AROTC Scholarship Chance?

J

jwestman1

5-Year Member
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Jan 3, 2013
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I know there are a lot of people asking about this, but if anyone wants to help me out it would be awesome! I'm super curious to whether or not I have a shot at getting a scholarship, and it would be great to here from some people with first hand experiences. Here are some stats:

4.0 GPA, 30 ACT, top 14% of class, 6 year Varsity Cross Country and Track runner and letter winner. All-Conference Cross Country, Section Participant in Track, Captain for both of those as well and Most Dedicated. National Honor Society member, Girl's State participant, Speech Captain, S.A.D.D. (Students Against Destructive Decisions) class representative, Knowledge Bowl, Band class treasurer, Jazz Band All-Conference, Outstanding Player Award, Concert Band All-Conference, Girl Scouts, Girl Scout Silver Award, Girl Scout Delegate, A Honor Roll, One Act Play, Musicals, 2+ speeches a year, work less than 9 hours per week. Triple A Award which recognizes academic, athletic, and artistic excellence. My PFT results were a 5:54 mile, 46 push ups, 59 sit ups, which I think is pretty good for a girl. My interview also seemed to go very well.

Any thoughts?
 
jwestman1 said:
I know there are a lot of people asking about this, but if anyone wants to help me out it would be awesome! I'm super curious to whether or not I have a shot at getting a scholarship, and it would be great to here from some people with first hand experiences. Here are some stats:

4.0 GPA, 30 ACT, top 14% of class, 6 year Varsity Cross Country and Track runner and letter winner. All-Conference Cross Country, Section Participant in Track, Captain for both of those as well and Most Dedicated. National Honor Society member, Girl's State participant, Speech Captain, S.A.D.D. (Students Against Destructive Decisions) class representative, Knowledge Bowl, Band class treasurer, Jazz Band All-Conference, Outstanding Player Award, Concert Band All-Conference, Girl Scouts, Girl Scout Silver Award, Girl Scout Delegate, A Honor Roll, One Act Play, Musicals, 2+ speeches a year, work less than 9 hours per week. Triple A Award which recognizes academic, athletic, and artistic excellence. My PFT results were a 5:54 mile, 46 push ups, 59 sit ups, which I think is pretty good for a girl. My interview also seemed to go very well.

Any thoughts?
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A lot will depend on which schools you listed on your application.

Was your application reviewed by the first board or will the Jan. Board be the first.

You look to be a very strong applicant, again a lot will depend on the school choices.

You look good in all the categories of Scholar/Athletics/Leadership

Nice job on the PFT.
 
January board will be the first. And I doubt the schools will be super competitive, I'm hoping for UW River Falls.
 
jwestman1 said:
January board will be the first. And I doubt the schools will be super competitive, I'm hoping for UW River Falls.
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Without being able to look into a crystal ball, I would say you have a good shot.

If it happens that you do not receive a scholarship through the National Board don't be discouraged. Keep in contact with the UW ROTC Cadre, keep your name on their mind. Visit the campus during your spring break and see if you can attend PT with them, sit in on a class, let them see how committed you are. 3 cadets at my son's school received Campus ROTC Sholarships this year. You have great stats but there is no guarantees with the National Board. A Campus Scholarship is the same as the National. It sounds like you would do very well on the APFT, keep working at it, show up day one and get a very high APFT and you'll be at the top of the list for any Campus Scholarship.

Hopefully the National Scholarship will happen for you, just keep the above in mind if it doesn't.

Best of luck, let us know what happens.
 
jwestman1 said:
January board will be the first. And I doubt the schools will be super competitive, I'm hoping for UW River Falls.
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If you don't mind my asking, did you interview at UWRF? Not that you should ask directly, but they may have given you a clue during the interview. You are correct that your application would be super competitive, but at this point it would be whether that school (or the battalion) has any more scholarships to award. I am also assuming you are either in-state or from MN (also eligible for in-state tuition) which could also affect your chances.

Also your stats seem very strong for UWRF not just from a ROTC perspective, but also from an academic perspective. Any other schools on your list? You would be an automatic admit for just about any public in state except Madison where you would still be competitive.

And as others have said, if nothing else, enroll in the program, do well in class and PT and you will more than likely pick up an on-campus scholarship in quick order.
 
Good stats, I think you have a competitive shot. Just curious, why were you looking at UW-RF? Athletics?
 
