A couple NROTC Questions

ja27

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A while back I was awarded a 4 year Navy ROTC Scholarship and have been preparing myself for when I get to college and everything starts kicking in by keeping up my academic intensity instead of slacking off and keeping up my physical fitness levels by continuing my participation in the sports I have done through all of my high school career. I wanted to know if anyone had any advice for other ways I could be preparing myself? Also, recently I requested a transfer to where my scholarship was placed at and was told I was placed on the waiting list. Does anyone have any experience with this or any idea of how long it takes to get off of the waiting list? Thank you so much!
 
A while back I was awarded a 4 year Navy ROTC Scholarship and have been preparing myself for when I get to college and everything starts kicking in by keeping up my academic intensity instead of slacking off and keeping up my physical fitness levels by continuing my participation in the sports I have done through all of my high school career. I wanted to know if anyone had any advice for other ways I could be preparing myself? Also, recently I requested a transfer to where my scholarship was placed at and was told I was placed on the waiting list. Does anyone have any experience with this or any idea of how long it takes to get off of the waiting list? Thank you so much!

The waiting list means that the unit/college you are trying to transfer the scholarship has already awarded all the scholarships that they can offer and they are full. Only if a scholarship winner decides not to go to that school, or is not admitted, will they offer the scholarship to transfer to someone on the wait list. You can contact the unit and inquire about where you are on the wait list and how many people usually are brought in from their wait list each year to get a sense of what this may look like. Normally things start to open up once the college's regular decisions go out and some awardees find out that they have not been admitted to the school. Also some who have received scholarships will get appointments to a service academy and they could relinquish their spot at that school. Most academy appointees do not decline their scholarships until they report to the service academy in the summer, though. It is not uncommon, though, to have the wait list transfer offer to come even just a couple of weeks before the school year starts. This happened to a classmate of my DD's for her NROTC unit. The problem is that you also have to make your own college decision by May 1st, so you will need to decide exactly what you are going to do if you don't hear by May 1st about the scholarship transfer. Are you still going to go to the college where you got the scholarship to? Are you going to go to the college that you have requested the transfer to regardless of if you get the scholarship transferred to it? Good luck.
 
The waiting list means that the unit/college you are trying to transfer the scholarship has already awarded all the scholarships that they can offer and they are full. Only if a scholarship winner decides not to go to that school, or is not admitted, will they offer the scholarship to transfer to someone on the wait list. You can contact the unit and inquire about where you are on the wait list and how many people usually are brought in from their wait list each year to get a sense of what this may look like. Normally things start to open up once the college's regular decisions go out and some awardees find out that they have not been admitted to the school. Also some who have received scholarships will get appointments to a service academy and they could relinquish their spot at that school. Most academy appointees do not decline their scholarships until they report to the service academy in the summer, though. It is not uncommon, though, to have the wait list transfer offer to come even just a couple of weeks before the school year starts. This happened to a classmate of my DD's for her NROTC unit. The problem is that you also have to make your own college decision by May 1st, so you will need to decide exactly what you are going to do if you don't hear by May 1st about the scholarship transfer. Are you still going to go to the college where you got the scholarship to? Are you going to go to the college that you have requested the transfer to regardless of if you get the scholarship transferred to it? Good luck.

This is not quite accurate. Being placed on the wait list does not mean an NROTC unit is full. In late winter/early spring, as many students are requesting unit transfers, the scholarship placement office as a matter of practice places students requesting a transfer on the respective wait list. After the last scholarship board wraps up, they'll start working the wait lists and moving students around, typically in mid to late April. So, just being placed on the wait list doesn't mean the unit is full in any respect, it only means they'll address your request in the near future. If you want to know how loading looks at a particular unit, just give them a call and they can help out. If you're trying to transfer in to a particular unit and they still have slots available, they'll definitely be able to assist.
 
This is not quite accurate. Being placed on the wait list does not mean an NROTC unit is full. In late winter/early spring, as many students are requesting unit transfers, the scholarship placement office as a matter of practice places students requesting a transfer on the respective wait list. After the last scholarship board wraps up, they'll start working the wait lists and moving students around, typically in mid to late April. So, just being placed on the wait list doesn't mean the unit is full in any respect, it only means they'll address your request in the near future. If you want to know how loading looks at a particular unit, just give them a call and they can help out. If you're trying to transfer in to a particular unit and they still have slots available, they'll definitely be able to assist.
That's a different perspective than how it had been explained to us. If scholarship slots were still available when the scholarship winner was selected, why would these scholarships not be awarded to the particular school if there are still slots available? Do they initially only award a certain percentage of available slots and then later place the remainder?
 
That's a different perspective than how it had been explained to us. If scholarship slots were still available when the scholarship winner was selected, why would these scholarships not be awarded to the particular school if there are still slots available? Do they initially only award a certain percentage of available slots and then later place the remainder?
I can't testify to the accuracy of the description but it might work like this. When the scholarship winner was selected, a slot was available at a school that he/she preferred over the others. Thus a slot WAS awarded when they were selected. So later the student finds they were not admitted to that college and they request a transfer to a college further down their list. It's the transfer request that puts them on the waiting list.

