2016 Scholarship Award Selection Reflection

FlyingWildcatDad

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It appears that the Fat Lady is singing for AROTC and AFROTC scholarship award selections from what I can decipher from the latest threads. It appears that NROTC is not far behind. This years selection process has indeed changed from previous years based on my observation/lurking. I guess because of budgets cuts and down sizing of military forces there seemed to be fewer scholarships handed out. The board never seemed to really "light up" with award winners as before. I noticed with AFROTC, the majority of award winners from the first board were Type 7. The later boards appeared to be shifting to Type 2 awards with a Type 1 upgrade if one selected from a short lists of majors. Also the majority of AFROTC awardees appeared to have scored 30+ on the ACT. The AROTC this year seemed to be handing out more 3 year AD scholarships this year. The scholarships appeared to trickled in over weeks instead of all at one time like in the past. Also it appeared that the list of schools that the AROTC scholarships were offered were shorter, 1 or 2 schools opposed to 3 or 4. This is just my observation from the 2016 awards winners from the past, anyone else's reflection of this years award selection is welcomed. To close I would just like to congradulate all the award winners for there accomplishments and would like to encourage the ones that weren't so lucky to continue to chase the dream. It's not over until YOU say it's over! :wink:
 
received AFROTC type 2 with option to upgrade to type 1 with specified majors.
originally wanted to go for aeronautical but switched to electrical to get type 1.
then BFE arrived from USAFA. just turned in acceptance yesterday. so that's one more type 1 or 2 AFROTC up for grabs.
 
It appears that the Fat Lady is singing for AROTC and AFROTC scholarship award selections from what I can decipher from the latest threads. It appears that NROTC is not far behind. This years selection process has indeed changed from previous years based on my observation/lurking. I guess because of budgets cuts and down sizing of military forces there seemed to be fewer scholarships handed out. The board never seemed to really "light up" with award winners as before. I noticed with AFROTC, the majority of award winners from the first board were Type 7. The later boards appeared to be shifting to Type 2 awards with a Type 1 upgrade if one selected from a short lists of majors. Also the majority of AFROTC awardees appeared to have scored 30+ on the ACT. The AROTC this year seemed to be handing out more 3 year AD scholarships this year. The scholarships appeared to trickled in over weeks instead of all at one time like in the past. Also it appeared that the list of schools that the AROTC scholarships were offered were shorter, 1 or 2 schools opposed to 3 or 4. This is just my observation from the 2016 awards winners from the past, anyone else's reflection of this years award selection is welcomed. To close I would just like to congradulate all the award winners for there accomplishments and would like to encourage the ones that weren't so lucky to continue to chase the dream. It's not over until YOU say it's over! :wink:

I believe you summed it up!! I am also seeing the same responses as well. My DS received a AROTC 3 year AD scholarship to 1 school and it was between the first and second board.
 
That was a pretty good assesment of how the year has gone for all the ROTC Programs, it has indeed been an interesting year.

We are nearing the end of ROTC for one son and just finishing the first year for the other son. We have seen a lot of changes from when my older son first started looking at the program. Back in 2007 when he applied for the scholarship they were given by the battalions themselves, a much different process. The application was the same but the notifications came seperate for each school. I remember walking by the AROTC offices when I was dropping my son off at school, they had a big sign outside offering scholarships for ROTC cadets, you don't see that anymore.

By the time my younger son applied the system had already changed to scholarships being awarded on a national level. After several conversations with the cadre members at my son's school it beacame clear they were not sure this was an improvement in the process. From what I have read they seem to be moving in some ways back to having more input from the battalions. In one aritcle they mentioned that there may be more scholarships earmarked for the PMS at individual battalions to give to cadets they see worthy, we'll see how that works out.

This is nothing new in AROTC, prior to 2003 there were not many scholarship given, frankly they weren't needed as a recruitment tool. As the conflicts in both Afganistan and Iraq continued recruitment got tougher and they started offering more scholarships, this continued through 2010. Last year after the first board things started to tighten up and have continued along that line into this year. I would imagine next year will bring even more changes to the process as Cadet Command deals with shrinking budgets and an overall draw down in the Army.

There is already consolidation of AROTC battalions being looked at. My sons battalion will semi merge with a battalion that is close by, these bugs will be worked out over the next couple years.

