AROTC Scholarship Criticize Credentials Please

Rupre07

5-Year Member
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Sep 9, 2013
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Alright, so a friend and I have been looking into getting the four year scholarship for a long time and opted into doing it together. Basically there's a lot of discrepancy on what credentials warrant a full 4 year scholarship. I will provide both his, and my credentials and would like to hear your opinions on our chances for the four year scholarship.
Mine:
ACT: 33
GPA: 3.92/4.00 uw 4.06/4.33 w
Classes: all AP CIS or IB - 65 credits towards college already..
EC: President of NHS, Captain of Speech Team, Church Volunteering and Baseball + Basketball legion teams.
Work: 55 hours a week during the summer and 30 during the school year

His:
ACT: 29
GPA: 3.87/4.00 uw 4.07/4.33 w
Classes: All ap CIS or IB however he has a study hall in his schedule which I ridiculed him for
EC: Pres of NHS, Captain of Speech Team, Volunteering @ Ft. Ripley
Work: 40 hours a week as manager of mcdonalds

Thanks in advance all. This is important to me because without the four year scholarship I may just get my tuition paid for by FAFSA and do OCS. Awaiting your responses!
 
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The reality is that there is no magic resume. You have strong points, he has strong points. Both of you have leadership, perhaps a little more athletics would have been better (varsity letters?). You'll just have to wait until the first board comes around.

But I've also heard that you can't validate too many credits for ROTC, perhaps others can validate this.

Good luck to you both!
 
Alright, so a friend and I have been looking into getting the four year scholarship for a long time and opted into doing it together. Basically there's a lot of discrepancy on what credentials warrant a full 4 year scholarship. I will provide both his, and my credentials and would like to hear your opinions on our chances for the four year scholarship.
Mine:
ACT: 33
GPA: 3.92/4.00 uw 4.06/4.33 w
Classes: all AP CIS or IB - 65 credits towards college already..
EC: President of NHS, Captain of Speech Team, Church Volunteering and Baseball + Basketball legion teams.
Work: 55 hours a week during the summer and 30 during the school year

His:
ACT: 29
GPA: 3.87/4.00 uw 4.07/4.33 w
Classes: All ap CIS or IB however he has a study hall in his schedule which I ridiculed him for
EC: Pres of NHS, Captain of Speech Team, Volunteering @ Ft. Ripley
Work: 40 hours a week as manager of mcdonalds

Thanks in advance all. This is important to me because without the four year scholarship I may just get my tuition paid for by FAFSA and do OCS. Awaiting your responses!

Your stats look strong, Have you continued the sports throughout high school, even though they are not in school sports.

Your friend's stats look ok, average. Does your friend have any sports or athletics. A lot will depend on the schools your friend lists on the application.

Applicants received scholarships last year with both your's and your friend's stats, and some with these stats did not. Again a lot will depend on the school selections and the strength of all the applicants in your year.

As far as OCS, even if you take FAFSA to pay for school I would still recommend doing ROTC. OCS is very competitive now and by no means a guarantee. You would have a better chance at getting commissioned in the Army if you go through ROTC, whether you get a scholarship or not.
 
65 credits towards college already..

Pet peeve of mine. I perform education counseling with Soldiers in my CAB. I don't think you have 65 college credits. After your "credits" are evaluated by the gaining university, you might have 15-20 if you're lucky.

Your stats look good. Good job staying focused throughout your high school career!
 
I disagree a bit with dlee. I think the positive you have over your friend is the baseball, but his leadership as a MANAGER at McDs is outstanding. If your friend also had some sports he could be a shoe-in.

Also, you have the wrong backup plan. If you're going to college anyway, but don't get a scholarship, then if you're financially able - attend a college with a ROTC program of your choosing and enroll as a college programmer. Work for a sideload (in-school) scholarship. Even if you don't get it, its a surer path to a commission than OCS.

