January 4, 2011 AROTC Board

[jkcksoup]

CC called our home today...

Not to inform us of an acceptance, but a return call from a message I left on their voice mail.

The representative explained that it would be a while yet before decisions were announced. I told her I understood that there were a lot of new moving parts (i.e. move to Ft. Knox, etc. ), but about when should I expect to see an announcement? She said, perhaps the end of February. I was surprised and she confirmed that statement.

Also, I asked her how we would be notified. She said keep your eyes online and when the status changes from "set for an interview" to "Able to qualify for DodMERB".... it's a good sign. I further asked about the fact that my DS is already DodMERB qualified... she said the process is still the same.

So there you have it folks! Practically straight from the "wizard behind the curtain"! LOL!

 

[Ohio2015Parent]

just because you're paranoid does not mean somebody is not actually following you ....

Completely true - thank you for confirming those voices in my head yelling that a drive to Ft. Knox (only 2.5 hours away from Cincinnati) could be a good thing....jk.

 

[Ohio2015Parent]

Not to inform us of an acceptance, but a return call from a message I left on their voice mail.

The representative explained that it would be a while yet before decisions were announced. I told her I understood that there were a lot of new moving parts (i.e. move to Ft. Knox, etc. ), but about when should I expect to see an announcement? She said, perhaps the end of February. I was surprised and she confirmed that statement.

Also, I asked her how we would be notified. She said keep your eyes online and when the status changes from "set for an interview" to "Able to qualify for DodMERB".... it's a good sign. I further asked about the fact that my DS is already DodMERB qualified... she said the process is still the same.

So there you have it folks! Practically straight from the "wizard behind the curtain"! LOL!

That dates doesn't make sense. They give January board awardees 30 days from the date on the letter listing their school offers to accept a scholarship. The next board meets early March(1-5 I think). If they don't expect to update online until the end of February, letter mailed same time lets suppose, no decision required until March 28th'ish moves the Mar/Apr. timeline out since they cannot assign scholarships for that March board until they know who accepted what from Januarys awardees. Am I making any sense?? Its their game, they can(and do)change the "rules" so we have no choice but to play along, but this would push the March board results well into late April, I guess. Maybe this is one of the reasons for moving the DodMERB up for earlier applicants-cut down the snowball effect of later than normal board results and allow for quicker responses from the awardees since they would no longer have DodMERB qualification questions.

I don't like this Wizard...can we change to another movie???

 

[patentesq]

Hope Florida is treating the patentesq duo well (or did you bring more than DS?).

Florida is awesome! Sent all the pumpkins back to the snow yesterday. No BFE from USMA on the doorstep.

She said, perhaps the end of February.

Double ugh!!!!!!!! I continue to be amazed at the lightning speed with which information travels nowadays. But "perhaps" the end of February??????

 

[jkcksoup]

Maybe this is one of the reasons for moving the DodMERB up for earlier applicants-cut down the snowball effect of later than normal board results and allow for quicker responses from the awardees since they would no longer have DodMERB qualification questions.

I don't like this Wizard...can we change to another movie???

I agree, perhaps this is the reason for the early DodMERB applications..... don't know.
I also agree about the wizard! LOL!

 

[paradoxer]

Pride and Prejudice

She said, perhaps the end of February. I was surprised and she confirmed that statement.

So there you have it folks! Practically straight from the "wizard behind the curtain"! LOL!

Feel like when Mr Collins (love that role played by Tom Hollander - watch this movie, and every other one of your favorites for the next MONTH as we wait) has just offered to read a few hours of Fordyce's Sermons for the after dinner entertainment.

Might be best to return to Oz with dancing, talking scarecrows, flying monkeys and burning witches.

 

[OhioStateDad]

That dates doesn't make sense. They give January board awardees 30 days from the date on the letter listing their school offers to accept a scholarship. The next board meets early March(1-5 I think). If they don't expect to update online until the end of February, letter mailed same time lets suppose, no decision required until March 28th'ish moves the Mar/Apr. timeline out since they cannot assign scholarships for that March board until they know who accepted what from Januarys awardees. Am I making any sense?? Its their game, they can(and do)change the "rules" so we have no choice but to play along, but this would push the March board results well into late April, I guess. Maybe this is one of the reasons for moving the DodMERB up for earlier applicants-cut down the snowball effect of later than normal board results and allow for quicker responses from the awardees since they would no longer have DodMERB qualification questions.

