What to do?

[vrunner]

Alright I have finally jumped in after skimming thru the site every so often. Great site too! So let me post some of my sons stats
3.7 GPA
Class rank 62 out of 490
NHS
Boy state
10 continuous years in the cub/ Boy Scouts with multiple patrol leader and other positions including ASPL
Eagle Scout with palms
Order of the arrow brotherhood
NG leadership award
Lacrosse with JV letters, will be varsity this year
BSA counselor at summer camp
Currently holding down a part time job at seasonal camp ground running the recreation dept for the kids
SAT math/reading 1200
PFT 60 push ups 62 sit ups 6.48 mile

he has applied to several schools, VT, Norwich, Valley Forge, Penn State and Stockton. He got offers from all the schools but he really wants to go to Norwich. We have been there, did an overnight and he really likes the school. They did offer a nice merit scholarship that will cover 60 percent of the tuition. But that still leaves a lot on the table. Valley forge was the other consideration and I pushed him in that direction as an option because on the ECP. It's also fairly close by so we were able to check it out several times. They called yesterday to inform him he was awarded a full scholarship. We will have to pay for a few things but 95 percent of the cost is covered. When he interviewed they were very honest in telling him it is a difficult program that many do not complete. That did put the fear of God in him. So he was hesitant as was I to push him in this direction.

So we now wait to see if he gets a AROTC scholarship for Norwich. I know the SAT's don't help but he has taken the test 7 times with tutoring and little improvement. He is taking AP classes and does great in school, math is not his forte, he gets it done but he has to work at it. English, history and writing are a breeze for him.

The other issue I see is he wants to major in international political science with German as his language. It was originally listed as criminal justice but changed the beginning of this month after we did more research. I know engineering is the top choice but it just not for him.

This whole adventure started with West Point, but his SAT scores and major wouldn't cut it.

So now the questions, I say my son should accept VF offer, put the deposit in for Norwich and sit tight to see what happens with the ROTC scholarship. he wants to wait and see what happens before doing anything. Norwich is great but a lot of debt will be racked up if he doesn't get an offer. I an not a fan of him going that route. What is the best choice? Plus does anyone have info for VF? And ECP? I know like most things there are the positives and negatives. Does the major change help? Hurt? He wants to make the military a career. He wants to go active duty. Sorry for the long post!

 

[scutrules]

I don't know much about these schools so I can't offer much advice there, but I will say one thing. Your son does not have to accept a school until May, give him a bit of time to mull everything over, see if he gets the ROTC scholarship, and go from there. No use accepting two schools now when there is no rush to do so.

I would not push your son too much in one direction as he is the one that will have attend the school. If he chooses to go to VF and hates it, he will get far less money as a transfer student than we would entering as a freshman at a different school. You can certainly put limitations on how much you are willing to spend, but I believe he should have the final say on where he goes.

Good luck to your son in the scholarship process!

 

[vrunner]

Thanks for the info. We want to make sure he has options. He knows if he really wants to be an officer it may mean not going to his first choice school. The bright side is after 2 years he can go to any school he wants to finish his degree, including Norwich. And he will graduate a 1st LT. Dollars come into play to some degree but I am a firm believer when you work hard to earn something you work even harder to keep it. So the scholarships I feel are the way to go since its completely up to him to accomplish his goals. Somehow when mom and dad pay for stuff it isn't as meaningful. I checked on how late we can sign up or except offers and March was it, no later and that was both schools. Paying the 300 to secure Norwich is worth it as insurance at this point, same goes for the VF scholarship. I don't want to see him lose a spot because we waited to long.

 

[nofodad]

what to do

Good advice from Scutrules and overall a good plan. If your DS's strength is not math/science (same with my DS) you may want to encourage him to study Russian, Chinese, Arabic or Farsi if possible wherever he attends in addition to his poli/sci major. It will be a much better resume builder and as a contracted cadet my DS gets an extra $1500.00 (for Russian).

 

[kinnem]

Thanks for the info. We want to make sure he has options. He knows if he really wants to be an officer it may mean not going to his first choice school. The bright side is after 2 years he can go to any school he wants to finish his degree, including Norwich. And he will graduate a 1st LT. Dollars come into play to some degree but I am a firm believer when you work hard to earn something you work even harder to keep it. So the scholarships I feel are the way to go since its completely up to him to accomplish his goals. Somehow when mom and dad pay for stuff it isn't as meaningful. I checked on how late we can sign up or except offers and March was it, no later and that was both schools. Paying the 300 to secure Norwich is worth it as insurance at this point, same goes for the VF scholarship. I don't want to see him lose a spot because we waited to long.

Well, first, if March is the date you still have 3-4 weeks to patiently wait. He might very well hear about AROTC scholarship before then. When you get closer to the deadline, then you can pay both deposits. Patience.

Second, if he is paying for school, then I agree with scutrules, that he gets to choose. However, if you're paying for school or any part of it, you get to vote and frankly I think you get to decide. There is absolutely no sense to going massively in debt to attend a college. I'm not familiar with VF but I don't see a degree from Norwich vs VF making a huge difference in what his income is in life.

The way I handled it with DS, since Dad was paying, was I set an approximate dollar amount. Wherever he want it had to be roughly equal to in-state tuition. He got the necessary non-ROTC scholarships so he could attend his preferred out of state school. So it was his decision but I set some parameters for him.

 

[vrunner]

Good info! He was all for VF till he finished the interview and heard how difficult it can be. I didn't sugar coat it either. Frankly its all hard IMO, VF is more so because of the fast track to 2nd LT. We will kick back and see what happens. Like I said VF is only two years, after that he gets to go to any collage public or private as long as he is accepted and they have an ROTC. So sky is the limit. He will most likely go to one of the military collages since he wants AD. Languge wise he is going with German since he has already taken it in HS.