NROTC Marine Option Scholarship chances

liz_merski

5-Year Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2012
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6
My name's Elizabeth. I go to Embry-Riddle in Florida. I'm a freshman and this upcoming Spring semester I'm going to do NROTC Marine Op. I will be competing for a scholarship. Here are my stats.

3 mile run: 22:40
Flexed arm hang:65 sec
Crunches 2 mins: 92

My major is Mechanical Engineering, and I will probably have around a 3.0-3.1 this semester. Does major pertain at all to getting the scholarship?

My Dad was also in the Marines and served for six years.
I'm in a few clubs and we do community service and volunteer work.

Any information on getting the scholarship would be greatly appreciated.
 
My name's Elizabeth. I go to Embry-Riddle in Florida. I'm a freshman and this upcoming Spring semester I'm going to do NROTC Marine Op. I will be competing for a scholarship. Here are my stats.

3 mile run: 22:40
Flexed arm hang:65 sec
Crunches 2 mins: 92

My major is Mechanical Engineering, and I will probably have around a 3.0-3.1 this semester. Does major pertain at all to getting the scholarship?

My Dad was also in the Marines and served for six years.
I'm in a few clubs and we do community service and volunteer work.

Any information on getting the scholarship would be greatly appreciated.

Thats a first class PFT score. You've got that part licked assuming the form was correct. NROTC doesn't care about your major for the Marine Option scholarship. Grades aren't bad for an engineering major assuming you keep it up but whether they're good enough is another issue. For in-school scholarships the average awardee had about a 3.5 last autumn as I recall. They'll still care about your SAT/ACT scores (at least they do for in-school scholarships). I'm assuming you're applying for the four year and are not currently in NROTC. Your chances aren't bad, not great, but not out of the running either. A lot will depend on the leadership positions you have held but don't mention. In any case, regardless of what I or anyone tell you here you should apply. You need to get on the stick though. The first board meets in November (I think) and there is another sometime next year. Only 2 boards for Marine Options, which is a separate board from the Navy Option.

Good luck.
 
Okay thank you. Do leadership positions from high school count at all? I was Co-captain for my track team. I was also the Executive Officer for my high school's AFJROTC program and held the rank of Cadet Captain. I also did Civil Air Patrol and was the Color Guard commander for them. I have a lot of things I did in high school but since I'm new too college I haven't been involved in a whole lot yet. Thanks again for the information though, really appreciate it.
 
Okay thank you. Do leadership positions from high school count at all? I was Co-captain for my track team. I was also the Executive Officer for my high school's AFJROTC program and held the rank of Cadet Captain. I also did Civil Air Patrol and was the Color Guard commander for them. I have a lot of things I did in high school but since I'm new too college I haven't been involved in a whole lot yet. Thanks again for the information though, really appreciate it.

I'm no expert but I would be surprised if your high school leadership positions, which sound great, wouldn't be considered. SOunds to me like you have a fair shot. :thumb::thumb:
 
Thanks! Wish your son the best of luck with the scholarship! Also, do you know what a decent score would be on the ACT to be competitive for the scholarship?
 
Thanks! Wish your son the best of luck with the scholarship! Also, do you know what a decent score would be on the ACT to be competitive for the scholarship?

If memory serves the avg act composite was 32
 
If memory serves the avg act composite was 32
Wait, what? 32 is an extremely high ACT composite score. Is this an average for those who 1) received a side-load scholarship while in college, or 2) those who received a scholarship out of High School? Lastly, are you relatively sure that is the number? It seems really high. That would equate to a single-sitting SAT score of about 1420 (two part) and taking Super Scoring into account, about 1460. 1460 is top 1.5% in the country.

To give you a comparison to the Class of 2014 at the Naval Academy, top 25% was SAT 1400 (more or less... that is adding 75% for Math and 75% for CR). What you are suggesting is that the AVE ACT score of 32 for side-loads is well into the top 15% for the Naval Academy plebes.
 
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Wait, what? 32 is an extremely high ACT composite score. Is this an average for those who 1) received a side-load scholarship while in college, or 2) those who received a scholarship out of High School? Lastly, are you relatively sure that is the number? It seems really high. That would equate to a single-sitting SAT score of about 1420 (two part) and taking Super Scoring into account, about 1460. 1460 is top 1.5% in the country.

To give you a comparison to the Class of 2014 at the Naval Academy, top 25% was SAT 1400 (more or less... that is adding 75% for Math and 75% for CR). What you are suggesting is that the AVE ACT score of 32 for side-loads is well into the top 15% for the Naval Academy plebes.

