AFROTC ICSP Phase II scholarships cancelled?

I came across the link below from the Univ. of Colorado AFROTC detachment that says that the Air Force has cancelled the ICSP Phase II Board for 2010 and will not be issuing any Phase II scholarships for the coming academic year (2011-2011). I'm the parent of an AS-200 cadet who is currently attending field training at Maxwell AFB and wondering whether or not he is still eligible for a Phase II scholarship. Does anyone know if the message in this link is correct? If it is, has anyone heard if seniors who did not get a scholarship in their junior year would be eligible in their senior year?

Here's the link: http://afrotc.colorado.edu/node/1117.

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.

I am confused here.

The ICSP is only eligible for freshman and sophomores, if your child is a cadet 200 and graduates he will be a 300. That means he would be a rising junior and not eligible, unless he is on a 5 yr educational program. Yet, you ask if anyone has gotten it just for their sr yr, since this yr's board is cancelled (which it really wasn't, just May 2010 board was), which again makes him a junior, and not eligible.

Now if your DS has a scholarship already, he will keep it, since they do not meet yrly boards.

Next, if you read the fine print of this link and it is very important everyone read this before it becomes a PANIC stage for the lurkers and posters

As of 19 April 2010, the ICSP Phase II Board has been CANCELLED. AFROTC will not be issuing any scholarships until the next fiscal year.

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What they were saying was we gave out all of the money budgeted to us for FY 2009-2010, and we will not be giving out anymore until OCTOBER 2010!
They have not canceled the calendar yr, i.e no more until 11, but the fiscal. That being said, this is why it is important to get those apps in early, because you don't know how much money is in their piggy bank, especially for ICSP, since many hs students convert those from the 4 yr to a 3 yr.

Follow-up on ICSP Phase 2 awards

I've copied below the description of the ICSP Phase 2 scholarship program from the Air Force's Web site. My reading of this is that the detachment submits the names of freshmen and sophmore candidates by the end of June. The board meets in July and awards are announced by Aug 1. For sophmores, they receive a 2-year award covering their Jr. and Sr. years, with the scholarship activating in the Fall of their Jr. year. So my question is the same regarding the message on the CU Detachment's Web site: has this year's Phase 2 board been cancelled and no more scholarships will be available for incoming juniors?

Thx.



From http://www.afrotc.com/scholarships/in-college/programs/:

ICSP Phase Two is open to college freshmen and sophomores in any major. ICSP Phase One nonselects and students not enrolled in Air Force ROTC are eligible to apply for ICSP Phase Two.

Eligible applicants are nominated for ICSP Phase Two by the commander of the detachment serving the school where they attend or the school where they will attend once they join Air Force ROTC. Students not currently enrolled in Air Force ROTC must be interviewed by the detachment commander or his/her designee.

The deadline for detachments to submit a nomination is June 30. The board meets in July, and those selected are typically notified by August 1 of each year.

A limited number of cadets selected through ICSP Phase Two are awarded a Type 2 scholarship (capped at $18,000 per year for tuition, $900 per year for books). Most scholarship selected students are awarded a Type 3 scholarship (capped at $9,000 per year for tuition and $900 per year for books).

Freshmen nominees are awarded three-year scholarships, and sophomore nominees are awarded two-year scholarships. All scholarships activate the following fall term.

Then if they cancelled it in 2010, the board would not meet until after Oct 1., because that is the next fiscal yr, which would make your DS ineligible since he would be a SR.

Unfortunately due to the large cadet corp for 11, 12 and 13, the AF is doing everything to reduce the size. For example, OTS was canceled this yr. Additionally, cadets 3 months prior to commissioning were given their walking papers based on their gpa. Summer training for ROTC cadets was greatly reduced in size and very competitive. The summer training might not mean anything at first glance, but cadets who didn't get it were upset because that meant their ranking seen by the board is below the cut off line.

Your son would be in the target yr group, and even though this does not give you comfort, he should be happy that he got summer training. Our DS left today, and he knew that @ 1/3 of his det were never given this option. For kids who want UPT, that is going to hurt come this fall when they go up to the board for their career paths.

