Varsity Letters vs. Varsity

JaredZerro

5-Year Member
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Mar 20, 2014
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On my AROTC application, I only checked the boxes that said varsity and not varsity letters. Is there a major difference between the two and will it hurt my chances? I got varsity letters but I assumed being varsity implied getting a letter.
 
On my AROTC application, I only checked the boxes that said varsity and not varsity letters. Is there a major difference between the two and will it hurt my chances? I got varsity letters but I assumed being varsity implied getting a letter.

They are not the same. Check both or if it only lets you check one then check Varsity letter. Many folks play on the varsity squad but do not get varsity letters. Different school systems around the country have different rules and they vary by sport. In our school district you can wrestle on the varsity squad all season but if you don't have a certain number of wins you do not get a varsity letter.
 
And in our school if you are on Varsity, you get a letter, which makes me wonder why the SA's and ROTC's put so much stock in the letters. Especially since it is sort of like the GPA - each school calculates differently.
 
We have a similar question here, with "Captain." Letters are performance-based, but ds's coaches rotate through the seniors -- everyone is a captain for a period of time. Sometimes the captain fulfills certain very minor jobs for the team. So yes he was captain of 3 sports teams, but when the selection process was "show up" and the responsibilities were "turn in the towels and lug the water cooler" it seems dishonest to call that a leadership position.
 
And in our school if you are on Varsity, you get a letter, which makes me wonder why the SA's and ROTC's put so much stock in the letters. Especially since it is sort of like the GPA - each school calculates differently.

Exactly! Pretty much apples and oranges to compare between the schools.
 
everyone is a captain for a period of time.

I thought you could at least trust that someone who was named "captain" of a varsity team was the smartest, most dedicated team member, or the hardest-working, greatest-performing member. Now even THAT distinction is debunked in my mind.
 
I thought you could at least trust that someone who was named "captain" of a varsity team was the smartest, most dedicated team member, or the hardest-working, greatest-performing member. Now even THAT distinction is debunked in my mind.

Yup. We've also done away with honor roll, and don't even get me started on "advanced placement." Every kid's a star, don't ya know.
 
My DS's school does not do Varsity Letters yet he swam varsity all 4 years.
Yup, same here - DS's school doesn't award varsity letters. He just had to explain that every single time. And you're right, no varsity letter box checked...but he made sure to explain in remarks sections.
 
This year our soccer coach chose 3 Captains, one of which was my DS. They were his "right hand men". They led warm-ups, were consulted by the coach when he deemed it appropriate, and they really did fulfill a leadership role. The rest of the Seniors were rotated through as a 4th Captain. They got to meet with the ref before games to hear the "rules" and not exactly sure what else - definitely not a leadership position.
However, each sport chooses captains differently - many of the coaches simply do the rotation thing.
 
They are not the same. Check both or if it only lets you check one then check Varsity letter. Many folks play on the varsity squad but do not get varsity letters. Different school systems around the country have different rules and they vary by sport. In our school district you can wrestle on the varsity squad all season but if you don't have a certain number of wins you do not get a varsity letter.

Thank you everyone for your replied, and just I got an email today from San Diego State University's recruiting officer congratulating me and stated that I have been offered a 4 year ROTC scholarship to UC San Diego. My portal still says I am boarded which will probably change later in the week, but it seems that decisions have been made.
 
Thank you everyone for your replied, and just I got an email today from San Diego State University's recruiting officer congratulating me and stated that I have been offered a 4 year ROTC scholarship to UC San Diego. My portal still says I am boarded which will probably change later in the week, but it seems that decisions have been made.

Congratulations!!!
 
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