I agree it is the biggest negative IMPO for AFROTC. Any AFROTC candidate using this as a method to pay for their dream college should re-think this decision. If you can't afford the college, and are dis-enrolled as a rising jr. how will you pay for the remaining 2 yrs left? Will you be forced to transfer for financial reasons? Board results typically come out in Mar. That means if not selected it may be too late to apply for a transfer to another college for the fall.
Another reason to get a high score on the SAT or ACT is because for SFT selection, part of your score is your SAT just like it is for the scholarship. If your friend does not get a scholarship, it is still in their best interest to take that SAT up until they graduate. Cadets can also use the AFOQT for SFT selection.
They should also understand the avg cgpa for SFT selection is typically @3.0/3.1 for tech majors, and 3.3/3.4 for non-techs. Many kids think that because they have 9 APs and carry a 3.8 uwcgpa in HS it will translate into the same cgpa in college, but many times it doesn't. For SFT boards they only take into account your 1st 3 semesters. One semester of a 2.5, can create a lot of stress to pull it up to that 3.0.
At VT they tell the engineering students to look left, look right. 1 of you will not earn an engineering degree. The running joke there is they actually have registrar tables set up outside the engineering building in the fall during finals because so many kids transfer majors after their 1st semester.
If your friend tries to game the system by applying for a tech major, with the idea that they can change to a non-tech later on, it is not the path they want to walk down. To change from a tech to a non-tech they will need approval from AFROTC. In this day and age, it is highly unlikely to be approved. Thus, they are either stuck in a tech degree major, or lose the scholarship if they go non-tech
AFROTC also is different in the fact that the only thing you can update after your jr. yr is your SAT/ACT. Your class schedule for your SR. yr is not included, nor are any ECs.
If they think that waiting for their 1st quarter grades SR yr will matter, it won't. Or if they think they can add captain of a fall sport, or class president, they can't. It ends with the end of their jr. yr.
In the end every branch has positives and negatives when it comes to ROTC. College is 15 -20 hrs a week in a class room, M-F for 30 weeks a yr for 4 yrs. at a location you determine. Military life is 24/7 52 weeks a yr, for 4 yrs at a location the military determines, in a career field they select for you. They say North Dakota, and you go to North Dakota.
Think about that when you apply for any ROTC scholarship.