navymomwannabe
5-Year Member
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2013
- Messages
- 865
+1 Kinnem....LOL!
For those who have recently received 'bad' news, I just want to offer some encouragement. To make a very long story short, DS was in this spot 4 years ago. It's been a challenge, to say the least, to try to figure out ANYTHING in this process. This message board is a great source of information and support, so that is something, but things military often do not make a bit of sense! The good news is this 'bad' news will really make those candidates evaluate themselves and their drive to become officers. DS decided to join the battalion as a college programmer and spent two long years waiting on a scholarship. He's a 3.9 engineering student and volunteered for every possible detail the unit offered. He earned the respect of the unit staff, as well as those in his command. He has said, more than once, that he wouldn't trade this experience for anything. (I might trade it--it was difficult financially for our family! ) If you really want this, don't be discouraged by the process.
Kat
Kinnem will chime in, but typically from what I know is they will discuss the college programmer aspect and how you can apply for an ICSP (in college)?
The options given to DS were...
NROTC Scholarship-go to college, get good grades, try to get college level leadership experience, do NOT join the unit as it disqualifies the applicant from NROTC Scholarship program.
USNA-go to college, JOIN the unit and do anything and everything possible in the way of leadership, get good grades, seek a recommendation from the CO. We were told that a re-ap to USNA shows determination and commitment and when coupled with grades and NROTC experience, is almost a guarantee. (Yes, we know how those guarantees go!)
Since DS really had his heart set on USNA, he joined the unit as a "college programmer", which basically means without scholarship. His original intent was to do whatever he needed to do to get to USNA.
When we dropped him off for O-week, you would have thought we were dropping him off in hell....not because of NROTC, but because he did NOT want to go to this college in particular and he was stuck there because they had offered him academic scholarships. However, when I went up for the batallion barbeque at the end of the week, I saw a completely different young man. Within two weeks, he decided to drop his re-ap to USNA and focus on getting a scholarship where he was. He liked the unit, the staff and the school.
Funny how these things work themselves out!
Kat
If attending a college that does not offer NROTC but a school across the street does (Tulane), can I still sign up as a college programmer? Having been given the no for an nrotc scholarship and still awaiting word from Usna, i began working more on plan C attending Loyola New Orleans on an academic partial Scholarship, they are shown as a cross-town affiliate with Tulane's unit on the nrotc page (and are across the street from one another) so i hoped to join as a college programmer at Loyola and try to get the scholarship thereafter.