ROTC Scholarship Chance

Johny14

5-Year Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2014
Messages
7
Hey I am 17 years old, going to be a senior in high school this fall and plan on applying for Army and Navy option NROTC. My first choice would be to join the NROTC with the navy option because I want to lead sailors, but if i do not get accepted with that I want to join army ROTC. Heres a little bit about me.

3.3 GPA Overall
Sports-

Freshman Year - Football and Recreational Basketball team
Sophomore Year - Recreational Basketball team
Junior Year - Rugby, Recreational Basketball Team
Senior Year - Plan on playing rugby and basketball again

Work Experience -

Christmas Tree Farm (as a worker) (1 Year) plan on doing it next year
Two different Barbershops (as maintenence) (4 Years total)
Little League Umpire (just finished my 4th year)

Other -
Computer Science Club ( completed Database SQL design/program class and plan on taking an advanced placement computer science class my senior year)(Computer Whiz)
Volunteered at a non profit charity organization multiple times
No tickets, trouble with the law, detentions, etc..

Physical - 6'4(still growing), 200lb. go to the gym every day.

Other academics - SAT - 530 Math/ 400 Verbal (Yes i know, very bad. I took it once my junior year without study to know what it was like and then my senior year take it again with much study and prep to hopefully raise it to a 1200 Composite. Also plan on giving a hard copy to my recruiter of new and improved score). My courses in high school have been and are still focused on the aspect of Computer Science.

College - I would like to attend ASU if i got accepted for navy option or attend Cal State Fullerton if i got accepted for army rotc. I will pursue a major in Computer Science.

I know my stats are not great but I am a great leader and want to be an officer in the United States Military.

Thanks,

John
 
Physical build plays no part what so ever. GPA is a little low, but not much you can do about it now. What about your ACT scores, push-ups and sit-ups in a minite? Timed mile run? Also, recreational basketball isn't a sport that will be accepted. You do have some good work experience, but you also should look for community service.
 
The thing to always keep in mind for chancing when it comes to A/NROTC is your college choices are going to matter too. Which state are you from AZ or CA, because in this current DOD budget constraint, IS and OOS can play a factor. Are you a match for admittance to either of these schools? You don't want to be next spring scrambling to transfer the scholarship because you got a reject letter from the college. Trust me, every year it happens.

You have 0% chance if you don't apply. You have left out a few particulars, and it would be unfair to chance you. For example, how many AP/IB courses have you taken? Or are you saying in your OP that you have yet to take one, and the only one you will take is CS come your SR yr....iows, no APENG/APLIT, APGOV, APUSH, AP Chen/Phys, etc? What is your class rank? Is that your wcgpa or uwcgpa? This all matters because a 3.3 uwcgpa with a class rank of 10% can be overcome compared to a 40% rank.

Athletics, you say rec ball, but do you mean a travel team, or just playing with the local Y? They will be seen different, in many cases travel teams are the equivalent of HS sports.

I agree your SAT is low and I would spend the fall taking the SAT AND ACT as often as it is offered since they will super score these exams.

The problem is these scholarship boards will start meeting and awarding scholarships before you will get that 1st SAT/ACT score back in October. There is a limited amount of money for scholarships.
~ The boards are a queue system. First in, first to be boarded. If you wait to get those results you will be that much further behind everyone else. Many canddates will have their packets done in the next month by mid-July.

Now, if you come back and all of these questions are answered in a negative, I.e. 0 APs, class rank is 40%, ball is at the local Y, than I am going to say a 1200 SAT is not what you should be looking for to feel competitive, at least for NROTC. To feel competitive I would be looking at a 1300+.

Finally, I write this with kindness, I am sure you are a great leader, but nothing on your resume illustrates leadership, such as, team captain for a sport, class leader at school, or even being in a program like JROTC. These are things the board will look at when comparing you to other candidates. You need to illustrate to them some form of leadership.

Good luck
 
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I know my stats are not great but I am a great leader and want to be an officer in the United States Military.

So then, what is your priority -- getting the scholarship or becoming an officer? Because you can do one without the other.

