NROTC Sideloads for 2014

wulaw

5-Year Member
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Oct 31, 2012
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Anyone heard anything regarding the number of 2 year Navy Option sideload scholarships that will (or won't) be available this year? Last year NSTC put out a note in December updating the number of 2 and 3 year scholarships that would be available based on anticipated production needs, but I haven't seen anything this year. Obviously, with the craziness around the budget this past year it must be hard for the services to plan, but with the sequester issues put to bed and a "real" budget framework for the next couple of years laid out, I would think we'd be hearing something. Anyone currently in NROTC hear anything?
 
The problem is sequestration will last for 9 more years, with a 10% reduction annually. I know for the AF currently they are letting some of the 14s to walk, there is also a hint that this will occur for 15s too. Plus, they are doing a RIF and SERB for the AD members regarding certain yr groups and career fields This is to be settled sometime in Feb/Mar.

It might be that they are still working out their manpower needs/budget before they publicly commit to the numbers that will be available for 16s
 
sequesters not in stone

The law creating the sequester (the Budget Control Act of 2011) lowers statutory caps on the spending authority of federal agencies. The money Congress gives each agency every year—appropriations—is technically not allowed to exceed those limits. Trouble is, Congress can waive the caps. And, in fact has been doing so since at least the late 1980s–soon after it enacted a sequester under the Gramm Rudman Hollings budget law. No matter the language of the sequester, what Congress creates, it can just as easily destroy.
 
I have "heard" that 6 were given nationwide last (fall 2013) semester. No idea what might be upcoming for 2014. Hope to hell it's more than 6. All you can do is do your best and control what you can control. Forget about the rest.
 
kinnem,

Do you know how many commission on avg via NROTC? Just curious from a statistical perspective. If it is like AFROTC, @2000, and place into the equation that 20% were scholarship already, it would be 1600 fighting for 6 scholarships. :eek:

I can't even begin to fathom their stats for the recipients, I am assuming they must be very high, and since NROTC is like AFROTC with 85% of HSSP going STEM, I would assume that the majority of these are also going to STEM too.
 
kinnem,

Do you know how many commission on avg via NROTC? Just curious from a statistical perspective. If it is like AFROTC, @2000, and place into the equation that 20% were scholarship already, it would be 1600 fighting for 6 scholarships. :eek:

I can't even begin to fathom their stats for the recipients, I am assuming they must be very high, and since NROTC is like AFROTC with 85% of HSSP going STEM, I would assume that the majority of these are also going to STEM too.

No idea on how many commission via NROTC. 2000 sounds like a reasonable guess to me. One semester when I did get a look at the average stats they exceeded the average stats for the incoming USNA class that year.
 
Actually around 1000 nrotc commission. Can't get the exact numbers but by the time of third year most are on scholarship, I see very few advanced standings. DS received a sideload for class of 2014 and 175 were given out when he received his. Not sure of the Navy budget issues, but his tuition was paid in early December for the spring and got all of the stipends. The number of sideloads are adjusted according to the projected need of officers and considers some washout of scholarship mids.
 
Actually around 1000 nrotc commission. Can't get the exact numbers but by the time of third year most are on scholarship, I see very few advanced standings. DS received a sideload for class of 2014 and 175 were given out when he received his. Not sure of the Navy budget issues, but his tuition was paid in early December for the spring and got all of the stipends. The number of sideloads are adjusted according to the projected need of officers and considers some washout of scholarship mids.

I'd agree on the advanced standing and have no reason to dispute the number that commission. In fact DS informed me over Christmas break that advanced standing is not given out for Marine Option. Scholarships only get into advanced course. I cannot attest to the accuracy of his statement but there it is. I do know a couple Marine Option sophomores are dropping NROTC and going the PLC route, supposedly due to this.
 
Pulled this info off NSTCNOTE 1533 for FY 14. Dated 28 Jan 14

Sideload type 3 yr 2 yr
YG 16 - 140
YG 17 95 120
YG 18 94 120

Question:
Can you be enrolled as a College Programmer (including Nurse Option) and still compete for sideloads ?
 
