NROTC Results

MY son received a NROTC 4yr scholarship the fall of his senior year - he received an email of congrats from recruiting station that had processed his package, his nrotc page did change and then the letter came.
The NROTC IS AWARDED to a school (unit) and a tier.
The letter instructs the recepient has 30 days to return the form to accept.
As far as I know the posters from last year indicated that the award was as we had experienced. larrys mom
 
Thanks everyone. Things are clearing up. Sounds like he just needs to wait for his ISR to be processed to get a unit assignment. I assume he will still need to follow up with applications to the 5 schools in case the school with his assigned unit says 'no'.

Just out of curiosity, which units are considered popular? (Can opened; worms everywhere.)
 
Popular NROTC, in my experience, are:

1. Sr. Military colleges that offer NROTC
- VA Tech
- VMI
- TX A&M
- Norwich
- The Citadel
- not sure about North Georgia...if they offer NROTC

2. Expensive Private Schools NOT in the top 30 USNWR rankings that HOST the Unit and the cross-town schools ...
- George Washington (b/c in DC)
- U of San Diego (b/c of Pacific Fleet assets)
- Boston U
- Tulane
- etc.

3. Flagship Publis Unis that HOST
 
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GW is a big unit from what I understand because one of their schools that is x-town is UMDCP.

Centh's DS is a 300 at UMDCP on NROTC scholarship, but goes to GW for training.

I point this out because you need to remember that the unit will be charged the scholarship, but the scholarship may be used at a different school. When it is big universities like UMDCP, you need to place them into the equation, and not think it is just the host college applicants you are competing against. You are competing against every one that will be in the unit regardless of their school selection.
 
Candidad said:
Thanks everyone. Things are clearing up. Sounds like he just needs to wait for his ISR to be processed to get a unit assignment. I assume he will still need to follow up with applications to the 5 schools in case the school with his assigned unit says 'no'.

Just out of curiosity, which units are considered popular? (Can opened; worms everywhere.)
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hahahahha!!!

Senior Military Colleges, private schools, PSU, and the rest depend on how the football and/or basketball team is the year the applicant applies. LOL! Funny but true!

I predict LSU and Oklahoma are going to fill up quickly this year. :yllol:
 
I agree with P-Flying 17, kids are still kids and football/basketball are big draws for them which means they usually are considered "selective" when it comes to admissions.
 
I had always heard that Notre Dame's NROTC is the largest unit (outside the Naval Academy).

Their football program has struggled in recent years but is always very popular (for some reason!)

Not sure if they are still the largest. P-Flying17 - can you confirm?
 
I always heard it was too. DS applied to UND, but for AFROTC, and the admission people joked about that NROTC owns the campus.
 
Candidad said:
Thanks everyone. Things are clearing up. Sounds like he just needs to wait for his ISR to be processed to get a unit assignment. I assume he will still need to follow up with applications to the 5 schools in case the school with his assigned unit says 'no'.

Just out of curiosity, which units are considered popular? (Can opened; worms everywhere.)
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It's certainly interesting data to know.... and I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you don't know... but the primary criteria you use should be schools (with ROTC of course) that you son likes and feels comfortable with. Certainly the quality of the battalion is a factor in this decision, but he'll be far more successful at a place that feels like "home" to him.

Additionally, one of his first 3 choices MUST be a school where he is eligible for in-state tuition. Given the economy and budget constraints, you might was to consider additional schools where he will be eligable for in-state tuition as many folks believe there will be few(er) scholarships awarded for out-of-state schools.

Finally.. note it says "eligible" for in-state tuition. I understand that Texas makes in-state tiotion rates available to out-of-state students who participate in ROTC. Therefore he would be eligible for in-state rates to Texas schools even if you don't live in Texas. There may be other states that offer something like this as well.

Good Luck! I hope all your son's dreams come true! :thumb:
 
Looks like at least 3 of my kid's 5 are popular units. I guess that could be good. (Must be popular for a reason, right?) Of course none of his 5 play football, so I wonder how that works out. Maybe they should limit ROTC scholarships to schools that run triple option like the SAs.

Pima - what you say about being able to use a scholarship anywhere in the unit jives with the NROTC website, but conflicts with other information we've been given. I told my son he should apply to multiple schools with his Tier major(s) in one of his units (San Diego) even though it is not on his list of 5, to maximize the utility of his scholarship should he be selected for that unit. Does that make sense? In other words, if he is assigned San Diego and he gets into 2 of the schools in the unit (1 on his list of 5; one not), he could go to either one? There is also a decent chance based on historic data his HS keeps, that he would not get into the school on his list, but get into the school in the same unit that is not on his list. I assume there would then be no problem taking the scholarship and applying it to the non-listed school, which happens to be the host.

