Navy ROTC School Choice Help/Advice

NROTC_HOPEFULLY

5-Year Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2012
Messages
48
Hey guys,
should I change my school choice for any reason?

I put
Yale
Rice
Worcester State [IS] (I said I was not really interested in attending here on my application)
Vanderbilt
Stanford

Class rank 2/193 (weighted)
APs/additional coursework
800 Math 770 CR (from different tests, single sitting is 1520/1600)
Science Fair Awards at regional/state
Varsity Soccer and tennis
Decent essays
OK interview (I dont think it went poorly, but I don't real know)
NO leadership until this year (I updated them I think about 2 months ago with it--captain math team and treasurer math honor society)
Major Chemistry
Recs should have been pretty darn good

Should I change my list to have less selective schools? If so, should I put Boston University or something similar as one of them or even my first choice? Since it costs the same amount as my other schools I should be able to change placement if I get in to one of the more selective colleges on my list now, right? Or should I put a cheaper school as my one/two?

And does anyone know how many scholarships they are going to give out? And how many applicants there are?

Sorry for all of the questions. Thank You
 
Hey guys,
should I change my school choice for any reason?

I put
Yale
Rice
Worcester State [IS] (I said I was not really interested in attending here on my application)
Vanderbilt
Stanford

Class rank 2/193 (weighted)
APs/additional coursework
800 Math 770 CR (from different tests, single sitting is 1520/1600)
Science Fair Awards at regional/state
Varsity Soccer and tennis
Decent essays
OK interview (I dont think it went poorly, but I don't real know)
NO leadership until this year (I updated them I think about 2 months ago with it--captain math team and treasurer math honor society)
Major Chemistry
Recs should have been pretty darn good

Should I change my list to have less selective schools? If so, should I put Boston University or something similar as one of them or even my first choice? Since it costs the same amount as my other schools I should be able to change placement if I get in to one of the more selective colleges on my list now, right? Or should I put a cheaper school as my one/two?

And does anyone know how many scholarships they are going to give out? And how many applicants there are?

Sorry for all of the questions. Thank You

With the stats you listed, I would sure think about it. BC isn't much of a change. Just do not change the list to add schools that you have no intention of attending, that would be a waste of time.
 
With the stats you listed, I would sure think about it. BC isn't much of a change. Just do not change the list to add schools that you have no intention of attending, that would be a waste of time.

I said BU, not BC, and BU is much easier to get into than Yale/Rice. So are you saying I should change my list to include easier schools? Which ones then? Is the issue that they don't think I am worth the money for private school tuition or just that they have already awarded scholarships to those schools and I will have to wait till after spots open back up once acceptances/rejections decisions are released? Im not mad/offended I just didn't really understand your post.
Thanks
 
I said BU, not BC, and BU is much easier to get into than Yale/Rice. So are you saying I should change my list to include easier schools? Which ones then? Is the issue that they don't think I am worth the money for private school tuition or just that they have already awarded scholarships to those schools and I will have to wait till after spots open back up once acceptances/rejections decisions are released? Im not mad/offended I just didn't really understand your post.
Thanks

1. We don't know what schools still have available slots for a scholarship recipient.
2. Your leadership is somewhat weak and may be holding you back. Otherwise your application looks pretty string, especially the academics. But they look at the whole person, not just academics.
3. Money for scholarships may also be an issue. These are tight budgetary times.

None of us sit on the boards. We really can't answer your questions on what it would take to get you a scholarship. I would not recommend trying to game the system and change your list of schools just in hopes of getting a scholarship. You might very well end up with a scholarship to a school you would be unhappy with, and there is far more than cost in transferring the scholarship, which is very difficult to do.

That being said, all the schools you've listed are very selective and expensive. Can you afford to attend these schools without an NROTC scholarship? What would you do if you got a scholarship and then decided NROTC was not for you, or you couldn't cut it? How would you pay for these schools then? (At my son's school each year 25% of the MIDN drop out during NROTC freshman orientation... 50% have dropped out by end of sophomore year, if not earlier; and those numbers include kids on scholarship).

I expect there are other schools you applied to that are far more affordable and that have NROTC units. If not, then I expect you do not have a viable plan B. If you do have a viable plan B to schools with NROTC units, then I would suggest listing some of those on your application. If you have no such schools for a plan B (with or without NROTC units) then I would suggest you quickly find some. You are too smart to not have a viable, affordable, plan B.

