ROTC requirements and chances?

FloridaDad

5-Year Member
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Nov 22, 2010
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I was wondering if anyone can give me feedback on what my sons chances are of being accepted to into the ROTC. He is a high school senior and started his applications for all branches of the military three months ago. The local Navy recruiter already interviewed him, he actually contacted my son and went to his school to pick transcripts up etc. We are really hoping he gets a scholarship because he is 100% committed to a long military career.

What are the chances of his application being successful:

- GPA 3.6 (4.5 weighted)
- SAT 1210 (Reading/Math) Hopefully he will get that higher.
- Four years JROTC, Company Commander
- Varsity Football
- Over 100 Volunteer hours in the last year
 
First off, good luck to your son. Was your son's application reviewed on the October 25th Army ROTC Board. If he was there is little you can update other then his SAT and ACT scores if he has taken the tests again, he can also change, add to, or rearrange his school choices. I have now had 2 son's go through this process, one was awarded his Army Scholarship in 2007 for the class of 2012. My younger son was just awarded a scholarship on the Oct. Board.

The process was different for my younger son because they now award the scholarships through the central Cadet Command not the individual schools. He was a bit worrired because of the increased competition and fewer scholarships that have beed awarded.

They say that they award the scholarships based on the whole person, Scholar, Athelete, Leadership, we found that to be very true. My son's grade and ACT were, 3.55 GPA uw, and a 24 ACT. Some here will say that is low and probably wouldn't get selected on the first or second round. What helped my son were the rest of his stats. he was very heavy on Athletics and Leadership. It sounds like your son has a well rounded resume as well.

One of the biggest things we have found that effects the selection process is the school selections. If your son has listed very competitive schools in both academics and ROTC he will have much more competition. My son selected schools that he was interested in but were not the most competitive, he was told by his #4 school that out of 45 kids that had listed the school on their list the scholarship was given to just 2 on the first board. The school was the University of Montana. You can imagine what the numbers must be like for a school such as Viginia Tech, or Texas A&M. School selection is very important, make sure he has 1 or 2 Safety schools listed in his top 4 and he will have a better chance of securing a scholarship.

This brings me to an observation I have had going through the process twice now. There are 2 ways to look at this. A young person has their hearts set on 1 or 2 universities, they apply for the scholarship to those schools and hope for the best, If they don't recieve a scholarship, so be it, they attend the school anyway. The other side of that is that they really want the scholarship and what comes with it as to participating in the program, so they make sure they select schools where they sre in the top percenatges of those that will be selected. My best advise is don't be blinded by the bigger universities and programs, very good officers come from small and less competitive schools every year. Send me a private message and I can give you some details about the program comparisons.

If your son was not included on the october Army board then one good thing to do is to take the full Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) and submit those scores. If he can pass that test it shows the board that he would be able to contract right away when he starts school. They really do not put much stock in the Presidential Fitness Test. Let me know how things go and contact me with any questions you might have.

Just for comparison these are the schools my son recieved the Army Scholarship to:

University of Idaho
University of West Florida
Washington State University
University of Montana
Oregon State University

That was also the order they were in on his application.
 
Disagree with the advice about the APFT. Although they don't put much stock into a PFT, your number of pushups and situps won't be a lot different in the two tests, but your run time will. If a board member is not paying attention (it is not readily apparent that an APFT score is posted) that run time will make you look slow. Last year I recommended the APFT, but I believe some applicants suffered by taking the APFT. Cadet Command asks you to take a PFT, so don't try to outthink the process, take a PFT.

Your son's credentials look ... What would your actions be if I told you they were below average? Above average? Average? If you go back just a little ways on the discussion board you will find that credentials are only a small part of the process. Interviews, essays, fitness tests, and medical qualifications are all part of the process, and everyone has some. Does your son want to be an Army/Navy/Air Force officer? If so then his chances are good that he can become one if he enrolls in ROTC when he goes to college, and works hard. Will he receive a scholarship, hard to say? He's already missed one scholarship board for Army.

We all wish him luck, and if he wants to attend school in upstate New York we'd love to have him in the Golden Knight Battalion.
 
He has applied to six schools: Florida, Florida State, Central Florida, South Florida, Auburn and Alabama.

His total SAT is around 1,800, and he has letters in academics, varsity football, and was nationally recognized in JROTC. I think all of his classes are Hons or AP. I don't think the PFT will be too much of a problem having trained 3+ hours a day since March for football. He also goes out and runs two or three miles when football season ends.

He went up a grade when he was seven so he is still pretty young, not sure if that will affect his application?
 
Last edited:
Clarksonarmy,

Sorry about the advice on the APFT. I was just going by what the PMS at the school my son is a MS3 at and that was my younger son has as his #1 school. My younger son was visiting his brother last spring and he met with the PMS, he told him to take the APFT instead of the PFT at that time. He also did his interview at that time as well which surprised my son since he was in shorts and a T-shirt. Did very well though. While we were dropping off my older son this year at school the PMS looked up my younger son's application and made sure they had in the notes section that he had taken the APFT, that 12:00 min 2 mile time wouldn't look good as a 1 mile for sure. He had passed the APFT with a 245 score.

When ny son talked to another PMS at a different school he commented that his run time was slow, my son told him he took the APFT, then he realized it after looking at the notes. I can see how this could cause some confusion so I won't advise that to anyone from now on.

It seemed to work out ok for my son this time, he recieved the scholarship pending medical on the first board, they must have seen the note thank goodness.

Thank you for all the advise on this board, your were always the voice we listened too throughout the process. Sure a lot different the the last time we went through this. Thanks again.
 
Your son being recognized nationally for the JROTC says a lot. From what Ive heard, this carries a lot of weight.
 
Just to comment on the physical fitness tests...I applied for (and won) an Army ROTC scholarship. When I was at the PT test/ interview phase, I chose to pay out of pocket for a plane flight to my #1 school for those 2 items. I did the interview in my Civil Air Patrol (Air Force Auxiliary) dress uniform, then did the APFT in the morning. Upon submitting, however, CC sent me a letter informing me that they would ONLY accept the President's Challenge test this year; APFT not accepted.

It wasn't a big deal, as neither myself nor the commander at that school knew the rule, but it did mean I had to re-do the test. I would definitely agree with Clarksonarmy when he advises to just take the PFT
 
He has applied to six schools: Florida, Florida State, Central Florida, South Florida, Auburn and Alabama.

His total SAT is around 1,800, and he has letters in academics, varsity football, and was nationally recognized in JROTC. I think all of his classes are Hons or AP. I don't think the PFT will be too much of a problem having trained 3+ hours a day since March for football. He also goes out and runs two or three miles when football season ends.

He went up a grade when he was seven so he is still pretty young, not sure if that will affect his application?

FloridaDad,

I've got lots of information in regards to the Florida schools if you wish to talk.

I'll send you a PM.
 
I recommend taking both the PFT and the APFT.

When I interview cadets I add a note giving the APFT score without the raw scores. That eliminates any confusion with the PFT.

I would also recommend casting the net a little wider. Many Northeast schools are actively recruiting students from the Southeast to increase their geographic diversity. Your child might get better financial offers from a Northeastern school.
 
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