January 4, 2011 AROTC Board

[cjs]

The email that I received last year from Cadet Command said that there had to be an an open allotment at the school and you had to have been accepted into the school. They didn't address whether or not the school had any say in your request, just the other two things. I will try and find it so I can scan it onto the site.

I would get in touch with CC and inquire as to how to request a transfer and what the policy is this year. Wait until you receive the official letter because until you do, they won't discuss the scholarship offer because it's not considered an offer without the letter.

 

[NMS*17]

cjs

Thank you very much. We are not ungrateful, and will be accepting the scholarship to the other school. Her original choice just gave her alot of Merit, and althoug we have not spoke with the PMS this week, he told us prior she could take the Merit and then participate in ROTC, and contract in her Junior year. Very hard decision with all the new changes in ROTC, for all we know in 2 years they may not let you contract without scholarship.

 

[cjs]

Thank you very much. We are not ungrateful, and will be accepting the scholarship to the other school. Her original choice just gave her alot of Merit, and althoug we have not spoke with the PMS this week, he told us prior she could take the Merit and then participate in ROTC, and contract in her Junior year. Very hard decision with all the new changes in ROTC, for all we know in 2 years they may not let you contract without scholarship.

Congrats on both all scholarships!

Get in touch with Cadet Command after you receive the offer letter and inquire. Let the PMS know that she received it but not to their school.
Check and recheck on how things are handled and whether or not transfers of scholarships are going to happen this year.

Transfers can and do happen.

 

[Marist College ROTC]

Thanks, Marist. You're terrific. So I guess we're working with the number "low 400s" from the Jan. 2011 board, but I have a few more questions for you or clarksonarmy:

1. Is there any merit to my SWAG theory that CC is holding some awardees in abeyance? Or does everyone who doesn't hear by Tuesday get bumped to the next board?

2. Is it correct that 3yr. offers get counted in the FY2012 budget, not FY2011, because those awardees have to pay their own tuition for the first year of college?

3. Is 30% 3yr. offers normal? Or is this extraordinarily high in an unusual year?

4. I know you don't have a crystal ball, but do you expect to see a higher number of awardees from the March board (assuming Congress doesn't hack the POTUS proposed budget)?

5. Do any of the AROTC applicants ever receive a "ding" before the final board?

I don't really have a good answer to any of these questions. I would just be SWAGing.

I checked the numbers this morning. It looks like there were more updates over the weekend. Over 800 high school students from class of 2011 are listed as "Offered Pending Acceptance" for a total of over $18,000,000 in scholarship dollars.

 

[Just_A_Mom]

Thank you very much. We are not ungrateful, and will be accepting the scholarship to the other school. Her original choice just gave her alot of Merit, and althoug we have not spoke with the PMS this week, he told us prior she could take the Merit and then participate in ROTC, and contract in her Junior year. Very hard decision with all the new changes in ROTC, for all we know in 2 years they may not let you contract without scholarship.

OMG - this is a gross overreaction as are most speculative posts on this thread.
It would truly be a shame if your daughter turned down a school that she like and was a good fit for her because of a false assumption.
Pick the school and major first!! (unless a 'free ride' is the overarching goal you have for your child)

There are not really new changes in ROTC - other than how (the process)they award the scholarships. To the best of my knowledge NOTHING else has changed.
While there are advantages to freshmen/sophomores having a scholarship - those advantages are short lived and do not extend into the Army career or lifetime career of your high schooler.
It's time for the speculation and panic to end here.
JMHO.

 

[paradoxer]

Clarification

I don't really have a good answer to any of these questions. I would just be SWAGing.

I checked the numbers this morning. It looks like there were more updates over the weekend. Over 800 high school students from class of 2011 are listed as "Offered Pending Acceptance" for a total of over $18,000,000 in scholarship dollars.

These are just the numbers for the January boards or the totals for the year?

 

[NMS*17]

Thanks

OMG - this is a gross overreaction as are most speculative posts on this thread.
It would truly be a shame if your daughter turned down a school that she like and was a good fit for her because of a false assumption.
Pick the school and major first!! (unless a 'free ride' is the overarching goal you have for your child)

There are not really new changes in ROTC - other than how (the process)they award the scholarships. To the best of my knowledge NOTHING else has changed.
While there are advantages to freshmen/sophomores having a scholarship - those advantages are short lived and do not extend into the Army career or lifetime career of your high schooler.
It's time for the speculation and panic to end here.
JMHO.

Way to put me in my place, decisions are hard, you just try to weigh everything, any obstacle you might see coming.