It seems that everytime the economy takes a dip the interest in the Military becomes greater, while this is good for the Army as far as recruiting quality people one has to wnder where these quality people were when the economy was good, that was always a sore spot for me. If we see our economy get stronger we will most likely see the interest in the Military and ROTC programs go down. Everthing seems to work on a cycle.

For those that have a strong desire to become an Army Officer or an Officer in any branch there is still a path to that goal. Future cadets will need to arrive at school and their battalions with a strong sense of desire and dedication. Doing the minimum will no longer be enough, the competition will be greater.

Congratulations to all those that received a scholarship, show up ready to work and ready to pass your APFT, this is not something to take for granted.

For those that did not receive a scholarship, do the same, work out hard over the summer, score high on the APFT, 270 or higher the first try. Don't miss a class and participate in everything you can, above all keep your GPA up. All of this will keep you in the running for either a campus scholarship if available or the Contract your Junior year.

Good luck to you all.
 
I agree that the whole AROTC environment has changed in the years I've been here. When I first checked here back in spring 2009, people were talking about what order to put your schools in to optimize the number of choices you would have because most people were getting 3-5 choices, even in the later boards. Hard to remember too many people here who didn't get an offer in Spring 2009. I talked to cadre locally who were telling me how tough it was to find enough qualified cadets to meet their commissioning targets and that delaying the application (which we did because it was unclear where my daughter would be recruited) until later in the fall would have little if any effect on the school choices for scholarships.

Strange how things changed the following fall (2009)... Scholarships were cut 25%. Applications were up even more than that. Applicants were starting to get 3-yr-AD scholarships instead of 4 year. Boards were getting delayed (not sure if that was new). My daughter had the fortune of getting a campus scholarship to a school where she was satisfied with the hockey situation (very rare) and didn't have to sweat out the last board.

On that last board, it did seem like many of the folks tuned in here were getting offers if not to their top choices of schools to at least one school on their list. A few of the regulars didn't get it and some have stuck around after going Plan B (SMP).

2010-2011 brought even more of the same. More applicants. Fewer scholarships yet. Fewer schools even on the first board offerings. More disappointed folks looking at Plan B in the spring.

And finally this year seems to be the year where most regulars around here who got offers early got only 1 or 2 schools. 3-yr-AD seems to be the majority of the private scholarships. The last board brought very few pieces of good news.

Do I see a trend here... You bet! The Army seems to be committing to fewer and higher scoring candidates each year. The offers are not as wide in selection and often require that you pay for the first year and prove yourself.

What we've seen here is a return to a time where the Army could pick and choose those they want for leadership and how much they want to pay for it. Previously, being willing to commit to a service engaged in 2 conflicts seemed to be paramount with the regular stuff being second. Without the large need for young officers going forward, the priorities have returned to where they were before those times.
 
There is already consolidation of AROTC battalions being looked at. My sons battalion will semi merge with a battalion that is close by, these bugs will be worked out over the next couple years.

ROTC will conduct a strategic re-alignment over the next 3 years. Some BNs will be merged with others. Some BNs will retain their independence but have the PMS position downgraded from O-5 to O-4. Going against the tide, some BDEs will add new BNs.

Bottom line: There will be fewer Cadets. There will be a shift of density from higher cost schools to lower cost schools. Cadets will receive less $ for fewer number of semesters. Waivers will be much harder to obtain.
 
AFROTC cadet culling

We saw a higher SFT acceptance rate for AFROTC this year. Anecdotal evidence pointed to cadets being dropped from the program prior to SFT, resulting in the higher acceptance rate.

Yesterday I heard from the mom of a neighborhood kid who is a freshman and AFROTC cadet at one of the schools in my state. Of the 30 freshman in the unit only 14 were asked to return. Fortunately he was one of the 14. I don't know any other details. Perhaps the other 16 weren't even making the minimums physically or gpa-wise. I hope to get more details when her DS returns for the summer.

Anyway, it seems to confirm and continue what we saw this year in AFROTC.
 
At our DS's AFROTC unit, it wasn't only the gpa, or the PF, but medical waivers are becoming rarer by the day as Marist stated regarding AROTC. AF or any branch for that fact is saying we will accept you with a pre-existing medical condition, when budget constraints occur, (financial or manpower) it is hard to defend why they should take someone with a waiver over someone that at 18 does not need a waiver. Upon commissioning they will pick up all of your medical tabs, and hate to say it, but as you get older traditionally your issue will require more attention. For some it also is about the medical issue will mean limitations in what career field they can be placed in, again...why take the waiver candidate over the non-waiver candidate, all things being equal.

