Citadel & ROTC Scholarship

bob80q said:
Just a clarification since I see a lot of inaccurate numbers being thrown around. Expected cost for out of state freshmen for the coming year is 46K, 4 year cost 165K. That's a lot of money but on par with most other public colleges.
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Ok, we were rounding up, but I do that because tuition increases every year, and then there's interest on the loans, and there's travel and transportation costs which add up quickly if you live 1000 miles away.
 
ROTC Scholarships - Hopefull_in_NEFL

Hopefull in NEFL - Sorry to break this news to parents of college bound kids, but higher education in the US is on a bubble of cost vs value. Parents and their son or daughter need to carefully think through what they hope to achieve with a four year undergraduate degree before investing - yes investing in a college. If it is a liberal arts degree with no end state in mind, perhaps an out of state college is not on your investment list.

On the other hand, if interested in a science, math or engineering degree, there is no better choice than a small college where a student can be taught by full professors and get the mentoring they need to succeed. The Citadel School of Engineering is ranked # 17 in the nation for undergraduate engineering schools. In part this is due to the small class sizes and quality of professors and experiences. The science programs are equally value driven. The money spent on these programs is well worth it in my opinion. If son or daughter is interested in criminal justice and truly intends to go on into a career in this area - meaning likely attending a police academy and/or use this major in the service in military police and thereafter go into law enforcement, it can also be rewarding - but with the understanding they will have loan bills to pay for some time. Compare other out of state small college opportunities and you will quickly find that a small private college can cost you $50 - $60 grand a year. And unless you qualify for need based grants - or you have stellar grades and scores or are a first state violin finalist which they need for their orchestra - you will pay full sticker prices.

The Citadel is a public college that receives just 8% funding from the state of SC. If you are in state you receive a steep discount vs out of state students, but yet out of state and foreign students make up nearly 50% of the Corps of Cadets. Why? Because a sizeable number come from states where their public universities treat them like cattle. Others compare the small college private colleges and see The Citadel is a better investement for the money. Others do receive both financial need based aid, and military - ROTC scholarships. And while four year scholarship grants are a prize - don't forget that after the first year, any student can apply for a campus based 3 or 2 year ROTC grant. This may not be a full ride, but it can certainly help.

Scholarships for academic awards are becoming fewer at public colleges. I believe each year at The Citadel there are some 25 or so full academic scholarships and several of lesser amounts with no military strings attached. As for military scholarships - the four year scholarships are going down in number because our military services are under severe budget constraints to reduce the officer corps in each branch. It also depends on what service you are seeking a scholarship from - Army has the most, followed by the Marines, then Navy and finally a few each year for Air Force.

A final comment from personal expericence - my two daughters graduated from colleges in PA and NY - Penn State and NYU - about 10 years ago. Both paid full amounts - PSU was about $27 grand a year, and NYU a shocking $52 grand a year (not counting other fees etc). Both received some grants or discounts for their grades and SAT scores. But largely paid full prices. They have gone on to graduate schools and incurred their own further debt. Was it worth it for them? I very much think so. Both are very much into their careers now, married and even with the school loans they are truly making a contribution in their fields, earning their way, and enjoying their hard labors in college and grad school. Is the debt I and my wife also incurred and will carry for several years even now - worth it as parents? At least for us - we think so. We are fortunate to both have good jobs and are still working - and due to college debt - probably will into our late 60s. This is a personal choice and probably a financial advisor would call us crazy. But we think it is a small sacrifice as parents. But I jokingly tell both my dauthers that their inheritance has alreay been given to them - and it is in the form of the Sallie Mae loans Mom and Pop are paying off. Good luck to your son.
 
Thank you a for sharing your words of wisdom.

The $50k came directly from financial aid page.

My son did receive an AROTC scholarship. This will significantly cut costs. He plans to study engineering so I believe the cost is justified. If he changes his mind, we will have to reevaluate since he will have almost a free ride to FSU.
 
My DS is in same boat. He received very generous amounts of grants and scholarships from other colleges (Norwich, Mt. St. Marys, RPI, Washington College etc). DS also was awarded 3 yr AROTC scholarship to Citadel, which he will not take. DS has been accepted to RPI. Due to their generous scholarship offer, DS only has to pay $5,000 more total to go to RPI and has no commitment to anyone in the process. We're sticking with RPI. I have not been impressed with The Citadel. I would rec trying Norwich. they are DS' second choice and an awesome school. Your mileage my vary but I don't see much coming from Citadel. $200,000 in "loans" is not scholarships imho. Good luck all.
 