I know a lot of you really want that scholarship. But it is a "nice to have", and not a "must have" in your path towards being an officer. Nice to have someone else paythe bills for school, nice to have the prestige and recognition for a job well done prior to college, nice to have a perceived "leg up" on everyone else in your cadre. But all "nice to haves" and not "required to have".

Frankly, your stats are so-so, and in an environment where we are more than likely looking to reduce numbers of folks serving, you have a hill to climb to get that scholraship as it stands right now. But NOTHING says you can't sign up for ROTC while at school while NOT on a scholarship, and work your way to your eventually (amd more important) goal of getting a commission.

If you really are a leader, then achiveing that goal is where your focus should be. Getting the scholarship is simply icing on the cake.

Best of luck!
 
Thank you for your replies,

So should I talk to both, a navy recruiter and Army recruiter before applying and tell them my plan ?

My class rank is 40%

I want to be an officer, but i also want to have a major in computer science, so the tuition being payed for is a real big thing.

-John


Sent using the Service Academy Forums® mobile app
 
No, recruiters are not involved, at least not in the Army process(and I'm only speaking for Army here). Recruiters main goal is to get kids to enlist- not get them an ROTC scholarship. I did the whole scholarship process last year without talking to a recruiter once.

For NROTC though, they may be needed. I'll let someone else chime in on that.
 
+1 Strength

Recruiters real job is to get you to enlist.

Long time posters have a different perspective regarding the scholarship than 17 yo candidates.

Scholarships are a recruitment tool for the military regarding officers. Reality is maybe 25% at best, but most likely 20% of all incoming cadets are on scholarship.

Do not go down this path as it is a way to pay for college, the indirect costs are insanely high. The first is what if you don't like ROTC? How will you pay for your education for the next 3 years if you leave? The second is when you commission they own you for at least 4 years. Move where they want, deploy when they say deploy.

Bullet is my DH, our DS was an AFROTC HSSP recipient, and attended his Dad's alma mater. Bullet wasn't scholarship. Bullet retired after 20 years ADAF. Flew the 15E, and in the AD world nobody gave a crap his commissioning source, let alone if he was scholarship. He said it the best scholarships are icing.

I have to be honest, get plan B, C, D , etc in order on how you will pay for college if the ROTC scholarship is a financial factor. Not one of us sits on any board, so don't read into that comment. We say it to every candidate because nobody here sits on the board.
 
OP:

If I were a college counselor at your HS, I would ask you to reconsider your desire to major in Computer Science in college. The CS major is one of the most difficult offered in college, and has a pretty good dropout rate even for those with 700 SAT Math and 3.9 unweighted GPA. I wonder with your stats where you could get accepted as a CS major -- often the admissions committee will force you to take a slightly different direction. The Adcoms tend to focus very much on Math SAT or Math ACT scores, along with high GPA b/c they have way more applicants that spots open within the CS major.

By the way, lots of programmers don't even go to college. If you really like programming, why not just start looking for coding opportunities right now? If you're a good programmer, your employer will give you opportunities to grow and branch out, whether you have a college degree or not.
 
OP:

If I were a college counselor at your HS, I would ask you to reconsider your desire to major in Computer Science in college. The CS major is one of the most difficult offered in college, and has a pretty good dropout rate even for those with 700 SAT Math and 3.9 unweighted GPA. I wonder with your stats where you could get accepted as a CS major -- often the admissions committee will force you to take a slightly different direction. The Adcoms tend to focus very much on Math SAT or Math ACT scores, along with high GPA b/c they have way more applicants that spots open within the CS major.

By the way, lots of programmers don't even go to college. If you really like programming, why not just start looking for coding opportunities right now? If you're a good programmer, your employer will give you opportunities to grow and branch out, whether you have a college degree or not.

I strongly disagree! (sorry) If CS is your passion, then pursue it. We are always looking for non H1B software engineers and they're becoming rare!

Yes, some employers will hire non-degreed programmers, but I won't hire anyone without a degree (I am a Director of Software Engineering) unless (s)he has least 10 years of experience. That's not to say no one else will, I just won't. There is a difference between a programmer (non degreed) and a software engineer (degreed) and ~pay~ is only a part of it. Without the experience and track record, I take a risk hiring a "programmer" who may just turn out to be another "hack". :cool: That's my not so humble opinion <shrug>
 
I already know how to program in 3 different languages, have a very good understanding of all aspects of a computer, good at math, and have had this major planned for years, so i am probably not going to change.

