ROTC Scholarship deadline approaching! PLEASE HELP!

sjbd94

5-Year Member
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Jun 6, 2011
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okay so I have a 4 year scholarship offer to a school I didnt get into and a 3 year scholarship offer to a school I really dont want to go to. I talked to the ROO at the school I didnt get into and it seems like there isnt anything he will be able to do to get me in and he said he wasn't allowed to give me advice on what offer I should accept. I have tried to call cadet command and brigade command and they have yet to return my calls (only been a day so not a big deal). I have till the 29th till I have to return the offer request. My main thing is I dont want to loose the 4 year offer. Who should I call about transferring it. The ROO at the school I didn't get into made it seem like it was something more done on the school level and how many slots they have left open for 4 year offers. If I accept the 3 year, is there no way for me to potential get a 4 year at another school? Any help would be GREATLY APPRECIATED. Please let me know if you need more information and feel free to message me. THANKS!
 
first off...today is a federal holiday, so don't expect a call today from CC.

http://goldenknightbattalion.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/how-to-transfer-a-scholarship/

this is the guidance from last year. The POC list has changed, so the POCs may have changed, but the info is mostly still correct.

What you need to know is that the best you can do is accept one of the offers, and ask for a tranfer. Be prepared to have that request denied, it is not a given. If you accept the 3 year, don't expect for an upgrade, why would they?

I feel your pain, but this process is not going to let everyone get exactly what they want. If you really want to be an Officer you need to go to school, earn a degree, and enroll in Army ROTC. If you are just trying to figure out the cheapest way to attend college Army ROTC is probably not going to be much help.
 
I'm assuming that you're a North Carolina resident, that the UNC you mentioned is Chapel Hill and that you're discussing AROTC.

You have a hard deadline of Feb. 29 for accepting a scholarship offer, and it would appear that admission this year to the 4 year scholarship school (UNC) is not in the picture. I'm a little surprised that the cadre does not have influence with the school admission office, possibly it's this particular ROO, but so be it.

There are two critical points to make the four year scholarship work for you: (1) Finding another ROTC program which has room for you and (2) Getting admitted to the school on an expedited basis. You don't have to accomplish these things by Feb. 29, but if you are unsuccessful with either one afterward then the scholarship would be forfeited.

Have you spoken with your high school's guidance counselor/college placement officer? The guidance counselor is likely to have experience assisting in expediting admissions and would have an objective view of your strengths and weaknesses.

UNC - CH does not have crosstown affiliates but UNC - Charlotte has six of them. It would be worthwhile contacting the PMS there and getting a sense of their outlook for next year. Possibly the state schools are rigid in their admissions deadlines, but the UNC -Charlotte affiliates are private and may have more flexibility, particularly since you'd be bringing a scholarship.

You will have to be pro-active in this. We found Cadet Command (at least the two people we dealt with) to be helpful in a somewhat similar situation, but that was a couple of years ago. I wouldn't count on them to respond immediately to your questions, and you have only seven business days left to notify them. Good luck.
 
I agree with clarkson, in these times, I would expect what he has stated.

I say this for two reasons.
1. Many IS colleges have seen an uptick in enrollment due to the economy, thus, more are accepting the scholarship.
2. SAs are reducing class sizes, thus less appointees are handing back the scholarships.

I am not positive about the Army, but I know for NROTC they typically don't start moving them around until April/May/June when the dust has settled, and I believe that many of the popular units that lose cadets awarded, have a wait list, so it is still no guarantee that there will be room at the inn.

Have you called UNCCH admissions to see if they will take into account your 4 yr AROTC scholarship?

I would make phone calls to everyone, including the admissions dept. DIRECTOR.
 
Clarkson's post above and its attached link prompt a recollection of events of two years ago and suggest there may have been at least one inaccuracy in my advice above.

In particular, you will need to specify in your acceptance to Cadet Command that you are requesting a transfer of the scholarship. You may be required to specify where you would like to transfer the scholarship to and you may have to provide proof of acceptance by that school.

Also, since I suggested a transfer from (what I assumed to be) an instate public school to a possibly more expensive private one, this could make Cadet Command balk at approval.
 
UNC Charlotte is part of the IS NC system, it is not private. It is connected to UNC, but the OP had to have applied to UNCC, and I am betting if they applied to any other UNC campus it would be Wilmington. I only say that because if I recall correctly the 3 they have mentioned so far are:
UNCCH
NCST
ECU

In that case, all 3 are relatively very close, about 50 miles distance. Most kids from that area add on 2 more colleges
Appalachian
UNCW

Appalachian is also an IS college with a strong AROTC unit. ECU in this area is usually a match or safety. UNCW is the safety.

I am not slamming UNCW, because many kids go there as 1st choice for marine majors, such as marine biology.

I hope they get the transfer, but I still believe right now because boards are still handing out results the chances of them transferring the scholarship before the 29th would be slim.

If I recall correctly, the school he is looking to transfer to is NCST. NCST is "the" ROTC college in NC, it is their equivalent to VT, just not an SMC. For Carolina residents that is a top pick college along with UNCCH. It probably has more applicants than UNCCH, because UNCCH is a top tier public university, so for many it is the reach among reachest, whereas, NCST is a reach for many, but closer to a match depending on the major.

