Nrotc application

Blacklab

5-Year Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2011
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61
I have been sitting back waiting to see if there has been any more board approved NROTC applications posted. It appears that maybe there were a very select few in early Sept. "VERY FEW!"

What I'm learning is that there may be a bigger release in the first two to three weeks of November.

Pima, correct me where my resources may be wrong. The board will approve a "small handfull" in Sept. which I think we saw only two. They will then roll out several in the early weeks of November... More on this. Following Nov. they roll out another group but not quite as big. This follows as the months go by until April.

It has been said that the process is almost perfect for how they rate and pick the kids. It has also been said that the November roll out runs with the early actions and early decisions some choose. I understand how this would be good.

So my two questions are:
1. Has anybody heard from the board for NROTC, if so when?
2. Is the information on the Nov. roll out correct?
 
This site will go crazy when somebody gets that nod for the scholarship.

No need to ask...be honest if today your child got an NROTC scholarship wouldn't you post that joyous news?

You are not the rarity.

This yr stinks because of this weight, but remember it is also the best yr because of looking at your child and understanding they are no longer a kid, they are a young adult that you were instrumental in shaping.

Don't be busy jumping over the big things to pick up the small things.
 
Blacklab,

Hopefully someone with experience with NROTC will chime in with the answers your looking for. I have son's in AROTC and PIMA has a son in AFROTC, an NROTC parent with experience in the AROTC application process will be sure to jump in with the answers.

Good luck, the waiting is tough, I remember.
 
Blacklab,

My son successfully navigated the Marine Option portion of the NROTC scholarship process. The Navy and Marines have separate boards but to give a sense of the timing I offer the following.

If memory serves me well, my son's completed application (interviews, PFT, etc) was done in late August or early September. We were told that he was reviewed by the first Marine board which met in late October. He checked the online status page daily and was finally notified of his selection on December 23. Roughly 4 months after submitting and 2 months after the board. He was one of the lucky ones. Some applicants submitted earlier and didn't close out the process until the next year's spring timeframe.

It is a tough waiting period - those who have gone before empathise with all of you who are currently in the midst of it. Hang in there!
 
Nursing Option

Can anyone shed some light on the NROTC nursing option? My DD (a high school junior this year) is considering becoming a Navy nurse. Is there a separate board for nursing candidates or are they included with NROTC Navy option candidates? Anyone have any idea how many nurse-candidates received scholarships last year? Any other information would be appreciated.
 
Blacklab,

Hopefully someone with experience with NROTC will chime in with the answers your looking for. I have son's in AROTC and PIMA has a son in AFROTC, an NROTC parent with experience in the AROTC application process will be sure to jump in with the answers.

Good luck, the waiting is tough, I remember.

Sorry, I meant to type " experience in NROTC"
 
Can anyone shed some light on the NROTC nursing option? My DD (a high school junior this year) is considering becoming a Navy nurse. Is there a separate board for nursing candidates or are they included with NROTC Navy option candidates? Anyone have any idea how many nurse-candidates received scholarships last year? Any other information would be appreciated.

I know there is a separate nursing board but I have no idea on the other stuff. I have heard on this forum there is a great need for nurses in the military, but I have no idea how this translates into scholarships. Hopefully some of the ROTC nursing folks who hang out on these forums will jump in. :thumb:
 
I have been sitting back waiting to see if there has been any more board approved NROTC applications posted. It appears that maybe there were a very select few in early Sept. "VERY FEW!"

What I'm learning is that there may be a bigger release in the first two to three weeks of November.

Pima, correct me where my resources may be wrong. The board will approve a "small handfull" in Sept. which I think we saw only two. They will then roll out several in the early weeks of November... More on this. Following Nov. they roll out another group but not quite as big. This follows as the months go by until April.

It has been said that the process is almost perfect for how they rate and pick the kids. It has also been said that the November roll out runs with the early actions and early decisions some choose. I understand how this would be good.

So my two questions are:
1. Has anybody heard from the board for NROTC, if so when?
2. Is the information on the Nov. roll out correct?


I don't have any inside information on when or how many boards there will be for NROTC this year. However, I do know that at least the first board met since my kid got a scholarship. She wasn't ISR or on any sort of "fast track". She did, however, have her application completed fully in June and is Tier 1. Early is key for regular NROTC (I can't speak for MO or Nursing). In past years applications have routed through Millington before being sent to NSTC for selection so it's best to have everything completed in June with your local recruiter to be considered in the first board in Florida which likely met in early September. In years past they had one board per month (I think two in September when my first went through the process in 2008) and we find out a couple weeks or so after. There's nothing special about November other than they may have more applicants to sort through and the competition starts rising.

There is no correlation between the NROTC board meeting and Early Decision at colleges. The board decides on a scholarship on a national level and college placement is done separately. If a student has no realistic chance of getting into an exceptionally selective school but gets an early NROTC scholarship and puts it as their first choice, they'll be put in that Unit. Getting a scholarship to a particular Unit should never be considered as a "sign" from NSTC that they think you will likely get into that school. It's not a consideration in the placement. It's up to the student to pick schools wisely.

I don't think I would consider the NROTC process "perfect" for how they rate and pick the kids any more than the college selection process as a whole is perfect. I don't know who sits on the NROTC board but I'm sure they take their job seriously and give careful consideration and do their darndest to pick the best candidates that they have in front of them and based on the instructions they are given as regards to Tiers 1,2,3 etc. I think it's unlikely that they even see names associated with the applications.

