NROTC Scholarship

Has anyone here heard of the Legion Of Valor Award?
"The Legion of Valor of the United States of America, Inc., to stimulate development of leadership, gives an award annually for achievement of scholastic excellence in military and academic subjects. This award, a bronze cross and certificate, is awarded to an outstanding MS III cadet. The number of awards authorized per ROTC brigade or overseas command is based upon the following criteria: one award is authorized for each 4,000 MS III cadets enrolled within an Army ROTC brigade or overseas command, plus one additional award for each fraction of that."

I think that about 8 are awarded annually.
 
In which month do most of the NROTC scholarships get awarded? There has been no change in my DS's status page since applying last summer.
 
In which month do most of the NROTC scholarships get awarded? There has been no change in my DS's status page since applying last summer.

I believe that typically the largest number of scholarships are awarded out of this month's (Jan) board. But it takes some time between the board's decision to getting the status updated. Often it takes weeks. Of course, if you DS isn't awarded this month he'll be reboarded. There will be plenty of opportunites for a scholarship later on. Given that this fourm hasn't lit up yet with "I've gotten a scholarship" threads, I'm sure things are still being processed out of this month's board. All you can do is be patient and imbibe large quantities of adult beverages. :biggrin:
 
Thanks so much. This information is really helpful. Saw a great recipe for Irish coffees in today's WSJ :)
 
My DS received his NROTC this past Nov. he was very surprised because he was told to expect Jan or early Feb. in fact I started a ROTC scholorship thread back in Nov and only a few kids were on there and it basically died. He also has another friend who put in his application around the same time and he has not heard yet. He started getting concerned when my son received his and called his RO who said expect that most will find out in early Feb.

I know how it feels to wait.... DS is waiting on USNA and agree with Kinnen, adult beverages do help... My poor liver though! Good luck and hang in there!
 
Thanks Crair70! This information is all so helpful. It sure help reduce the amount of stress
attendant on this process. Guiness is good.
 
It's Just A Matter of Waiting

This is our first kid to go so it's all new for us. Some of what I will say has been said so it will not be a news flash. I'm just feeding any information to some who may be as new to this as we are.

I got some good feed back on Monday regarding the NROTC process. Now don't shoot the messenger because although we try to get it right this is like playing post office.

I had to call two units as well as the school so my kid could see and know for himself just what he is getting into. He already toured the schools but now he is digging deeper into the NROTC unit and the specific college.

Very helpful, I was a bit worried for making the call my kid will normally do his own footwork but with scheduling and driving I have to be involved. Both units were very inviting as well as the specific department of study. In fact they though it was great he was being so aggressive.

1st. I was made clear by the two different units that neither unit was full and that they expected to loose many of their kids to the academy. As I understood it many of these kids apply for both NROTC and the academy. If the academy is offered most will go. This opens the door for the NROTC applicant. Again, as I understood it many of these kids will be boarded from Jan through April. Sorry, I would rather not comment on the school or unit out of respect to the people I spoke with.

Now all that being said I was talking to a senior officer who said many of the Jan. through April kids will not find out until April. Yes, some will but not all. Respectful to all others that knows so much. Pima has said many of these things as well as other.

Thank you Pima for your guidance and insight.

Getting back to the visit... What I found out is that the schools like to see kids come back. The kids may not meet anybody directly involved in their application; however, the staff they do meet I guess may inform the admissions on what they found in the student. This was a little not on the record information and not 100% clear but that is understandable. You have to respect the school for not wanting to give some false security that this is the way to go.

In the end this is what I got:
1. The extra visit is good in regard to the school.
2. The units are not full. There is a lot here that we will never know.
3. Jan through April will be the big release.
4. Some will cont. to wait to find out until April even if they are boarded now.

If you think about 4 and are proactive this is actually very good. Yes we all want to know; however, the more one knows the less hope another has. There is so much to say about all these kids and the board knows that. I'm sure if they could board them all it would be done but they have their guidance and expectations they must meet. I'm just going to coach my kid to focus on his "B" plan if he does not get picked.