Pulled this info off NSTCNOTE 1533 for FY 14. Dated 28 Jan 14

Sideload type 3 yr 2 yr
YG 16 - 140
YG 17 95 120
YG 18 94 120

Question:
Can you be enrolled as a College Programmer (including Nurse Option) and still compete for sideloads ?

Certainly in theory the answer is yes. It might be a different pool of money though and I'm not sure the numbers you pulled of the site would include nursing scholarships. I'm guessing they're Navy Option only. In practice though it might be tough right now. I now that last year around this time the word went out that Advanced Standing would NOT be awarded to nursing options that year because Navy had way too many nurses. I'm sure a select few got scholarships. I don't know what things look like this year. It would seem it can be done but might be difficult because of current needs of the Navy, or lack thereof.

Certainly Navy options can still compete for sideloads although they changed the system this year on how they apply (I'm told). I also know that Marine Options come out of a different bucket.

dunninla usually has good insight into numbers somehow (that has always puzzled me :rolleyes:). You might get some more info on the outlook through a PM.
 
Not sure how anyone beat me to the punch on this information - I was sure that I was the only one checking the NSTC site daily for the updated 1533 Note. Good job FFDDG!

Good news is the allocated number of scholarships for YG16 went up - 140 vs 115. In prior years, college programmers applied automatically for side-loads as part of the advance standing process, and also had to commit that they would accept advanced standing even if not offered a scholarship. Will be interesting to see if that process remains in place. I do know the boards consider a number of factors in awarding side-loads, including some intangibles (size of unit, number applying, etc). Marines are completely separate as Kinnem notes; not sure what the process is for nurses, but Kinnem's point is a good one. Needs of the service and current staffing levels drive most decisions.
 
In fact DS informed me over Christmas break that advanced standing is not given out for Marine Option. Scholarships only get into advanced course. I cannot attest to the accuracy of his statement but there it is. I do know a couple Marine Option sophomores are dropping NROTC and going the PLC route, supposedly due to this.

Kinnem: I don't believe this is new. This has been the case for Marine Options for at least the last 3 years.
 
dunninla usually has good insight into numbers somehow (that has always puzzled me :rolleyes:). You might get some more info on the outlook through a PM.
:) That's not a mystery… I'm married to P-Flying17.

just kidding. It's been over half a year since I studied the NSTC notices. I'm afraid my information is increasingly going to be out of date. One thing I did notice… the old notices get pulled out of the system after a time, so if a person didn't print them out, they're gone forever.
 
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:) That's not a mystery… I'm married to P-Flying17.

just kidding. It's been over half a year since I studied the NSTC notices. I'm afraid my information is increasingly going to be out of date. One thing I did notice… the old notices get pulled out of the system after a time, so if a person didn't print them out, they're gone forever.

You know you had me for a minute there. I was about to post how all the pieces of the puzzle had just fallen into place... and then I read the second paragraph. :biggrin:
 
What is a sideload scholarship? It seems from your posts, it is one they can apply for after starting ROTC in college. The army called my DS when he was accepted to a particular college and said if he didn't get the National 4 year or 3 year that when he got there if he would go Army option, he could apply for a 3 1/2 year, but the Navy said they have no option if he doesn't get the National 4 or 3 year.
 
What is a sideload scholarship? It seems from your posts, it is one they can apply for after starting ROTC in college. The army called my DS when he was accepted to a particular college and said if he didn't get the National 4 year or 3 year that when he got there if he would go Army option, he could apply for a 3 1/2 year, but the Navy said they have no option if he doesn't get the National 4 or 3 year.

Yes, it's a scholarship you apply for while participating in NROTC as a college programmer (without a scholarship). It used to be a separate application process but my understanding is that they now use the same 4 year high school scholarship application to do this. The process seems to always be in flux so there may be additional changes I'm unaware of.

One can always participate in NROTC without the scholarship but even then you must achieve Advanced Standing between sophomore and junior year, which is yet another application process. If you don't get awarded advanced standing you are dropped from the program. The application goes before a national board for both advanced standing and the sideload scholarship.
 
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