Again, I have no idea how this really works but I can imagine it working this way.
 
I can't testify to the accuracy of the description but it might work like this. When the scholarship winner was selected, a slot was available at a school that he/she preferred over the others. Thus a slot WAS awarded when they were selected. So later the student finds they were not admitted to that college and they request a transfer to a college further down their list. It's the transfer request that puts them on the waiting list.

Again, I have no idea how this really works but I can imagine it working this way.

Yes, I can see that scenario. I guess I was thinking that somebody had "School A" as their top choice on their application, but then when they awarded their scholarship, it was not given to that school, but to "school B" on their list. My thought was that if the scholarship winner still really wanted to go to School A, they could ask to be put on their waitlist, in case a slot opened up. But I was thinking the reason that they did not get a scholarship offer to School A to begin with was because all of their scholarship slots had already been awarded. I didn't really think of the idea that the recipient may have gotten the scholarship offer to their "School A", but then decided that they didn't want to go to that school/didn't get into the school, and was now requesting it be to be transferred to "school B" which could very well still have slots, but then hey have to await the transfer process to take place to get reslotted to School B.
 
I'll refer you all back to my earlier post. The system is set up so that each student awarded a navy national scholarship is assigned to a unit in the week or so following selection. Placement will usually place a student at choice #1 from the list of 5 schools, unless that unit has already reached its scholarship cap. If the cap has been reached for #1, Placement will then look to #2, etc., until a student gets their initial placement. This is typically not a concern during the early boards in the fall, but it does pop up routinely in the spring for some of the heavily-requested units. Placement does not at all consider a student's odds of getting into the particular university.

So, after scholarship selection, everyone is placed at a school, whether it was your first choice or not. If you later determine you want to change your placement (didn't get into assigned school, change of heart, family move, flipped a coin, etc.), you have to request a change of placement/wait list request. There are actually two different forms that can be used for this (found on the applicant portal on NETFOCUS), but either way, you'll typically just be thrown on the wait list for the requested school, regardless of their current scholarship loading (determined prior to each year). Yes, you will be placed on the wait list even if there are spots available.

So why does it work that way? The Navy wants to make sure the new scholarship winners from each board (October all the way through April) each have a shot at their first choice school. Basically, Placement looks at you once after selection, places you, and then you stay at the assigned unit until after the placement for the final April board is complete. Yes, you can fill out a change of placement request or a wait list request to join the wait list for another unit, but that request won't be executed until after the last board. That way, Johnny can't jump around from unit to unit while other students (that are still being boarded) haven't yet had the opportunity to receive their initial placement. Yes, on occasion, in certain circumstances, a placement change can happen right away, but the standard practice is to throw the requesting scholarship winner on the wait list.

Once the final board has happened and the final winners have been placed, Placement will handle all the placement changes and move students from the wait lists to the units' assigned lists based on the order in which the requests were submitted (so, submit your request early if your intention is to change placement).

If you have concerns about whether or not you can expect to be able to change your placement to a particular unit, just call the unit and ask. They will know exactly how many slots they have left at any given time. Don't bug Placement with it, as they literally field an absurd number of these requests each season.

Hope that helps. If you need further clarification, please just ask.
 
I'll refer you all back to my earlier post. The system is set up so that each student awarded a navy national scholarship is assigned to a unit in the week or so following selection. Placement will usually place a student at choice #1 from the list of 5 schools, unless that unit has already reached its scholarship cap. If the cap has been reached for #1, Placement will then look to #2, etc., until a student gets their initial placement. This is typically not a concern during the early boards in the fall, but it does pop up routinely in the spring for some of the heavily-requested units. Placement does not at all consider a student's odds of getting into the particular university.

So, after scholarship selection, everyone is placed at a school, whether it was your first choice or not. If you later determine you want to change your placement (didn't get into assigned school, change of heart, family move, flipped a coin, etc.), you have to request a change of placement/wait list request. There are actually two different forms that can be used for this (found on the applicant portal on NETFOCUS), but either way, you'll typically just be thrown on the wait list for the requested school, regardless of their current scholarship loading (determined prior to each year). Yes, you will be placed on the wait list even if there are spots available.

So why does it work that way? The Navy wants to make sure the new scholarship winners from each board (October all the way through April) each have a shot at their first choice school. Basically, Placement looks at you once after selection, places you, and then you stay at the assigned unit until after the placement for the final April board is complete. Yes, you can fill out a change of placement request or a wait list request to join the wait list for another unit, but that request won't be executed until after the last board. That way, Johnny can't jump around from unit to unit while other students (that are still being boarded) haven't yet had the opportunity to receive their initial placement. Yes, on occasion, in certain circumstances, a placement change can happen right away, but the standard practice is to throw the requesting scholarship winner on the wait list.

Once the final board has happened and the final winners have been placed, Placement will handle all the placement changes and move students from the wait lists to the units' assigned lists based on the order in which the requests were submitted (so, submit your request early if your intention is to change placement).

