scutrules
10-Year Member
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2010
- Messages
- 113
I wanted to share my story, not to brag, but to show that you should never give up hope. I had completely given up hope and learned very quickly that there is always a chance for you to succeed.
I had pretty bad grades in high school (3.4 GPA) and I applied for a navy ROTC scholarship. While my ACT was ok (30 composite but 25 math), I knew my GPA was on the low end of the spectrum. Unfortunately, I was not selected for a scholarship(perhaps partially because of my tier 3 major but my grades definitely played a factor). I decided to join a Navy ROTC unit as a college programmer anyways because I so very badly wanted to be in the Navy even if the weren't going to pay for school. This year (my freshman year of college) I reapplied for a 4 year scholarship. I applied in June instead of late November like last time and had pulled my grades up a bit so I thought I stood a better chance. Once again I did not receive one and I was crushed. But I decided I still wanted to stay in the unit. As the top college programmer in my class, the unit officers sent an application for me for a 3 year scholarship. Very few have been given out the past few years and I knew I had a very slim chance of receiving one. Sure enough, the commanding officer of the unit pulled me aside and told me I did not receive a scholarship. I was crushed and on the verge of tears. I was strongly considering dropping the program as it seemed obvious the Navy did not want me. Three days later, however, the CO pulls me aside again and tells me they only read one of the two pages listed scholarship winners and I had in fact received one. That day was one of the best days of my life. I called my father, who had no idea how he would be paying for all his kids to go to college, and told him he didn't have to worry about me anymore. I had everything covered.
I learned from this situation that I should always have hope and never believe I am not good enough for something. You just have to keep improving yourself as it is never too late to follow your dream.
Good luck to everyone out there! I wish you the best of luck in apps, ROTC, college, and beyond.
I had pretty bad grades in high school (3.4 GPA) and I applied for a navy ROTC scholarship. While my ACT was ok (30 composite but 25 math), I knew my GPA was on the low end of the spectrum. Unfortunately, I was not selected for a scholarship(perhaps partially because of my tier 3 major but my grades definitely played a factor). I decided to join a Navy ROTC unit as a college programmer anyways because I so very badly wanted to be in the Navy even if the weren't going to pay for school. This year (my freshman year of college) I reapplied for a 4 year scholarship. I applied in June instead of late November like last time and had pulled my grades up a bit so I thought I stood a better chance. Once again I did not receive one and I was crushed. But I decided I still wanted to stay in the unit. As the top college programmer in my class, the unit officers sent an application for me for a 3 year scholarship. Very few have been given out the past few years and I knew I had a very slim chance of receiving one. Sure enough, the commanding officer of the unit pulled me aside and told me I did not receive a scholarship. I was crushed and on the verge of tears. I was strongly considering dropping the program as it seemed obvious the Navy did not want me. Three days later, however, the CO pulls me aside again and tells me they only read one of the two pages listed scholarship winners and I had in fact received one. That day was one of the best days of my life. I called my father, who had no idea how he would be paying for all his kids to go to college, and told him he didn't have to worry about me anymore. I had everything covered.
I learned from this situation that I should always have hope and never believe I am not good enough for something. You just have to keep improving yourself as it is never too late to follow your dream.
Good luck to everyone out there! I wish you the best of luck in apps, ROTC, college, and beyond.