I don't know if all this is right or if it helps but it's what I have found out.
 
Last edited:
Blacklab, and others, time to be filling out the FAFSA as part of plan B. You can perhaps get some aid so kiddo can enter ROTC as a college programmer if the scholarship doesn't come thru. :thumb:
 
Tracking...

We did his CSS profile a long time ago and FAFSA on Jan 1 at 6am (coffee time). I'm not one to sit around I have to have things done, organized, no clutter, put away. The information you communicate is very important, I'm just happy it was done on that 1st day, one less thing to worry about. I just need to wait on my accountant to get the real numbers so the form can have all the accurate information.

Plan "B" complete.
He is working on scholarships now, I think my son has 8 or 9 that he has sent and 4 in progress. There are others but as you well know they have deadlines that allow him to write, review, edit, review, and then submit. He told me today that many of his friends just completed their applications to colleges not long ago and only 3 or 4 of his friends have completed scholarships.

This is crazy stuff!!
 
^^^ LOL. Yeah, I went crazy with it last year. I hope to get my first pass at the FAFSA for this year done tomorrow. I'll get the final numbers from my accountant (me) in February. :biggrin:
 
Can FAFSA money be applied to room and board if a applicant already has the full ROTC tuition scholorship?
 
crair70 - Depends on what type of money the FAFSA is and where it is from. Any of the Federal grants or loans can be used for anything. Living expenses, pizza, rent, books, whatever. The individual state and school money that comes as a result of the FAFSA may have different stipulations.
 
I completely agree with mdrob.

FAFSA is about loans and grants (Pell), and I have never heard of any college saying it cannot be used towards room and board for a cadet on scholarship. DD not in ROTC, but on scholarship this yr took FAFSA because they bumped up the cost of attendance, it was awarded, and actually because there was a difference from overpayment they cut a check to us. We immediately paid back that amount.

Understand, there are 2 types of Stafford loans. One will accrue interest upon graduation, one will accrue while still in school.

As stated by mdrob, colleges that use FAFSA as a guidance for their FA at their school do have the right to stipulate where the money goes.
 
Last edited:
Also keep in mind this will depend a lot upon what is considered "aid". Many big name universities guarantee they will meet full need. However, this amount of need may be less than what the ROTC scholarship would award. In this case, you can't use that extra money to pay for room and board.

For example, if a school costs $55K the school may determine that your EFC (Expected Family Contribution) is $35K, so would award a need-based scholarship of $20K. However, if you get a ROTC scholarship that then pays $40K towards tuition at the school, you cannot use that $20K toward room and board since it's less than your EFC. Only in a case where the EFC was less than the remaining amount after the scholarship would you be able to.

Basically in any type of need based "scholarship" (term used by any schools we've dealt with), any outside scholarships (whether National Merit, local rotary club, or ROTC) first reduce the amount of need based money the school awards before reducing your debt.
 
Definately check with the school. In the case of my DD, she has also been awarded two other scholarships but since they are given by the Admissions office and not the Financial Aid office at the University they are on top of the NROTC and can be used for anything on her school "bill" to include Room and Board but can't be given as "cash" to her. And yes, I have called at least two people to get the same story (And will be calling again once the school has the FAFSA!)
 
Thanks everyone this is all really good information us parents stressing over what's next for our kids. Please keep it coming. Thanks.
 
4 yr Navy ROTC Scholarship

Just checked DS NROTC status page and saw that he has been selected for a 4 year Navy Option scholarship. Of course, this is contingent on meeting all requirements, including medical. He was already denied a waiver for color deficiency by the USNA so I don't know what the odds are that Navy ROTC will decide otherwise. I guess that we wait and see. In the long run it shouldn't really matter as he already has appointment to USMA and was awarded a 4 year type 7 AFROTC. We are waiting for USAFA appointments to be mailed out in March so this is really plan D at this point. Just thought I would point out that it is time to be watching for those who are hoping to be selected from most recent NROTC board. Good Luck to all!!!!
 
Back
Top