New Guy has questions about ROTC Scholarships

CoachBart

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This is long but bear with me while I explain...My son will be a high school senior in the fall. He has been in Army JROTC since freshman year. Last year he decided he wants a career in the military after high school but wants to go to college and commission as an officer. At first he was interested in the Marines and back in the spring completed a preliminary application for the USNA Summer Seminar. However, he was not selected. But it was also during this time, even before not being selected, that he decided he wanted to be in Army ROTC after speaking with his JROTC teachers at school. So he did not even think about the USNA or the Marines anymore. He went online and completed the online Army ROTC Scholarship application. Last week he went for his DoDMERB Physical and today on the website it says "Qualified" which I am guessing is good news. He also received an email to schedule his scholarship interview and he scheduled it at VMI next month. Its cool that its at VMI because that was one of 5 colleges he picked in the rankings section and is also going to meet with the wrestling coach there too that same day since we will be at the school and he wants to continue wrestling in college as well. Another plus is VMI somewhat close to us since we live in the Washington, DC suburbs. Now that you have a little background info here are my questions:
1. Why is USNA listed as the Agency on the DoDMets page where it says he is "Qualified"? As I said he is no longer interested in USNA and ha had no contact with them.
2. I am pleased that all this has moved pretty fast so far. He got the medical results back in like one week. Should he tell the interviewer at VMI about his "Qualified" status or will they already know?
3. My son ranked 5 schools on his scholarship application. Is there any rhyme or reason as to how the schools are chosen for him by the Army? If I am not understanding the process please correct me.
Lastly, I appreciate any help and guidance. My son will actually be the very first person in my family to attend a college other than a junior college and when he graduates he will be the very first to get a degree. Thanks for listening and I will standby for any replies.
 
Im not sure how your DS already did DoDMERB for ROTC. ROTC always does DoDMERB after the scholarship has been awarded. My understanding is that the portion on the status page that says Medical should say Not Received until after you have been offered the scholarship.
 
This is long but bear with me while I explain...My son will be a high school senior in the fall. He has been in Army JROTC since freshman year. Last year he decided he wants a career in the military after high school but wants to go to college and commission as an officer. At first he was interested in the Marines and back in the spring completed a preliminary application for the USNA Summer Seminar. However, he was not selected. But it was also during this time, even before not being selected, that he decided he wanted to be in Army ROTC after speaking with his JROTC teachers at school. So he did not even think about the USNA or the Marines anymore. He went online and completed the online Army ROTC Scholarship application. Last week he went for his DoDMERB Physical and today on the website it says "Qualified" which I am guessing is good news. He also received an email to schedule his scholarship interview and he scheduled it at VMI next month. Its cool that its at VMI because that was one of 5 colleges he picked in the rankings section and is also going to meet with the wrestling coach there too that same day since we will be at the school and he wants to continue wrestling in college as well. Another plus is VMI somewhat close to us since we live in the Washington, DC suburbs. Now that you have a little background info here are my questions:
1. Why is USNA listed as the Agency on the DoDMets page where it says he is "Qualified"? As I said he is no longer interested in USNA and ha had no contact with them.
2. I am pleased that all this has moved pretty fast so far. He got the medical results back in like one week. Should he tell the interviewer at VMI about his "Qualified" status or will they already know?
3. My son ranked 5 schools on his scholarship application. Is there any rhyme or reason as to how the schools are chosen for him by the Army? If I am not understanding the process please correct me.
Lastly, I appreciate any help and guidance. My son will actually be the very first person in my family to attend a college other than a junior college and when he graduates he will be the very first to get a degree. Thanks for listening and I will standby for any replies.

Your son was sent to complete his Dodmerb Physical because he had opened an account with USNA for the application to the summer seminar. Your son will not need to complete another physical, the physical he has already taken will count for the AROTC Scholarship. The USNA will show as the agency on the Dodmerb site until he is offered an AROTC Scholarship, it will switch to Army at that time and he will not need any other physical.

The school selection may come into play more next year. You may find that more in state scholarships are given to save on the Army budget, there may also be more 3 year scholarships given to out of state and private schools. School selection can sometimes make a difference, there will undoubtably be a lot of discussion about this over the summer.

Good luck to your son.
 
Lastly, I appreciate any help and guidance. My son will actually be the very first person in my family to attend a college other than a junior college and when he graduates he will be the very first to get a degree. Thanks for listening and I will standby for any replies.

Welcome
You may find this helpful: LINK

Which colleges are offered is a mystery, but some rules usually hold.
They decide IF scholarship first, then where
Schools from the top of the list more likely to offer a scholarship
A cheaper state school is more likely than a expensive private
The more likely to be admitted to a school, the better the odds for a scholarship there
If they want him, and none of his schools work for them, they will ask him to choose another school

I would suggest your son email a intro letter to the PMS before the interview
He wants to start a dialog, and have a good relationship
Medically qualified is worth mentioning, but not a big deal.