I don't like this Wizard...can we change to another movie???

This really causes an issue because most schools require a response back for acceptances by April 1, if results are not going to be out for the March board until that time (or after) people could be stuck sending in money to the top 5 schools their DS/DD's have been accepted to (could get very costly). The issue gets worse because if you send acceptance money to those schools and you are not given a scholarship to them you cannot recoup that money. Hopefully the person from CC was giving a worst case scenario for some cya.....I hope

 

[aglages]

This really causes an issue because most schools require a response back for acceptances by April 1..

I believe that most schools do not require a response until May 1st.

 

[Government]

So you guys are saying that getting asked to complete to DodMERB is a good sign?

 

[paradoxer]

So depends

I believe that most schools do not require a response until May 1st.

There are some schools that will already allow you to choose housing and classes if your finances are in place. Others will allow for you to schedule orientation where you can choose classes based on your deposit date.

It's not the end of the world but you could find yourself at the bottom of the list so to speak for various enrollment requirements.

Probably the most difficult part is that these students have never done this before and aren't used to this new system. Most have been in school systems where fairly firm deadlines exist, practice times are known up front, every Thursday is sloppy joes and carrots, and you know which teachers will push you. Loss of control and changing deadlines is great for becoming adaptable but not something that's been practiced much. Let the journey begin...

 

[patentesq]

So you guys are saying that getting asked to complete to DodMERB is a good sign?

Government, I don't think anyone really knows the answer to that question.

BTW, love the name "Government"; it always captures my attention whenever the "Government" posts on SAF!

 

[jlar316]

I don't know if I can wait another month haha. But I guess we'll just have to deal with it.

 

[Government]

thanks Patentesq!. That's why I created it!

 

[Ohio2015Parent]

There are some schools that will already allow you to choose housing and classes if your finances are in place. Others will allow for you to schedule orientation where you can choose classes based on your deposit date.

It's not the end of the world but you could find yourself at the bottom of the list so to speak for various enrollment requirements.

Probably the most difficult part is that these students have never done this before and aren't used to this new system. Most have been in school systems where fairly firm deadlines exist, practice times are known up front, every Thursday is sloppy joes and carrots, and you know which teachers will push you. Loss of control and changing deadlines is great for becoming adaptable but not something that's been practiced much. Let the journey begin...

Will have to reevaluate with DS tomorrow. He's been sick and fell asleep earlier before the February bomb shell went off

Anyhow, will probably go ahead and send in deposit for 1st choice school($200.00) can only get deposit back if we apply in writing by May 1 that he will not attend. This will secure housing, not with the cadets but somewhere on campus, a spot for orientation, secure his merit scholarship and give us some firm plans to work with. Wait for CC to figure out what they are doing with either Jan or Mar board results. I'm not as concerned about waiting until end of Feb as I am about the possibility of not hearing until mid-late April on the March board. Guess we will pursue SMP contacts at first choice school for a timeline for their respective programs in case we need a hail mary in April -- doubt that basic can be done prior to Freshman fall quarter so that would have serious implications to be dealt with if need be...but I'm not going to borrow that trouble quite yet. His second choice school will hold everything until May 1 (housing, orientation, merit scholarship)so won't need to chance losing another deposit. I'd start calling repective campuses and finding out what you all need to do too. Since not everyone even has acceptance letters to the more selective schools this may actually benefit you since it will allow more time for those decisions to come thru. Anyhow, its not what we were expecting, but really, has parenting ever really been what we expected??? More teachable moments.

 

[uniform 419]

Probably the most difficult part is that these students have never done this before and aren't used to this new system. Most have been in school systems where fairly firm deadlines exist, practice times are known up front, every Thursday is sloppy joes and carrots, and you know which teachers will push you. Loss of control and changing deadlines is great for becoming adaptable but not something that's been practiced much. Let the journey begin...

Paradoxer, not to be rude, but how many students do you think are actually running the show when it comes to their college admissions process and ROTC Scholarship? From my personnel experience the number is vanishingly small.

As a small aside, this sucks. I sympathize with the people at Cadet Command, I really do, but this is starting to get ridiculous. If your going to push back the notification of a major scholarship by a full month or more then someone should've had the decency to make this information publicly availible to all applicants and their families. Honestly, I've never expected that much from CC. They still haven't lived up to expectations.

