Scholarship Application Help!

I am late in the process for the AROTC and NROTC (Marine Option) scholarships, in fact I am very late. But besides that, I have sent off the NROTC application and talked with the recruiter. I have been told that I must take a photo in a business suit, take the physical test, and have an interview. I will send off the AROTC application off by tonight. What happens after I send off the AROTC app? I recieved a letter in the mail a few days ago, saying to schedule an interview, how is this done? Any advice/help/suggestions for either one would be awesome!

Thanks in advance. This website seems to be pretty amazing.

underwood212 said:

I am late in the process for the AROTC and NROTC (Marine Option) scholarships, in fact I am very late. But besides that, I have sent off the NROTC application and talked with the recruiter. I have been told that I must take a photo in a business suit, take the physical test, and have an interview. I will send off the AROTC application off by tonight. What happens after I send off the AROTC app? I recieved a letter in the mail a few days ago, saying to schedule an interview, how is this done? Any advice/help/suggestions for either one would be awesome!

Thanks in advance. This website seems to be pretty amazing.

Click to expand...

For the AROTC interview, you need to schedule it with the PMS of the school of your choice. It could be the #1 of on your list, a school on your list, or the closest school to you.

My son interviewed with his #1 choice. His best friend did not and still go the scholarship. His other friend interviewed with the PMS of a college that he did not even apply to and he got the scholarship to his #1 choice.

Schedule the interview quickly. The colleges are getting ready to into finals the first week of December and then will be off for winter break at least down here.

Good luck.

A little help

For the AROTC there are only 3 boards this year and you missed the first. I think the deadline is mid December to be "board" ready. Get your interview done as that often takes time (see the post above about school schedules). If you have not dont the PT test you need to set up with a coach or teacher to proctor it and get it in. If you get organized and move things along you should be ready for the 2nd and 3rd boards. Good luck!

The best advice I can give you is to go to your #1 school if possible. It's important so that the school knows you and can put a name to a face. There can be other perks from it, too

But yes, you can interview at any school. Doing so at your #1 does NOT mean you will get a scholarship to that school or at all; I just think it's good to get your name known to the PMS at that school

Sorry if I am asking a repeated question, but does it affect your chances if I interview at a college that is not even one of my choices? My top choices are all a few hours away. I will go if I have to but not if there is no diffference.

underwood212 said:

Sorry if I am asking a repeated question, but does it affect your chances if I interview at a college that is not even one of my choices? My top choices are all a few hours away. I will go if I have to but not if there is no diffference.

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AFTER I did my interview at the closest college to me (not on list) I found out that it is beneficial to do it at a school you're interested in. They just like to have more exposure to see you and evaluate you for themselves, instead of let another school do it.

Think about this question logically. If you were a PMS, would you give a high mark to a kid who clearly went the extra mile to interview with YOU, or would you give a high mark to a kid who just went to the nearest school?

The extra effort may well pay off for you. With that said (as I previously posted), you will most likely do just fine if you interview at the nearest school. It's totally up to you. Don't overthink it; just pick a school that is within your range to reach.

I think one of the important "strategy" pieces of Army ROTC scholarship application is putting together the school of intent.

My S got the scholarship in the October board. The schools where the scholarship were granted really confirm to me again how important it is to put together this list thoughtfully and strategically.

For those who are gunning for the second board, there is another consideration. You need to call around Dec 20th the PMS of the schools you are interested in, and find out whether there is still spot left in his school/battalion. A good chunk of many competitive schools/battalions's quota may be already filled from the first round. So, say, a school is a competitive school and the battalion is popular. Suppose they now have only 2 spots left. In such a case, you had better be an OUTSTANDING applicant in all dimensions. If your GPA, SAT are not at the top range of the school's admitted class, the odds are not good, and you may be wasting a spot on the school of intent list by putting down a school where you really don't have a good shot at.

Those going for the second board should consider this carefully.

That's why I was really concerned that my son may not get selected out of the first board - because it really throws in a lot more complication into the whole equation.

Yeah, I a little late to the ball game as well.


And I think I'm kind of screwed. My grades and SATs are fine but my fitness score will not be good. I am working on it, but I don't think I will make the December Board for AROTC....which means I'll only have one board left. And all of the schools on my list are relatively competitive (i.e. USC, Michigan, Georgetown, Cornell, Notre Dame, etc...) So, they might be filled up already.

For NROTC, I am a Tier 3 major, so that certainly does not help my case. But apparently there is no fitness requirement for NROTC application, so that helps me a little bit.



Maybe a gap year with Americorps is a good idea. I had been thinking about it for a while, but I kind of decided to go to college right away. But if it will give me time to train, and apply early, I think I might go for it. But we'll have to see.

Just get your application in and above all, be honest with yourself about it. If being a military officer is your dream and you don't get a scholarship, go to a school you can afford, do ROTC anyways (since it's basically just an elective class), and down the road, you may win a campus scholarship. You never know what will happen. The game is yet young; there are a lot of cards left to play.