AROTC 4-Year Scholarship: Too Late? and Chances

mgolato02

5-Year Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2013
Messages
6
I am applying for a 4-year AROTC scholarship. My #1 pick is Clemson University. I am a girl and have tried to look on this forum for other girls' scores but didn't see much

My Physical Fitness Test score is:
Mile: 7:39
Push ups: 42
Sit ups: 48

I have a 4.0 GPA
my SAT score is a 1120

Rank 99/197 (I know this is low but given my GPA it may come across as a mistake but it is not. I have stated in my application how intelligent the people who come to my school are and how it is the top school in our Archdiocese. My interviewer, from Clemson, told me to do this and claims I am an excellent candidate.)

Varsity Sports: 4 years of field hockey (All Area Team, Player of the Week, and MVP), 1 year of softball, 1 year of lacrosse, 2 years of track (All Area Team)
JV and Community sports: Basketball for 4 years, 2 years of indoor lacrosse and field hockey.

Leadership/ Extra Curricular Experience: Mathletes, Community Service club, Pro life club, Student Ambassador Officer, Teach mentally and physically disabled children how to play basketball and soccer, and work at Dairy Queen as a Shift Supervisor.

I have recently faxed in my Physical Fitness test results on Tuesday December 18th but the Cadet Command website says they have not yet received them. I understand after something is faxed it takes awhile to be processed which is why I should have waited till last minute to send them out but this being said, since they have not received my results yet does this not allow me to be part of the January Board or does it only matter if the fax is post marked prior to December 26th?

Any feedback at all will be much appreciated!
 
Last edited:
Do you have the ability to scan and email? Keep checking your status, and if possible email a copy of your score sheet to your processor (the point of contact on all those letters you have received from Cadet Command) and cc train2lead@usacc.army.mil.

I can't say it enough...scan and email is far more reliable than faxing.
 
I did contact cadet command and they told me to scan and email it to them and I now have. Thank you
 
Can anyone please let me know how, in their own opinion, I stack up for a scholarship given that I am a girl. I don't know if being female helps or hurts me in this situation.
 
Can anyone please let me know how, in their own opinion, I stack up for a scholarship given that I am a girl. I don't know if being female helps or hurts me in this situation.

Being female neither helps nor hurts.

Every year is different as far as stats, but as yours go the class ranking and SAT scores are your weakest area. Athletics and leadership are fine.

If your school places a high percentage of students in highly selective colleges (something that would be documented on the transcript if your school has its stuff together), your rank won't be held against you.

The other part of the equation of course is your school list and the other applicants listing those schools. Your best information with regards to this is from the ROOs at those schools. They should be able to give you the academic profiles of this year scholarship recipients. Not that past performance is an indicator of future results, but this is your best data.

Regardless of whether you are awarded a scholarship this year, show up and work hard both in classes and in ROTC activities and you will quickly be noticed and in many cases awarded a on-campus scholarship.
 
My school (as well as quite a few in the nation) never did class rank so I don't put much stock into it compared to other stats.

First off, you really need to get that score up by either taking a prep course or just getting more practice with SAT type questions. When I got my scholarship back in 2008 it was much less competitive than it is now and my 1300ish score wasn't considered stellar.

Any AP classes factored into that 4.0?

As Goaliedad said, gender really is neither a pro or con.

Everything else looks rather good, what were you planning to study? On campus ROTC recruiters might give you a special nod if you are looking at engineering or nursing.
 
I have a 4.0 GPA
my SAT score is a 1120
Rank 99/197

Leadership/ Extra Curricular Experience: Mathletes, Community Service club, Pro life club, Student Ambassador Officer, Teach mentally and physically disabled children how to play basketball and soccer, and work at Dairy Queen as a Shift Supervisor.
I see you are active, but where is the Leadership you mention? Looks just from what you've written that you're good at joining, and participating, which is a whole lot different from leadership. Can you expand on what actual Leadership experience you have?

The SAT score could be a deal breaker for both Clemson, and AROTC scholarship award. Are you able to take the SAT one more time, or the ACT? I'm not familiar with the deadlines.
 
mgolato02 said:
My interviewer, from Clemson, told me to do this and claims I am an excellent candidate.

This may be not what you want to hear, but trust in your interviewer. Not one of us interviewed any Clemson AROTC candidate, thus we do not know how you really rack and stack.

We understand how stressful this time is, but trust me, 1 yr from now you will be laughing at this looking back because it will seem like the easiest part you have ever experienced in your life.

We can say you look great, and for an hour or two that may calm your nerves, but the anxiety will resurface.