Also, we are in CA and the state schools are "impacted" to be nice about it. We know people at the UCs and CSUs. Getting out in 4 years is nearly impossible (especially if they are away summers), no matter how diligent the students are. What would NROTC do about a 5th (or God forbid a 6th) year; and do they consider this problem when making unit assignments?
 
One thing for others to look at during this process is the program called Naviance. It will allow you to see just from a stat perspective if you are a match.

You can also try www.collegeconfidential.com go to the college discussion forums and hit the link to your school. The posters there are either applying or attending the school, so they can give you more insight.

I know Centh's DS is at UMDCP and he never applied to GW. I would ask P-Flying for clarification in your scenario, but if I read it right, yes, if he is accepted to that college, and the college is an x-town college, he would be able to use the scholarship.

For others on top there is a sticky about schools that give rates/breaks for ROTC students, so you may want to see if the school you are interested in are listed.
 
Yes Pima, my son's high school uses Naviance. It is pretty awesome and let's you see how you stack up to others from your high school who have applied to College X, as long as at least 15 kids have applied to that school in the past however many years. (I want to say 5, but can't remember.) The 15-kid rule is to protect privacy, because kids all know where their classmates have applied. Strictly GPA and SAT (1600) / SAT (2400) / ACT / IB. Of course ECs, leadership, sports, etc. aren't directly viewable; although you can sure make some guesses when you compare the red Xs (denied) vs. the green boxes (accepted). They even show who was given early action, deferred, deferred and accepted, deferred but denied, waitlisted, etc.

And I have to apologize for asking stupid questions where I have ready access to the answer. You CAN'T list more than 1 school from any unit on your NROTC application (i.e. you must list 5 separate units); but you CAN use the scholarship at any school within your assigned unit, which has a major in your scholarship tier. It says this right on the website and has your UMDCP/GW scenario as an example:

"Applicants are asked to pick five colleges or universities on their scholarship application. Each school must be for a different NROTC unit and one must be a state school, not necessarily in the candidate’s home state.

Each applicant must also select an academic program in which he/she wishes to major. All academic programs fall into three tiers relative to the Navy’s technical needs.

Scholarships will be awarded to an NROTC unit in conjunction with the academic major and tier the applicant specified on his/her application. So the applicant does not need to go to the exact school listed on the application if there are other schools which share the same NROTC unit. But the student must be mindful that there may be cross-town commuting costs and class timing issues which will need to be resolved. The enrolled school must support the academic major or equivalent for which the scholarship was awarded. Also, the student must have applied for admission to and been accepted at any school for which he/she wishes to utilize the scholarship.

An example may help clarify this:

Applicant has selected the Navy Option at the beginning of her application. She selects the George Washington University NROTC unit and cross-town affiliate Howard University as her first choice on the scholarship application. She selects her other four choices. She selects Astrophysics (a Tier 2 major) as her intended degree program. If she is selected for a scholarship at the George Washington University NROTC Unit, she may utilize it at Howard University, George Washington University, Georgetown University, or University of Maryland at College Park (cross-town affiliates to the NROTC unit). She must have applied for admission and been accepted at the school in order to enroll. She must declare Astrophysics as her degree program or she may choose another Tier 1 or Tier 2 major. By applying to all four of the schools mentioned, she has really increased her chance of being able to utilize a scholarship."


So the only remaining question is whether the Navy can "force" you to use a scholarship at a school where you qualify for in-state tuition, even if there are other (private) schools within the unit with the tier major to which you are accepted. I can't find that anywhere.
 
I think your advice was correct Candidad... The "San Diego Battalion" is actually 2-headed, (USD and San Diego St. both offer classes and drilling and lab on the campus), but the primary offices are located at USD. The Battalion has the majority of its mids at San Diego St (around 65), followed closely by USD (around 45), then Point Loma Nazarene and UCSD (around 5 each), then Cal St. San Marcos with a couple. The Point Loma, UCSD and San Marcos kids travel to USD or SDSU for classes, drilling and labs. USD and UCSD are only 10 minutes apart by car... but parking is another thing :)

As to whether the NETC can force your scholarship to SDSU (in the above example), or UCSD (both publics), and disallow USD or PLN (both privates), the answer cannot be yes, unless stipulated in the award in some way. I don't know the answer, but it would be counter to everything I've read in the past two years. In contrast Army ROTC stipulates the SCHOOL, not the Battalion, so there is no confusion about that Public/Private tuition issue. During the award season 9 months ago, the Army ROTC actually gave many future cadets a choice: 4 Yr. at an in-state Public, or 3 Yr. Advanced Designee at a Private, to narrow the fiscal impact to ROTC of the cadet's decision between the two.
 
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Candidad said:
Looks like at least 3 of my kid's 5 are popular units. I guess that could be good. (Must be popular for a reason, right?) Of course none of his 5 play football, so I wonder how that works out. Maybe they should limit ROTC scholarships to schools that run triple option like the SAs.

