Harder to get ROTC scholarship during "peacetime"?

Escapist

5-Year Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2013
Messages
29
Hello

I was wondering how much harder it is to get a scholarship now that we are technically not in a war. I put peacetime i. Quotations because I know that the military is always deployed but less now than before. I also wanted to see if my stats stand a chance because most things I've read about the cholas ships are from a couple years back, and times have now changed.
My stats are as follows:
-UW gpa: 3.5
-Wgpa: 5.9
-ACT: 33 (plan on retaking)
-All IB classes and have taken 4 APs so far and will finish 4 more this year
-NHS member
-Member in the following clubs: NHS, cricket, UNICEF, FBLA, Fantasy Sports
-Leadership: running for SGA in senior year (not sure if I will win yet), secretary in fantasy sports, will get a position in UNICEF and cricket, leader at my temple's children's associations
-over 200 hours community service
-Sports: Track and Field, Cross country (might letter in both)
-I am pretty fit IMO, I can score high on the PFT
-Plan to major in Engineering
-Applying to all three branches for rotc.
-I can surely get letter of recommendation from many teachers
-I am applying to University of Florida or University of Souther Florida (i live in florida)
Plz tell me If I missed anything

Thanks in advance for responses :)
 
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Also ranked in top 3 percent of class
Applying for army rotc****
 
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Scholarships are used as a recruiting tool. If they're not having much trouble recruiting qualified talent, there isn't a need for as many scholarships.
 
+1 -Bull-

I would also add that they will re-configure your wcgpa because they do not use a 6.0 scale,.
 
You have a good chance even in "peacetime". Also, with your grades you are probably capable of better schools then the ones you are considering. If you are searching for a ROTC scholarship to pay for your college education, then look at some schools that aren't just affordable state schools.
 
Dzali,

I would never recommend the path of selecting a more expensive college because you get a ROTC scholarship. Statistically the attrition rate proves why this is not a wise decision. Attend a college that you can afford to attend without the scholarship, or be prepared with plan B on how to pay for the college without the scholarship.
 
Attrition rates are statistically low across the board, but Escapist does not appear to be the average college bound senior, and I imagine he will be quite successful. If he went to a better school out of state or private and decides he doesn't like it, then a state school could be a fall back plan. I received ROTC scholarships to two private schools that I would not normally be able to afford, and now I can go to them.
 
-Bull-: I understand what you are saying and i agree with you. I just hope things aren't too too difficult for me

clarksonarmy and Non Ducor Duco: I see what you mean, thanks for telling because i would have gone around asking for LORs lol

Pima: I dont think my GPA is on a 6 point scale, i mean my counselor said mine will definitely be above 6 by the time i finish junior year. And yes i dont plan to apply to any high ranking expensive schools. Im perfectly content with going to a Florida university for many reasons.

Dzali: Do you think my stats stand a good chance of getting a scholarship? And i do not really have any intention of going out of state or to an expensive school. A lot of family and friends have gone to UF and USF so i want to stay in state. Also thank you for your comments, i do hope to be better than the average senior and i want to excel to be able to get this scholarship.

Also i want to ask if turning the application in later would hurt my chances of getting the scholarship. When are the exact due dates and If i turn it in at around November would that hurt my chances a lot?
Does anyone else have any opinions?
 
Your SAT scores, GPA, and course load seem very competitive. You'll have a very good chance if you continue to do well.
 
Thank you very much Dzall. The only thing i'm worried about is my 3.5 uwgpa. I dont know if it is competitive enough. Im working to increase it this year and next year.
 
Thank you very much Dzall. The only thing i'm worried about is my 3.5 uwgpa. I dont know if it is competitive enough. Im working to increase it this year and next year.

Then you're doing everything you can do and should do. Even if you thought it WAS competitive, you should be doing that. It's the nature of competition.
 
-Bull-: I understand what you are saying and i agree with you. I just hope things aren't too too difficult for me

clarksonarmy and Non Ducor Duco: I see what you mean, thanks for telling because i would have gone around asking for LORs lol

Pima: I dont think my GPA is on a 6 point scale, i mean my counselor said mine will definitely be above 6 by the time i finish junior year. And yes i dont plan to apply to any high ranking expensive schools. Im perfectly content with going to a Florida university for many reasons.

Dzali: Do you think my stats stand a good chance of getting a scholarship? And i do not really have any intention of going out of state or to an expensive school. A lot of family and friends have gone to UF and USF so i want to stay in state. Also thank you for your comments, i do hope to be better than the average senior and i want to excel to be able to get this scholarship.