I am not saying waivers won't occur, I am saying that during these times they will think 2x regarding long term impacts on the AD world before giving one. You will have an out processing, pre-commissioning DoDMERB too. They have to take into consideration that too.

You use to see the big drop in AFROTC at the 300 (POC) level, now it is coming during the 200 marker.

I think what is important for cadets to understand is gone are the days of 2nd chances or skating by, here come the days of proving yourself everyday from day 1 in ROTC.
 
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Alot of good feed back for future scholarship candidates as well as current cadets from people in the know. All branches of the military are currently taking/retaining only the best of the best to fill their officer ranks. Message- Bring your A GAME and try to be the most competitive you can be! Good luck to all and God Bless.:wink:
 
Well it definitely is NOT over 'til it's over! We received a call from VMI today offering DS a 4 year AROTC scholarship! :jump1:

So I guess there are AROTC scholarships out there at the schools now to be given out. (We also heard from North Georgia, but VMI was his #1 school, not to mention that he had a binding ED acceptance at there)

I posted this in order to give a glimmer of hope to everyone still waiting ...
 
Well it definitely is NOT over 'til it's over! We received a call from VMI today offering DS a 4 year AROTC scholarship! :jump1:

So I guess there are AROTC scholarships out there at the schools now to be given out. (We also heard from North Georgia, but VMI was his #1 school, not to mention that he had a binding ED acceptance at there)

I posted this in order to give a glimmer of hope to everyone still waiting ...

Congratulations to your son. I imagine it's a happy day at your house today.

Now that hard work will begin, make sure he gets all the paperwork over the summer filled out that he can, it will help get him contracted as early as possible. Make sure he works hard on the APFT, work to get numbers higher then the minimums so he has some room for error when he takes the first test. Getting contracted at thet first opportunity is huge, the stipend starts, he'll get his book money, and the tuition will be paid on time. The other advantage of contracting early is that he will be eligible to apply for CULP for the following summer.

Make sure he doesn't get any traffic tickets with a fine over $250.00, or any other legal infractions, ie. Alcohol. Don't get hurt before he starts school. Large quantities of Bubble Wrap have been mentioned here a few times.

Above all he can enjoy the remaining days of high school and summer with a big smile on his face.

Congratulations and good luck, it's quite an adventure ahead of him.
 
Well it definitely is NOT over 'til it's over! We received a call from VMI today offering DS a 4 year AROTC scholarship! :jump1:

So I guess there are AROTC scholarships out there at the schools now to be given out. (We also heard from North Georgia, but VMI was his #1 school, not to mention that he had a binding ED acceptance at there)

I posted this in order to give a glimmer of hope to everyone still waiting ...
Congratulations to your son on earning a great opportunity!
 
Thanks everyone! I feel like I'm holding my breath now, and I wish I COULD wrap him in bubble wrap! He is SO excited, and he has been working really hard to get here. Thanks for the advice Jcleppe - and this is another motivation for him use self-restraint in all situations. He is well aware at how HUGE this is and doesn't take it for granted.

I know the roller coaster ride will continue, but at least this part of the ride is good!
 
Thanks everyone! I feel like I'm holding my breath now, and I wish I COULD wrap him in bubble wrap! He is SO excited, and he has been working really hard to get here. Thanks for the advice Jcleppe - and this is another motivation for him use self-restraint in all situations. He is well aware at how HUGE this is and doesn't take it for granted.

I know the roller coaster ride will continue, but at least this part of the ride is good!

Congrats, all of you must be walking air. Great News!!
 
Great News INDEED! I am so happy for your DS and your family. Keep us updated on his journey to becoming an Officer.:smile:
 
Well it definitely is NOT over 'til it's over! We received a call from VMI today offering DS a 4 year AROTC scholarship! :jump1:

So I guess there are AROTC scholarships out there at the schools now to be given out. (We also heard from North Georgia, but VMI was his #1 school, not to mention that he had a binding ED acceptance at there)

I posted this in order to give a glimmer of hope to everyone still waiting ...

OUR CONGRATS!
see you at VMI! larry's mom
 
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