FYI AROTC

cajuncarrier

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There are several threads this post could go under. So I thought that I would just post a new one instead of posting the same info over again. This is strictly just FYI about our experience this week. Maybe it might help answer someone’s questions.

My DS received a 4yr national scholarship for AROTC at LSU. He and I went to spring invitational orientation for Fall 2013 this week. We met with the AROTC recruiting and admissions person. She explained the entire program, responsibilities, benefits, and commitment requirements that go along with his scholarship. It was very informational. Like others, I have posted several questions on this forum. Most of the time, just basic information can be given, as we all know, the difference can be the school. So below, I have listed a few points that really answered our questions pertaining to LSU. Hope this might help someone and/or give them an idea of what to expect.

• LSU no longer provides free room and board to ROTC cadets. (They are trying to get this reinstated.)
• Scholarship will go toward tuition and required fees. (Therefore, our state TOPS tuition, which is based on merit, will be applied to his LSU account and be credited to any other areas. Can go toward room and board.)
• $300.00 stipend each month for ten months freshman year. (I know this amount was questioned because of the cuts)
• $600.00 for books per semester
• Must maintain a 3.0 GPA
• Must take 2 MSL classes per semester plus PT
• Can get a minor in Leadership (not sure the exact term she said)
• LSU awarded 10 ROTC scholarships for the Fall 2013 (not sure if these were all 4yr or a combination)
• Also stated that there were some on campus scholarships still available (There was another young man looking into joining that had not applied for scholarship. Said he couldn’t get it now, but may be able to get Spring 3.5 scholarship)

So, this is the basics for LSU.

Oh, and one thing she stated in the presentation is that my DS is in a 5 year degree program (mechanical engineering) and that ROTC will cover that year too. As long as he maintains his GPA, full class load each semester, the classes aren’t any retakes, and he is in good standing with ROTC. This was unexpected. But with taking 2 extra classes a semester, this would cut into his timeline for his major. Glad to hear that.

Hope this helps.
 
I have listed a few points that really answered our questions pertaining to LSU. Hope this might help someone and/or give them an idea of what to expect.

• Must take 2 MSL classes per semester plus PT

Congratulations to your son on the scholarship. A question about the above - Is that one Military Science class plus the lab? If so, is the lab at LSU like some schools most of a weekend day once or twice a month?

Also, did they mention opportunities/requirements/expectations for freshmen to participate in ROTC extracurriculars such as Pershing Rifles, Ranger Challenge, etc.?
 
Congratulations to your son on the scholarship. A question about the above - Is that one Military Science class plus the lab? If so, is the lab at LSU like some schools most of a weekend day once or twice a month?

Also, did they mention opportunities/requirements/expectations for freshmen to participate in ROTC extracurriculars such as Pershing Rifles, Ranger Challenge, etc.?

I didn't realize that some schools did their labs on the weekends. My son's school has lab once per week, always on Thursdays.
 
Yes there is a lab. every Thursday at 3:00. She stated that the first semester class was Tuesday/Thursday around 1:00. then from there the cadets went directly to the lab. Also, it sounded like all labs freshmen-seniors have the lab at 3:00. The length of the lab depends on the classification of the cadet. Senior lab is about 3 hours long.

For extra curricular activities, she said that the ROTC orientation before school starts will explain all of those groups. There are lots of recruiting at that time.
 
There are several threads this post could go under. So I thought that I would just post a new one instead of posting the same info over again. This is strictly just FYI about our experience this week. Maybe it might help answer someone’s questions.

My DS received a 4yr national scholarship for AROTC at LSU. He and I went to spring invitational orientation for Fall 2013 this week. We met with the AROTC recruiting and admissions person. She explained the entire program, responsibilities, benefits, and commitment requirements that go along with his scholarship. It was very informational. Like others, I have posted several questions on this forum. Most of the time, just basic information can be given, as we all know, the difference can be the school. So below, I have listed a few points that really answered our questions pertaining to LSU. Hope this might help someone and/or give them an idea of what to expect.

• LSU no longer provides free room and board to ROTC cadets. (They are trying to get this reinstated.)
• Scholarship will go toward tuition and required fees. (Therefore, our state TOPS tuition, which is based on merit, will be applied to his LSU account and be credited to any other areas. Can go toward room and board.)
• $300.00 stipend each month for ten months freshman year. (I know this amount was questioned because of the cuts)
• $600.00 for books per semester
• Must maintain a 3.0 GPA
• Must take 2 MSL classes per semester plus PT
• Can get a minor in Leadership (not sure the exact term she said)
• LSU awarded 10 ROTC scholarships for the Fall 2013 (not sure if these were all 4yr or a combination)
• Also stated that there were some on campus scholarships still available (There was another young man looking into joining that had not applied for scholarship. Said he couldn’t get it now, but may be able to get Spring 3.5 scholarship)

So, this is the basics for LSU.

