- Joined
- Jan 6, 2011
- Messages
- 1,580
The scholarships are a recruiting tool not a reward for performance. At least that is my belief.
Packer, that's my belief as well! dunninla raises a very good point, too, about needs of the Army.
The scholarships are a recruiting tool not a reward for performance. At least that is my belief.
You beat me to it.
Not sure injustice is the right word, Tight budget, high degree of competition, a list a mile long of cadets looking for scholarships with very few to go around might be a better term.
Four years ago, DS applied to USNA and NROTC. He did not receive an appointment and was devastated as his dream since about age 4 was to attend Annapolis and become a Navy Pilot. He did receive a full 4 year NROTC scholarship. His Plan B, however, was not without a hiccup. He was assigned to a school he really did not want to attend. After an agonizing week, he decided to give up the scholarship and join the NROTC unit at his first choice school as a college programmer. The CO at the unit tried from day 1 to get the scholarship transferred. When that didn't work, he tried to get him a 3 year scholarship, and then a 2 year scholarship. All the while, DS kept working hard, taking out student loans to pay for school. Finally, at the end of his junior year, he was given advanced standing in the unit...still no scholarship, but he was able to go out on summer cruise. He was sent to San Diego for 5 weeks and got to actually fly a helicopter! We were on pins and needles waiting for Service Selections to come out. Would DS get a pilot slot? I am happy to report that he did, indeed, get a pilot slot and will report to Pensacola next summer. His journey to this point is absolutely not what he had envisioned, but he is proof positive that dreams do come true!