let's get that scholarship back in the pool for some other deserving applicant
clarksonarmy, I really thought that declined scholarships freed up by those who ultimately decide to go the SA route do not become available for "the pool" until the summer or later. I can't imagine that the Green Machine is that efficient to put it back in the pool so quickly (i.e., scholarship becomes available the day after an email is sent to CC). That's what I thought the summer board was for -- to clean up and hand out declined scholarships once all the dust settles. Even if an SA appointee declined the ROTC scholarship today, that would not have ANY bearing whatsoever on who gets selected for the March 8 AROTC board because the board won't even be aware of this "newly available" scholarship. Am I incorrect?
I recognize that you are really trying to send a positive message to those still waiting to hear from the AROTC board (you are really wonderful in that regard). But others might urge SA appointees to decline their scholarship as soon as they hear about the appointment, thus placing an unfair amount of pressure/guilt on those SA appointees who have also applied to colleges that don't announce admissions decisions until April (90% of the colleges to which my DS has applied fall into that category). Of course, if a student has received decisions on all pending applications, there isn't much point to unnecessarily delay things either.
In any event, I am advising my DS not to make any decisions until he has all the facts -- that means knowing what options are available to him before reaching an ultimate decision about the best commissioning path to take. I want my DS to make an informed decision about USMA, and USMA will get a cadet who really wants to be there if that is the decision. And I don't want him to have to make that decision simply because there is another candidate out there waiting for the ROTC scholarship (assuming my DS is lucky to receive one). I thought that was the case until I read this thread, but now I'm a bit confused. This is my first time going through this process with my DS, and admittedly I have made mistakes. I'm just trying to do the right thing here, and any advice is appreciated.
Certainly, if my DS declines the SA appointment, isn't there another SA candidate out there equally happy to take that SA slot? But my DS still has many things to do before he can make his decision (like, spending an overnight at USMA, etc.). I don't want to hurry him, because in my experience, hurried decisions are prone to error.