I know it's been done at least 2 years in a row -- the other Marine Option got his last year, my son this year. All of the paperwork was done online prior to contacting the particular unit he ended up enrolling at as a college programmer. The online application ultimately goes to the RS (in my son's case, the XO of the Recruiting Station) who conducts interviews, administers PFT, etc -- just as it happened on my son's first time around. My son was selected during the early board and got his top choice -- the school he was already assigned to. The scholarship actually kicks in the first semester of his sophomore year.
If he hadn't received the 4 year scholarship, the unit was going to start the process for a sideload -- which would have happened the second semester.
As long as an applicant has less than 30 hours of college credit, he/she is eligible for the 4 year scholarship from what I understand. In fact, I believe one of my son's friends ended up with 29 hours after his freshman year, so he applied for the Navy Option side. My son also had a buddy that received the 4 year Navy Option scholarship as a college programmer.
Of course, although it's a 4 year scholarship, in effect it's only 3.