Oh, and one thing she stated in the presentation is that my DS is in a 5 year degree program (mechanical engineering) and that ROTC will cover that year too. As long as he maintains his GPA, full class load each semester, the classes aren’t any retakes, and he is in good standing with ROTC. This was unexpected. But with taking 2 extra classes a semester, this would cut into his timeline for his major. Glad to hear that.

Hope this helps.

3.0 GPA? Is that a requirement for the college of Engineering?
I thought GPA for AROTC was 2.75 or below. I know 3.0 is NROTC.
 
GPA

I'm not sure what the correct requirements are for either ROTC or college of engineering, but that is what she said.

Of course, my expectations are far more stringent than that..:shake:
 
Expectations

I'm not sure what the correct requirements are for either ROTC or college of engineering, but that is what she said.

Of course, my expectations are far more stringent than that..:shake:

I would encourage you to do a little exploring of high school GPA to college GPA at LSU. A Big 10 school near me predicts that your college GPA will be a full point lower than your high school GPA. Also look at how engineering GPA's compare to the total population, most will tell you that even the best prepared high school students are going to have serious adjustments when studying engineering. I believe poster PIMA tells the story about Virginia Tech students and how 1/3 of them don't even remain in engineering for a year.

I fully realize I don't know your child or much about LSU but just wanted to suggest you explore your expectation a bit more.
 
There are several threads this post could go under. So I thought that I would just post a new one instead of posting the same info over again. This is strictly just FYI about our experience this week. Maybe it might help answer someone’s questions.

My DS received a 4yr national scholarship for AROTC at LSU. He and I went to spring invitational orientation for Fall 2013 this week. We met with the AROTC recruiting and admissions person. She explained the entire program, responsibilities, benefits, and commitment requirements that go along with his scholarship. It was very informational. Like others, I have posted several questions on this forum. Most of the time, just basic information can be given, as we all know, the difference can be the school. So below, I have listed a few points that really answered our questions pertaining to LSU. Hope this might help someone and/or give them an idea of what to expect.

• LSU no longer provides free room and board to ROTC cadets. (They are trying to get this reinstated.)
• Scholarship will go toward tuition and required fees. (Therefore, our state TOPS tuition, which is based on merit, will be applied to his LSU account and be credited to any other areas. Can go toward room and board.)
• $300.00 stipend each month for ten months freshman year. (I know this amount was questioned because of the cuts)
• $600.00 for books per semester
• Must maintain a 3.0 GPA
• Must take 2 MSL classes per semester plus PT
• Can get a minor in Leadership (not sure the exact term she said)
• LSU awarded 10 ROTC scholarships for the Fall 2013 (not sure if these were all 4yr or a combination)
• Also stated that there were some on campus scholarships still available (There was another young man looking into joining that had not applied for scholarship. Said he couldn’t get it now, but may be able to get Spring 3.5 scholarship)

So, this is the basics for LSU.

Oh, and one thing she stated in the presentation is that my DS is in a 5 year degree program (mechanical engineering) and that ROTC will cover that year too. As long as he maintains his GPA, full class load each semester, the classes aren’t any retakes, and he is in good standing with ROTC. This was unexpected. But with taking 2 extra classes a semester, this would cut into his timeline for his major. Glad to hear that.

Hope this helps.

3.0 GPA? Is that a requirement for the college of Engineering?
I thought GPA for AROTC was 2.75 or below. I know 3.0 is NROTC.
 
I didn't realize that some schools did their labs on the weekends. My son's school has lab once per week, always on Thursdays.

It was explained to me that the rationale for doing labs on weekends rather than during the week is to avoid imposing hardship on cadets at inconveniently situated affiliate schools.

LSU for example has two partner/affiliate schools, Our Lady of the Lake and U of L at Lafayette. OLL is just a few minutes' drive from LSU, so no big deal. UL at Lafayette is an hour or so away but has a large enough cadet body to justify its own PT and labs.

Something for students thinking about attending affiliate schools to keep in mind.
 
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I thought AROTC's gpa is 2.5. However, it maybe that is LSU's standards for their engineering school is 3.0, not AROTC. Hence, if he is placed on academic probation with LSU, he would than have an issue with keeping his AROTC scholarship.
 
I thought AROTC's gpa is 2.5. However, it maybe that is LSU's standards for their engineering school is 3.0, not AROTC. Hence, if he is placed on academic probation with LSU, he would than have an issue with keeping his AROTC scholarship.

It's 2.5 to contract I believe and to keep it as well. However if you are hovering under 3.0 you have a good chance of losing your branch of choice or even AD.

For nursing (similar to engineering GPA requirements) we couldn't get below a B-if you DID drop you were put on nursing probation, I BELIEVE it translated to probation with AROTC as well but I am not sure. They might just go straight GPA but if you are kicked out of your respective academic school your scholarship is rather useless anyway.
 