Good luck.

Pima said:

..The summer training might not mean anything at first glance, but cadets who didn't get it were upset because that meant their ranking seen by the board is below the cut off line..

..For kids who want UPT, that is going to hurt come this fall when they go up to the board for their career paths.

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Pima: Is the national OML usually displayed in the AFROTC Detachment area? I'm curious as to how the AFROTC program updates their cadets on where they stand nationally. I would assume that the cadets that "discovered" they were below the cut off line for Summer training (and eventually UPT) were probably aware before they were passed over for Summer training that they were in the bottom 50% on the OML. Am I mistaken in my assumptions?

I do not know of any national list that says the name of every cadet that was accepted for this yrs summer training. In our DS's det., they do rank them within the det. They are told of their standing every semester when they go up for review, so in a way the cadets knew from the det standpoint, but not a national standpoint. You can't assume each det will meet the national % level. Some dets have a higher selection rate than others.

At our DS's det. it became very apparent, very quickly of who got it and who didn't. This is the synopsis of how it occurred there:

1. The commander called in the cadets in 2 groups on the same day. One group was told sorry and the other was told congrats.

He informed both groups of the stats that were the cut off line (gpa, AFOQT scores, etc) and the % accepted.

2. Cadets could also quickly figure out because as soon as it was released, the cadets started running around getting their paperwork done, and preparing for their bag drag.

The paperwork not only includes updated shot records, bu they also fill out forms like SGLI.

They are also given priority regarding the uniforms. Our det gave all of the cadets a second set of blues, and they were the 1st to get the new ABUs.

It is a difficult time for those who do not get selected. I am sure you recall several months ago threads going about how cadets were not selected even with strong gpas. Our DS's commander said in he 3 yrs he has been there, this is the first yr he saw such a high min gpa and low acceptance rate for summer training.

Now what does this mean to some. It means, that your major and your det will play a role. You should not apply for engineering if you think this is your best chance for a scholarship. You should apply because that is the major you want your degree in. Many of our DS's friends applied for engineering and for some their freshman yr was brutal. That gpa will be attached to not only your ability to retain your scholarship, but also it could be attached to your chances for your dream career.

I know that sounds like Janie Raincloud, but for right now, the AF is paying attention to that gpa. Maybe for the class of 14, the AF will lessen on the gpa, maybe it won't. None of us are psychic.

Finally, it also means it is not over because the AF cannot predict how many will leave ROTC over the next yr. This can change dramatically for next yr due to the fact that OTS was canceled this yr, if they cancel again next yr then their numbers maybe in balance again and the picture will be much different.

Again, none of us are psychic, and this is why I also say don't take the scholarship only to do XYZ in the service, because the only guarantee anyone can give you is that you will serve for 5 yrs, but not necessarily doing XYZ.

TIP:

I am a proponent of contacting the dets that you are interested in joining and discussing their ROTC program. As stated on other thread ERAU does give out the most pilot slots, and that sounds great, however, if you compare them to VTech, statistically they give out less than VTech does. It is not just numbers, it is statistics too. For the class of 15, you should inquire what was the % of cadets that got summer training compared to the national level. Ask why if there is a differentiation between the two. Maybe there is something that they offer that other dets don't, maybe there is something they don't offer that other dets do.

Just like every college, every det is different.

Selecting an ROTC det is not as easy as one may think when they begin the process. AT first, it typically is all about the school and that they have ROTC, but if you do your homework, you can find yourself questioning which school based on the det and not the school. That makes the decision even more difficult because you may love the college, but the det not so much, or you may love the det, but not the school. ROTC allows you the ability to experience both worlds and you need to come to a balance with each aspect of that world. Some people will be fortunate and fall in love with the school and the det, some may not. Either way, we are all here to help through our own personal experiences.