The thing about the military is it is a hurry up and wait organization. This waiting process will repeat itself over and over and over again until you leave the military. The earlier you come to terms with it, the happier you will be.

As an ex: You will hurry up and wait for ROTC det assignments. You will hurry up and wait for LDAC. You will hurry up and wait for Career Fields. You will hurry up and wait for AD RNLTD. You will hurry up and wait for PCS assignments. You will hurry up and wait for promotion boards.

Notice there is a lot of hurry up and waiting, but later on that waiting will come with higher stakes if the answer is a negative than it comes with now. Yes, I know that the cost is a factor, but there are loans that one can take out, and scholarships available later on down the line. Scholarships are gravy. The other boards typically aren't gravy, they are the dinner! You just need to remember that the goal is commissioning.

The only thing I would say from a college perspective is I agree that 1120 on an SAT for Clemson admission purposes might be on the cusp. No offense, but to me when there is a disparity between a cgpa that high and an SAT at that level it is 1 of 2 things.
Test anxiety...which causes my own intrepidation --- colleges do test too.
Grades are handed out like candy on halloween, and that the academic foundation isn't there, which can also lead to Test anxiety.

Have you used Naviance at your school to see if you are competitive? If you do not know the Naviance program, it uses students from your school that have applied to the college in yrs past and places their stats into the equation, and compares it to your stats.
 
Last edited:
I see you are active, but where is the Leadership you mention? Looks just from what you've written that you're good at joining, and participating, which is a whole lot different from leadership. Can you expand on what actual Leadership experience you have?
You are pretty tough. I see "Student Ambassador Officer" as possible leadership points, teaching disabled as possible leadership points and "Shift Supervisor" as leadership points. Could there be more, of course but its not like there is nothing there.
 
I can't see your rank being a problem when your grades are that high, it seems like that is something they would have to take into consideration. Your class must be very competitive!
 
This may be not what you want to hear, but trust in your interviewer. Not one of us interviewed any Clemson AROTC candidate, thus we do not know how you really rack and stack.

We understand how stressful this time is, but trust me, 1 yr from now you will be laughing at this looking back because it will seem like the easiest part you have ever experienced in your life.

We can say you look great, and for an hour or two that may calm your nerves, but the anxiety will resurface.

The thing about the military is it is a hurry up and wait organization. This waiting process will repeat itself over and over and over again until you leave the military. The earlier you come to terms with it, the happier you will be.

As an ex: You will hurry up and wait for ROTC det assignments. You will hurry up and wait for LDAC. You will hurry up and wait for Career Fields. You will hurry up and wait for AD RNLTD. You will hurry up and wait for PCS assignments. You will hurry up and wait for promotion boards.

Notice there is a lot of hurry up and waiting, but later on that waiting will come with higher stakes if the answer is a negative than it comes with now. Yes, I know that the cost is a factor, but there are loans that one can take out, and scholarships available later on down the line. Scholarships are gravy. The other boards typically aren't gravy, they are the dinner! You just need to remember that the goal is commissioning.

The only thing I would say from a college perspective is I agree that 1120 on an SAT for Clemson admission purposes might be on the cusp. No offense, but to me when there is a disparity between a cgpa that high and an SAT at that level it is 1 of 2 things.
Test anxiety...which causes my own intrepidation --- colleges do test too.
Grades are handed out like candy on halloween, and that the academic foundation isn't there, which can also lead to Test anxiety.

Have you used Naviance at your school to see if you are competitive? If you do not know the Naviance program, it uses students from your school that have applied to the college in yrs past and places their stats into the equation, and compares it to your stats.

My school does use the naviance program and my SAT score i gave was just Math and Reading i know it is still very very weak but not as weak if you thought that was my total score for all three sections.
 
Last edited:
My school (as well as quite a few in the nation) never did class rank so I don't put much stock into it compared to other stats.

First off, you really need to get that score up by either taking a prep course or just getting more practice with SAT type questions. When I got my scholarship back in 2008 it was much less competitive than it is now and my 1300ish score wasn't considered stellar.

Any AP classes factored into that 4.0?

As Goaliedad said, gender really is neither a pro or con.

Everything else looks rather good, what were you planning to study? On campus ROTC recruiters might give you a special nod if you are looking at engineering or nursing.
I am looking into Physicians Assistant so at Clemson that would be considered Pre professional Health Sciences.
 
Since you used the Naviance program, than at least you should have a better idea of where you stand regarding admittance.

If I recall correctly AROTC uses superscoring and as Aglahad stated that is why we both felt the SAT is low.

