First Board Results
- Thread starter clarksonarmy
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tjb1975
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- Nov 16, 2015
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I was told that the orders were very clear for how the notification is to happen this year. Indeed, the battalion nearest the applicant is to make the initial contact and make arrangement to present a certificate to the awardee. The schools to which the award will be applied are not supposed to make the first contact, according to what I've been told. So as has been indicated by Clarkson, they might be able to provide clues, but little else. Our first contact did not provide any information about the details of the scholarship saying that the information was not available to him. He did indicate that he has been assigned to make contact with 4 students in our area, none of whom were receiving scholarships to his school. After that mini-ceremony of certificate presentation, we immediately called school #1 and got filled in on the details. It does seem like this first point of contact is meant to be made by 4 Dec, after which an official letter will arrive in the mail. We were also told that there were fewer chosen in this round than in past years. Perhaps the bar has been changed or they have fewer applicants? I'm not sure. My son's situation is different than others on this forum and others, for sure, in terms of his credentials. I was really concerned that he may not be competitive on paper. His GPA is 3.0, but the high school is ranked as one of the toughest in the nation. They don't provide a class rank or even a percentile. A letter from the school was provided to explain this discrepancy. My son uploaded that letter as a supporting document. His ACT wasn't stellar at a 28. He is a 3 sport varsity athlete since his freshman year, however, having gone to state playoff in football each year, ranked 5th in state last year for wrestling, and placed 8th in state on his track relay team. He is the team captain this year on football and was a team captain last year and will be this year in wrestling. He has been a 4H leader as well as FFA. He maxed the PT test score and I assume he must have scored highly on what I'll call the personality quiz portion of the application. Other than church activities, he was not able to list any other community engagement of volunteerism. He did write that he works 40+ hours a week in the summer and 8+ hours a week during the school year to assist the family's budget. He's visited his #1 school three times this year, building a relationship with the battalion. He was also interviewed by the local paper as the football season started and he mentioned his career aspirations in the Army. That story was printed and he included it in the "additional information" section on the application which indicated his devotion to the career. We also included letters of recommendation in the application. I was concerned that his less than stellar GPA might be an issue, but it appears a well-rounded candidate can overcome that. So for those of you that can update your apps, or for those that haven't been boarded yet, make sure you make the best use out of the personal statement and additional information spaces on the application portal. If at all possible, hold that interview with a PMS at your school of choice in person! Dress appropriately, make eye contact, and present an aura of self awareness and confidence. Anticipate the questions and prepare yourself for the right answer. I did lots of research on this process. I even dug up some research that the Army did on how to choose cadets most likely to stay in and become and officer. Of course the best answer is to genuinely be what they're looking for and make that obvious. If you are the genuine article, figure out how to make it obvious. I used to be a print and radio reporter, so I mock-interviewed my son on several occasions. During one of our visits, we even asked the PMS for some sample questions so we could prepare. If they want your student, the PMS will help you out as much as is allowable. Relationships are key. Obviously my only experience in this process has happened since early this year, but I'm happy to share. Oh, and if you're student is interested in a STEM career, that's a leg up. Don't overlook the smaller schools...those that are less well known but that have excellent programs may not have as many applicants. That helps, too. As I understand it, they start at the top of the OML and start working down, offering scholarships to schools that still have availability. If you're well placed on the OML list, but only listed the most popular schools (maybe based on tuition value of something), those school slots may be filled by the time your name comes up so you're out of luck. However, if you list a school that is less likely to be among those, you could stand a chance. Just something to think about. There are a lot of good programs in lesser known places.
My son's 4th choice called him the other day although I am not sure he was supposed to. I let the machine pick up the message. The notification process is so different this year and the PMS Officers were alerted to this change very late in the game. I think everyone is a bit confused and frustrated. I even keep checking the portal religiously and my DH is a PMS.
tjb1975
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- Nov 16, 2015
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I think you're right! I know very little about any of this except I've picked up that the process is changed and responsibilities have shifted, it seems. I think someone mentioned that the portal won't be updated until after the letters go out. This works IF your student is chosen, but for everyone else out there they just remain in limbo. That's certainly frustrating and I can only imaging the volume of phone calls coming into the battalion offices looking for some direction.
My son sent you an email last night Clarksonarmy. Not sure if you responded yet to him (his initials are BV), but thanks for the help. He did look at the info on Clarkson University, btw, and liked much of what he saw. He isn't locked into a specific school either, and was actually going to ask to remove his first school listed, and add another. Wants a good engineering school.
Just got it. Thanks brother.
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Thank you Clarkson for all your help!
I received a call today congratulating me on the 4 year scholarship. However, I was told that the board hasn't decided for any applicants which schools yet.
How did you all know which school you would be able to apply the scholarship to? From the school?
Thank you!
I received a call today congratulating me on the 4 year scholarship. However, I was told that the board hasn't decided for any applicants which schools yet.
How did you all know which school you would be able to apply the scholarship to? From the school?
Thank you!
When your official letter arrives in the mail it will include a list of schools from which you received the scholarship, it could be one, two, or more.
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The board doesn't decide schools...the board just scores files. Cadet Command makes the offers based on how they plan to allocate their budget. The schools are posted in the system, so the decisions have been made...the results just haven't been officially released yet. I have to believe everything is locked down now, and no changes will be made to this round of offers.
tjb1975
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After we had the contact from the local ROTC, we went ahead and called one of the schools on our list to discover if it was included. That's when we got the great information.
We have three battalions about 25 miles away from home. Son interviewed at a different school 30 miles away. Wonder if it would be that school that contacts him. He was unofficially informed he will be contacted soon and at least by Dec 4.
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I don't know for sure, but I would assume it would be the Battalion that he interviewed with or the Battalion that is associated with the program closest to you.
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For those of you that contacted me late on a Friday afternoon, the week before Thanksgiving sorry I haven't gotten back to you yet. I went into work this morning (Saturday), to try to knock your requests out, and turns out CCIMM is down, so I can't check. I probably won't be able to check Monday, so hopefully I can get you all some answers early next week...sorry.
And for those of you that are having a tough time being patient...get used to it. I like to use the term "exercise in patience" the military and life in general will be full of them. You are either going to learn to deal with them, or you are going to die of ulcers.
And for those of you that are having a tough time being patient...get used to it. I like to use the term "exercise in patience" the military and life in general will be full of them. You are either going to learn to deal with them, or you are going to die of ulcers.
So my son was invited to a Military Appreciation Day football game and Army ROTC reception this weekend at one of his top choice schools. He was allowed one guest, so since we thought it was just a social and football game, I sent my husband with him. Guess what? He and four other students were presented their certificates and informed they were awarded four year scholarships! So excited for him and glad my husband thought to take some pictures for mom sitting back in the hotel, lol!
running615
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- Nov 18, 2015
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Best advice of late! If I have two students in my house and one has heard from a school (one of his top picks) and the other one has not heard anything from anyone (different schools), am I safe to assume the one who hasn't heard probably has not received a scholarship offer in this round? Or, is there still hope until that December 4th date?