Minimum GPA

I know that in ROTC, you have to maintain a minimum 2.5 gpa. But how is it exactly calculated? Is it just A=4, b=3, C=2, and so on? Or do they calculate it like
A+ = 4.0
A = 4.0
A- = 3.7
B+ = 3.3
B = 3.0
B- = 2.7
C+ = 2.3
C = 2.0
C- = 1.7
If they calculate it with +C being a 2.3, does that mean that basically you have to keep a -B in all of your classes throughout ROTC? Seems almost impossible, especially for tough majors like engineering...

dparrish209 said:

I know that in ROTC, you have to maintain a minimum 2.5 gpa. But how is it exactly calculated? Is it just A=4, b=3, C=2, and so on? Or do they calculate it like
A+ = 4.0
A = 4.0
A- = 3.7
B+ = 3.3
B = 3.0
B- = 2.7
C+ = 2.3
C = 2.0
C- = 1.7
If they calculate it with +C being a 2.3, does that mean that basically you have to keep a -B in all of your classes throughout ROTC? Seems almost impossible, especially for tough majors like engineering...

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I believe it is how the university calculates your grades on your transcript that counts. You should confirm this with your cadre.

Are you asking how you calculate your college GPA? I'm kind of confused by your wording.

Some schools vary in how they keep grades, but my school calculates GPA like this.

A=4
B=3
C=2
D=1
F=0

You calculate the grade for the class by the number of credit hours for the class. Add them all together and divide by the number of hours.

Example (And these are just numbers being thrown out there):
Joe Schmo took 15 hours a semester. Four 3 credit hour classes, one 2 credit hour class, and one 1 credit hour class. In the first 4 (3 hour) classes he got 2 A's, 1 B and 1 C. In the 2 credit class he got a B, and in the last class he got a D.
4 X 3 = 12
4 X 3 = 12
3 X 3 = 9
2 X 3 = 6
3 X 2 = 6
1 X 1 = 1
Total = 55
55 / 15 = 3.67 GPA

Your GPA is affected more by higher credit hour classes.

P.S - I hate calculating all of this so I sure hope I did it right. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Also, specify which ROTC program you are in. Army ROTC mininum GPA is 2.0 not 2.5

it's 2.0 cumulative and 2.0 each semester for Army.

AFROTC is 2.5 and I would say if you are looking just to hit the min., even as an engineer major, kiss SFT goodbye and kiss AFROTC goodbye after 2 yrs.

2.5 is low, low, low for AFROTC. 3.0 is the avg for STEM, 3.3+ for non-tech.

This is the problem for many AFROTC cadets because even if they hit 2.5 their fall freshman semester, they only have spring and next fall to get it up high enough to break the 3.0 marker, basically it means they will need at least one semester of 3.5 if you do the math,, and the other at 3.0. Even 2 semesters of 3.2 will not break the 3.0 marker. You are behind the 8 ball right off the bat.

Going back to the gpa. It not only varies school by school, but also class by class. DS has had classes that were on a 7 pt scale, B starting at 92, and classes on 10 pt, B starting at 89. Some of his classes had 1.0 weight (ROTC) and some had 4.0, while some had 3.0. You have to place that into the equation, because an A in ROTC is not going to offset a C in Physics.

Some colleges do not do the breakdown of A+ = 4.0, some do the % X credits, add the scores all up and divide by the amount of credits taken. That will than give you the exact cgpa.

dparrish209 said:

I know that in ROTC, you have to maintain a minimum 2.5 gpa. But how is it exactly calculated? ?

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Your GPA is taken right off your official college transcript. Every college does it differently, but the bottom line is. there is a Cumulative GPA on your official transcript, and that is what every ROTC program uses.

Pima said:

AFROTC is 2.5 and I would say if you are looking just to hit the min., even as an engineer major, kiss SFT goodbye and kiss AFROTC goodbye after 2 yrs.

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Same type of situation for AROTC. 2.0 is the minimum for a contracted Cadet but if you are competing for a contract, 2.0 is not going to do it.

The cut line differs from program to program, for our BN, the uncontracted MSIIs need to have a 2.5 GPA, a 230 APFT, and be DODMERB qualified to be considered for contracting. All those being considered are then evaluated on multiple factors to include academic GPA, ROTC GPA, APFT, strength of major, attendance, and PMS evaluation. As of today, only Cadets with 2.8 academic GPA or higher AND 250 APFT or higher make our cut line.

Marist College ROTC said:

Same type of situation for AROTC. 2.0 is the minimum for a contracted Cadet but if you are competing for a contract, 2.0 is not going to do it.

The cut line differs from program to program, for our BN, the uncontracted MSIIs need to have a 2.5 GPA, a 230 APFT, and be DODMERB qualified to be considered for contracting. All those being considered are then evaluated on multiple factors to include academic GPA, ROTC GPA, APFT, strength of major, attendance, and PMS evaluation. As of today, only Cadets with 2.8 academic GPA or higher AND 250 APFT or higher make our cut line.

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This very true. The real AROTC minimums are 1) probably 3.1, 2)270 PT Score, 3)very active in your School ROTC(all of the Cadre know you well in a good way). Higher in one area may offset one of the others but only a little bit. It is a tough new world.

NorwichDad said:

This very true. The real AROTC minimums are 1) probably 3.1, 2)270 PT Score, 3)very active in your School ROTC(all of the Cadre know you well in a good way). Higher in one area may offset one of the others but only a little bit. It is a tough new world.

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Sorry my numbers are only what I would expect for the next couple of years.

The one thing from an AFROTC perspective when you talk about the cgpa and SFT is the board will also look at the college.

I don't want cadets to think 3.1 is the target cgpa at every school. MIT cadets will have a more strenuous academic education than a cadet at UCF. AFROTC will not ding the MIT cadet for having a 2.9, but they will ding the UCF cadet for having a 2.9

That is why it is also important to place into the equation, not the ROTC min for the scholarship, but what it is at your college.

If you look at the OP's comment

dparrish said:

If they calculate it with +C being a 2.3, does that mean that basically you have to keep a -B in all of your classes throughout ROTC? Seems almost impossible, especially for tough majors like engineering...

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At our DS's college which is a nationally rank college with a strong engineering program, the answer would still be you need as an engineer a 3.0 to be safe for SFT, and OML. At our DD's college which is an SMC, the same is still true.

Maybe dparrish is looking at attending Notre Dame, UPenn or MIT, where a 2.5 would not be the bottom of the barrel academically.

I want to also say most ROTC scholarship recipients also have merit scholarships. As a parent I never paid heed to AFROTC min, because for his merit at college it was 3.0. He couldn't go below the 3.0. So if you have merit, look at their fine print because I would bet my 1st child, the college has an academic min.


Finally, for many 1st time parents college gpas, at least the 2 our 2 attend, carry out the gpa to the 1/1000th before they round to the 1/100th. In other words you don't get a 2.5, you get a 2.51 and that 2.51 was originally 2.507 which was rounded up to 2.51.