify but the navy and air force want you took take tech. majors which I have chosen for those branches. I will post my new scores when I get them hopefully on monday.
 
heesfan5 said:
Hey Guys,

I am applying for all of the ROTC scholarships (first choice marine option-NROTC, second choice AROTC, and third choice AFROTC) and I am also applying to all of the senior military colleges. I was wondering what my chances are in getting the scholarship for any of the branches and in getting into any of the colleges. Also what I could do to improve my chances.

-GPA:3.42 weighted Cum
-ACT: 23 with 9 writing
-SAT:620 math, 530 reading, 570 writing
-Class rank: 167/398
-2 years Varsity Football (captain this year) lettered both years, varsity wrestling
-4 years of AFJROTC (going to be an officer this year)
-Have part time job
-I have not done much community service but plan on having about 70 hours by the end of summer.
-Have a PFT score of about 257.

Thanks,
Clayton
Click to expand...

Suggestions for improving your "chances".

1) Pick schools where you will in the top quarter of applicants. For Army ROTC scholarship applicants, it will increase the chances that there will be scholarships left at the school when your whole person score level is awarded scholarships. The highest scored applicants tend to apply to the strongest schools exhausting those schools' allotments first.

Additionally, your chances of being successful will improve at less competitive schools (where you will not be overmatched).

2) Pick a major you have genuine interest in, not just one that will get you a scholarship. As much as AF and Navy desire technical majors (engineering, math and hard sciences), your test scores indicate that you will probably struggle in these majors at most schools especially when you add in ROTC activities and other activities (ROTC encourages well-rounded students who are active on campus). Additionally, in AF and Navy, changing your major out of the technical major list will in all likelyhood result in your losing your scholarship.

And the most important reason to pick a major you have genuine interest in - you are in college to get an education to use beyond your years in the military. You may serve 20 years, but what then? Being trained in a field you do not necessarily enjoy will not help you to be successful in that field over a career.

3) Continue to do the things you like in HS. You have a well-rounded resume. Get some volunteer hours in this summer but leave the school year for academics, test preparation. Don't mess with your life to try to game the scholarship application. Life is too short to roll the dice on this and you will never know if you've done "enough" to get the scholarship or whether what you did had an impact. 90% of your application is already behind you in your GPA, activities so far, etc. There isn't much to do now but improve your test scores and keep the rest of the plan going.
 
Hey, your above stats are extremely similar to mine with the exception that I was NJROTC and played Lacrosse instead of football.

I had no trouble getting a NROTC scholarship and an AROTC scholarship (which are the only 2 I applied for).

Apply early, preferably this summer because then the boards will have more time to look at your application. I foresee you will have no trouble in receiving an scholarship from some branch. However, I do not know about the military academies because I did not apply to those. I will leave that up to others with more experience.
 
Ok, sorry about not posting my act scores yet, but I just got them for some reason. So here they are...

Composition- 25
Math- 25
English- 25
Reading- 23
Science- 27
Essay- 9
 
The army really didn't specify but the navy and air force want you took take tech. majors which I have chosen for those branches.
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The AFROTC does also give out non-tech scholarships, but there are very competitive. Our DS is full ride non-tech (govt and politics), but his SAT was 1390 and his composite ACT was 33 or 34 (can't remember).

I have to agree with Nick, even a 25 ACT is going to be probably a no-go for the AF.

Remember the AF is different than the other 2 because you can take it anywhere they approve of, whereas, the Army and Navy your scholarship is tied to the particular schools on your lisr.
 
I agree all of the AFROTC scholarships are very competitive. To be honest some of the candidates that got nothing shocked me, but again the fact that the AF is starting up a RIF probably played into the situation too.

Also people should realize that just because you get a scholarship doesn't mean you will get summer training, which is important for your career field selection. At our DS's AFROTC det., if you didn't have a gpa over 3.4 you AND some form of job in the det, you were not selected for summer training.
 
Pima said:
Also people should realize that just because you get a scholarship doesn't mean you will get summer training, which is important for your career field selection.
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Agreed. However, I have heard that at some (all?) of the SMCs you are guaranteed Summer Field Training. Might be worth considering.
 
I kinda new that the af scholarship was long shot but it's still worth a try. I knew going into the process that I had a better shot at the other two branches. Thanks for all the feedback but I still haven't heard anything about my chances with the marine option scholarship, if anyone knows my chances for that scholarship, feedback would be greatly appreciated.
 
As far as I know, the Marine option would be seen as competitive if not more than the AF.

I would say your highest chance of a scholarship would be Army.

I also hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think your stats are too low for VMI, or the Citadel. Even though VTech is not on par with them, but does have a Corps Cadre, your stats are even too low for them, unless you are OOS, than it is a maybe and only because you would be acknowledging in the application your intention to go military.


I agree with goalie, pick schools that you are a match with, because the Army and Navy assign their scholarships. You don't want to get a scholarship to a school, but they reject you and you are left scrambling for a school to take the scholarship to.

I would suggest you go to www.collegeconfidential.com and look under the college section. If the colleges you are applying to our common schools they should have their own forum on that site, they are listed alphabetically. Once at those schools, do a chance me thread and let them tell you what they think. These threads are filled with parents and students that are associated with the school. Sometimes they are off on the chancing, but 9 times out of 10, they are right on the mark. Also realize that at some schools ROTC means nothing and it will not give you a hook for admission, i.e. it means nothing at UMDCP, because ROTC and admissions do not talk to each other. The ROTC commander is not going to go to them and fight for you because you have a scholarship.

The last thing to realize is the fact that there are many types of scholarships, and you need to ask if you can afford to attend that school if you only get the smaller scholarship?

Two yrs ago on this board you never heard about 2K scholarships, this yr there were many that capped out at that amount. 2k even for IS is not going to make a big dent in the bill.
 
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