AFROTC timeline

Strength and Honor

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Asking for a friend:

Would now be considered a little too late in the game to apply for the AFROTC scholarship for those who will be HS seniors next year? Is it rolling admissions, like the NROTC scholarship?

I told him to just apply and see what happens, but he thinks he has no chance because he is applying in July when most have already started the process?
 
Here in W PA it is still June.... and NOT too late for rising Seniors to apply.
 
Here in W PA it is still June.... and NOT too late for rising Seniors to apply.

Too bad. It's already July here in NC... but still not too late to apply from here either.
 
Curiosity...when did NROTC have an impact on admission decisions? (Rolling comment)

AFROTC is the one branch that starts the latest for scholarships. DEC. is typically their 1st board,
 
Curiosity...when did NROTC have an impact on admission decisions? (Rolling comment)

AFROTC is the one branch that starts the latest for scholarships. DEC. is typically their 1st board,

I'm assuming he was alluding to scholarships being awarded over time by each board. Of course it has nothing to do with admissions to the college, which is a separate process and decision made by the school itself.
 
I was talking about how the first to apply are the first to be boarded in NROTC and AFROTC, correct? Would he still make the first board if he applied now, most likely?
 
Would he still make the first board if he applied now, most likely?
With the first board traditionally being in Dec, your friend should have an ample amount of time to get things squared away in time for that first board. He just needs to make sure he gets everything done. The one nice thing that I liked about the AFROTC application, was that there is an extremely helpful checklist to ensure that you complete everything.

OBTW - just a heads up to your friend. When he completes his application, the interviewing officer may contact him a few days after completion of the application for the interview. So, start preparing for the interview before he submits his application. [At least this was the case for me].
 
Did you apply for both AFROTC and AROTC, Thompson? Did you get both?
Yes I applied for both, no I did not get both. I received an Army 3 year AD scholarship from Cadet Command, and no scholarship from Maxwell. And ultimately decided to take the Army scholarship (transferred) to Penn State. (However, I had a feeling that I had a pretty decent shot for an Army scholarship, and I was fairly certain that I would not get an AF scholarship - as you've heard from Pima, AF scholarships are EXTREMELY competitive.)
 
AFROTC 1st board is traditionally Dec. There are only 4 boards. Dates and deadlines are published on the AFROTC website.

AF is one of the smallest branches, and as Thompson has stated it is highly competitive.

85% of all scholarships go to Tech majors.

Scholarships are not tied to the college like A/NROTC. A Cadet can take it to any college that accepts the scholarship.

There are 3 types.
Type 1. No limit on tuition
~~ 5% of all scholarships. 95% are tech (STEM)
Type 2. 18K limit for tuition. You can pay the difference
~~ 15-20% of all scholarships. 95% are tech
Type 7 In state tuition or up to 18K tuition. CANNOT PAY the difference. If above 18K you cannot use it.
~~ 75-80% of all scholarships. 75% are tech.

If awarded a Type 7 and tuition is above 18K, you can convert to a Type 2, for 3 yrs.

Overall, only @20% of those boarded will be awarded an AFROTC scholarship. AFROTC is not like A/NROTC for SATs. It is best sitting, no superscoring. The last stats I knew for AFROTC SAT ranged from at least 1280+ for Type 7 to 1310 for Type 1. Again, best sitting. I believe the ACT scores range from 29 composite to 33.

One other thing to tell them AFROTC, be on scholarship or not requires Summer Field Training (SFT) it is a board that meets their sophomore yr. If not selected, they can dis-enroll the cadet, thus loss of the scholarship.
 
One other thing to tell them AFROTC, be on scholarship or not requires Summer Field Training (SFT) it is a board that meets their sophomore yr. If not selected, they can dis-enroll the cadet, thus loss of the scholarship.
This, IMPO, is one of the downsides of AFROTC to me. If you do not get selected to go to SFT, you pretty lose all future hopes of becoming an officer in the AF - OTS will probably not select you either if you then decide to try that route.

On the other hand (not trying to bash AF, just comparing) for AROTC, there is no make-it, break-it type of a cut. As long as you contract and don't do terribly you should be able to commission. For AROTC cadets undergo LDAC between Jr and Sr year - just for the sake of comparison, I will loosely say it is the equivalent of AF's SFT. However, in AROTC, you are not guaranteed active duty (if that's what you're looking for). All cadets compete for active duty, with the option of going Guard/Reserve if desired, based upon their Order of Merit List. On the flipside, in AFROTC - as long as you go to SFT you will commission into active duty, whether you want to or not.
 
I agree it is the biggest negative IMPO for AFROTC. Any AFROTC candidate using this as a method to pay for their dream college should re-think this decision. If you can't afford the college, and are dis-enrolled as a rising jr. how will you pay for the remaining 2 yrs left? Will you be forced to transfer for financial reasons? Board results typically come out in Mar. That means if not selected it may be too late to apply for a transfer to another college for the fall.

Another reason to get a high score on the SAT or ACT is because for SFT selection, part of your score is your SAT just like it is for the scholarship. If your friend does not get a scholarship, it is still in their best interest to take that SAT up until they graduate. Cadets can also use the AFOQT for SFT selection.