Also i want to ask if turning the application in later would hurt my chances of getting the scholarship. When are the exact due dates and If i turn it in at around November would that hurt my chances a lot?
Does anyone else have any opinions?
"Also i want to ask if turning the application in later would hurt my chances of getting the scholarship. When are the exact due dates and If i turn it in at around November would that hurt my chances a lot?"

Escapist, for AROTC there are normally 3 selection boards: 1 ~ October, 2 ~ January, and 3 ~ March. If you have your application complete for the 1st board, it will be reviewed then. Be prepared that if you are awarded a scholarship in one of the 1st 2 boards, you will have to designated (pick) a school within 30 days of the award, which means you may not have heard yet about being accepted from the school you want. Can cause some anxiety unless you are "certain" of being able to get in where you designate the schol.

For NROTC, I think the boards meet once a month starting in Aug? or Sept. Earlier you are in, the better your chances. Some schools (like Embry-Riddle) often fill up in the first board.

Also, on the letters of rec: Army does not ask for them, but you can certainly upload letters of rec in your application portal. My DS did that, not with teacher recs, but with personal recs from people who could speak about his leadership and character mostly, and some other things that didn't come out in the application. Also, for his NROTC, he hand-carried rec letters (of similar nature) to his officer interviews and gave them to the CAPT handling his file. NROTC does ask for official teacher recs, too.
 
Thank you Roseville for the response. i wanted to get my application in after the first semester of senior year (around december or january) so would that decrease my chances at all? How many scholarships are awarded in the first board? If i wait to turn my application i will most likely be able to get a varsity letter. so should i wait and turn in or turn it in for the first board? Choosing a college is not a problem for me as of now.
 
-Bull-: I understand what you are saying and i agree with you. I just hope things aren't too too difficult for me

clarksonarmy and Non Ducor Duco: I see what you mean, thanks for telling because i would have gone around asking for LORs lol

Pima: I dont think my GPA is on a 6 point scale, i mean my counselor said mine will definitely be above 6 by the time i finish junior year. And yes i dont plan to apply to any high ranking expensive schools. Im perfectly content with going to a Florida university for many reasons.

Dzali: Do you think my stats stand a good chance of getting a scholarship? And i do not really have any intention of going out of state or to an expensive school. A lot of family and friends have gone to UF and USF so i want to stay in state. Also thank you for your comments, i do hope to be better than the average senior and i want to excel to be able to get this scholarship.

Also i want to ask if turning the application in later would hurt my chances of getting the scholarship. When are the exact due dates and If i turn it in at around November would that hurt my chances a lot?
Does anyone else have any opinions?

Escapist,

What scale is your gpa on then? On a 4.0 scale, which is what everyone's gpa is configured to for any of the ROTC scholarships, the highest an weighted gpa can be is between a 4.0 and 5.0 because AP classes get an extra 1.0 added and honors classes get an extra .5 added to whatever grade you get out of the classes. You could never actually get a 5.0 because not all your classes are AP, I think the highest weighted I've ever seen on a 4.0 scale was a 4.4 wgpa. Since you said your gpa will be above a 6.0 in the next year it can't be on a 4.0 scale. You should probably talk to your counselor or research what your gpa would be when transferred to a 4.0 scale just so you have an idea of where you stand when it comes to applying for scholarships and colleges (I would think they all use the standard 4.0 scale too).

Edit: It may be that your school does use a form of the 4.0 scale, but has a weird weighting system, in either case your gpa will be re-weighted when you are applying for ROTC scholarships, it would be good for you to find out from your counselor what that new gpa would be.
 
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Escapist,

Non Ducor is correct the wcgpa you have right now will def. not be what you think it is currently.

AFROTC has their own scale system, I think it is a 4.5 for AP/IB. As Ducor stated your cgpa will be lower. Also, it is important to understand for AFROTC your senior grades and ECs will not be placed into the equation, for you, you will only have 4 AP/IBs that will be included.
~~~ AFROTC will only update your SAT/ACT scores for your senior year.

Overall, your stats look strong and since you are going IS, all you really need is a type 7. Your CT is very strong, take the SAT too. AFROTC will only use the best sitting, so it is advantageous to do both.
 
Thanks pima. I guess i should've expected that i the gpas shouldn't go that high. At the end of my junior year I will have 8 APs under my belt. So im guessing those would count but not the senior year ones? And thank you for your feedback. It always increases my hopes when someone says my stats are strong haha. I might take the SAT depending on the cost (we're not in the best financial situation as of now). And im thinking more of AROTC instead of AFROTC.

Last question: what if i did sports but did not letter in them? I may letter in cross country in around October of senior year. Since thats before the deadline would it be better to wait and possibly get a letter? Also i heard that you could put that you will be doing a sport in senior year on your application even though you haven't done it yet. Is that true? Would they take that into consideration?
 
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