Pima - what you say about being able to use a scholarship anywhere in the unit jives with the NROTC website, but conflicts with other information we've been given. I told my son he should apply to multiple schools with his Tier major(s) in one of his units (San Diego) even though it is not on his list of 5, to maximize the utility of his scholarship should he be selected for that unit. Does that make sense? In other words, if he is assigned San Diego and he gets into 2 of the schools in the unit (1 on his list of 5; one not), he could go to either one? There is also a decent chance based on historic data his HS keeps, that he would not get into the school on his list, but get into the school in the same unit that is not on his list. I assume there would then be no problem taking the scholarship and applying it to the non-listed school, which happens to be the host.

Also, we are in CA and the state schools are "impacted" to be nice about it. We know people at the UCs and CSUs. Getting out in 4 years is nearly impossible (especially if they are away summers), no matter how diligent the students are. What would NROTC do about a 5th (or God forbid a 6th) year; and do they consider this problem when making unit assignments?
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Incorrect. This year, your scholarship is assigned to a specific school, not just the unit. So if he assigned to UCSD, he cannot just go to USD even though it is the same unit. He would have to request the change. It makes a difference because UCSD is insate and USD is out of state for CA resident. USD fills up quickly as well, keep that in mind.

If the student needs 5th year benefits, must have valid reason and apply for it.
 
^ P-Flying17 -- that is new! OK, so the award is now to a specific school. Does that mean an applicant may put both USD and SDSU (both in the San Diego Battalion) as two of the five school choices on the NROTC applciation? Or put both Tulane and Loyola of New Orleans (within the same Battalion) as two of the five school choices ?
 
That policy would be new. So new it isn't even in the NROTC 2012 Scholarship Application Checklist. (You can Google the pdf - can't figure out how to link the pdf.) Some excerpts from the 2012 Application:

"The Naval ROTC Scholarship is awarded to a specific Naval ROTC Unit."

"You must select five (5) choices for the college or university you want to attend on the NROTC scholarship and you must indicate whether or not you qualify for in-state tuition for each of your choices. Additionally, one of your first three choices must be a public state college/university where you are able to qualify for and obtain 'in-state' tuition. If you cannot obtain 'in-state' tuition at any public school with an NROTC unit, you will be required to explain why."

"Each of your five (5) choices must be for a college/university at a different Naval ROTC Unit......You may not select a unit more than once; this includes the cross-towns."

"If you are awarded a scholarship, you may use it at any of the affiliated schools with that NROTC unit."

"Award of a scholarship to a unit does not guarantee you admission to that college. We strongly suggest that you apply to all five of your listed choices as well as any affiliated schools which you might also like to attend. We will do our best to place you at one of your top 3 choices, but we cannot guarantee such placement. There is also a possibility that we will be unable to place you at any of your listed choices and may contact you at a future date for additional choices."

One thing the ISR Contract says is that placement at some unit is guaranteed, provided you meet all of your obligations. I think the idea is that with early notification there is time to apply to a number of schools with NROTC.
 
dunninla said:
Indeed, and considering PFlying-17 works within the NETC to coordinated scholarship placement at Units, I'd say the information is accurate :thumb:
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Good to know, but they really should change their published instructions and correct their website ASAP. Applicants need to know about this new policy before they select their five schools. It might affect some of those choices. (And to be honest, the website is super clear on what the rules of selection are. It's just that those are apparently no longer the rules.)

I will pass along something the Villanova unit told us when we visited:

1. Don't try to game the system. Be honest with your ranking.
2. Don't apply somewhere you are not willing to go.
 
I think all 3 ROTCs are adjusting on the fly to changing budgetary pressures. It is now impossible to have enough budgeting headroom, or allowance, to allow a scholarship to be applied to -either- a $41,000 tuition school -or- an $11,000 tuition school, awardee's choice. If the patterns of Expensive vs. Cheap were to change vs. predicted based on past years, a Battalion and Region could be millions of dollars out of budget.
 
dunninla said:
I think all 3 ROTCs are adjusting on the fly to changing budgetary pressures. It is now impossible to have enough budgeting headroom, or allowance, to allow a scholarship to be applied to -either- a $41,000 tuition school -or- an $11,000 tuition school, awardee's choice. If the patterns of Expensive vs. Cheap were to change vs. predicted based on past years, a Battalion and Region could be millions of dollars out of budget.
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To be honest, I anticipated cuts across the board. With the meager numbers in Ivy ROTC programs, it hardly seemed a priority (particularly considering Navy's technical bent). I'm a bit blown away to have Navy willing to buck up for Harvard, Tufts or MIT, and for a social sciences degree at that... it's a bit astounding to me. O_O
I was expecting University of Texas, all things considered.
 
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