Not following your train of thought gunz, correct me if I am wrong but 3 year AROTC worth about 60-70K, leaving balance of around 90-100K. Happy that he got a better deal at RPI but not every school fortunate enough to be as generous, don't be slammin one school just because they didn't ante up enough to make you happy.
 
bob80q said:
Not following your train of thought gunz, correct me if I am wrong but 3 year AROTC worth about 60-70K, leaving balance of around 90-100K. Happy that he got a better deal at RPI but not every school fortunate enough to be as generous, don't be slammin one school just because they didn't ante up enough to make you happy.
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Bob
My point is many of the other schools offer much more in the way of scholarships. Citadel didn't come off the price at all. AND FOR US (Thus "your mileage may vary") it didn't make sense to pay $200,000 to go to the Citadel when we can pay half that to go to Norwich. I wasn't expecting generous but at least something. Apparently, I am not the only one who felt this way, which is what this post was about.
Further, I haven't cared for the way Citadel does business. For example, DS got acceptance letter stating to the affect...even though you have been accepted, you need to send in your deposit to hold your spot ASAP because once we have enough deposits, your spot is gone, even if you make the May 1st deadline. Several times I have had to call during the process to resend them paperwork that I know they received but lost, only to get someone rude on the phone. Never had that problem at Norwich or the other schools. The admin staff at the other schools were friendly, pleasant and on the ball.
Regardless, I am sorry if I hurt your feelings by stating the facts and you received it as "slammin" on your school." And by the way...Its MasterGuns, not Gunz. About 10 years difference there too
 
Not every school is looking for the same type of students. Each program has its own needs and direction. So it makes sense that a student might receive funds from one college, but not another. Likewise, it is appropriate that a student select a school that he can afford. In this uncertain economy it is unwise to have large student debt. What gives me pause is that it seems to have become an expectation that colleges will hand out grants and scholarships like candy. Two of our three children opted to attend community college first in order to limit their (and ours) debt exposure. Only one of our kids had the grades and background to receive multiple offers. Even that child did not receive scholarship offers to every school in which he was accepted. Parents (and students) have been repeatedly informed by politicians and schools that there are funds available to make college affordable. It can't help to come as a shock to find out that this is simply not true. In our current system those with limited reportable income receive significant college discounts, and those who come from wealth simply write a check. I still remember a conversation I had with a highly regarded program admissions counselor who advised me that with three kids in college it was expected that our family could pay 60k for one year, for one student (before personal expenses)That annual fee was considered affordable for a family with our income. So, I understand the disappointment when a student finds out that a "dream" school is out of reach, but again the schools are not required to provide discounts in the forms of grants and scholarships. Unfortunately until the high dollar schools suffer declining enrollment, they are unlikely to change their policies.
 
Mastergunz said:
Bob
My point is many of the other schools offer much more in the way of scholarships. Citadel didn't come off the price at all. AND FOR US (Thus "your mileage may vary") it didn't make sense to pay $200,000 to go to the Citadel when we can pay half that to go to Norwich. I wasn't expecting generous but at least something. Apparently, I am not the only one who felt this way, which is what this post was about.
Further, I haven't cared for the way Citadel does business. For example, DS got acceptance letter stating to the affect...even though you have been accepted, you need to send in your deposit to hold your spot ASAP because once we have enough deposits, your spot is gone, even if you make the May 1st deadline. Several times I have had to call during the process to resend them paperwork that I know they received but lost, only to get someone rude on the phone. Never had that problem at Norwich or the other schools. The admin staff at the other schools were friendly, pleasant and on the ball.
Regardless, I am sorry if I hurt your feelings by stating the facts and you received it as "slammin" on your school." And by the way...Its MasterGuns, not Gunz. About 10 years difference there too
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Re: the bolded-- I'm confused. Was this a waitlist, or an acceptance? An acceptance usually means that your spot is reserved until x date (May 1 or May 15, in my experience), but if we don't hear from you on or before that date we'll go to the waitlist. What you're describing here sounds more like you've been put on the waiting list and you need to put up some earnest money to demonstrate that you'd like to remain under consideration. I'd find that troubling, too.
 
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