BGO Recommending NROTC

suddensam

USNA BGO
5-Year Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2012
Messages
211
My son's BGO recommended that he apply for NROTC as well as the USNA because the latter is so competitive. Somehow, this feels like a test of his desire to serve as a Naval officer, with or without first attending Annapolis.

I did see the recent post about to what degree NROTC affects chances for admission to Annapolis, but this seems to be a slightly different question. So what do you all think? Is the BGO just being helpful, or is he probing to see whether my son's primary interest is in serving as an officer or in attending Annapolis?
 
I believe the BGO is being very helpful. If your son's goal is to serve his country as a Naval officer, there are many avenues to achieve that and applying for NROTC as well as USNA may show your son's determination for the ultimate goal. And an NROTC scholarship is an amazing opportunity & "Plan B" if the appointment does not come through. My son applied for both, has a 4 yr NROTC scholarship award and his BGO encouraged him to alert USNA admissions of that fact (as well as his 4 yr AFROTC scholarship) because it could help his USNA application. No guarantee it will, but every little bit helps. Good luck to your son!
 
My son's BGO recommended that he apply for NROTC as well as the USNA because the latter is so competitive. Somehow, this feels like a test of his desire to serve as a Naval officer, with or without first attending Annapolis.

I did see the recent post about to what degree NROTC affects chances for admission to Annapolis, but this seems to be a slightly different question. So what do you all think? Is the BGO just being helpful, or is he probing to see whether my son's primary interest is in serving as an officer or in attending Annapolis?

I agree with FutureOfficerMom. The BGO was absolutely being helpful. I believe they actually recommend this to all applicants and certainly many MOCs do as well. Besides using NROTC as a plan B, it can also make a great Plan C as a College Programmer. My DS did not apply to the Academy, nor did he get the NROTC scholarship he applied for. But he is enrolled in NROTC at his #1 choice OOS school as a College Programmer thanks to the merit scholarship he received from the school. He's re-applying for an in-school NROTC scholarship this year.
 
It's a mandatory question for BGOs. We are required to ask whether candidates are pursuing an NROTC scholarship. To the best of my knowledge, there isn't a "right" or "wrong" answer and I'm personally not aware of this influencing the opinion of the Admissions Board.

My personal view is that one can want to serve one's country and attend a SA and not necessarily want to do NROTC. This is NOT in any way to disparage NROTC, which is a terrific program and the absolutely right program for many aspiring officers. However, there are those for whom it's a SA or nothing.

For most, however, NROTC is an excellent Plan B or even Plan A (I've had candidates accepted to USNA who have turned down their appointments to attend NROTC). So, to answer your question, I wouldn't read anything into the question or statement.
 
I recommend ROTC consideration at the same time I recommend prospects and candidates consider the other SA's, and for the same reason - you have to hedge your bet when pursuing an appointment to a SA! At the same time, there have been a few times when I have become convinced that a candidate would hit the wall at a service academy, and have urged a candidate to look seriously at the ROTC and other officer programs. I wouldn't get consumed with hidden meanings - most BGOs, ALOs, etc I have met are very sincere in performing their roles in the admissions process.
 
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