Contacting Prospective Units

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WrestlingX

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This spring I plan on visiting a few colleges in April. Should I try to contact the schools prior to my visitation and meet with the Cadre after the school tours. I am not sure what it the protocol because from what I have been reading it looks like the decision whether to offer a scholarship is not made by the units? Is this true?

Also if I do contact the units I am not sure what to ask other than what their expectations would be. I assume it would be to do well in school, excel at PT and do my best and excel in ROTC. Other than that, what should I ask if I do meet with them.

Could anyone offer some advise and suggestions.
 
WrestlingX said:
This spring I plan on visiting a few colleges in April. Should I try to contact the schools prior to my visitation and meet with the Cadre after the school tours. I am not sure what it the protocol because from what I have been reading it looks like the decision whether to offer a scholarship is not made by the units? Is this true?

Also if I do contact the units I am not sure what to ask other than what their expectations would be. I assume it would be to do well in school, excel at PT and do my best and excel in ROTC. Other than that, what should I ask if I do meet with them.

Could anyone offer some advise and suggestions.
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If meeting with the cadre after the tour fits with your schedule, by all means meet with them.

It doesn't matter whether or not the campus has scholarships to award (some do and some don't and some you just can't tell - probably not polite to ask). You should find out about the specifics of how a campus unit operates (not all are alike) and get a feel for the underclassmen in the unit (who will be your leaders when you arrive). In our experience, meeting with the current cadets gives a good view as to how your experience will be even more than the cadre who may or may not still be there when you arrive (typical rotations are 3 years for cadre officers). The cadets are also a reflection of the influence of the cadre.

As to the assesement of your likelyhood for a scholarship, the best the cadre can give you (if they choose to share it) is the number of scholarships awarded to their camput this year and what their typical scholarship recipient looks like. That tends to change every year.

And besides the items you listed (doing well in school, PT, ROTC), they should also encourage you to pursue any other interest you have (athletics, campus leadership, other ECs) because they want well-rounded student/athlete/leaders. In fact, if you are athletic at all (sports), they typically look favorably on those cadets who are varsity or club sport participants.

And BTW, Clarkson knows a thing or 2 about this as well... :thumb:
 
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This spring I plan on visiting a few colleges in April. Should I try to contact the schools prior to my visitation and meet with the Cadre after the school tours. I am not sure what it the protocol because from what I have been reading it looks like the decision whether to offer a scholarship is not made by the units? Is this true?

Also if I do contact the units I am not sure what to ask other than what their expectations would be. I assume it would be to do well in school, excel at PT and do my best and excel in ROTC. Other than that, what should I ask if I do meet with them.

Could anyone offer some advise and suggestions.

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1. Think of it as a visit, not a visitation.
2. Before you meet the PMS or other cadre members, turn off your cellphone.
3. From what I've read on other threads, the PMS may be getting more authority or influence over scholarships. Making a favorable impression (see #2 above) and showing your interest can only be helpful.
4. Find out if there will be a Gold Bar Recruiter who you can be introduced to and contact later on with questions about the unit, the campus and ROTC life. Gold Bar Recruiters are there to be helpful.
5. ROTC will require you on your scholarship application to rank your school choices. Along with your other research, the campus and unit visit can be a tool to assist you in this choice.
 
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And don't forget to stay in touch if the visit went well and you are still interested in the school. Maintaining contact can help in the future. I meet one or two prospects/visitors a week. The one's I remember are the ones that follow up with a thank you or an email with more questions they didn't ask during the visit. Then during application season they acknowledge my email reminders and update me on their plans.
 
goaliedad said:
You should find out about the specifics of how a campus unit operates (not all are alike) and get a feel for the underclassmen in the unit (who will be your leaders when you arrive). In our experience, meeting with the current cadets gives a good view as to how your experience will be even more than the cadre who may or may not still be there when you arrive (typical rotations are 3 years for cadre officers). The cadets are also a reflection of the influence of the cadre.
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1000% agree.

Colleges and cadres all have their unique feel, the only way to get a glimpse is by meeting other cadets within the unit.

My suggestion has never changed because I believe in it with every fiber of my body.

Contact the unit and set up a time during that visitation day. Ask if you can meet with cadets/mids that are upperclassman, in your case MSIII/IV.