BTW - I can't believe you ridiculed a friend for having a study hall. If he's working 40 hours a week, he needs that study hall. And who ridicules friends anyway? However, if it was just smack talk delivered in good humor then you're forgiven.

Good luck to both of you. :thumb:
 
Your stats look strong, Have you continued the sports throughout high school, even though they are not in school sports.

Your friend's stats look ok, average. Does your friend have any sports or athletics. A lot will depend on the schools your friend lists on the application.

Applicants received scholarships last year with both your's and your friend's stats, and some with these stats did not. Again a lot will depend on the school selections and the strength of all the applicants in your year.

As far as OCS, even if you take FAFSA to pay for school I would still recommend doing ROTC. OCS is very competitive now and by no means a guarantee. You would have a better chance at getting commissioned in the Army if you go through ROTC, whether you get a scholarship or not.

+1 Yup

Been talking to a couple freshmen lately who say they will just wait and do OCS because they want to enjoy college. Guess what? OCS selection rates are 10-15% right now and dropping. Who knows how low they will be in a few years....

Your buddy is severely lacking in the athletics area, most applicants have a varsity letter.
 
Pet peeve of mine. I perform education counseling with Soldiers in my CAB. I don't think you have 65 college credits. After your "credits" are evaluated by the gaining university, you might have 15-20 if you're lucky.

Your stats look good. Good job staying focused throughout your high school career!

Yeah, many of those "credits" are paired up with HS classes and are not worth a lick of anything in college except 100 level electives. The only exception is AP and IB but even then some colleges don't count them. I chose not to even transfer mine over...
 
My credits are as follows for whoever thought I was bluffing the 65:
AP Physics 8
AP Stats 3
Ap Calc ABC 9
AP Euro 6
APUSH 6
AP Psych 4
IB Chem HL 9
IB BIO HL 8
CIS English 8
CIS Econ 4
CIS Multi Cultural 4
That would be 69 actually, which I am very proud of.(the credit evaluations
Came from uofw-Madison)
 
^^^^
And to add to that, ROTC can be great fun with some great new friends. You can still have goon fun and do ROTC. Some of the fun will be ROTC stuff and some will be otherwise. DS went camping, rock climbing, etc. with his girlfriend this past weekend in Nantahala national forest. They had a great time.
 
My credits are as follows for whoever thought I was bluffing the 65:
AP Physics 8
AP Stats 3
Ap Calc ABC 9
AP Euro 6
APUSH 6
AP Psych 4
IB Chem HL 9
IB BIO HL 8
CIS English 8
CIS Econ 4
CIS Multi Cultural 4
That would be 69 actually, which I am very proud of.(the credit evaluations
Came from uofw-Madison)

If your "Credit Evaluations" mean you will receive course credits towards graduation (as opposed to placement in a higher level class without credit towards graduation) , I would say your friend has a better chance of getting the scholarship, because ROTC scholarships are limited to students who have not achieved sophomore status.

The idea of a 4-year scholarship is for students who still have 4 years remaining in their single-major degree.

You might want to do a little research here or talk to Cadet Command before counting your scholarship money...
 
Well the whole thing is I never stated that in the app because I haven't received college credit yet because my test scores were never applied anywhere. So I mean technically I have no credit at the moment
 
My credits are as follows for whoever thought I was bluffing the 65:
AP Physics 8
AP Stats 3
Ap Calc ABC 9
AP Euro 6
APUSH 6
AP Psych 4
IB Chem HL 9
IB BIO HL 8
CIS English 8
CIS Econ 4
CIS Multi Cultural 4
That would be 69 actually, which I am very proud of.(the credit evaluations
Came from uofw-Madison)

I BELIEVE, YOU BELIEVE, you have 65-69 credits. However that's not how post secondary academic institutions operate...

Your credit evaluation doesn't occur until you officially apply to the institution. Your credentials are impressive. Don't be offended or misinterpret my intent. I'm trying to dispel the myth of high school students walking into a university with 100 "credits" from high school...

Trust me; this isn't my first rodeo...
 