 

[Pima]

I agree with JAM, especially about how short lived the importance of the scholarship is when it comes to ROTC and AD life.

I say it all the time, just in different variants...you know what they call the cadet with a scholarship?
Cadet!

You know what they call the non-scholarship cadet?
Cadet!

Once at the BN nobody walks around saying I am scholarship. They don't wear any insignia's to show that they are. The only time you can really tell if they are is when it comes to fear of losing it (usually gpa issues).

It will be their success at school and in ROTC that will dictate their future, not if or what type of scholarship they got.

The cadet that understands how the system works will be the successful cadet, regardless of scholarship.

When I say system, I mean they understand that their OML is what is important. I don't know about AROTC, but I can tell you for AFROTC when they come up for their career path, NOWHERE on that equation for the board is a place to give points for scholarship recipient. The closest thing to that would be gpa since they are required to maintain a specific min gpa to keep the scholarship.

 

[patentesq]

Way to put me in my place, decisions are hard, you just try to weigh everything, any obstacle you might see coming.

NMS*17, maybe I've misread your post, but didn't say that your DD has two options:

Option 1: 1st Choice School Merit Scholarship, Walk-on to AROTC, and NO service obligation incurred until Junior year.

Option 2: 2nd Choice School AROTC Scholarship, Contracted Student at Matriculation, with a service obligation?

Your DD is leaning toward Option 1, which would mean declining the AROTC scholarship, because that is a much better deal. Am I understanding this incorrectly? Regardless, I don't sense ANY panic or speculation in your post whatsoever!

 

[NMS*17]

thank you

I agree with JAM, especially about how short lived the importance of the scholarship is when it comes to ROTC and AD life.

I say it all the time, just in different variants...you know what they call the cadet with a scholarship?
Cadet!

You know what they call the non-scholarship cadet?
Cadet!

Once at the BN nobody walks around saying I am scholarship. They don't wear any insignia's to show that they are. The only time you can really tell if they are is when it comes to fear of losing it (usually gpa issues).

It will be their success at school and in ROTC that will dictate their future, not if or what type of scholarship they got.

The cadet that understands how the system works will be the successful cadet, regardless of scholarship.

When I say system, I mean they understand that their OML is what is important. I don't know about AROTC, but I can tell you for AFROTC when they come up for their career path, NOWHERE on that equation for the board is a place to give points for scholarship recipient. The closest thing to that would be gpa since they are required to maintain a specific min gpa to keep the scholarship.

You both have helped me breath. It was a crazy weekend, between getting the first call, and then having her win more in a academic competition. It is not my decision, it is hers, but I want her to know and understand everything going in.

Did I mention how much I love this board? Thank you all.

 

[NMS*17]

correct

NMS*17, maybe I've misread your post, but didn't say that your DD has two options:

Option 1: 1st Choice School Merit Scholarship, Walk-on to AROTC, and NO service obligation incurred until Junior year.

Option 2: 2nd Choice School AROTC Scholarship, Contracted Student at Matriculation, with a service obligation?

Your DD is leaning toward Option 1, which would mean declining the AROTC scholarship, because that is a much better deal. Am I understanding this incorrectly? Regardless, I don't sense ANY panic or speculation in your post whatsoever!

That is the correct interpretation. I am strained in my guidance for her. She has waited and sweated over these boards along with everyone else...both calls came within 1 day of eachother. She likes both schools, but does like option 1 a little more, plus loves the PMS there and feels she can succeed there. We have not had alot of interaction with option 2 PMS or ROO, but are going there on Friday to get to know him better. I never expected there to be 2 options, we both just planned on her going to the AROTC scholarship. She was completely shocked when she went to the scholarship competition and won more merit scholaraship !! I am proud of her both ways.

 

[patentesq]

That is the correct interpretation. I am strained in my guidance for her. She has waited and sweated over these boards along with everyone else...both calls came within 1 day of eachother. She likes both schools, but does like option 1 a little more, plus loves the PMS there and feels she can succeed there. We have not had alot of interaction with option 2 PMS or ROO, but are goigg there on Friday to get to know him better. I never expected there to be 2 options, we both just planned on her going to the AROTC scholarship. She was completely shocked when she went the the scholarship competition and won more merit scholaraship !! I am proud of her both ways.

You are truly an example for everyone!! I share your view that the decision is your DD's to make. What I have done with my DS, however, was urge him NOT to make ANY decisions until all of the cards are on the table. In my experience, this approach typically yields better decisions.

You are totally going about this in a very calm, calculated way IMHO.

 

[Pima]

It is her decision, and I think you are doing the best thing for her by giving her every piece of information covering every "what if?"

