AROTC decisions

My DS has his schools locked as well. I am not putting much hope into this although his numbers seem good. The wait is killer.
 
AVLBelle said:
I am not trying to get into the weeds with this at all, but statistics is something in my wheelhouse. If in the same year, as I have read, 2500 applications were reviewed in the first round and 400 were offered a scholarship, then the 200 winners from the first round (October 2020 board) would represent a 50% reduction in applications or qualified applicants. What remains the same is the total need of LT's for the US Army. I have no idea what CC has as a specific quota for incoming cadets, but I am sure that there is indeed a number.
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I would not assume that there are fewer applications this year. In looking at the SA applications, they look in line with years past. ROTC should mirror that to some extent. It may be off by +/- %, but I don't think it is much.
 
EEBTTF said:
I would not assume that there are fewer applications this year. In looking at the SA applications, they look in line with years past. ROTC should mirror that to some extent. It may be off by +/- %, but I don't think it is much.
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Forgive me, but what does SA stand for? I've seen it come up multiple times. Sorry if it obvious.
 
It will be interesting to know how many ended up applying this year. As I'm sure everyone knows, due to nearly every school being text optional, the applications have increased dramatically. Even medical school applications are up about 20% (at my sister's school) as they don't require the MCAT at the time of the application (but will be needed later). Where it is different with ROTC is that until fairly recently - one HAD to have ACT or SAT. It is crazy how much the applications have increased for colleges. Univ of Georgia had something like a 28% increase in early decision and early action. 28%!!!!!!!
 
bringbacknelsoncruz said:
It will be interesting to know how many ended up applying this year. As I'm sure everyone knows, due to nearly every school being text optional, the applications have increased dramatically. Even medical school applications are up about 20% (at my sister's school) as they don't require the MCAT at the time of the application (but will be needed later). Where it is different with ROTC is that until fairly recently - one HAD to have ACT or SAT. It is crazy how much the applications have increased for colleges. Univ of Georgia had something like a 28% increase in early decision and early action. 28%!!!!!!!
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Agree on all points. One interesting data point about UGA this year was the dramatic decline in out of state applications. My guess is that it had something to do with COVID. It will be interesting to see how the UGA numbers compare this year to last year. Go Dawgs!
 
What is find interesting...and somewhat odd...is that weekends are prime time for seniors to work on college applications with later submission deadlines or rolling admissions. Some seniors are inclined to change their school rankings...or even add schools or remove schools completely, at this time in their high school career.

My DS, currently in B/UC status with his School of Intent Tab locked...cannot add a school he planned to finish applying for, tonight.

Like many, I'm hoping the locked S.O.I. page is a good sign...but the last 11 months have proven that chaos rules the roost, across the spectrum of life.

We'll just spend the weekend with fingers crossed and happy thoughts prevalent!
 
SOG-SA said:
What is find interesting...and somewhat odd...is that weekends are prime time for seniors to work on college applications with later submission deadlines or rolling admissions. Some seniors are inclined to change their school rankings...or even add schools or remove schools completely, at this time in their high school career.

My DS, currently in B/UC status with his School of Intent Tab locked...cannot add a school he planned to finish applying for, tonight.

Like many, I'm hoping the locked S.O.I. page is a good sign...but the last 11 months have proven that chaos rules the roost, across the spectrum of life.

We'll just spend the weekend with fingers crossed and happy thoughts prevalent!
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To be fair, your DS could've added the school long before he finished his application. I suppose you could call it a necessary evil, as they can't decide which schools receive kids with scholarships and how many if people keep changing their school list. If your DS receives a scholarship, he can always opt to apply for a transfer of the scholarship to another school that wasn't on the list at the time the list got locked.
 
AegisTruce said:
To be fair, your DS could've added the school long before he finished his application. I suppose you could call it a necessary evil, as they can't decide which schools receive kids with scholarships and how many if people keep changing their school list. If your DS receives a scholarship, he can always opt to apply for a transfer of the scholarship to another school that wasn't on the list at the time the list got locked.
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A fair and valid point.

My DS wanted to get his AROTC scholarship application as early as possible, to be eligible for the 1st board. That one didn't pan out, so he had more time to research different institutions...which altered his rack-and-stack list.

We have researched the transfer option...and he very well may do so, if he does get a ROTC nod.

All I meant to suggest was that it seems strange that the ability to add/swap/remove school options is strange...when many are on a rolling admission process at this particular junction.

