Military Status on the common ap?

O

Oldsalt

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I could find this anywhere on the blog.
If you have been awarded an ROTC scholarship and expect to attend using the ROTC scholarship would you select Reserves or National Guard on the military service option on the common ap? If so, I assume you would list expected service dates to be month of school starting to 5 years post graduation month.
Thoughts?
 
I believe you don't select anything because if I recall correctly they are asking are you currently in the Guard or Reserves. You are currently not in the military.

Maybe they have changed it, but even if they did the scholarship, at least AFROTC, would not be marked since again your 1st yr even as a scholarship recipient is a no harm no foul trial period. If you decide to part ways at the end of your freshman yr you owe nothing to the military.

Finally, even if you are awarded a scholarship, it will not be activated until next fall. It is not binding, add that with you need to pass the PFT, and that you have until end of spring semester, 18 months from now to commit to the program, plus, as far as I know ROTC cadets may be required to serve commitment time or pay back a loan, they are not considered AD anything while in college. Hence, you would say NO on the common aps.

Caveat, are SMCs may be an exception, and I can't recall if they are on the common aps, The reason why is they give an edge to those that join the Corps. You can't be in ROTC with out being in the Corps.
 
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Pima,
Thanks for the response. The application asks what your status will be when you start school. So I guess the question is whether you are in the reserves during your first year of ROTC. In my day, we were in the reserves, I'm just not sure if things have changed.
The Navy does 4/c cruise prior to commitment. Those used to be active duty orders, if they are still, wouldn't you have to be in some sort of reserve status to get AD orders?
 
oldsalt said:
The application asks what your status will be when you start school.
Click to expand...

There's the answer. You are not contracted until AFTER the start of school, it maybe 2,3, 7 or more days later, but when you start, even with a scholarship in hand you are not contracted.

DS went to SFT as an AFROTC cadet, which is akin to a Navy cruise, or LDAC. For those 4 weeks he was on orders. He had to sign up for life insurance, medically covered, received per diem, was on orders from the time the wheels left the runway on his way to Maxwell, to the time the wheels hit back down on the runway from Maxwell. Once back he was an AFROTC cadet. Health insurance was gone, priority on space A was gone, basically he was under AFROTC HQ's world again, not ADAF world.


That being said, when it is comes to the common ap, what I think they are looking at when that question is asked is from a Financial Aid package, i.e. GI Bill, TA, or other programs for soldiers that have or are serving currently.

Your link won't allow access, but just from what you have stated, the fact still doesn't change, until they officially contract they are not anything. The contracting can happen weeks after school starts, and the common ap. stated when you start. I get the fear of it coming back to bite your child, but I think you are looking too deep into this issue. When he starts the 1st day of college, he is not contracted, end of subject, period, dot. He owes not a penny to the military, nor one minute of his life. Common ap is looking to see if they owe a penny or a minute.

The one scenario I think that would be a player is someone like Ohio's DS. I am not an AROTC parent, so I don't want to be flamed for my understanding of SMP.

The way I understand it is, these cadets are tied to the AD world as cadets. They go to basic training prior to the start of the yr. That would mean when you stated:
The application asks what your status will be when you start school.

They would say Guard or Reserves. Again, I will leave it to Ohio or Marist, Clarkson, or anyone else to explain SMP. That is just my guess why it is on the common ap.
 
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I agree with Pima. I don't think you check either. As a ROTC MIDN/cadet you are in some limbo. They want to know about GI Bill etc. which don't apply in this case. SMP would be different and you should check one then, but that doesn't apply to any incoming freshman either.
 
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