Your son should review all his qualifications, at the interview it is up
to him to blow his own horn.

If you post his GPA/ACT/Class rank/schools/career plans etc., you will get more specific advice
lots of knowledgeable people on here, but summers tend to be a little slower, so be patient
Patience is one thing you will need a lot of :wink:
 
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I forgot to mention
Being admitted is a big deal. My son was admitted to his 1st choice school when he went before the 1st board last yr, many students were turned down last yr that had much better stats* then he did.
He does present himself very well, but I credit his scholarship to; completed scholarship app early, had a good relationship with his 1st choice PMS and was accepted at that school before the first board (and updated/noted that on the scholarship application)
*27ACT/3.25GPA
 
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Thanks, he has already received a preliminary acceptance to one of the schools he applied to. His school choices are in this order:
1. Norwich U (has applied)
2. VMI (will be able to apply on Sept 1st)
3. Oklahoma (has applied)
4. Liberty U (applied and rec's preliminary acceptance letter)
5. UMBC (will be able to apply on Aug 1st)
 
Interviewing at VMI instead of Norwich U because of location?
Are his stats solid for Norwich?
Unusual mix of schools, both type and location(s)
 
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Yes, VMI is the school that contacted us to schedule the interview and its a 3 hr drive instead of a 12 hr drive. As for his stats for Norwich, I checked the websites which describe the grades and scores usually accepted there and my son is in the average. the wrestling team is also recruiting him too. As for the mix of schools that you said were unusual...well they are my sons choices. He was looking for schools that had good Army ROTC programs, his major, christian clubs like FCA, and either NCAA or NWCA wrestling teams. Norwich and VMI are his top choices becuse they are such solid militray schools, Oklahoma is probably the most unusual because of the distance from us but they have a good ROTC program and the wrestling coach is also bringing in my son for an official visit in the fall and said if my son ends up at OU he is excited about having an ROTC member on the team. Liberty is a choice because my son is serious about his faith. UMBC is a choice because its a solid in state school somewhat close to home. Should he have scheduled his interview at Norwich?
 
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Your interview at VMI will work just fine especially since it is your #2 school and it is a long and not easy drive getting to Northfield Vt from DC.

BTW - I just PMed you.
 
Should he have scheduled his interview at Norwich?

Nope, you're all good, just figuring out where your coming from,
Helps bring the experts (like Bruno) out of the woodwork. :thumb:

Both Norwich and VMI as Senior Military College (SMC) have loyal alums on here,
you should get plenty of good info. If you son is planning on Active Duty
only the SMC's and the Academies guarantee Active Duty upon graduation.
That's why I was surprised he didn't have The Citadel (a SMC) on his list.
 
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If your son is good enough to be of interest to the wrestling team at Oklahoma, then he would be the top recruit by far at VMI or Norwich... In other words, he is IN both schools -- the wrestling coach will prioritize him with admissions and bypass formal admissions altogether.

I don't remember the details, since its been six years since my niece was admitted to Northwestern on a soccer scholarship, but if he wants Norwich #1, AND he wants to wrestle, then he can get admitted early in the admissions season through the coach. He would know by November at the latest, and possible by October.
 
Is it too late for my son to add another school to his rankings list

Is it too late for my son to add another school to his rankings list? Since the Citadel is mentioned we just realized he is also receiving some wrestling recruiting emails from their coaches as well. We are very new to this so please bear with us while we learn.
 
As a wrestler, I can tell you that both VMI and Oklahoma have wrestling programs that blow Norwich out of the water. The Norwich program is D3 and is not very good even at that level. VMI and OU have far superior teams, but Norwich is still a great school.
 
I am pretty up to date with the skill levels of the wrestling programs. My son is a good wrestler but wrestling is not the be all end all with him. The Army is though, so I am hoping he gets into VMI or Norwich because I know that is where his heart is. He can wrestle D-1 or D-3. He has no problem with that, plus mabey he could be the one to change things with Norwich wrestling. He spoke to the coach on the phone and really liked him. he will meet the VMi coaches soon. But as I said, he is still more interested in being a soldier than a wrestler. I hope he gets a chance to show this.
 
Is it too late for my son to add another school to his rankings list?

He can modify anything on his application up until it is seen by the first board, after that only the ACT/SAT can be changed. Look over the two places for essay answers and make sure they are well written. Even minor things like volunteering, camp assistant, blood drives may also be significant...leave nothing out. On the essay he should make a powerful case why he wants to serve as an Army officer. At the end of the app, there is a 'save app' button,
it saves it as a PDF. Save and print it to check for errors.