If they are indeed wanting to transfer the scholarship to NCST, I would say hope for the best, but don't expect the scholarship.

As I stated before, call UNC and see if you can work with them for admittance.
 
This thread brings up a good issue for new applicant starting the process.

Make sure you list schools you feel you have a strong chance of being admitted.

Don't list schools you have no intention of attending.

In the past scholarship awardees were often given multiple, sometimes up to 5, schools to choose from. Those days seem to have come to an end. Cadet Command can offer any one of the schools on your list, from some of those who have posted recently the schools offered were not what the applicant was hoping for. As it has been written many times here, transfers are getting much harder to get which makes it even more important to list your schools carefully.

It doesn't do you or anyone any good to list schools that would not attend since transfers are getting rare. Research your schools, make sure your happy with each one you list on your application, and above all make sure you have a chance to be admitted to the schools you list. This will save you a lot of stress when it comes to decision time.
 
first off...today is a federal holiday, so don't expect a call today from CC.

http://goldenknightbattalion.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/how-to-transfer-a-scholarship/

this is the guidance from last year. The POC list has changed, so the POCs may have changed, but the info is mostly still correct.

What you need to know is that the best you can do is accept one of the offers, and ask for a tranfer. Be prepared to have that request denied, it is not a given. If you accept the 3 year, don't expect for an upgrade, why would they?

I feel your pain, but this process is not going to let everyone get exactly what they want. If you really want to be an Officer you need to go to school, earn a degree, and enroll in Army ROTC. If you are just trying to figure out the cheapest way to attend college Army ROTC is probably not going to be much help.

Well said at the end there... good advice for all to keep in mind.

DD is working through a similar issue so I sent her this link and told her I would hit you up for any additional advice. Here is the situation... she is accepted to two schools and has a 3 year AROTC scholarship to one of them. Has to accept by 29FEB and plans to do so even though she has not yet decided between the two. Is there any chance that she will get additional offers from the March board or is it one and done if you get an offer? If she asks to have it transferred, does that have to go through the Board or does that just involve the staff at cadet command? Finally, she got a Q-NS letter from USMA last week. (bummed, but still convinced she will find the best way to become an Army officer... she has spunk, this kid!) On some previous guidance, the RC there said that Cadet Command sometimes does a 4th Board to pick up these kids... have you eveer heard of that? Thanks for your help.
 
Well said at the end there... good advice for all to keep in mind.

DD is working through a similar issue so I sent her this link and told her I would hit you up for any additional advice. Here is the situation... she is accepted to two schools and has a 3 year AROTC scholarship to one of them. Has to accept by 29FEB and plans to do so even though she has not yet decided between the two. Is there any chance that she will get additional offers from the March board or is it one and done if you get an offer? If she asks to have it transferred, does that have to go through the Board or does that just involve the staff at cadet command? Finally, she got a Q-NS letter from USMA last week. (bummed, but still convinced she will find the best way to become an Army officer... she has spunk, this kid!) On some previous guidance, the RC there said that Cadet Command sometimes does a 4th Board to pick up these kids... have you eveer heard of that? Thanks for your help.

Hopefully Clarkson will be able to answer all your questions, I can tell you that there will be no more offers from any other boards. You are correct, it is one and done, your daughter will need to either accept the scholarship to one of the two schools or decline it by Feb. 29th even if she plans to request a transfer.
 
Hopefully Clarkson will be able to answer all your questions, I can tell you that there will be no more offers from any other boards. You are correct, it is one and done, your daughter will need to either accept the scholarship to one of the two schools or decline it by Feb. 29th even if she plans to request a transfer.

Thanks. Semper Paratus!
 
your daughter will need to either accept the scholarship to one of the two schools or decline it by Feb. 29th even if she plans to request a transfer.
I don't think the "or decline it" part works here. If she wants to continue to explore transfer of scholarship options with Cadet Command, she MUST accept an offer, then work from there. There is no penalty for accepting and offer and later deciding not to move forward with it. Declining the offer means file closed, game over as far as ROTC goes.
 
I don't think the "or decline it" part works here. If she wants to continue to explore transfer of scholarship options with Cadet Command, she MUST accept an offer, then work from there. There is no penalty for accepting and offer and later deciding not to move forward with it. Declining the offer means file closed, game over as far as ROTC goes.

I think Jcleppe's point was that action needed to be taken by 2/29 on the scholarship (at least that's how I read it). It's good you clarified though; since you cannot transfer a scholarship you haven't accepted. OP needs to decide which school to go to (assuming a transfer does not come through) and accept that scholarship. As you point out they can always refuse it after having accepted it.
 
yup...one and done...request for transfer should be accompanied by a letter of acceptance and is processed at the cadet command/Brigade level. Each board of officers only meets for about a week, then they disband, and the next group of officers comes in for the next board....QNS boards sometimes happen (not last year), but those are usually for USMA applicants that either didn't apply for the scholarship, or didn't get an offer. Your daughter has an offer, so if she doesn't like those offers, her next opportunity to compete for an offer will be on campus.
 
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