Is it easy to get an in-college ROTC scholarship?

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

I have been pondering joining AFROTC or AROTC for a long while. After taking all things into consideration, from which college I would want to attend (I have not received any letters of admissions yet) to which program I would like to join, I am not sure that making this commitment and going through this process in a semi-blind manner (I am not set on any college or AFROTC vs. AROTC).

Therefore, I am wondering how easy it is to obtain a 3 year in college scholarship in either AFROTC or AROTC. I plan to join either an Army or Air Force battalion without contracting next fall, but I am worried I will not be able to afford my education if the 3 year scholarships for these two programs are difficult to get.

Any advice/information regarding the in-college scholarship program would be very helpful. Thank you.

I'm confused. Weren't you about to submit your applications a day ago? After posting questions about the process since last Spring have you now decided it is not worth applying? What do you mean by "going through this process in a semi-blind manner"? Sounds as though you have applied to more than one college "(I have not received any letters of admissions yet)", were the choice of which colleges to apply also done in a "semi-blind manner" or was there some research and thought involved?

nickolai77 said:

Hello everyone. I am about to submit my application for affrotc and arotc. Will I immediately be contacted for an interview, or will they contact me after I send in all of the "supporting documents" by the deadline in January? Do they need those documents to confirm eligibility before they arrange an interview for you? Thanks.

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It really just depends on the battalion.
For AROTC, you might try for the scholarship because you can get either AD 3-Year or do a 4 year and not contract right away...

nickolai77 said:

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

I have been pondering joining AFROTC or AROTC for a long while. After taking all things into consideration, from which college I would want to attend (I have not received any letters of admissions yet) to which program I would like to join, I am not sure that making this commitment and going through this process in a semi-blind manner (I am not set on any college or AFROTC vs. AROTC).

Therefore, I am wondering how easy it is to obtain a 3 year in college scholarship in either AFROTC or AROTC. I plan to join either an Army or Air Force battalion without contracting next fall, but I am worried I will not be able to afford my education if the 3 year scholarships for these two programs are difficult to get.

Any advice/information regarding the in-college scholarship program would be very helpful. Thank you.

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How easy it is to get an in-college scholarship is entirely up to you. If you get good grades, good PT scores and make a good impression with the AD officers there - then you'll most likely get one. Its hard to give a generalized opinion on them, since the individual detachment/battalion commander is the one who really puts you in for one. And each commander is a little different and looks for different things. But grades, pt and volunteer work are pretty universal as far as making a good impression.

Id recommend continuing applying for the scholarships out of high school. Dont worry about making a "blind" commitment, since your first year in ROTC is a freebee. You can quit or switch ROTCs with no commitment at anytime during your first year, even if youre on scholarship. The worst that could happen is you dont get one. But then you try for an in-college one and the fact that you applied in high school proves you've been serious about ROTC for a long time. If you do end up not picking one up out of high school, let the det know you want a scholarship on day 1. And ask what you can do to get one.

I would caution you about the freebie year. Yes you can walk in your first year if it's not for you, but you may not be able to get into the other service if you renege on a scholarship without paying back the scholarship. I know you have to pay back a scholarship to reenroll in ROTC. Nick4060...I would caution you that your advice may not be 100% accurate.

Where I'm at, campus based scholarships are almost non existent. If you don't think you can afford your last three years of college, and you aren't sure if being an Army or Air Force Officer is for you, I would be very careful about your decision.

I would also encourage you to consider guard or reserves to help pay for college. The SMP program is a great way to help pay for college.

Good luck

Be advised that the battalion you're interested in joining has to have funds available. Just because you're doing well in school, have a good PT score and show an interest in becoming an officer, if the school doesn't have money to give out, you won't be getting any.

clarksonarmy said:

I would caution you about the freebie year. Yes you can walk in your first year if it's not for you, but you may not be able to get into the other service if you renege on a scholarship without paying back the scholarship. I know you have to pay back a scholarship to reenroll in ROTC. Nick4060...I would caution you that your advice may not be 100% accurate.

Where I'm at, campus based scholarships are almost non existent. If you don't think you can afford your last three years of college, and you aren't sure if being an Army or Air Force Officer is for you, I would be very careful about your decision.

I would also encourage you to consider guard or reserves to help pay for college. The SMP program is a great way to help pay for college.

Good luck

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I probably should have qualified my advice. Thats on me. Im coming from an AF perspective. I've personally seen multiple folks come to us from the academy and other ROTCs after a year without owing anything back. I also know MANY people who left their AF scholarships to be picked up by Army. Granted that was last year. Things in ROTC seem to change year by year - maybe it has in this case?

I know in my contract it clearly states that the first year was a freebee. Anyways, im not trying to encourage anyone to take advantage of a service's money. Im just trying to say thats been an option, as far as ive seen, for people unsure about staying in ROTC or which branch they're interested in.

-Bull- said:

Be advised that the battalion you're interested in joining has to have funds available. Just because you're doing well in school, have a good PT score and show an interest in becoming an officer, if the school doesn't have money to give out, you won't be getting any.

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I assume this matters for Army? But the AF doesnt care which detachment you go to. Scholarships for us are given out at the national level without regard to school. Another thing to keep in mind when you're considering different ROTCs.

nick4060 said:

I assume this matters for Army? But the AF doesnt care which detachment you go to. Scholarships for us are given out at the national level without regard to school. Another thing to keep in mind when you're considering different ROTCs.

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I was strictly talking about Campus-Based Scholarships, a question I believe the OP asked about. That advice is only for campus based scholarships (a battalions own money it uses for scholarships).

-Bull- said:

I was strictly talking about Campus-Based Scholarships, a question I believe the OP asked about. That advice is only for campus based scholarships (a battalions own money it uses for scholarships).

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I understand your point. Just that the OP asked about in-college scholarships in general. Again, Im not sure if the Army distinguishes between "in-college" scholarships and "campus-based" scholarships. But the AF simply has "in-college" scholarships that are competed for on a national level. And the OP asked about AFROTC as well as AROTC, so it seemed like relevant info to me.

Nick,

I am currently an AFROTC cadet and I am making the switch to Army next semester since I was awarded a 3-year scholarship. I go to Virginia Tech so switching branches is relatively easy. Scholarships however are hard to come by. In-college Air Force scholarships are usually only given to technical majors, with an outstanding gpa and a pt score above a 90. I know the Army awarded a lot of scholarships last year, but I heard that they spent toomuch money and they need to cut some for this coming year. I would suggest that you applyfor one this year if at all possible, if you don't get one then either reapply next year or go guard or reserves. Each university is given a certain number of scholarships they can award to their current students and when the money runs out there is nothing that they can do for you even if you are a top notch cadet. I wish you the best of luck.