For our own experience these were some of the questions we asked.
1. What is the % of cadets that get their number 1 career choice? For our DS's det 95%
2. Why didn't the ones not get their choice? Typically the answer was gpa. In that yr only one did not get their 1st choice.
3. Historically, how many yrs has that been the stat for this det? For his det it has been that way for yrs
4. Can you show us the stats? They did for the past 5 yrs
5. How many cadets are in the det? @200
6. Can we speak to some of them? They allowed us to speak to 2, one C300 and one C400
7. What makes this det unique to other dets? They do a lot of community service and have multiple military fraternities

We did not ask about summer training because we weren't psychic, back in 08 that was not an issue.

Proud Mom of Det 330. GO TERPS BEAT TECH (don't tell our DD Hokie I wrote that!)

Thanks Pima! As usual your advice is welcome and insightful.

I might be for some issues, but when people start asking about the AFROTC Nursing program, I will sit there and simply say PM aglages!

AFROTC is a team effort!

Yup, I've concluded these are indeed trying times for the AFROTC kids with respect to scholarships. Our son did not decide to go the AFROTC route until he got to college in the fall of 2008. At that point the ICSP was his only option for a scholarship, and they only gave out one this year. Isn't it ironic, had he applied for a scholarship in his senior year of HS, pre-financial meltdown, his chances would probably have been pretty good to get financial support. But once the financial crisis hit, I completely understand why the AF has decided to cut back on scholarships.

I really appreciate all the comments about the competitive nature of the program and the extra emphasis on GPA (which I applaud). Our boy is currently a 3.0 and I am hoping he will make every effort to pull that up his last two years. He’s about 10 days away from completing FT at Maxwell AFB and we keep him in our prayers every day that he will get through this and come out smiling on the back end (OK, maybe not smiling but at least surviving and proud of it!).

One thing I am sensing reading these posts is that it is truly a team effort to help your son or daughter get into and through the AFROTC program, there are so many things to consider and take into account. His Mom and I have been a bit hands-off up to now but I realize there is much we can do to support him and help him realize his dream. Thanks to everyone who contributes to this forum, lots of great information and insight here that I didn’t know was available. I’ll definitely share it with our son.

Our DS is also at Maxwell, but he is @22 days from finishing, not that I am counting!

The one thing I think that needs to be stressed is helo parents can do more harm than good. You need to be the soft landing spot for them, but remember that according to the AF and their ROTC det., they are not children, they are not minors. They are adults. They need to take control of their situation.

Our DS has hit rough spots every now and then. He tells us about them, we suggest how to handle the situation, but THAT IS IT! We remind him, that as an officer he will have to work through issues and we can't do it for him. We are also fortunate because his father not only served in the AF, but was an AFROTC cadet, so our DS feels comfortable in confiding to us and listening to suggestions...not that he adheres to the suggestions, but he does hear them and evaluates them from his standpoint.

The quickest way for him to have a blaring signal placed on him, is if the folks get involved. They want to see their maturity level, not a cadet that runs to the folks to help them out.

This site is great for cadets and parents because it allows them the opportunity to voice questions and concerns without recrimination. It gives security that they aren't the 1st one to walk the path and certainly won't be the last. Much of it is anecdotal or det specific, but there is a sense of calmness that comes over you when you read, don't worry, this happens all the time. Or when you understand the logic of why it is occurring. The unknown is the scary part. I will say as a wife who dated her DH as an ROTC cadet, spent 20 yrs following him around as AFAD spouse, and now an AFROTC MOM, this is the easiest part of the equation. The difficult part will be when you get the phone call saying "I am deploying to XYZ for 120 days +/-. Or receiving a phone call that your 1st grandbaby was born and because they live overseas, you won't be there to look through the hospital nursery window. It will be hard on them too. They will miss you and your family terribly for the holidays, birthdays and special occasions. Like I said this might seem hard emotionally because you want them to get their dream, but these are baby steps. The minute you pin on the butter bars, life changes and you will ask God to roll back time for what you now consider scary.

For cadets, I would suggest that you also take the time and bond with other cadets, especially upper classmen. They get it, and will be a great source of advice from their own anecdotal experience within the det. There is no 100% guarantee do this and it all works out mold, there just a 100% guarantee if you ignore any issue, it won't go away.