One more word to the wise. Not everyone with your SAT scores attend, or even get accepted to, the most stellar colleges in the nation. Not saying you won't but make sure plan B is in place. It might include enrolling as an NROTC college programmer and competing for an in-school scholarship.
 
This has been really confusing lately with NROTC which is why I think no one really can tell you the best way to proceed. It's seemed like it has changed each year - a few years ago when my oldest applied, you didn't have to list an in-state school (just one public) and it was easy to move your scholarship around between schools (first come, first served). Then the next year they added in the IS requirement and wouldn't make any transfer request changes until late April (I think my son got notification around April 21st). So I really don't know what to tell you. There doesn't seem to be as much of a focus as say AROTC in being able to change only from a public to a similar cost/public or private to private. Personally, I'd think getting it assigned to Yale would increase your chances of being able to change it somewhere else since the cost would probably be less. But...does it decrease the chance of getting it in the first place? Also, I'm guessing the Yale unit is unlikely to fill, while the BU one definitely will, so getting it assigned there earlier might make it more likely.

Another consideration would be whether or not Yale ROTC has any input on admissions. For MIT or Harvard, having the scholarship assigned there definitely can help you get into the school. Other schools (Northwestern, Carnegie Mellon, Michigan) I know wouldn't even talk to my son until he'd been accepted and told us they wouldn't help at all with admissions. If so, and you really want Yale, I might try to leave that as your first choice to increase your chances of getting in.
 
A. Your leadership is somewhat weak and may be holding you back. Otherwise your application looks pretty string, especially the academics. But they look at the whole person, not just academics.

B. Can you afford to attend these schools without an NROTC scholarship? What would you do if you got a scholarship and then decided NROTC was not for you, or you couldn't cut it? How would you pay for these schools then?

C. One more word to the wise. Not everyone with your SAT scores attend, or even get accepted to, the most stellar colleges in the nation. Not saying you won't but make sure plan B is in place. It might include enrolling as an NROTC college programmer and competing for an in-school scholarship.

A. Yeah, I was a little worried about that. Do they look at any senior year updates that are sent in?

B. I would be able to afford these schools without a scholarship. (But I still want one.)

C. I think I know how competitive it is. I applied to A LOT of schools, so I should have at least a few options.
 
Another consideration would be whether or not Yale ROTC has any input on admissions. For MIT or Harvard, having the scholarship assigned there definitely can help you get into the school.

I talked to the NROTC people at Yale and also to the regional admissions officer. The admissions officer told me to definitely let him know when/if I got a scholarship, and the Yale NROTC person told me that she would let the admissions office know that she talked to me and that I really I wanted to go to yale. I applied to Yale early and got deferred. I mentioned that I wanted to do NROTC on my Yale application and in both interviews, which in hindsight may have been a mistake since I think they expected me to receive a scholarship (which obviously has not happened yet).

So basically I should not change my school choices and just wait (and maybe send in quarter 2 grades/updates)?
 
A. Yeah, I was a little worried about that. Do they look at any senior year updates that are sent in?
My son was able to send in updates for subsequent boards, but then he was applying Marine Option.
B. I would be able to afford these schools without a scholarship. (But I still want one.)
OK then! I still hope you applied to some less demanding schools just in case. The Yale deferral is a case in point. I certainly hope though that you get accepted during the normal acceptance process.
C. I think I know how competitive it is. I applied to A LOT of schools, so I should have at least a few options.

Good! Just want to make sure people have backup plans and have considered alternatives and consequences. There is another current thread where that is not the case! I would say if your heart is set on these schools then I would leave them alone. At most, if one of your other schools has an NROTC unit and is more affordable (and you'd be happy going there) then sub it for one of your current choices. I really think its important that, above all, you follow your heart.
 
OP,

this is a tough one. If you don't list any schools where there are likely to be cost effective openings (your large in-state Public), then the Board might be left with Yale, where you might not get in, and several other popular Battalions that are already filled. BU usually fills by November.

So, were I you, especially considering your weak leadership, I would list a large Public in the top 2. I might not list Yale in the top 3, b/c if you get into Yale, my opinion is that it would be no problem to transfer a scholarship award from a large Public U to Yale. Yale needs to build their Battalion as it is very new and small.

On the other hand, if you list Yale #1, and then don't get into Yale through Admissions, it would be very hard to transfer that Yale scholarship award to a Battalion that is likely already full.
 
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