NROTC application questions

My son is working on his application for NROTC and we have a couple questions that I am hoping someone can give us guidance on. I searched the forum and could not find any clear answers.
1. We were under the impression that the review boards meet monthly to review the applications but from reading the forums is appears that there are 3 board review dates (October/January and March?). Do they meet monthly or just three times and are those dated published?
2. The reason for the question above is that he is finishing his eagle scout ( mid November) and we are trying to decide whether to wait and submit the application after he gets eagle scout or is it better to submit the application as soon as possible. From my reading on the forums, it doesn't sound like you can update your application after it is submitted and "boarded".
Is it better to wait and submit after eagle scout is obtained or submit it early and somehow note on the application about when he will get eagle scout?
My concern is that if he does not get selected in the first review, can we update his eagle scout status before the next review?

Thanks in advance for any feeback,

Every branch has done different board dates. NROTC keeps their dates super secretive, but they definetly start meeting way before October, and much more often than 3 times a year.
~ I think you are confusing them with AROTC

Typically NROTC starts meeting right about now for their first board.

The longer you wait to submit the longer it will be before your DS can be boarded. It is a queue system. First in, first boarded. Many candidates have submitted their files 6-9 weeks ago. That means there are already a lot in front of him. There is a limited amount of scholarships available and many popular schools can fill up early.

There question really becomes how competitive is he without it for the schools on his list? Is he going for only reach colleges...I.e. He has a 28 ACT and has Notre Dame, UVA, Gtown on his list?

Personally, I would get it done now and not wait. Yes, Eagle Scout is an accomplishment, but the selection system is a Whole Candidate Score, and if his academics are not up to par, and he is not going STEM, AND if the only EC he has Eagle Scout, it probably will not be enough to get him pass the finish line by waiting.

More info: He is looking to major in Mechanical engineering, has 33 ACT score and is looking at schools like Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Villanova, Texas and UVA

I am stilling missing other factors...is this his only EC? No sports? Class rank? CGPA (out of what...if you say 4.08 is it out of 4.5? Is an A a 90 or 93?). How many APs, IBs, AICE classes?

I will not speak for colleges that are not VT or UVA, but at least these two he is sure match,(VT) and probably a low reach (UVA) for admissions based solely on his ACT.

Now you may think I am not concerned about admission, but you need to be.

Many candidates will apply to safeties, matches and reaches. ROTC boards work independently from admissions. The board is looking at him against other candidates. They also place IS into the equation for cost equations.

VT is an SMC and UVA has a strong NROTC unit. Many VA residents will place them on their list, and they can fill up quickly. NROTC will fill when they deem a worthy candidate, they are not going to assume that your DS will submit his paperwork in November, gets an interview the week before Thanksgiving and will meet the board mid Dec. They will assume your DS does not exist and move on offering scholarships.

IOWS the pot of gold at the end of the NROTC rainbow is limited. You need to also be honest if this is a way to pay for college. They could give him a scholarship to Villanova, but he could be declined admission to the college, that means you have to find the money, He could also attend VT, but as a ROTC cadet at an SMC he will have to be in the Corps. He could fall in love with college, yet hate the SMC life and drop ROTC. Both will impact you financially.

I would only hold off if the only thing he will have on his resume is Eagle Scout. JMPO, and I admit I am an AFROTC family, but my years here has taught me one thing.
~ I am glad I am an AFROTC Mom because NROTC impo is the most competitive of the three services. You WANT to be reboarded as often as possible, and for NROTC I believe that means starting this month and meeting every few weeks from there on out.

Kinnem, and EXT are the posters you want to PM for guidance.

Good luck and God Speed.

My understanding with NROTC scholarships is that they determine what that scholarship "select" score is and through each board, every other week, those applicants who are boarded whose files have a whole candidate score above the "select" score, will receive the scholarship. Those that do not are put on a hold status and then select score is lowered through the process to award scholarships to those who meet the new lowered score, to get to the total number of scholarship winners that they have determined they will give. Once someone is selected for the scholarship, it is awarded to the applicant's top choice that still has quota for their unit. They do not look at the cost of the school, nor if they believe the candidate will gain admittance to that school. As the board selections continue, the school's units are filling up with those already awarded the scholarships. If the selectees top unit has already reached their quota, then they are awarded the scholarship to the next school on their list, in order of preference, that still has room in their class. You can request to be put on a wait list for a particular school if it is already full, but they will only add so many to the wait list. If a student who was awarded a scholarship to you top school does not get admitted, or decides not to go to that school, then they will go down the waitlist to offer it to someone who has been admitted to that school. That juggling around of schools, does not happen until the end of the scholarship cycles. Most units are awarded 20-30 slots in their units. As the scholarship boards continue, if you have not been selected for a scholarship, it may make sense to keep in contact with the Recruiting officer at the schools that you are interested in to see if they are full, yet, as you may want to add new schools to your list. With Navy ROTC scholarships, it is very important to rank order the schools in order of your preference as that is what they will go by to determine which one school your scholarship is awarded to. As Pima mentioned, if you DS has substantial additional ECs, then I would urge you to have him submit his application sooner than later, as popular schools will fill up quickly.

Recommend you read the "Scholarship Application - Helpful Information" pdf file found at NC States website: http://naval.dasa.ncsu.edu/visitors

An excerpt: "Before offering advice on the college/university placement section, I will take a step back for a moment to familiarize you with how the whole process works. Scholarship selection boards for the Navy meet about a dozen or more times (depending on the total number of applications) throughout the year with the first board usually convening in late August/early September. Marine Corps scholarship selection boards are held in November and February. Each board will review approximately 500 applications and they are reviewed in the order in which they are received. For this reason, you want to make every effort to have all of your application complete by early August so that you will be reviewed as early as possible. By August, there are usually 2,000 to 3,000 applications completed so if you’re just finishing in the September timeframe, you may not be reviewed until several months later. The selection board “scores” all of the applications it reviews based on everything contained in the application and then selects the top hundred or so highest scoring applications. Those not selected are automatically rolled to the next board which would meet about a month later and select another hundred or so applications. In this manner, about 1,800 to 1,900 students will ultimately be selected over the course of the year (the last board meets in April) out of the roughly 8,000 to 10,000 that apply. This represents around a 20 percent acceptance rate, though it varies by year. Again, this is why you want to take the time to make your application as strong as possible."

There is a lot of very good advice within this document.

You have gotten good advice. I will tell you that my son's eagle was not done when we submitted his paperwork (a year ago this week!) and it all worked out. I highly recommend getting it submitted soon, navy boards usually start in August so you may have already missed one.

Also know that it may be 7 months before you hear anything......DS received his letter March 28th.

Good luck!

Thanks for the replies. We will get the application in as soon as possible

When he goes for his interview he can tell them at that time he is only a few weeks away from becoming an Eagle Scout, this way it is indirectly being taken into account.

Pima said:

When he goes for his interview he can tell them at that time he is only a few weeks away from becoming an Eagle Scout, this way it is indirectly being taken into account.

Click to expand...

+1

If the process is still the same, there is a point where the Scout completes all the tasks and project and then the case is reviewed by a Council board before the award is actually presented. Discussing his status in the interview is a great idea.

submit app ASAP

My DS received a NROTC scholarship and submittted his application in September and did receive additional awards etc after submittal. During the interview this can be explained. Also he said on the application he would not consider other schools other than his #1 school. It all worked out and he got his #1 pick. He did make it to the final round of the USNAS & USAFA but got TWE. Now looking back we all think the NROTC is best for him. Good luck and one year ago we walked in your shoes.