New to this, help!

My DS (current HS Jr) is planning on applying to all SA's as well as interested in AROTC preferably at Va Tech. I'm new to this ROTC forum and need some info. What is the difference between Types 1, 2, 7 (and more?) scholarships? Are they dependent upon your intended major and school of choice?
We visited Va Tech last week and attended the info session for Corps of Cadets. They recommended NOT applying for ROTC till May so our file does not mistakenly get placed with current Senior Class of 2011 files. Yet, on this forum, I've seen it suggested that now is the time to open the ROTC file. Any suggestions on what he should do--wait or open now?
Any/all help with beginning this process would be appreciated!
Finally...I've become accustomed to the acronyms used on the SA forums, but there are so many more on ROTC that I cannot figure out and can't find a link to commonly used acronyms. If someone has a list that could be shared, we'd appreciate it!
Thanks all!

You have plenty of time...
A little more info will be helpful, when everybody starts asking you questions.

Which branches (Army, AF, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard) are you looking at / most interested in?
Senior Military Academies / Service Academies or all/both?
Career plans and Goals?
Degrees/areas of study?
State (for Instate/OOS)
Student Stats; GPA, SAT etc

Opening (starting) an ROT app now is OK, it can not be completed until this yrs final transcript w/GPA is submitted.

The Acronym List

Army ROTC does not have scholarship types. All are the same. Navy and AF do have types that offer different levels of scholarship benefit based on the type of major.

They will not open next year's scholarship entry process until this year's process completes. I recall they open the new year applications in late-May or early-Jun. There is no advantage to rushing in your entry. Focus your son on getting strong PT scores and good grades for his final semester of junior year. Then apply over the summer so his package is ready for the first board.

gojack said:

You have plenty of time...
A little more info will be helpful, when everybody starts asking you questions.

Which branches (Army, AF, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard) are you looking at / most interested in?
Senior Military Academies / Service Academies or all/both?
Career plans and Goals?
Degrees/areas of study?
State (for Instate/OOS)
Student Stats; GPA, SAT etc

Opening (starting) an ROT app now is OK, it can not be completed until this yrs final transcript w/GPA is submitted.

The Acronym List

Click to expand...

Thanks...here's the info on DS:
Branch of service most interested in: Army (interested in Infantry)
#1 SA choice: USMA, but is attending AFA Summer Seminar (the only academy we haven't visited due to distance). USNA is also high on his list.
#1 non-SA choice: Virginia Tech--very high on his list.
Career plans: Intended major, Political Science.
Stats:
3.98 GPA
SAT: 580 Reading, 680 Math (1260) (1st test taken cold in March, retaking in May after STUDYING this time!)
National Honor Society
Boys State
Volunteer firefighter (elected Lieutenant) over 200 hours of service and counting for firefighting alone and numerous other community service hours for other groups.
Varsity Letters for football & wrestling
Rotary Int'l Next Generation Leadership conference (only male picked by HS faculty)
Peer Advocate & Peer tutor (selected by faculty)
Student coordinator of World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam Veteran's Recognition events attended by over 1000 guests including US Senator & Congresswomen.
AP student @ one of the most highly competitive HS in State of Connecticut

Thanks for any help & suggestions!!

I would def. follow's VT's rec about not opening until May. Trust in them. They have this system down pat since they are only 1 of 7 schools in the nation with a Corps.

They know the system.

Good luck.

OBTW, you can start getting all of your materials in order and be ready to hit submit 1 May. Boards don't meet until next fall.

Personally, I would also wait if they are taking the May SAT/ACT so you can have updated scores.

IMHO; Next year may be shaping up to be the toughest year for scholarships in a long time.

A Poly-Sci major means little chance of a Navy or AF ROTC scholarship (they strongly prefer Tech majors, worth applying, don't hold your breath) So that leaves mostly Army ROTC for here. (*Academy questions are best on their specific boards. )

If he is hoping to go active duty(AD), he may want to concentrate on the Academy and Senior Military Colleges (SMC), where graduates are guaranteed active duty (huge advantage). Graduates from other programs may find AD slots in extremely short supply 4-5 yrs from now. (Not a problem if you are in the top of your class, big problem if you are not.)

The six senior military colleges are:
North Georgia (all Army corps of cadets; ~800)
Norwich (small private SMC, only ~400 freshman cadets per/yr)
Texas A&M (corps of cadets ~1800)
The Citadel (corps of cadets ~2000)
Virginia Military Institute (VMI) (Cadets only, ~1500)
Virginia Tech (corps of cadets ~800)

His stats place him about average for most of the SMC's, if he can raise his ACT (28) 2-3 points it would put him in the top quartile.
BTW: make sure he takes both ACT & SAT some kids do much better on one than the other.

Dog Walker said:

My DS (current HS Jr) is planning on applying to all SA's as well as interested in AROTC preferably at Va Tech. I'm new to this ROTC forum and need some info. What is the difference between Types 1, 2, 7 (and more?) scholarships? Are they dependent upon your intended major and school of choice?
We visited Va Tech last week and attended the info session for Corps of Cadets. They recommended NOT applying for ROTC till May so our file does not mistakenly get placed with current Senior Class of 2011 files. Yet, on this forum, I've seen it suggested that now is the time to open the ROTC file. Any suggestions on what he should do--wait or open now?
Any/all help with beginning this process would be appreciated!
Finally...I've become accustomed to the acronyms used on the SA forums, but there are so many more on ROTC that I cannot figure out and can't find a link to commonly used acronyms. If someone has a list that could be shared, we'd appreciate it!
Thanks all!