I'm pretty certain that's the number. It definitely was in the low 30s. That's for the folks who were awarded a sideload scholarship last autumn (2011). Only 22 were awarded nationwide, so they can afford to be very selective. I don't know what their SAT numbers were. Perhaps they were kids who excelled at the ACT but not so much at the SAT (I have no idea).

Edit: One final thought. Since the number of scholarships awarded were so low it's quite possible that a few awardees really skewed the averages.

Also, keep in mind that these kids were, by definition, all sophomores. By fall all juniors either already had a scholarship or were on advanced standing and first semester freshman cannot apply. Not sure how that would impact selectiveness, but given how the process works it must be true. Also, I suppose they might be more selective in the autumn and a bit more lenient, with more scholarships awarded in the spring when second semester freshman can also apply - so that might account for it as well. But that's just surmise on my part. I have no insight into this past springs numbers, just autumn 2011.

Edit: One final thought. Since the number of scholarships awarded was so low it's quite possible that a small number of awardees really skewed the averages... and it is an average, meaning some were higher and some were lower. Nor is it a median.
 
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NROTC Marine Option Scholarship Notification

My son submitted his application for the NROTC-Marine Option Scholarship in late August. He completed his interviews and PFT shortly after that in early September and all information was sent for the first board review. Does anyone have any knowledge of when he should hear if he will receive the scholarship? We are in the Midwest if that helps. Below are his stats if anyone wants to comment on his chances.

GPA 4.0 unweighted
AP, Honors, and Post Secondary Option courses
National Honors Society, Spanish National Honor Society
ACT 30
Varsity Ice Hockey 4 years, Scholar Athlete and 1st team all academic in league.
Red Cross Disaster Relief Team, Special Olympics Swimming Coach, Mentor for Community Elementary School, Mentor for Freshman
Started own business:property Maintenance 4years
PFT 280
 
My son submitted his application for the NROTC-Marine Option Scholarship in late August. He completed his interviews and PFT shortly after that in early September and all information was sent for the first board review. Does anyone have any knowledge of when he should hear if he will receive the scholarship? We are in the Midwest if that helps. Below are his stats if anyone wants to comment on his chances.

GPA 4.0 unweighted
AP, Honors, and Post Secondary Option courses
National Honors Society, Spanish National Honor Society
ACT 30
Varsity Ice Hockey 4 years, Scholar Athlete and 1st team all academic in league.
Red Cross Disaster Relief Team, Special Olympics Swimming Coach, Mentor for Community Elementary School, Mentor for Freshman
Started own business:property Maintenance 4years
PFT 280

Well, first board isn't until (mid?) November and the next is Feb or March. So it will be at least 2 -3 weeks I would think at the earliest. I would say his chances look pretty good especially with that 280 PFT but would have been stronger if he was team captain on that hockey team. Good luck! The waiting is pure torture.
 
Well, first board isn't until (mid?) November and the next is Feb or March. So it will be at least 2 -3 weeks I would think at the earliest. I would say his chances look pretty good especially with that 280 PFT but would have been stronger if he was team captain on that hockey team. Good luck! The waiting is pure torture.

Thanks Kinnem. His senior hockey season has begun. Unfortunately, they do not pick captains for this season until the week before the season opener which will be in two weeks. So even if he does receive the honor of being captain we will not be able to submit it in time. He thought he had a good interview so hopefully his leadership qualities presented themselves.
 
Agree with Kinnem.

My memory is foggy on the exact date, but my son was notified right around Christmas. I believe it was days before but could have been just afterwards.
 
Thanks Kinnem. His senior hockey season has begun. Unfortunately, they do not pick captains for this season until the week before the season opener which will be in two weeks. So even if he does receive the honor of being captain we will not be able to submit it in time. He thought he had a good interview so hopefully his leadership qualities presented themselves.

As I recall, and you cannot hold me to this :biggrin:, my DS had a chance to update his application between the first and second boards. If the hockey team captaincy does come through he may have a chance to add it to his application then if no scholarship comes through from the first board.
 
As I recall, and you cannot hold me to this :biggrin:, my DS had a chance to update his application between the first and second boards. If the hockey team captaincy does come through he may have a chance to add it to his application then if no scholarship comes through from the first board.

Thanks Kinnem. We will keep that in mind as the process unfolds. My son mentioned that he discussed the process of naming the team "Captain" during his interview so they are aware.
 
Update to Marine Option Scholarship

As I recall, and you cannot hold me to this :biggrin:, my DS had a chance to update his application between the first and second boards. If the hockey team captaincy does come through he may have a chance to add it to his application then if no scholarship comes through from the first board.

My son was named Captain of his hockey team this weekend. Is it possible to get this information to someone now? And if so, should we forward an email from the coach stating this information to make it official? Or is it too late for the first board?
 
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