Participating in a varsity sport, while in ROTC adds a significant number of points to a cadets
OML score, that score is used in determining which occupational field the cadet is chosen for, so it's very significant.
 
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When you do the essay edit several times, ask people to read it for you before submitting.

Try to think outside the box, while still inside. Remember they read tons of essays, you want to stand apart from the norm. The traditional since I was 4 I have always wanted to serve is not going to make you stand out, instead it will be like how you as a child react when your parents start talking to you (charlie brown's teacher...wah, wah, wah!).


The essay is not in the packet for grins and giggles, it is there for a reason. Don't be the typical teenager and wait until 11 p.m. Sunday night when it is due by midnight.
 
The SMC's offer a quite different experience than traditional ROTC (more military stuff, less free time - loosely modeled on West Point) For students interested in that 'Corps of Cadets' experience, and a guaranteed AD commission, the six senior military colleges are:

Norwich University Northfield, Vermont (1,100 cadets)
The Citadel; Charleston South Carolina (2,100 cadets)
Virginia Military Institute Lexington, Virginia (1,500 cadets)
Texas A&M University College Station, Texas (1,800 cadets)
Virginia Tech Blacksburg, Virginia (900 cadets)
North Georgia College Dahlonega, Georgia (Army only, 800 cadets)

Citadel, Norwich, VMI - Full 'Military Academy Experience', at Norwich about half of the undergraduate students are cadets.

A&M, Virginia Tech - Corps of Cadets inside major university, more degrees offered, part of larger student body, clubs, sports, events etc.

North Georgia, large all Army Corps of Cadets in a small liberal arts college environment.

Officer alums help out/mentor fellow alums - the larger programs have more Alums on AD, and so offer larger support networks. Liberty (great school) is very new, and as a result has virtually no Alums.

Another thing to consider is weather, February PT at O-dark-30 is going to be a totally different experience in Vermont as compared to South Carolina.

***If money is tight, remember that AROTC does not pay for Room and Board, some excellent ROTC programs, like Clarkson and Marist :cool: offer free room and/or board to cadets with scholarships. List here: LINK
 
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Visit, visit, visit

I am pretty up to date with the skill levels of the wrestling programs. My son is a good wrestler but wrestling is not the be all end all with him. The Army is though, so I am hoping he gets into VMI or Norwich because I know that is where his heart is. He can wrestle D-1 or D-3. He has no problem with that, plus mabey he could be the one to change things with Norwich wrestling. He spoke to the coach on the phone and really liked him. he will meet the VMi coaches soon. But as I said, he is still more interested in being a soldier than a wrestler. I hope he gets a chance to show this.

I can't emphasize enough the importance of visiting schools, especially when you are talking about having large time commitments to ROTC and wrestling; you want to gather all the information possible to determine fit. Your school choices are intentional and yet varied so you really want to experience the ambiance of the programs. If growing during this time in your faith is important you don't want to underestimate how that might come into play also. We had a similar situation this past year and DS actually ended up turning down 4 yr ROTC scholarship to public school when he realized the importance of also growing spiritually while in college.
 
I concur with paradoxer...Visit!

This has always been my suggestion and believe in it.

Contact the units when you schedule that school tour. Ask the CoC to also have some cadets he can talk to during the visit. Go with him, meet the CoC, ask your questions. When it is appropriate, politely leave*** and let him ask privately questions with the CoC. Allow him to talk to cadets at the school.

*** Set up a pre-arranged place to me at a specific time.

This allows him to walk the campus like he would as a student the following yr.

ROTC units have different dynamics, just like the campus. You being there doesn't allow them IMPO, to be true to themselves. Cadets are very polite and will interact differently if it is you and him compared to just him. No offense, but it is more like a dog and pony show when the folks are there...anyone in corporate America can get my gist.

Walking the campus to meet you also allows him to feel like he is in college without you. It gives him time to think about "the fit" for him personally. I have 2 in college (the 3rd is rising sr in hs), and for the 1st 2, that walk alone was what sold them. They both said to us after "the walk" for the college they matriculated to, "can we go to the Bursar's office today?" The other colleges it was, let me still go and see XYZ before I decide.

Failure rate at colleges usually seem to come down to two things.
1. Major ---chose 1 that they "believed" they need to enter, not because they "desired" it.
2. School fit --- choose it because they "believed" it was the best option, not because they "desired" to be there.

Good luck. Now throw my opinion into the circular filing cabinet.
 
gojack said:
up until it is seen by the first board, after that only the ACT/SAT can be changed
Are you sure that a file that has been referred from one Board on to another Board can still have updated SAT information included? What about the file that goes before the Board with 550/550 and is denied, not referred to another Board (i.e. borderline). What happens when the Oct. SATs for denied file come in at 650/650... do you see the problem?
 
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