In the time since my last post I have tried to ask around wherever I can. My academic adviser put aside some time for me and I spoke to her about the possibility of changing tiers from tier 1 to tier 2. She basically straightened up and gave me a lecture of how prestigious a scholarship it is and that losing it would be a mistake I would live with for the rest of my life (which I am aware of - especially since if I lose my scholarship my family has told me that they would turn their backs on me i.e. incentive to stay in my tier). When I persuaded her that I at least wanted to have a plan, she told me that about 80% of tier 1 scholarship students lose their scholarship by moving to tier 2. She said this was the reason, and it made sense to me, ~"The Navy wants people in the Tier 1 scholarships so that, when you commission, they can place you anywhere and you will have your opportunity to serve. Because of this, tier 1 scholarships are the least competitive of all the tiers. What ends up happening is that people used to get a scholarship for tier 1, put up with the suck for a year, then request a change so that they could keep the scholarship and get into their area of study without being as competitive. So now the state of the Navy selection process pegs people as trying to cheat the system."
In my MIDN regulation it says
"Normally, the NSTC will not take favorable action on such a request [transfer] unless it has been favorably recommended by both Professors of Naval Science, and is in the best interests of the student and the Navy"
So here is what I'm stuck with
It has been about a month in this tier 1 major and I can already tell that I have zero passion for the physics and math (unlike the passion I had for biology, pre med). The simple fact, I rushed myself into the scholarship without thinking long term.
My family is telling me to stick it out and put up with the suck.
My advisor is telling me to stick it out because odds are I won't get a transfer.
If I lose I will have no financial backup and shunned from a very close knit family. My gut is telling me that, because I don't have a passion for my tier (I'm NOT doing basics by the way, so it's not like I'm getting bent out of shape from courses everyone needs to take) that I will not do as well in my class. Don't get me wrong I want to succeed in whatever I do, but I also want to love what I do. I do love the program and, even if I lost my scholarship, I would pursue NROTC.
In fact, the only reason I'm not depressed like I was is because I enjoy NROTC so much and it keeps me busy. I want to serve, but am still very confused on just how competitive it is to get a change from tier 1 to tier 2 and keep the 4-year scholarship.
I do believe that I will serve the Navy better through changing tiers and I know that this is the service for me. Can anyone confirm any cases of tier 1 4-year scholarships changing to tier 2? If so how many and was it a long process? On the other side has anyone know people that have lost their scholarship because of this reason? I suppose I'm looking for a little bit of a better statistic then 80% washout and keeping my faith.
Go Navy!