Jwestman1,

You look like you would be a great fit for our track team. Let me know if you are interested in combining track and ROTC at an East Coast private college.

Most likely you would get a full scholarship to Marist College.
 
Yes I did my interview at UWRF, and they reminded me multiple times that if I didn't receive a national scholarship to keep in touch because they have local scholarships to offer, i'm just hoping for a national one! And I'm looking into UWRF basically just for ROTC. I'm not a big fan of the academics or athletics honestly, or the fact that they are a public school. They aren't bad but I don't love them. I like the ROTC program though and the people there know me, and right now I feel like ROTC is the most important because that will be the biggest part of my future after college. Also I have doubts because the scholarship would cover only tuition here, so it might be a smarter financial decision to go somewhere that would cover both. And yes I am from MN so reciprocity will give me close to in-state tuition. And I will be running track and cross country but am probably not up for a move to the east coast right now.
 
I would look into Marist, it seems like a really great college. At this point I'm not going to be able to visit all the way to New York though and I'd be nervous to make a college decision without stepping foot on campus, if that makes sense. I wish it was closer!
 
jwestman1 said:
Yes I did my interview at UWRF, and they reminded me multiple times that if I didn't receive a national scholarship to keep in touch because they have local scholarships to offer, i'm just hoping for a national one! And I'm looking into UWRF basically just for ROTC. I'm not a big fan of the academics or athletics honestly, or the fact that they are a public school. They aren't bad but I don't love them. I like the ROTC program though and the people there know me, and right now I feel like ROTC is the most important because that will be the biggest part of my future after college. Also I have doubts because the scholarship would cover only tuition here, so it might be a smarter financial decision to go somewhere that would cover both. And yes I am from MN so reciprocity will give me close to in-state tuition. And I will be running track and cross country but am probably not up for a move to the east coast right now.
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Just remember almost all ROTC programs are pretty much the same (curriculum, training amount etc.) besides some teaching styles and the different personalities represented. That being said I don't think a particular ROTC program really has to make or break whether you choose a college. Cadre change and the cadets change all the time so inevitably you will have to become accustom to different program dynamics anywhere you go. Personally, I had 2 PMSs and more cadre/cadets rotate through than I could count. By the time I commissioned, a few others in my class and I had been there longer than anyone besides one admin guy.

You say you have doubts about a scholarship covering everything right? If Marist says you most likely would get a full ride to a private school I would at least research a little more or pay heed to what he says.

A familiar ROTC program doesn't seem to hold a candle compared to lackluster athletics and academics in my opinion but maybe that's just me. Also, what happens if ROTC just isn't our thing after a year? Would you regret going to that school then?

My 2 cents
 
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But seriously, it sounds like a great school. My dad keeps telling me there has to be more to my life than MN and WI. It's tempting!
 
That's really good to know and you have good points. I have a lot of doubts with RF outside of ROTC, and lots of schools have that so there might be a better choice of a place for me to go. Thank you for the input it helps a lot!
 
Just UWRF, Crown, and Bethel. Crown and Bethel both do ROTC through the U of M
 
goaliedad said:
So where else have you applied?
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I ask because the Wisconsin schools close to the MN border are all in the same battalion and would be subject to the same scholarship pool (both national and campus). Speaking of which there is no difference between the 2 types of scholarships except that you cannot transfer a campus-based scholarship (except within a battalion possibly with PMS approval).

You speak of not liking privates as much as publics - note that many of the privates in the cities are affiliated with UM. However, these days (and even when my daughter applied) 4-year national scholarships to these privates are few and far between. They do have 3-year ADs typically. However, you are on your own for that first year for tuition and R&B if you are not commuting.
 
Yes I know there is a better chance for public school scholarships and that is part of why I'm looking into UWRF
 
jwestman1 said:
Yes I know there is a better chance for public school scholarships and that is part of why I'm looking into UWRF
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It sounds like from previous posts that you are a bit indifferent towards UWRF. There are other UW schools with ROTC (LaCrosse, Stevens Point, Eau Claire) that are reasonably close to the border that might be a better academic fit for your statistics and probably a better feel as far as the town. I am somewhat familiar with the schools in the region (used to live there) and work in higher education.
 
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Alright I will look into some others, I wasn;t aware that those schools had a better academic program than RF but I will definitely check it out!
 
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