*Rant over

 

[paradoxer]

Not rude, but it still depends

Paradoxer, not to be rude, but how many students do you think are actually running the show when it comes to their college admissions process and ROTC Scholarship? From my personnel experience the number is vanishingly small.

There are colleges that will offer you immediate admissions opportunities, or guarantee a response in x days, and yes there are others that promise nothing. In terms of ROTC there were posted board dates and the whole 30 day response time frame such that there was an EXPECTATION of order. Now we have a change in expectations which is the real life lesson here.

When first married our credo was, "Expectations can kill you," and we said this to each other often because we knew it usually wasn't the issue at hand that actually caused the most grief but the expectation of what was supposed to happen. I've never served in the military but am guessing one minute you are eating BBQ chicken in the back yard and the next you could be packing for another continent.

Personally, college was great for expanding my cognitive borders but learning to adapt within a system has been the better gift and one the DS will be reminded of this week.

 

[uniform 419]

There are colleges that will offer you immediate admissions opportunities, or guarantee a response in x days, and yes there are others that promise nothing. In terms of ROTC there were posted board dates and the whole 30 day response time frame such that there was an EXPECTATION of order. Now we have a change in expectations which is the real life lesson here.

When first married our credo was, "Expectations can kill you," and we said this to each other often because we knew it usually wasn't the issue at hand that actually caused the most grief but the expectation of what was supposed to happen. I've never served in the military but am guessing one minute you are eating BBQ chicken in the back yard and the next you could be packing for another continent.

Personally, college was great for expanding my cognitive borders but learning to adapt within a system has been the better gift and one the DS will be reminded of this week.

This is all very true, and I agree one hundred percent. What I meant by "running the show" though was going through the college admissions process and ROTC Scholarship Application process without mom and dad doing it for them. Again, I'm not sure if its a good indicator of broader trends or not, but from personnel experience at my school ROTC and Service Academy Applicants seem extremely detached from the process.

Also, what I don't mind is the change in expectations, thats fine and dandy, as you've said everyone should be adaptable. On the other hand, what I do mind is that I'm finding out about the change in expectations from a poster on the SA Forums, as opposed to in a communication from CC. The fact that CC hasn't pushed out this infromation publicly means that hundreds of applicants expecting letters in January won't be recieving them, and will assume that its because they didn't earn a scholarship, as opposed to there being a glitch at CC. Bottom line, if CC has dropped the ball and needs to change deadlines, they should be informing all applicants. Adaptible is one thing, pychic is another, people still need to be passed relevant infromation to enable them to effectively adapt.

 

[paradoxer]

Totally Agree

Also, what I don't mind is the change in expectations, thats fine and dandy, as you've said everyone should be adaptable. On the other hand, what I do mind is that I'm finding out about the change in expectations from a poster on the SA Forums, as opposed to in a communication from CC. The fact that CC hasn't pushed out this infromation publicly means that hundreds of applicants expecting letters in January won't be recieving them, and will assume that its because they didn't earn a scholarship, as opposed to there being a glitch at CC. Bottom line, if CC has dropped the ball and needs to change deadlines, they should be informing all applicants. Adaptible is one thing, pychic is another, people still need to be passed relevant infromation to enable them to effectively adapt.

Again our expectations are so key here; mine being that it would take them 5 minutes to update the website with the new information so that everyone could know what is happening when they attempted to check their status.

 

[hiker]

Budget

Can't help but think that a lot of what we are seeing with the ROTC programs across the board (AROTC/NROTC/AFROTC) is due to the fact that the US Govt is operating on a Continuing Resolution (till at least March) and has not passed an FY 2011 budget in Congress. DOJ and other FED departments have announced hiring freezes and times are tight as far as FED govt spending is concerned. Maybe the military is a different beast, but they are still funded by tax dollars.

 

[FloridaDad]

Can't help but think that a lot of what we are seeing with the ROTC programs across the board (AROTC/NROTC/AFROTC) is due to the fact that the US Govt is operating on a Continuing Resolution (till at least March) and has not passed an FY 2011 budget in Congress. DOJ and other FED departments have announced hiring freezes and times are tight as far as FED govt spending is concerned. Maybe the military is a different beast, but they are still funded by tax dollars.

Retaining lots of 03-06s with many years of service costs a he'll of a lot more than newly commisioned 01s.