The thing you have to look at is although you are on the cusp for admissions, there will be many that will apply to Clemson as a strong match or safety. Those are the applicants you will compete against for a scholarship. The SAT will come into play no matter which way you cut it. 1120, even just for 2 portions, is 560 on each (avg) and if they superscore, you will see many that will have the 1300+ marker if this is their safety or match.

All ROTC programs have been cutting the amount of scholarships awarded every yr.

Did you ask the interviewer how many scholarships were available for your yr.? Or how many were awarded LY? That would give you a better idea of chances, especially if you asked the amount that went to nursing.

For example if they said they had 10 awarded, and 100 applied for Clemson, it would give you insight on how competitive it could be. Or if they said last yr we had 15, but we know this yr we will only have 10, it would also tell you that the stats from LY might not be equivalent to this yr because there will be fewer available and that can translate into higher stats.

There are so many what ifs that are unanswered it would be unfair to say where you stand from a chancing perspective. You just have to trust in what the interviewer said to you. They said you were excellent, they are the only person that knows how you rack and stack.

In the AF world there are key words that are used. Excellent is different than strong.or good. They have no need or desire to appease you or pump up your ego. They have every desire and need to be honest.
 
Since you used the Naviance program, than at least you should have a better idea of where you stand regarding admittance.

If I recall correctly AROTC uses superscoring and as Aglahad stated that is why we both felt the SAT is low.

The thing you have to look at is although you are on the cusp for admissions, there will be many that will apply to Clemson as a strong match or safety. Those are the applicants you will compete against for a scholarship. The SAT will come into play no matter which way you cut it. 1120, even just for 2 portions, is 560 on each (avg) and if they superscore, you will see many that will have the 1300+ marker if this is their safety or match.

All ROTC programs have been cutting the amount of scholarships awarded every yr.

Did you ask the interviewer how many scholarships were available for your yr.? Or how many were awarded LY? That would give you a better idea of chances, especially if you asked the amount that went to nursing.

For example if they said they had 10 awarded, and 100 applied for Clemson, it would give you insight on how competitive it could be. Or if they said last yr we had 15, but we know this yr we will only have 10, it would also tell you that the stats from LY might not be equivalent to this yr because there will be fewer available and that can translate into higher stats.

There are so many what ifs that are unanswered it would be unfair to say where you stand from a chancing perspective. You just have to trust in what the interviewer said to you. They said you were excellent, they are the only person that knows how you rack and stack.

In the AF world there are key words that are used. Excellent is different than strong.or good. They have no need or desire to appease you or pump up your ego. They have every desire and need to be honest.

Thank you everything you and everyone else stated. It is understandable and for the most part common sense as on how to take these things. Deadlines and boards were coming close so I could not help but be a little curious as to what others thought of me and how I stack up. This is just natural human nature. So thank you.
 
We get the curiosity, trust me 90% of us have walked in your shoes already. 5 yrs later and I still can tell you the gut wrenching feeling waiting for our DS's AFROTC scholarship results.

However, being that 90% we also have seen candidates where posters tried politely to say NO CHANCE and those candidates got a scholarship. Along with they would say WOW to another candidates stellar resume, and they got the Sorry letter.

It varies yr to yr, college to college.

If I were you, I would move on with two paths at the same time.

Scholarship recipient:
~~~ Get medical paperwork in order for the DoDMERB
~~~ Keep working out because to contract you must pass the PFT. They tend to be more facetious regarding form than your HS coach. It is not uncommon for a % of scholarship candidates to bust their 1st PFT. No contracting = no scholarship, no stipend, no book allowance until you do.

Non-scholarship, but accepted and in AROTC
~~~ Keep working out...see above
~~~ Plan how to pay for it. That means plan B, C and D
~ Contact the det and talk to them about on campus scholarships. For ex: Marist has posted 100% of eligible AROTC cadets at their school were offered scholarships. Do they have that rate too? What do you need to do at Clemson to be eligible.

It does not end with no scholarship. There are other options, to attend Clemson and AROTC, it could be SMP...I am AFROTC, Marist, Ohio and Clarkson can assist there. They all have intimate knowledge regarding SMP.

I am not saying you won't get it. I am saying if you want Clemson, and want to serve in the Army there are many ways to do it. I am also saying if you get the scholarship, it isn't over yet regarding collecting the check, because you have 2 more hurdles before you can breathe a sigh of relief financially.

OBTW, it is not uncommon to be reboarded. This might not be over until March. Worse yet, you can get a scholarship to your number 5 on the list, but accepted, and now have to decide do you take that bird in hand and go there, or do you risk asking for the scholarship to be transferred in April/May time frame knowing that at the same time you have to commit to Clemson for matriculation without the scholarship.

Hence why Plan B, C and D should be in place.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top