Everyone knows our DS opted ROTC over an SA. It really came down to us saying "WHAT IF you were guaranteed your dream, where would you go...you have 10 seconds to answer...10, 9..."

That might seem horrific or shocking or whatever, but we know our DS and he tends to overthink things so we needed to force him into a gut reaction.

Yes, we did go deeper once we had the answer without the count down mechanism, but once they know what is in the bottom of their heart, they also have a sense of relief.

As parents we tend to forget how stressful this is for our children. We have lived life and know that you can always get a second chance or change direction. At their age they believe that whatever they decide 3 months before hs graduation is their final fate and there is no recourse.

I will say this for some kids either option they take, there will be days of doubt regarding their decision. They will get past it and decide that they made the right decision in the 1st place. If they don't get past it, than you will go full parent mode and try to figure out how to get them on the path they want to be on.

Good luck.

 

[bmunder]

Ok...being new to this and am getting more confused the more I read.
You keep mentioning web sites to check for status changes and a DodMerb website. Could you please post those web addresses for those of us trying to play catch-up? Our son did receive a phone call from his #1 school choice last week telling him to expect a letter and all we can do at this point is speculate that this is good news! Thanks for your help.

 

[patentesq]

I will say this for some kids either option they take, there will be days of doubt regarding their decision. They will get past it and decide that they made the right decision in the 1st place. If they don't get past it, than you will go full parent mode and try to figure out how to get them on the path they want to be on.

Excellent post, Pima. I am actually using this as a learning experience for my DS. I have basically said (1) open as many doors as you can, (2) if multiple doors open, that's great, but you need to pick one, and (3) once you pick a door, go through it with full force, don't look back, and don't EVER wring your hands over the decision you have just made. That's just my approach.

 

[patentesq]

Ok...being new to this and am getting more confused the more I read.
You keep mentioning web sites to check for status changes and a DodMerb website. Could you please post those web addresses for those of us trying to play catch-up? Our son did receive a phone call from his #1 school choice last week telling him to expect a letter and all we can do at this point is speculate that this is good news! Thanks for your help.

bmunder, here's the website where you can check the AROTC status. https://schlr4yr.usarmyrotc.com/scholarshipstatus/status.asp

If it says "check your DoDMERB status" (words to that effect), the conventional wisdom around here is that this is a good sign. However, only the letter that your DS receives can truly confirm anything.

There is a DoDMERB website (link will be on your DS's AROTC status page), which is the medical qualification side of the house, but it's been down for about 7 weeks.

 

[NMS*17]

CALM?

Excellent post, Pima. I am actually using this as a learning experience for my DS. I have basically said (1) open as many doors as you can, (2) if multiple doors open, that's great, but you need to pick one, and (3) once you pick a door, go through it with full force, don't look back, and don't EVER wring your hands over the decision you have just made. That's just my approach.

I am thinking the poster board approach may work, big black marker, writing all the pros and cons, hang them up and look at them. All else fails, maybe I will pull out a dart and let her throw it at the wall...hahahaha. Again, I never expected this to be hard !!

I am really not that calm !!!

 

[bmunder]

bmunder, here's the website where you can check the AROTC status. https://schlr4yr.usarmyrotc.com/scholarshipstatus/status.asp

If it says "check your DoDMERB status" (words to that effect), the conventional wisdom around here is that this is a good sign. However, only the letter that your DS receives can truly confirm anything.

There is a DoDMERB website (link will be on your DS's AROTC status page), which is the medical qualification side of the house, but it's been down for about 7 weeks.

Thanks for the info! I do enjoy soaking up all the info on this site. Please keep it up!

 

[x86USMA]

Any Jan. board offers to SMC's?

Has anyone received an offer from one of the SMC's? Particularly Norwich University?

 

[NMS*17]

scholarship offer

That is the correct interpretation. I am strained in my guidance for her. She has waited and sweated over these boards along with everyone else...both calls came within 1 day of eachother. She likes both schools, but does like option 1 a little more, plus loves the PMS there and feels she can succeed there. We have not had alot of interaction with option 2 PMS or ROO, but are going there on Friday to get to know him better. I never expected there to be 2 options, we both just planned on her going to the AROTC scholarship. She was completely shocked when she went to the scholarship competition and won more merit scholaraship !! I am proud of her both ways.

Just got the call from Option1 school ROO. He explained she could, once letter received, request the tranfer through her point of contact. So now we wait again.

She did only recieve one offer, I know alot of people are speculating about choices. No choice offered, one school, 4 year.