The competition rises as the months go by so there are always some "more qualified" students who apply later in the cycle who are denied who would seemingly have been recipients had they been looked at in August or September. I wouldn't really consider that a flaw in the system, it just is the system.
 
Dunno about what's happening in November, but I received an Navy Option 4-year scholarship to Norwich University last Wednesday. It was posted on the application status website. I've yet to receive any physical materials in the mail.

I had my application done on August 5th. My major selection is Tier 1, Mechanical Engineering. Early submission and a Tier 1 major will certainly give you an advantage.
 
Dunno about what's happening in November, but I received an Navy Option 4-year scholarship to Norwich University last Wednesday. It was posted on the application status website. I've yet to receive any physical materials in the mail.

I had my application done on August 5th. My major selection is Tier 1, Mechanical Engineering. Early submission and a Tier 1 major will certainly give you an advantage.

Congrats!!! :thumb:
 
I know there is a separate nursing board but I have no idea on the other stuff. I have heard on this forum there is a great need for nurses in the military, but I have no idea how this translates into scholarships. Hopefully some of the ROTC nursing folks who hang out on these forums will jump in. :thumb:

For the army, which has the largest military nurse contingency, we are past goal on nurses by around ~115% (Don't quote me on exact %). If the army has met goal I am sure the Navy/AF has as well. With that being said they are still always looking for qualified applicants because retention at mid-officer/O-3 level is hard because of higher civilian pay/incentives. My guess is that the need will be lower in the coming years (some army nurses are being forced reserves in ROTC) but the scholarships won't be as hard hit as line budgets. If your kid has done well I wouldn't worry, but at least look into the other branches as well.
 
congratulations nuences. now just to actually get into the school for which the scholarship is awarded :)

Basilrathbone's post seems correct to me on all points.

the only caveat is that the patterns of 2008, 2009, 2010 are not likely to be consistent with 2011 award season. Even 2010 was... what's the word... constricted compared to the prior two years. Incidentally, (see the separate area on this Board for the Naval Academy) the Naval Academy is currently over its target Brigade size, and just as in NROTC, the # of admits is a little lower, and current mids with what used to be considered "minor" honor, conduct, academic, or fitness deficiencies, that would have been retained and given a 2nd, 3rd, etc. chance, are being quickly separated.

As for 2010, my DD was urged in early June by her NROTC recruiter to complete her application (which basically meant getting her two missing letters of recommendation in and completing the Officer interview). Whether it was recruiting hyperbole or not, I don't know, but the assigned recruiter said on the phone to me "your daughter is identified as one of six candidates from this region -- SoCal -- to be fast tracked for a highly likely approval at he first Board" That could have been BS, I don't know, but I'll never know because this time period was the final three weeks of school for her and preparing for Finals, she just didn't get the letters and Interview done before the last week of July. She missed the first Board... which in hind sight was probably significant. Her Officer Interview went very well, inasmuch as the Officer got an officer friend on the phone who had gone through NROTC at Tulane, #2 on her school list behind USD, and gave her the impression she was highly likely to get the scholarship for use at Tulane. I don't think that Officer was aware of the tightening noose on NROTC scholarships that had already begun after the 1st Board met. She did not ultimately receive an NROTC scholarship award, probably because of missing the 1st Board.

Ultimately she had mid-November doubts about whether she was certain she wanted to major in Biology (NROTC Tier 2), or Political Science (Tier 3), or something else not a Tier 2 major. She didn't like the idea of being in college and bound by her NROTC scholarship only to a Tier 2 major. Long story short, she preferred Army ROTC as a future NeuroScience major but with the option to study art history or any other major she found fascinating in college (BTW, that has changed with Year Group 2016 for AROTC -- the cadet is expected to stay within their major Tier, which Army calls ADM (Academic Discipline Mix), or risk losing the scholarship, the same policy Navy has had for some time. Beyond that, her primary interest from the beginning was to billet into Naval Intelligence, and after learning she would need to go SWO for at least three years prior to that opportunity, and learning that in the Army she would have the opportunity to go MI right out of college (depending on position on the OML list), she grew to prefer the flexibility and career match in Army ROTC.

She is now a very happy AROTC cadet on a 3 Year Advanced Designee AROTC scholarship at an highly decorated Battalion at a private University. She was also given the option of a 4 Yr. AROTC scholarship to an in-State top 30 public university (much, much smaller unit at this school option), but preferred the overall atmosphere of the Private along with the very well run, large Battalion.
 
Last edited:
nuensis said:
Early submission and a Tier 1 major will certainly give you an advantage.
Well, at this point I think your advice is only applicable to those who will be applying next year, because "early" really is applications complete by around mid June for NROTC, that can be Boarded in August. To that I highly agree with your advice. Also, it is good to underline the Tier I part of your comment -- Navy Option NROTC must allocate 85% of scholarships to Tier I (Engineering) and Tier II (STM) combined, so a Tier III (Arts and Humanities) major faces quite long odds in earning a scholarship.
 
..because "early" really is applications complete by around mid June for NROTC, that can be Boarded in August..
Has the NROTC actually held an August board during the past two years (2010 & 2011)?
 
who knows? the dates the Board meets is considered by NETC a matter of National Security :biglaugh:
 
DD checked NROTC page today and she has been awarded NROTC Nurse option to #2 school on her list.
 
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