Applying to Multiple Schools

krotz

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Jun 13, 2016
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My daughter is interested in Army ROTC, and I am trying to help her along with the process ... one thing that is confusing to me is how she goes about applying. I have been to the GoArmy.com site, but still have a few questions...

She will soon be a high school senior, and several of the colleges she likes have Army ROTC. Does she need to apply individually to each college's ROTC program, or does she apply just once for an ROTC scholarship and indicate which schools she is applying to?

Also, I read that some college programs require you to enroll only in certain majors (i.e. engineering), but I cannot find where that information is for the colleges that my daughter is interested in. Any help pointing me in the right direction would be appreciated.

Thank you.
 
She does not need to apply to each college's ROTC program

She does needs to apply to each college she is interested in attending for acceptance, using the application they accept.

She then also needs to apply to Army ROTC. The Army ROTC application will have a section where she indicates the top 3 or 4 schools she is interested in attending.

She needs to "win" a Army 3 or 4 yr national scholarship and also be accepted into a college that has an Army ROTC program.

I don't think Army ROTC is that particular on majors . . .
 
My daughter is interested in Army ROTC, and I am trying to help her along with the process ... one thing that is confusing to me is how she goes about applying. I have been to the GoArmy.com site, but still have a few questions...

She will soon be a high school senior, and several of the colleges she likes have Army ROTC. Does she need to apply individually to each college's ROTC program, or does she apply just once for an ROTC scholarship and indicate which schools she is applying to?

Also, I read that some college programs require you to enroll only in certain majors (i.e. engineering), but I cannot find where that information is for the colleges that my daughter is interested in. Any help pointing me in the right direction would be appreciated.

Thank you.

  1. She applies for the Army ROTC scholarship as a high schooler only one time but she lists multiple schools that offer Army ROTC in order if preference.
  2. She must apply separately to each school for admission. I.e it is possible to be awarded a scholarship but be denied acceptance to that college. ( which is why you list multiple schools on the scholarship app.)
  3. One of the listed school choices must be an in state public college.
NROTC ( but not Marine option) & AFROTC are selective about major fields of study with a heavy preference toward STEM.

Army ROTC is not as sensitive about major but there is discussion about more focus on the STEM majors, but nothing official that I have heard.

A great resource is to contact the Army ROTC Recruiting Operations Officer (ROO) at the college your DD is interested in. Your local Army recruiter is not an ideal resource for ROTC as they are focused mainly on enlisted personnel.
 
Agree with Falcon A. It's NROTC Navy Option and AFROTC that care about your major. 85% of Navy Options, at least, have a technical (Tier 1 or 2 major). AFROTC is similar.
 
The big thing is getting the ROTC scholarship application completed. It is similar to the academy applications, but a little less involved , and no nomination needed.

Don't willy nilly insert colleges that you would love to attend. Spend time, and unless kid has extremely high ACT/SAT scores and GPA, with an otherwise incredible application, put schools that are realistic. My son listed Notre Dame and Vanderbilt as top schools, and those were within reach , but a stretch in terms of winning a scholarship. The board doesn't award a scholarship to any school, but awards them to specify schools on your list. My son ended up with a 4 year ROTC scholarship to two schools that were on his list, but not for the top schools, which was good, because later he changes his mind, and tried to remove both Notre Dame and Vanderbilt, but couldn't because they lock you in to your choices. Ultimately my son received appointments to West Point and USAFA, and chose USMA, but would have been delighted with either of the ROTC options.

Also, you need to interview with an ROTC official as part of the application. In a perfect world you do that at one of your choice schools. Then they get to know you a bit.
 
My daughter is interested in Army ROTC, and I am trying to help her along with the process ... one thing that is confusing to me is how she goes about applying. I have been to the GoArmy.com site, but still have a few questions...

She will soon be a high school senior, and several of the colleges she likes have Army ROTC. Does she need to apply individually to each college's ROTC program, or does she apply just once for an ROTC scholarship and indicate which schools she is applying to?

Also, I read that some college programs require you to enroll only in certain majors (i.e. engineering), but I cannot find where that information is for the colleges that my daughter is interested in. Any help pointing me in the right direction would be appreciated.

Thank you.

I'm in the process of applying right now. She applies for the scholarship as a whole and in the application she would list the schools she would like to do ROTC at in priority order. As far as majors AROTC allows for you to major in nearly any major. However, if I'm not mistaken, the board shows preference for STEM majors and other majors close to it.
 
Don't Willy nilly insert colleges that you would love to attend

+1 brovol -- think through what the realistic school choices are before applying and listing them on the Army ROTC application.

Major schools like the Ivies, Notre Dame, Stanford, etc. are very competitive . . . you can end up with a scholarship to a school that did not accept you . . .

. . . and the SMCs are competitive to find an available ROTC slot . . .

Think it through and apply to the schools that call to you, and then contact the ROO at the school
 
It is noteworthy that anyone can enroll in Army ROTC, even without an ROTC scholarship, at least for the basic course (first two years). To move to the advanced course, you must earn either a scholarship or a contract to commission.