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The requirement is to maintain a 2.0 GPA and a 2.0 GPA in ROTC classes. It's right in the contract. If your unit is expecting something that exceeds that, they can't contractually hold you to it. I agree that all Cadets should be striving to exceed the standard, but a standard is a standard. And oh by the way, if you are just pulling a 2.0 your probably going to be serving in the Guard or Reserves when you graduate.

http://goldenknightbattalion.wordpress.com/2010/08/06/the-contract/

And yes, 2.5 to receive a scholarship offer.
 
The requirement is to maintain a 2.0 GPA and a 2.0 GPA in ROTC classes. It's right in the contract. If your unit is expecting something that exceeds that, they can't contractually hold you to it. I agree that all Cadets should be striving to exceed the standard, but a standard is a standard. And oh by the way, if you are just pulling a 2.0 your probably going to be serving in the Guard or Reserves when you graduate.

http://goldenknightbattalion.wordpress.com/2010/08/06/the-contract/

And yes, 2.5 to receive a scholarship offer.

Ah yea I remember the 2.5 to get the scholarship just couldn't remember if it was 2.5 or 2.0 to keep it. I never wanted to get near that point. :shake:
 
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aglahad, you and every other cadet on scholarship.

I know for our DS, he didn't want to get below a 3.2 for AFROTC.
 
GPA

paradoxer,

My oldest son just graduated in chemical engineering from LSU in Dec. 2012 so we are aware of the difficulty in engineering. Just Wed. he and I were talking about how many people start out in engineering and drop. His statistics were about 140 started in chemical engineering. About 30 graduated in May of their 4th year and about 12 graduated with my son at 4.5 years in Dec. So my second son is aware of the challenges that are coming. His brother has already had the talk with him.

I think the ROTC admissions person was just trying to pep them up and let them know that they will be watched.

thanks for all the info.
 
Very Interesting

paradoxer,

My oldest son just graduated in chemical engineering from LSU in Dec. 2012 so we are aware of the difficulty in engineering. Just Wed. he and I were talking about how many people start out in engineering and drop. His statistics were about 140 started in chemical engineering. About 30 graduated in May of their 4th year and about 12 graduated with my son at 4.5 years in Dec. So my second son is aware of the challenges that are coming. His brother has already had the talk with him.

I think the ROTC admissions person was just trying to pep them up and let them know that they will be watched.

thanks for all the info.

My husband has a degree in chemical engineering and back in the day if you failed one class that typically put you an entire year behind because of the class sequencing. Your start to present completion statistics are very telling as your scenario is much more dire than PIMA's Virginia Tech example. Those that complete can know they have really accomplished something, congratulations to him.
 
I would encourage you to do a little exploring of high school GPA to college GPA at LSU. A Big 10 school near me predicts that your college GPA will be a full point lower than your high school GPA. Also look at how engineering GPA's compare to the total population, most will tell you that even the best prepared high school students are going to have serious adjustments when studying engineering. I believe poster PIMA tells the story about Virginia Tech students and how 1/3 of them don't even remain in engineering for a year.

This is exactly what the freshman engineering advisor was telling my DS when we were @ Pitt a couple weeks ago. HS seniors who are doing well in their AP physics and calc classes think they're going to continue with their high GPAs in college. I knew he really wasn't believing it from me. In schools where engineering is capped, ie PSU you can't get into an engineering w/o a 3.0.
Reality really hit my DS when the advisor said that the average test grade in first year tests was a 70-and it would be his job to be above the average.
 
The requirement is to maintain a 2.0 GPA and a 2.0 GPA in ROTC classes.
Clarkson - I do not mean to offend you/insult your intelligence, but you mentioned "2.0 GPA" for ROTC classes - I thought 3.0 was the minimum, according to the paper at least ... unless it changed. I just wanted to clarify whether that was a typo.

In schools where engineering is capped, ie PSU you can't get into an engineering w/o a 3.0.
Well sure you can! ... the 100th person needs a 3.0 :biggrin: ... although the 100th person having a 3.0 is highly unlikely.
 
GPA

Thanks for all of the warnings. Just spoke with my DS about GPA, keeping scholarship, and remaining in the college of engineering. He states that he understands that the first year many are weeded out to see who truly wants to remain. He says HE WILL REMAIN.. I know he can do it.. He understands that it will take more hard work. I think he has a good head on his shoulders.

Plus I think there is a little competition with his brother who graduated in chemical engineering.:biggrin:

That's one reason why he said he will not join the rifle brigade and such until he knows he can handle the load with his ROTC courses.
 
Clarkson - I do not mean to offend you/insult your intelligence, but you mentioned "2.0 GPA" for ROTC classes - I thought 3.0 was the minimum, according to the paper at least ... unless it changed. I just wanted to clarify whether that was a typo.
What paper? I'm looking at the scholarship contract, and it says 2.0. CC Reg 145-1 (dated September 2011) says 2.0. If you've got something official that says something different I'm all ears.
 
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