-John


Sent using the Service Academy Forums® mobile app
 
Also to add i have been planned to go into either the Army or Navy after i get my degree , so i feel ROTC is something that could work out well.


Sent using the Service Academy Forums® mobile app
 
Also to add i have been planned to go into either the Army or Navy after i get my degree , so i feel ROTC is something that could work out well.


Sent using the Service Academy Forums® mobile app

Johny14, if you don't try, then its a guaranteed fail. Pursue your goals, but make sure you have backup plans. This goes for everything you do in life. :thumb:
 
Ok, one last thing. After I apply is there any way to change the score i had for sat ?
Thanks

-John


Sent using the Service Academy Forums® mobile app
 
Ok, one last thing. After I apply is there any way to change the score i had for sat ?
Thanks

-John


Sent using the Service Academy Forums® mobile app

For the Army, if you send them improved ACT/SAT scores, they will super score or use the higher score.
 
Same is true of NROTC Navy option. Marine option uses most recent sitting.
 
Just to add on, NROTC does not require recruiters either.

You need higher test scores so definitely retake the SAT and take the ACT every time it is offered. My son had his scholarship application/interview wrapped up before labor day and did not receive notice of his scholarship until Mar. 28th. That is a long wait. Make sure you definitely have lots of back up plans in the works.

Good luck!
 
I already know how to program in 3 different languages, have a very good understanding of all aspects of a computer, good at math, and have had this major planned for years, so i am probably not going to change.
Just wanted to point out one quick thing. It seems that you are quite deadset with where you are at, and where you want to go. (But, there's nothing wrong with that! There's a lot of people like that, myself included.)

I just want to give you one quick bit of advice. With the stats that you have provided for us, understand that CS may be more difficult than you could imagine - from the perspective of high school expectation/reality vs college expectation/reality. My point is, just keep an open mind -- be able and willing to adapt. In a world where there is an increased demand for technical jobs in a competitive environment, an integral to success lies in the concept of adaptability.

In a more relevant sense: ROTC/Military. As a future leader, you need to be able to make changes to your originally intended plan if need be. Why? Because the world isn't perfect unfortunately. Things may not always go your way, or at least the way you intended. You need to be flexible to change and be able to adapt as the situation presents itself.

Sometimes we set goals and expectations upon ourselves in an idealistic manner. The problem is, sometimes it may not be as realistic as we'd hope to be. The truth sucks sometimes, but you need to be able to discern between the two.

If you truly desire to be an Officer in the United States Military, I'm sure that you will find a way to do so; with/without a scholarship at the school you may/may not want to go to for the major you did/not not intend to study.

Best of luck.
 
+1 Thompson

Part of the military life is adapting to change when the current path is not working out as planned.

I would also suggest that you really investigate AD life in the Navy and Army. College is four years, and you only attend for 30 weeks/ 5 days a week/20 hours in class out of the year, plus you decide where you will go. AD life is 52 weeks/24/7 a year for at least four years and will live where they tell you to live. Ft Rich AK might be where they send you for the Army. Pax River might be for the Navy. Both are great locations, but for a SW kid, MD might not be your cup of tea, and AK where Jan temp high is 0 might not be either.
~~~ Do you want to live on a boat at least 18 months? How about in the sandbox (Afghanistan/Iraq/Kuwait/Qatar)?

Those are realistic options for your life as a 22 year old. You have to not only love your job, but want to be in that branch too.

It is admirable to want to serve, but trust me as a spouse of a now retired AF O5 I can tell you that there were many in the AF that went down the path chasing the ROTC $$$$ without realizing in their own way they made a deal with the devil. Never in their wildest dreams did they see Mt. Home , Cannon or Seymour on their radar. All of these bases are not where a normal person says I want to move there! They saw the glossy ads, Hawaii, Florida, Germany, etc.
~ Like Thompson said reality and illusion can be two different things.

Just saying, it is common to apply to multiple branches, because some candidates want a career that exists in every branch. However, if you are fortunate enough to get both scholarships you will have to choose between the two of them, thus you might as well start investigating the finer points now for each branch,
 
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