If you have concerns about whether or not you can expect to be able to change your placement to a particular unit, just call the unit and ask. They will know exactly how many slots they have left at any given time. Don't bug Placement with it, as they literally field an absurd number of these requests each season.

Hope that helps. If you need further clarification, please just ask.
Good morning all ... ☀️ 🇺🇸

I came across this older thread, regarding the NROTC scholarship placement process. While trying to gather insight, I have been reading the forums for sometime now, along with the occasional (and super helpful DMs of those with knowledge and experience here) and each time I find “new”, relevant information...

Question ??

How does NSTC decide that a scholarship winner should be placed to his/her #1 school choice? Is it pretty straightforward, that they secured the scholarship and now are placed at #1? ...or Can this be understood that the he / she potentially has what it takes to get into said school? (I am aware now that admissions is totally separate)

Thanks 🙏
 
Keep in mind that old stuff may not be pertinent. This is one example. I believe that once placed, it can be transferred. At least that’s the way it was When mine applied. Could have changed again.

I think the other part of this question, if I read correctly, is if ROTC considers if the student is probably going to be accepted to their school when they place it. And that answer is no. Two separate pieces. It’s up to the students to select their schools. That why people recommend a reach, and a reality school.
 
The application CLEARLY states that the scholarship will be placed at the school ranked #1 on your application.
Agreed, It says it two places in the netfocus application portal that you if you win a scholarship you are placed at your first choice school, and that choices 2-5 are for “information only” purposes (I guess to gauge popularity or future placement plans?) that part in parentheses is a guess but the first part is factual.
 
If #1 college has slots available they'll place you there, otherwise they look at @2, etc. They do not make an assessment of your probability of acceptance. College placement doesn't happen until they've already decided to award a scholarship. In fact, placement is handled by a different group from selection board.
 
Each school has a "cap" on how many incoming freshman on scholarship they can have. These caps were removed for a few years but are now back in place. Like @kinnem said, if there is room under the cap at your #1 school you will be placed there. If not, they move down the list until they get to a school with an opening. You can apply to have your scholarship transferred to another school and as long as there is room, it's supposed to be a pretty east process. @Go Dores! posted the formula for determining the caps at each school a couple months ago if you are interested in that information. As I recall, you are applying to some selective schools. When DS visited UMich, the unit told him they do not hit there cap because of how selective admission to the university is. I'd imagine other highly selective schools are the same.
 
@Azzurri there can be students who have put all reach schools on their ROTC scholarship app, who don’t gain admission to any of those schools. It’s up to the student to make sure and include a school (or 5) they will be able to gain admission to.
 
@Azzurri there can be students who have put all reach schools on their ROTC scholarship app, who don’t gain admission to any of those schools. It’s up to the student to make sure and include a school (or 5) they will be able to gain admission to.
Yes, absolutely agree.

DS has applied to combination of schools (1 to 5 are all within academic range). Waiting for RD admission replies, as well as the USNA.
📫☎️🖥️

Very proud and hopeful :usa:
 
One perspective: Candidates goals if sincere should be lasered-in to maximize their chance to use the scholarship and then serve Why put down 5 reach schools and put this is in someone else's hands for a decision.? Why the added approval risk by not just including a school you can use it at right from the start? Why complicate things unnecessarily? Recommend you pick your top 3-4 schools and a school you have already gotten into or two you feel very confident you will get into if you don't have acceptances at schools that have this ROTC program.

Can you imagine paying tuition somewhere next year and explaining how yes you received the national scholarship but oops you couldn't use it because you played games foolishly on this - for what, sport/ greed? Eeish.

Five college choices. You must select five (5) choices for the college or university you want to attend on the NROTC scholarship. We will try to place your scholarship at your first choice school but, due to limits on the number of scholarships that may be placed at each school your scholarship may be placed at your second through fifth choice school. The scholarship offer is for a specific school and may not be used at any other NROTC school without prior approval. For a listing of Naval ROTC Units and associated schools, see: https://www.public.navy.mil/netc/nstc/nrotc/colleges_nrotc_unitsXP3.aspx If selected, you will be placed at the first school listed in your application, that has room for another scholarship, and may not be used at any other NROTC school without prior approval. You must apply to, be accepted at, and enroll in your assigned school in order to utilize the scholarship. Applying to more than just your first choice school will increase the chances for acceptance and enrollment and will therefore increase the opportunities to use a scholarship if selected.
 
Can you still chose a school outside of the top 5?
Yes, your scholarship can, potentially, be used at a college outside your top 5. As @Herman_Snerd points out above, the move must be approved. Before you can apply to have the scholarship moved to a different school, you have to have been admitted to that school. Then, as long as there is room for another scholarship mid at that school, you will be allowed to move your scholarship. Others have posted that the process is pretty simple and usually approved within a day or two.
 
I agree with the above posters, this year is different and I would not suggest taking a chance with your school selection. Have at least 1 safety school or school you have already been selected to in the list. Funding may be different this year, so don't assume that accommodations will be made if you are not admitted to one of your 5 schools. Good Luck!
 
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