If your "Credit Evaluations" mean you will receive course credits towards graduation (as opposed to placement in a higher level class without credit towards graduation) , I would say your friend has a better chance of getting the scholarship, because ROTC scholarships are limited to students who have not achieved sophomore status.

The idea of a 4-year scholarship is for students who still have 4 years remaining in their single-major degree.

You might want to do a little research here or talk to Cadet Command before counting your scholarship money...

Strongly agree. The 65 credits if all transferable will take you out of the running.

Now, if your counting the fact that the AP classes will count toward college credit, that will depend on the college. When filling out the ROTC application I would not list those AP classes as college credit, you'll only receive a letter say "Thanks, but no thanks"
 
Well the whole thing is I never stated that in the app because I haven't received college credit yet because my test scores were never applied anywhere. So I mean technically I have no credit at the moment

That is great. You might still check with CC because if you file that first 104-R (academic plan required for all cadets) that doesn't fill 8 semesters, you may have a lot of explaining to do when trying to activate the scholarship...

Of course, you will have quite a challenge applying all of those credits towards a specific degree (unless it is bio-chemical engineering). And then, when you attend freshman orientation, you will find all the returning sophomores have already taken (they get to enroll this spring) all the slots in 2nd year math, physics, chem slots.

Trust me (I have worked in higher ed for 10+ years), too many HS credits is often a curse. And the problem is that you get all of them or none of them (if you choose not to apply them).

So after you call CC (or possibly even before), you might want to see if you can get an appointment with an adviser in the department you intend to major in, to see what all your 65 credits do to your graduation plan.
 
My credits are as follows for whoever thought I was bluffing the 65:
AP Physics 8
AP Stats 3
Ap Calc ABC 9
AP Euro 6
APUSH 6
AP Psych 4
IB Chem HL 9
IB BIO HL 8
CIS English 8
CIS Econ 4
CIS Multi Cultural 4
That would be 69 actually, which I am very proud of.(the credit evaluations
Came from uofw-Madison)

If 69 credits did transfer that would make you Soph almost borderline junior status. If that was the case that would most certainly mess up your 4 year scholarship chances. I know it feels good to have college credit but seriously no one in college really cares about AP classes or the rest of the lot, just come in fresh and do your 4 years.

I did AP classes and still got beat up by Bio/physics, it looks better on a transcript to do the 4 year uni classes than AP anyway.
 
Alright, so a friend and I have been looking into getting the four year scholarship for a long time and opted into doing it together. Basically there's a lot of discrepancy on what credentials warrant a full 4 year scholarship. I will provide both his, and my credentials and would like to hear your opinions on our chances for the four year scholarship.
Mine:
ACT: 33
GPA: 3.92/4.00 uw 4.06/4.33 w
Classes: all AP CIS or IB - 65 credits towards college already..
EC: President of NHS, Captain of Speech Team, Church Volunteering and Baseball + Basketball legion teams.
Work: 55 hours a week during the summer and 30 during the school year

His:
ACT: 29
GPA: 3.87/4.00 uw 4.07/4.33 w
Classes: All ap CIS or IB however he has a study hall in his schedule which I ridiculed him for
EC: Pres of NHS, Captain of Speech Team, Volunteering @ Ft. Ripley
Work: 40 hours a week as manager of mcdonalds

Thanks in advance all. This is important to me because without the four year scholarship I may just get my tuition paid for by FAFSA and do OCS. Awaiting your responses!

OK, will try to break it down:

Scholastic: You both get the highest score, A. Army wants smart kids, not necessarily geniuses, so your superior ACT is just an unscored bonus impression.

Athletic: You get an A-, your friend a C. Has he really no athletic experience? What about tennis, running, karate, etc even if not at school?.

Leadership: You get a B+/A-, your friend gets an A+. Managing a McDonalds is one of the biggest leadership challenges an 18 year old can attain. Getting an A is Eagle Scout, Student Council president (elected by peers), Boy's State, Football captain, Managing adults in a job, etc.
 