Thanks for the input!!! I'm sure many of us are feeling the "what if" squeeze, and that drives our thought processes!
 
lv2003 said:
Congrats to your DD! Do you remember what time she found out? Waiting is definitely the hardest part!!
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It was around 5 pm on Friday evening... waiting is definitely the hardest part. Take the time to reflect on all the hard work you put into the process - reflect on the journey - enjoy your remaining time at home with your friends and family!!! And BTW your next decision is harder - my DD got into her top 3 schools she received her scholarship to, now deciding which one to attend is even harder!!! Good luck!
 
bringbacknelsoncruz said:
It will be interesting to know how many ended up applying this year. As I'm sure everyone knows, due to nearly every school being text optional, the applications have increased dramatically. Even medical school applications are up about 20% (at my sister's school) as they don't require the MCAT at the time of the application (but will be needed later). Where it is different with ROTC is that until fairly recently - one HAD to have ACT or SAT. It is crazy how much the applications have increased for colleges. Univ of Georgia had something like a 28% increase in early decision and early action. 28%!!!!!!!
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But I also think the election is playing a big part of how many Rotc applicants there will be. Trump really invested into the Military from what I have heard. However I read that Biden plans to change the budget and invest more into technology, move troops away from the Middle East wars and with the pandemic, he might decrease the defense budget. That is also a worry my parents have for my military career. My guess is that factors such as race, gender and demographics will change the applicant profile. Especially with the ending of the transgender ban. but that is just my opinion and I’m only 17 with no extensive knowledge on politics.
 
emmarose said:
But I also think the election is playing a big part of how many Rotc applicants there will be. Trump really invested into the Military from what I have heard. However I read that Biden plans to change the budget and invest more into technology, move troops away from the Middle East wars and with the pandemic, he might decrease the defense budget. That is also a worry my parents have for my military career. My guess is that factors such as race, gender and demographics will change the applicant profile. Especially with the ending of the transgender ban. but that is just my opinion and I’m only 17 with no extensive knowledge on politics.
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@emmarose - those are all very relevant and valid discussion points. Bravo to you at 17 for recognizing some of the drivers that impact our military. My perspective as a 50 year old is that politicians always change, there is always and will always be somewhere that needs our military (Middle East/Iran/China...) The current social tumult is eye opening for everyone, but hopefully we, as a society, will revert back to civility and a willingness to be open minded. The COVID pandemic has most definitely thrown a monkey wrench in everyone's lives, with profound impact on your generation. This too shall pass (hopefully sooner than later). The transgender ban was relatively new and I am definitely not qualified to speak to how is could impact our military.

It will be interesting to see when this current SA/ROTC cycle is finished what the application numbers look like. I think the numbers will be close to normal with regards to the number of applicants. One of the biggest influencers that you missed is the pending release of Top Gun II. I was fortunately/unfortunately seeking admission to the USNA right when Top Gun came out. I have heard that that film was the single biggest recruiting tool for the USNA. Hopefully it will have a similar impact on your generation.

Good luck to you!
 
emmarose said:
But I also think the election is playing a big part of how many Rotc applicants there will be. Trump really invested into the Military from what I have heard. However I read that Biden plans to change the budget and invest more into technology, move troops away from the Middle East wars and with the pandemic, he might decrease the defense budget.
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You’re wise and mature to be thinking about a potential military career in a broader context. However, your prognosis of the impact on ROTC applicants is premature if not inaccurate.

I say this because high-school students tend to not be that forward- or broad-looking about their college plans. By that, I mean that most didn’t look at the election and say, “Well, Joe Biden won so now everything changes. I’m now (not) applying.” I doubt there were many — any? — perspective candidates basing their decision to apply on who won the election and the possible implications on officer accession. And I don’t think that’ll be the case next year or the year after either.

Even if the new president made sweeping changes to military policy, it would take a while for that to trickle down to officer-accession programs — and from there, to influence the number of applicants or number of scholarships granted. The SAs, ROTC and OCS are still charged with developing a certain number of new officers each year, and that figure is part of a larger calculus that includes the nature of the mission and attrition rates — not just funding.

I also don’t see how the demographic mix would change that drastically. There’s been a movement to ensure the officer corps better reflects the military at large, and that’s good, as long as it doesn’t devolve to a quota system. Don’t see that movement changing dramatically. As for any implications on applicant rates because of the transgender policy, I believe that’s relevant to such a minuscule portion of the population that it will barely make a ripple in any numbers.
 
EEBTTF said:
One of the biggest influencers that you missed is the pending release of Top Gun II.
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I’m with @EEBTTF on this one. I believe movies like TG and TG2 have far greater effect on enlistment and officer application rates than any one election. High-school kids are rather impressionable (I know — I was one!) but also not highly attuned to politics and policy. A dazzling movie — or a terrible tragedy like 9/11 — are more impactful than election results when it comes to joining the military.
 
AVLBelle said:
What day does the school get the list? Friday at the conclusion of the board?
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The schools do get the lists first. One school accidentally contacted my son last year before the portal changed to show that he had won a 4 year.
 
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