My son started AROTC, and won a campus based AROTC three year scholarship after three months into his freshman year.
 
One thing I will add about the in state school. My daughter's only in "our" state school was a private school. She was applying for a nursing scholarship and the time she started the application it was the only nursing Army ROTC option on the application, by the time she finished it, a state school had been added in our state, however, she applied without an in state public school. She did have to list two public schools to offset the amount of private schools, both of those were out of state. As far as I can tell, the public school requirement and listing a school from within your own state are separate requirements.
 
My daughter is interested in Army ROTC, and I am trying to help her along with the process ... one thing that is confusing to me is how she goes about applying. I have been to the GoArmy.com site, but still have a few questions...

She will soon be a high school senior, and several of the colleges she likes have Army ROTC. Does she need to apply individually to each college's ROTC program, or does she apply just once for an ROTC scholarship and indicate which schools she is applying to?

Also, I read that some college programs require you to enroll only in certain majors (i.e. engineering), but I cannot find where that information is for the colleges that my daughter is interested in. Any help pointing me in the right direction would be appreciated.

Thank you.

Have her start the application and it will answer a lot of your questions to read through it, it just opened up. There is no rush to finish it. The first board meets in October giving her plenty of time to investigate, work on it over time, and change her mind about things as many times as she needs to, to get it right.

The only thing she cannot change once she starts it is the "survey". It is a type of personality test to see if she is a fit as an Army officer and tries to predict if she will be career service (I read the study prepared by the Army when they instituted the test). It is worth a lot of points, so she wants to not rush through that, take it when she is in a good state of mind and has time to start and finish it, because once you start, that is her one opportunity!

When she selects a major on the application, then the schools that allow that major will be visible in the drop down box. For example if she selects nursing (using that example because I have lived it), then when she selects a specific state, only the schools that allow a cadet to study nursing with an ROTC scholarship will show up in the drop down box (she should also verify with the ROO after she contacts them). My daughter actually started her application early too, saw what schools were eligible in the states she was interested in, contacted those ROO's (Recruiting Operations Officers) and even visited schools before she submitted her application with her school choices. She listed 4 (7 are allowed). Have her go into the school selection part of her application, put in different majors and just see what schools are eligible. After she identifies a few, she can even look at the school's websites and sometimes be able to tell if the school is a host school (where the battalion is located), a satellite school (affiliated with a host school but many times have their own PT and military science classes on campus), or an affiliate school (typically has to do MS classes and PT somewhere else). If that school is not a host school, then contacting the ROO at the host school is going to be the easiest way to get her questions answered. My daughter had zero response from non-host school staff, contacting the ROO at the host school is what I wish we knew about earlier! My daughter also chose all but one school that she absolutely knew she would get into and get academic money for without a national scholarship, so she could show up in the fall and start ROTC and then compete for a campus based as a plan B without a scholarship. Her only stretch school was the one required school to be located in our state. She was iffy as to whether she would get in (initially wait listed, then accepted later in the spring) After she received the national scholarship, she decided on attending her stretch school. It was also a stretch school for ROTC because she had been told that it was competitive for nursing ROTC, only 3 slots at that school and direct entry nursing as a freshman meant it is a popular choice. My point in telling this story is to illustrate what has been said before, getting a scholarship does not guarantee getting into a school. So picking realistic choices both for academics and to be competitive for a ROTC slot is crucial.

It is all very overwhelming, confusing, and a learn as you go process. There are many parents here, and students that have recently gone through the process. Keep posting, asking questions, and have your daughter check out the site too. Once you have 10 posts (respond to us on this thread to get your posts built up, they can be a word or two, they don't need to be detailed), then you can send any of us a personal message. I have found every parent that I have reached out to with specific questions because they had specific experiences I was interested in all very helpful!

My general advice is (and I give it often)

1. Don't be afraid to have her email Cadet Command for all things related to her application. Including but not limited to, you sent something in but it isn't showing up in her portal or is not approved yet, showing disqualified, asking for something and you don't know what it is, etc. Just email them, they are helpful and quick to respond.

2. Once she identifies a few schools and makes contacts with the ROO there, encourage her to ask them questions to. About her essay for example, or questions about what majors she can take, or can she switch, etc.?

3. If at all possible visit ROTC units, she (and you) will learn SO much at each visit. And she will gain some great contacts and a ROO or two as an ally in the process.

When in doubt, you can look here, but really need to ask the sources that are really in the process, the schools and Cadet Command are there to help, use them. Other than Clarksonarmy (Clarkson University ROO) and BAMA ROTC (Alabama ROO), and a few others, we are just parents and students!

Good luck to your daughter!
 
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Just an FYI; my son was not allowed to change his schools once it was submitted to the first board. It was locked, and that was the case for other applicants as well. Fortunately for my son it didn't matter, as he was awarded 4 year scholarships to the schools he wanted anyway, but it made him nervous for sure. In the end he took a USMA appointment. The Cadet Command would not respond to emails my son sent asking to modify his school choices.
 
