AROTC Scholarship - Need advice

[Indianamom]

I am hoping to get some advice. My DS is very excited that he has received a 4 year AROTC scholarship to his 1st choice school, Purdue University. This is the only school that he was offered a scholarship. His 2nd choice school, Embry Riddle Prescott campus offered my DS a Presidential scholarship ($12,800 per year). Things are so up in the air right now because he is also a candidate for USNA and USMA. We are helping our DS through this entire experience and want to ensure we are taking everything into consideration. Would anyone know what the chances are of transferring the AROTC scholarship from an in-state university to a private college? Cost of tuition vary greatly, approx. 12,000 vs. 30,000 so the chances may be slim to none. If the chances are very slim that he could get a transfer, we will just leave as is. Also, it states in the AROTC letter that if you request a transfer you may not get a response until early May and you need to have your acceptance into the college by May 1st if you want to keep your merit scholarship. My DS is studying aeronautical/aerospace engineering so he would be thrilled at either school but it's a shame to lose that scholarship if there is a good possibility of a transfer. Also, Purdue is still in the process of sending merit scholarship letters out so there is still a possibility he may get one. So perhaps we wait a couple of weeks. Or if you are offered an AROTC scholarship, will that school still consider you for a merit scholarship or can that vary from school to school?
So many questions and decisions. I'd appreciate anyones thoughts on this.
Thank you!

 

[kinnem]

I am hoping to get some advice. My DS is very excited that he has received a 4 year AROTC scholarship to his 1st choice school, Purdue University. This is the only school that he was offered a scholarship. His 2nd choice school, Embry Riddle Prescott campus offered my DS a Presidential scholarship ($12,800 per year). Things are so up in the air right now because he is also a candidate for USNA and USMA. We are helping our DS through this entire experience and want to ensure we are taking everything into consideration. Would anyone know what the chances are of transferring the AROTC scholarship from an in-state university to a private college? Cost of tuition vary greatly, approx. 12,000 vs. 30,000 so the chances may be slim to none. If the chances are very slim that he could get a transfer, we will just leave as is. Also, it states in the AROTC letter that if you request a transfer you may not get a response until early May and you need to have your acceptance into the college by May 1st if you want to keep your merit scholarship. My DS is studying aeronautical/aerospace engineering so he would be thrilled at either school but it's a shame to lose that scholarship if there is a good possibility of a transfer. Also, Purdue is still in the process of sending merit scholarship letters out so there is still a possibility he may get one. So perhaps we wait a couple of weeks. Or if you are offered an AROTC scholarship, will that school still consider you for a merit scholarship or can that vary from school to school?
So many questions and decisions. I'd appreciate anyones thoughts on this.
Thank you!

GoalieDad posted this on another thread (you fall into category 3):

1) The easiest transfer is between campuses in the Battalion. The PMS can do this if the budget allows without too much trouble.

2) The next easiest is within the Brigade. CC balances out scholarships across the country, so they don't want everyone taking their scholarships to the same part of the country. Unfortunately PSU is in the 2nd brigade and neither of your scholarship offers are in the 2nd brigade.

3) The most difficult is between brigades. CC has to balance out transfers between brigades to keep the balance across the country. That being said, ERAU is one of the more desired scholarships (although PSU is also up there).

That being said, we hear stories of successful transfers between brigades every year. Don't fret. Just accept the scholarship to one of the schools and put in the transfer paperwork this spring.

Accept the scholarship. Personally, I think there is a slim chance of getting a transfer to ERAU, but you definitely can't if you don't accept the scholarship.

On merit scholarships. Most schools only allow merit scholarships to be used for tuition. I don't know the details of the Embry Riddle scholarship you have in hand, but you should check. If it's only usable for tuition and the ROTC scholarship was transferred you would lose the merit scholarship - unless you plan to use the ROTC scholarship to cover room and board, but this would still leave you with a significant amount to cover. Similarly, with Purdue. Make sure you understand the details of what any merit scholarship can be used for.

As far as I know the transfer process doesn't start until April and many students do not have the results by May 1. This would necessitate paying a deposit for each school to hold a slot and be prepared for any outcome.

Also, if the academies come through for your DS you can always decline the scholarship at that time. Accepting the scholarship now is not binding on your son's part in any case.

One other thing to keep in mind. What if your son decides ROTC is not for him. Let's further assume that Purdue also offers some merit scholarship money. Which school is more affordable then. Or assume Purdue offers no merit scholarship. Which school is more affordable then?

My own feeling, especially if your son will be happy either way, would be to go with Purdue. But in any case, accept the ROTC scholarship. You have time to sort through this.

 

[Indianamom]

The information you provided is very helpful. I really appreciate it.
Thank you!

 

[SPM]

Just another thought here -- but first some questions. When you compare the $12K to the $30K for the private school is that $30K before or after the scholarship? And can you stack other scholarships with the merit scholarship? And is the merit scholarship a 4 year?

Assuming that the scholarship reduces the $30K to $18K, the scholarship can be stacked and the scholarship is renewable for 4 years then the delta between the schools is really $6K not $18K. That makes the transfer potentially more possible.

In my DS's situation he originally received the scholarship for an in-state school. However he really wanted to go to the OOS school. He had already received a scholarship to the OOS school (scholarship amount was actually pretty small but it came with reduced tuition) and pointed out in his transfer letter that with the reduced tuition the delta between the two schools was not the $20K it appeared to be but was more like $5K. He also called and talked to the ROO at the OOS school. It probably also helped that he was a nursing major and there was a nursing slot available. Net is that his transfer was approved -- whether or not the reduced tuition played into it or not, I'm not sure. But I wanted to bring it up as another possible avenue to explore.