Sorry about that MorganC...so many phrases and terms and abbreviations floating around in our house these past few weeks...this one - "sideload" - has become almost as common as "DoDMERB" - at any rate, rather than trust any definition I could cook up, I googled it and it was explained under the FAQ section of Georigia Tech I believe - but I think the explanation is applicable to all schools/NROTC programs. Here it is...
Students can become eligible for
the award of a scholarship by joining their NROTC Unit in the College Program (nonscholarship)
status. After one academic term, the student may be recommended for
scholarship status to the Chief of Naval Education and Training, who is empowered to
award scholarships to promising College Program students. In general, if you can earn
better than a 3.0 GPA in your first academic term, achieve a "B" or better in Calculus, and
demonstrate a high aptitude for Naval Service, you will have a good chance for a
NROTC scholarship. The availability of these “side-load” scholarships is also dependent
on the officer production needs of the Navy and NROTC budget.