Click to expand...

For AROTC there is only 4 year and 3 year AD (Advanced Designee) scholarships. The former pays full tuition for 4 years and the latter full tuition for 3 years. The Type 1,2,7 are AFROTC scholarships. IMPO, as long as you have all your info together, you don't need to start the actual application until august and still be 1st board qualified.

My son was set on USNA but after attending summer seminar and wrestling camps there he came home and decided after much thoughtful consideration that he wanted what he felt was the best of both worlds - the opportunity to go to a military college but still have some of the options open to regular civilian students. He felt that was the best decision for him but he LOVED USNA. He says both places have great food.

When looking at all your options, look very carefully at each of the Senior Military Colleges. They are all wonderful schools and they vary a bit in how the school is run. VMI is a very traditional Military College, some have said that it can be even more intense and restrictive then the USMA. Some have a mix of Cadets and civilian students. Make sure you do your research and visit each school. If you can try to do an overnight stay and talk to cadets that are attending the school so you can get a good feeling of what life will be like.

Nobody knows for sure what the AD cutoff will be like in 4 years for civilian college ROTC cadets, there are far to many variables that will go into the process. The only thing a cadet can do is work hard and put themselves in a position to make the cutoff.

When the economy was good and the demand was high for cadets a higher percentage of applicants desired AD. Now that the economy has changed for the worse and college fund and loan money had become harder to come by, more high school students are looking to ROTC as a way to pay for college. (Nothing wrong with that by the way). If the economy improves over the next 4 years it would not suprise me to see more cadets opt for reserves making more room for AD slots for those that want to follow that path.

The cadets that are represented on this board seem to be mostly interested in AD military after graduation, but this is just a small sampling of the total number of cadets that will begin school in the Fall.

Dog Walker said:

Thanks...here's the info on DS:
Branch of service most interested in: Army (interested in Infantry)
#1 SA choice: USMA, but is attending AFA Summer Seminar (the only academy we haven't visited due to distance). USNA is also high on his list.
#1 non-SA choice: Virginia Tech--very high on his list.
Career plans: Intended major, Political Science.
Stats:
3.98 GPA
SAT: 580 Reading, 680 Math (1260) (1st test taken cold in March, retaking in May after STUDYING this time!)
National Honor Society
Boys State
Volunteer firefighter (elected Lieutenant) over 200 hours of service and counting for firefighting alone and numerous other community service hours for other groups.
Varsity Letters for football & wrestling
Rotary Int'l Next Generation Leadership conference (only male picked by HS faculty)
Peer Advocate & Peer tutor (selected by faculty)
Student coordinator of World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam Veteran's Recognition events attended by over 1000 guests including US Senator & Congresswomen.
AP student @ one of the most highly competitive HS in State of Connecticut

Thanks for any help & suggestions!!

Click to expand...

Take a look through a couple threads on this board, Jan. 4th Board, and March Board. There are a lot of applicants that received scholarships and listed their stats. You will find a broad range, some high, some average. You will see why it is so hard to predict the chances of any applicant. The best you can do is put together your application, have a great interview and hope for the best. You will find that school selections can have a lot to do with your chances as well. There will be many more threads as the process for next year gets closer and many more discussions.

gojack said:

BTW: make sure he takes both ACT & SAT some kids do much better on one than the other.

Click to expand...

GoJack makes a very important point here. Too many kids accept their SAT score and never take the ACT. They are different types of tests. The ACT is a test of what you know and have learned as opposed the the SAT which foucses more on your aptitude. Students that have taken a lot of AP classes know a lot, and may score much higher on the ACT than the SAT. IMHO, every student going to college should take both.

Thanks for all the advice, everyone...it is greatly appreciated! Will have him look into the ACT. I don't know if it's a "regional" thing, but very few classmates take the ACT here in Connecticut...it's not even stressed by our school Guidance Dept. They completely stress the importance of the SAT. Will definitely have him complete some practice ACT tests and see how he makes out. Hopefully the May SAT scores will show great improvement especially in the reading section to bring it up more in line with his Math scores and he'll go from there. Thanks again for quick responses!

Many people will tell you that through experience some kids do better with one test over the other.

We are east coast parents, and SAT is always stressed as the one to take. HOWEVER, I will say that not one college between my first two did not accept just one test. They superscored the best of each and then through their own system picked the best superscore of either.

DS was selected using ACT. DD (at VT) also was selected using the ACT. Once in the process you will be able to view which test they selected.

Our youngest knows he will take both, he is actually taking both in a few short weeks. Whichever he scores better with, we will at that point move forward with only that test. If you go online you can find the comparison of SAT to ACT.

Try both. I believe the June cut off for ACT is not for a few weeks, so just try it. We also do not send them to the schools, until we have decided which test. Usually after the September round.

Good luck.