They should also understand the avg cgpa for SFT selection is typically @3.0/3.1 for tech majors, and 3.3/3.4 for non-techs. Many kids think that because they have 9 APs and carry a 3.8 uwcgpa in HS it will translate into the same cgpa in college, but many times it doesn't. For SFT boards they only take into account your 1st 3 semesters. One semester of a 2.5, can create a lot of stress to pull it up to that 3.0.

At VT they tell the engineering students to look left, look right. 1 of you will not earn an engineering degree. The running joke there is they actually have registrar tables set up outside the engineering building in the fall during finals because so many kids transfer majors after their 1st semester.

If your friend tries to game the system by applying for a tech major, with the idea that they can change to a non-tech later on, it is not the path they want to walk down. To change from a tech to a non-tech they will need approval from AFROTC. In this day and age, it is highly unlikely to be approved. Thus, they are either stuck in a tech degree major, or lose the scholarship if they go non-tech

AFROTC also is different in the fact that the only thing you can update after your jr. yr is your SAT/ACT. Your class schedule for your SR. yr is not included, nor are any ECs.

If they think that waiting for their 1st quarter grades SR yr will matter, it won't. Or if they think they can add captain of a fall sport, or class president, they can't. It ends with the end of their jr. yr.

In the end every branch has positives and negatives when it comes to ROTC. College is 15 -20 hrs a week in a class room, M-F for 30 weeks a yr for 4 yrs. at a location you determine. Military life is 24/7 52 weeks a yr, for 4 yrs at a location the military determines, in a career field they select for you. They say North Dakota, and you go to North Dakota.

Think about that when you apply for any ROTC scholarship.
 
Do you know the percentage of scholarships given to tech majors vs. non-tech majors? Is it almost impossible to get an AFROTC scholarship as a non-tech?
 
85% of all scholarships go to Tech majors.
So yes, it is extremely hard to get a scholarship for a non-tech major. And if you do get one as non-tech, your stats would have to be EXTREMELY good.
 
Thompson is correct, for AFROTC scholarships it gives a huge edge to tech majors.

Hence, do not game the system if you know you want to go non-tech.

Non-tech majors typically have much higher stats for scholarship purposes. DS in 07/08 had 1390 SAT. 33 or 34 ACT (can't remember), best sitting. He said when he was a 300 that the stats for 100s were higher than his.

Something for candidates to also realize, if the college has a scholars program that is tied to their admission, it is also more time out of their day. If they go to an SMC, they will have more time taken away from studies.

I.E. you can be in the Corps of Cadet at VT and not in ROTC, but you can't be in ROTC without being in the Corps.
 
.... just to lighten the mood a bit, we are not here to discourage you from applying for any ROTC scholarship, nor are we here to say that you aren't good enough to get one.

We are simply pointing out many of the nity-grity details that the pamphlets don't tell you. We want you to be aware of what you are getting in to.

Pima did the exact same to me when I was in your shoes :thumb:
 
I was just thinking as a non-tech major with a 3.8 GPA, and a 29 ACT I wouldn't have much of a chance. My extra curriculars aren't THAT good haha! :biggrin:

But my friend probably will. He has comparable stats but with a tech major. You'd think that'd be good enough for a Type 7.
 
I was just thinking as a non-tech major with a 3.8 GPA, and a 29 ACT I wouldn't have much of a chance. My extra curriculars aren't THAT good haha! :biggrin:

But my friend probably will. He has comparable stats but with a tech major. You'd think that'd be good enough for a Type 7.

You may or may not be correct that you don't have much of a chance, but it clearly isn't a 0% chance. I would recommend applying. There are other advantages to applying besides actually getting a scholarship. Just going through the process can help you get yourself sorted out for your actual college applications. Also, as others have pointed out, you can do any of the ROTC programs without having a scholarship and may be able to win an in-school scholarship as a result. Doing the application now will get you intimately familiar with what they're looking for. My son was not a tech major, and did not win a high school scholarship, but won a scholarship his sophomore year of college. I doubt that any of this would have happened without having first applied for the high school scholarship.
 
I was just thinking as a non-tech major with a 3.8 GPA, and a 29 ACT I wouldn't have much of a chance. My extra curriculars aren't THAT good haha! :biggrin:
Never sell yourself short. Better to dream big than not dream at all. Remember, we do not sit on the board - this is just pure speculation. We could very well be wrong, and you may very well get that scholarship.

However, I do know this - you have a 0% chance of getting a scholarship if you don't apply for one.
 
So yes, it is extremely hard to get a scholarship for a non-tech major. And if you do get one as non-tech, your stats would have to be EXTREMELY good.

With this being said, it definitely isn't impossible.

For example, I received a 4 year type 7 scholarship for any major. I had roughly a 3.1 (weighted) GPA, and 27 ACT. Those scores are well below the average for scholarship recipients. On the other hand, I had an excellent PFT, interview, and was very involved in clubs, athletics, and student office in high school.
What I'm trying to say is that the Air Force looks at the whole picture, not just academics.
 
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