Just an FYI; my son was not allowed to change his schools once it was submitted to the first board. It was locked, and that was the case for other applicants as well. Fortunately for my son it didn't matter, as he was awarded 4 year scholarships to the schools he wanted anyway, but it made him nervous for sure. In the end he took a USMA appointment. The Cadet Command would not respond to emails my son sent asking to modify his school choices.

I do remember others talking about this, my comments were between now and being boarded about being able to make changes, I should clarify that. My daughter didn't try to change her schools after being boarded. That is why my advice to the poster was to investigate the schools prior, we found that to be vital. It doesn't mean things don't change but visiting prior to being boarded if possible helps a lot. Our experience with cadet command was very different, I am sorry your son did not get a response, that is really frustrating. I am so happy it worked out for your son, congratulations!
 
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THANK YOU!!!!


Have her start the application and it will answer a lot of your questions to read through it, it just opened up. There is no rush to finish it. The first board meets in October giving her plenty of time to investigate, work on it over time, and change her mind about things as many times as she needs to, to get it right.

The only thing she cannot change once she starts it is the "survey". It is a type of personality test to see if she is a fit as an Army officer and tries to predict if she will be career service (I read the study prepared by the Army when they instituted the test). It is worth a lot of points, so she wants to not rush through that, take it when she is in a good state of mind and has time to start and finish it, because once you start, that is her one opportunity!

When she selects a major on the application, then the schools that allow that major will be visible in the drop down box. For example if she selects nursing (using that example because I have lived it), then when she selects a specific state, only the schools that allow a cadet to study nursing with an ROTC scholarship will show up in the drop down box (she should also verify with the ROO after she contacts them). My daughter actually started her application early too, saw what schools were eligible in the states she was interested in, contacted those ROO's (Recruiting Operations Officers) and even visited schools before she submitted her application with her school choices. She listed 4 (7 are allowed). Have her go into the school selection part of her application, put in different majors and just see what schools are eligible. After she identifies a few, she can even look at the school's websites and sometimes be able to tell if the school is a host school (where the battalion is located), a satellite school (affiliated with a host school but many times have their own PT and military science classes on campus), or an affiliate school (typically has to do MS classes and PT somewhere else). If that school is not a host school, then contacting the ROO at the host school is going to be the easiest way to get her questions answered. My daughter had zero response from non-host school staff, contacting the ROO at the host school is what I wish we knew about earlier! My daughter also chose all but one school that she absolutely knew she would get into and get academic money for without a national scholarship, so she could show up in the fall and start ROTC and then compete for a campus based as a plan B without a scholarship. Her only stretch school was the one required school to be located in our state. She was iffy as to whether she would get in (initially wait listed, then accepted later in the spring) After she received the national scholarship, she decided on attending her stretch school. It was also a stretch school for ROTC because she had been told that it was competitive for nursing ROTC, only 3 slots at that school and direct entry nursing as a freshman meant it is a popular choice. My point in telling this story is to illustrate what has been said before, getting a scholarship does not guarantee getting into a school. So picking realistic choices both for academics and to be competitive for a ROTC slot is crucial.

It is all very overwhelming, confusing, and a learn as you go process. There are many parents here, and students that have recently gone through the process. Keep posting, asking questions, and have your daughter check out the site too. Once you have 10 posts (respond to us on this thread to get your posts built up, they can be a word or two, they don't need to be detailed), then you can send any of us a personal message. I have found every parent that I have reached out to with specific questions because they had specific experiences I was interested in all very helpful!

My general advice is (and I give it often)

1. Don't be afraid to have her email Cadet Command for all things related to her application. Including but not limited to, you sent something in but it isn't showing up in her portal or is not approved yet, showing disqualified, asking for something and you don't know what it is, etc. Just email them, they are helpful and quick to respond.

2. Once she identifies a few schools and makes contacts with the ROO there, encourage her to ask them questions to. About her essay for example, or questions about what majors she can take, or can she switch, etc.?

3. If at all possible visit ROTC units, she (and you) will learn SO much at each visit. And she will gain some great contacts and a ROO or two as an ally in the process.

When in doubt, you can look here, but really need to ask the sources that are really in the process, the schools and Cadet Command are there to help, use them. Other than Clarksonarmy (Clarkson University ROO) and BAMA ROTC (Alabama ROO), and a few others, we are just parents and students!

Good luck to your daughter!
 
All
THANK YOU everyone for your insightful comments!!!!
Goòd luck!! A lot of us were right where you are just last year!! Search above for answers in the search box, ask questions from everyone here but by golly get that application in for first round. Put a deadline on the calendar that is a week before it is due, just in case there are blips that you are not aware. Everyone here was so helpful to us. This forum is a gift! Our dau won AROTC 4 yr, first round, nursing, her school adds room & board!! This was a serious OH **** moment!! Award is over $200,000!!! I am excited for your daughter!! Go for it!!
 
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