I don't know about AROTC, but for AFROTC if those 69 credits transfer in, and you enter as a jr., that would also mess you up for AFROTC because you need to be in the ROTC program for AT LEAST 3 yrs.

Also, I would check with your college regarding your major and the course curriculum. Our DS had 33 credits, but it still took him 4 yrs to graduate because the classes required for his major had to be taken at the college. In essence, except for his English classes, none of them truly counted towards his major.

Colleges are in it to make a profit. They may accept those credits, but they will find a way to keep you there for as long as they can, and usually it comes down to your major core classes, which they will only offer 1x a yr.

Our DS was a govt. and politics major, with International studies minor. He had APUSH, AGOV, APEuro, APPhys, APCalc, APeng, APlit.,APFrench plus did jump start at the local community college taking more history classes, stats, and foreign language.

His major required Quantum Math which he did not have. The APEuro was not a match to the Euro he had to take. AFROTC required 12 credits of foreign language at college ---no AP credits allowed. They also required Sociology, and both Micro and Macro. Thus when DS graduated 4 yrs later, he graduated with 160 credits, iotw, all the AP credits the college accepted did squat for him when it came to graduating early.

You may want to pm Clarkson or Marist if they don't post to see how those credits will count for a scholarship.
 
Few things here:
The 69 credits will all count because of the transfer sheet shown on the university's website. I scored high enough on all of the tests and it shows what classes you will be credited. Whether or not they will count towards a major is another story.

Okay, so basically a lot of you are saying that I can't receive a scholarship because I did TOO well in school. Doesn't sound very fair that my chances for a scholarship are thrown away because I tried harder than 90% of other high schoolers. Couldn't I work out a deal where I attend for three years and earn a double major or something? Doesn't make much sense to deny the smart kids scholarships because they over achieved in high school.
 
Few things here:
The 69 credits will all count because of the transfer sheet shown on the university's website. I scored high enough on all of the tests and it shows what classes you will be credited. Whether or not they will count towards a major is another story.

Okay, so basically a lot of you are saying that I can't receive a scholarship because I did TOO well in school. Doesn't sound very fair that my chances for a scholarship are thrown away because I tried harder than 90% of other high schoolers. Couldn't I work out a deal where I attend for three years and earn a double major or something? Doesn't make much sense to deny the smart kids scholarships because they over achieved in high school.

FYI: the maximum allowable credit transfer for MOST universities is 60 credits regardless of the transferring institution.

4 year scholarships are for academic Freshman, 3 years scholarships are for academic Sophomores, 2 year scholarships are for academic Juniors. If you truly believe you have "69 credits" (academic Junior), then feel free to apply for a 2 years scholarship...

When you complete your 104-R with your "69 credits", you're throwing away a chance at a 4 years scholarship. Your "69 credits" maybe bragging rights in high school, but you need to be humble in the real world...

The military is extending their hand to academic Freshman; to compete for a 4 year scholarship. When you say you "tried harder than 90% of other high schoolers", that maybe true. However, those 90% have a better shot of a fully funded education than your elite 10%. I'm glad you're a smart, self-motivated individual, but having a death-grip on those "69 credits" is going to hurt your chances of a college education.

How much is your pride worth to you?
 
Perhaps you would qualify for less than a 4 year scholarship, I am not sure how that works. I would take Pima's advice, and pm Clarkson or Marist. You could also set up an appointment with the enrollment officer of the ROTC unit at one of the schools you are interested in attending. They are would be able to tell you more specifically how your credits relate to that school and the ROTC program.
And just as an aside, FAFSA does not give you money, FAFSA just qualifies you to receive federal aid such as Pell grants and Federal loans. Some schools use this information to disperse their need-based grants. Again, talk to the college you are thinking of attending, their financial aid office, and they can most likely give you some idea of what you might qualify for, although some are very hesitant to say anything.
Good luck!
 
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