Trust me, we have done so many college visits with our 3, I can assure you that if the group starts with 20 by the time it ends it will have 10. Nobody on the tour is taking attendance. If the unit has only 1 certain time to fit you in, and it means walking away from the tour after 30 mins. walk away.

Seriously, a dorm room looks like a dorm room and no student should use that as their deciding factor in selection.

Once at the unit, have your folks sit with the CC for a few minutes, but after that plan to find a different meeting place on campus 45-60 minutes later.

I believe this is important because cadets with parents around will do the dog and pony show, minding Ps and Qs. Parents with all their best intentions will ask questions that you probably could care less about.

I also say this because during the tour you are in a group, you are wearing a flashing light on you saying HS kid! It is not a true representation of what it will be like next fall from a mental image.

Walking the campus by yourself, taking to cadets by yourself allows you a few minutes to visualize next yr when you will be there by yourself. There will be no flashing light on you saying HS kid. You will look and feel just like any other student there.

It really is amazing how this can impact your decision. What was your #1 school on the web and during the tour may become your #5 because it just wasn't doing it for you as much as the number 3 school did.

Our DS's 1 & 2 changed their list because of the visits. Our cousin's DS changed his, a school he wanted since he was 6. All because of the vibe.
 
Quick suggestion -- when you call, ask if they have an overnight stay available - DS found this was the time he really got a feel for how his program worked. No parents, no cadre -- just future fellow cadets hanging out and roaming campus. Not all schools are able to offer this, but it was a huge factor in my DS's choice. A nice extra visit if you can fit it in:thumb:
 
When my sons visited schools they emailed PMS ahead of time with dates and requested a meeting with PMS or Scholarship Officer. Coordinated that appointment with admissions presentation, tour, department head meeting and then also decided to visit all ROTC branches if more than one was on campus. Made for an exhausting couple of days, but well worth it. Not only did it give them a sense of campus and unit, but was great practice with interviewing. Look at it more like a fact finding mission, collect as much info as you can. They will be interviewing you while you are interviewing them.

Most of the schools visited were far away and we wanted to get as much info as possible with one visit.
 
this advice is base on the Spring, 2011 application season.

My DD had already been accepted into TCU, SMU, Baylor, and a few other places that were on her AROTC application. She had also gotten some positive indications from Berkeley, UCLA, and Wake Forest.

She needed to decide which college she liked best with or without an ROTC scholarship. Visiting is one way to get a gut feel for how much the place seems like it could be home for four years.

So, off to Tx during HS spring break to visit the TX universities, not knowing if an ROTC scholarship was coming or not. She visited the three campuses, AND spoke with the PMS, by prior arrangement, at two of them (not SMU.. Didn't want to do ROTC where you drive to the Host campus).

When scholarship awards were made posted to the Status website on, I believe April 16, she was able to make an informed choice between UCLA/Baylor/TCU, the three she could apply her award to, because she had spent some time on each campus. I don't know if the visit affected her award to the two Texas schools, or whether those PMSs are able to put their remarks into her file at Cadet Command for the Scholarship Board, but it helped her decide where she wanted to call home for her college years. In the end she got into all of the schools, and was happy to apply her ROTC Scholarship to Baylor.
 
I would definitely try and let them know I was coming! I'm not sure about most schools, but the ROO in my battalion also graduated from my school and knows a lot about it and is always willing to give full campus tours in addition to the ROTC department.

If possible, let them know that you want to talk to cadets and they can let some cadets know to be available during your visit (and/or get you into a ROTC Class/Lab/PT to shadow). I'd suggest talking to an MSI and an MSIII for a few reasons. You'll be an MSI first and they can give you the insight on what your first year is like (adjusting to college, ROTC, etc.) and then the MSIII can give you a more seasoned view and also a look into the busy year preparing for LDAC.

:thumb:
 
WrestlingX said:
Also if I do contact the units I am not sure what to ask other than what their expectations would be. I assume it would be to do well in school, excel at PT and do my best and excel in ROTC. Other than that, what should I ask if I do meet with them.

Could anyone offer some advise and suggestions.
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I suggest that you try to have your ds/dd actually take part in a ROTC event at each school that they are interested in. That way they can get a feel for what it will be like to be part of that unit.

Check if the schools have a program similar to this:
http://www.marist.edu/studentlife/rotc/operation24.html
 
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