Accepted to Harvard but not granted an NROTC scholarship

[Ivydad]

I am the proud father of a 3rd Class Midshipmen at the Harvard/MIT NROTC unit. He is one of two Harvard midshipmen from the class of 2013 and the only one not on scholarship.

It is hard to understand how he could be accepted to Harvard (7% admittance rate) and not be deserving of a NROTC scholarship.

In an effort to earn a scholarship and be commissioned an officer my son joined the Harvard/MIT unit as a College Programmer. During his freshman year he made the effort to excel in his naval science classes (Harvard gives zero credit for these classes), PT and general studies and was awarded the academic achievement ribbon twice for high GPA (3.75). For this effort the Capt. of Unit recommended him for a PNS Leadership scholarship and he was made a squad leader.

This month we learned that the Navy did not grant my son the PNS scholarship because they are over subscribed for the class of 2013 and most likely no scholarship will be offered. The Capt. was very supportive and made it clear that my son deserved a scholarship. Furthermore, the Capt. said he would recommend my son for "Advanced Standing" which would include a monthly stipend, entitle him to a senior cruise and allow him to be commissioned in the Navy (though no scholarship).

The issue is “Advanced Standing” is not guaranteed and a decision would not be made until the summer before his junior year. Therefore my son would be required to give another year to the NROTC as a programmer. Then the Navy would make 1 of 3 decisions: award him a scholarship, grant Advance Standing status or drop him from the program.

It is very hard to understand why the Navy cannot grant Advanced Standing immediately or guarantee Advanced Standing based on meeting certain requirements so that my son would know that he can be commissioned an officer (even if he has to pay for his education).

An interesting piece of information is in the recent past the Harvard/MIT unit has only commissioned scholarship students... there has never been a programmer commissioned! This statistic does not bode well for my son.

There have been countless articles about ROTC at elite colleges and how the typical Ivy League student has a little interest in pursuing public service through our military. Participating in ROTC in the Ivy League is not easy for many reasons... My son is not your typical student and he proud to wear the uniform and represent the best of our military on campus. The Navy has the opportunity to acknowledge the achievements and efforts of an outstanding young man of impeccable character and intellect with a NROTC scholarship and a commission in the Navy.

It is my firm belief that in today’s troubled times the Navy could use intelligent young men... it just doesn’t make any sense!

[aglages]

Why didn't your son apply for a NROTC scholarship before he graduated from high school? If his stats were good enough to get into Harvard then he should have been an extremely strong candidate for an NROTC scholarship before college.

The problem I think he is having now is budgetary. The Navy is evidently cutting (eliminating?) their In-College scholarships and focusing their ROTC money on selecting the best of the high school applicants. If it is any consolation I believe the Air Force has also drastically reduced it's In-College scholarships.

Again I don't think this is a reflection of the Navy's opinion of your son or his Ivy League education. He just seems to be caught at the wrong place at the wrong time in regards to how the Navy is allocating it's ROTC scholarship dollars.

[DougBetsy]

I wonder if this is one of those times when it's worth trying a call to your congressman or senator.

Good luck.

[Pima]

It is important to understand that scholarship boards are not just academic. They are looking for the WHOLE candidate, not just the smartest. I know that gives no solace, but it is the truth. You can be incredibly smart, but that still only accounts for 60% of the score, if your son is lacking EC's and recs that 40% will impact the WCS.

The boards award points to each candidate and then they draw a line. Anyone above X number gets a scholarship, below and there is no scholarship.

Additionally you do have one thing going for your son. There may not be a guarantee regarding the advance standing, but the adage RHIP (rank has its privileges) and the fact that an O6 is willing to go to bat for him will carry more weight than an O4 or O5.

There is always a higher risk of not getting an In college scholarship because as they stated to your son, for the class of 13 they are meeting the numbers, thus it is very competitive. Scholarships sometimes are given out for particular majors, and it maybe that a cadet from a lower quality education was selected because of their major while your son's major is not a career field that they need currently.

Just like AD life, the military many times turns out to be all about timing.

[rkrosnar]

PIMA is absolutely correct. but this young man has a very bright future ahead
of him, since Harvard made an offer.

RGK

[Pima]

Without a doubt he does have a bright future, but I do understand the frustration that you have an intelligent child who wants to serve and can't find a way in.

This is the time as a parent you tell your child that if being in the Navy is your fate, than it will happen.

I do have to ask Ivydad one question.

Have you asked your DS if every scholarship recipient was commissioned upon graduation. Did every cadet go to summer training?

This is a tell tale sign regarding man power issues.

At our DS's det. (AF) a scholarship cadet with his career assignment (AFSC) was handed walking papers 3 months prior to graduation. 1/3 -1/2 of the det did not get summer FT. In other words, the writing was on the wall that the AF had decided to slow down alternative commissions. This was reinforced a few months later when the AF canceled OCS for the yr. and announced a RIF

This could be where the Navy is at currently. They are trying to get ahead of the game before they have to do drastic cuts.

It is important to not only understand the ROTC process, but to understand that Man Power has a hand in this too. They need to keep a balance of not only how many are coming on line, but how many are already on line. If the current officers are not diving at the amount they had planned, they need to slow the pipeline down so the company grade to field to flag stay in balance.

The economy has a great impact on this issue. Traditionally, if the economy is good, retention is low for the military. Conversely if the economy is poor the retention is high. Due the math, our economy is not good and so they probably are over filled with company grade officers.

Again this all goes back to timing.

Out of curiosity why didn't he apply in hs? Did he want to test the waters (no pun) first?

[DougBetsy]

Originally Posted by Pima

At our DS's det. (AF) a scholarship cadet with his career assignment (AFSC) was handed walking papers 3 months prior to graduation. 1/3 -1/2 of the det did not get summer FT.

Holy cow! Does that mean the cadet has to repay the cost of his education?

[Pima]

No, it was the AF's decision to cut him loose, so he was not held accountable for repaying the money.

However, imagine in March you are informed you have no job. The cadet had planned for 4 yrs that he would be serving for at least 4 yrs in the AF, only to find out late in the game it would not occur. It really placed him behind the 8 ball in the interview process since he never intended to go that route and his peers had now been interviewing for several months. He graduated with no job. Even more heartbreaking was he was the only one cut loose out of 20-30 cadets.

It was his gpa, I think it was 2.8-3.0. It wasn't great, but it wasn't horrific. However, the decision was not made by the det., it was made by the national board...we need to cut, and anyone under this line is gone. He was under the line.

Again, this is why you need to pay attention to your major. Don't just do a throw away because you think/believe you have a job when you graduate. Always be cognizant that your major is also important.

This was also true for FT, they made a line and anyone under a certain gpa did not get FT. This will hurt them this yr because Cadet 300's get their AFSC in Feb/Mar time frame. To go up against other cadets on a national level that had FT and you didn't places you at a severe disadvantage for getting your dream job.

[Just_A_Mom]

IvyDad - I don't think there are any easy answers here.
What is your son's major?

An interesting piece of information is in the recent past the Harvard/MIT unit has only commissioned scholarship students... there has never been a programmer commissioned! This statistic does not bode well for my son.

Why? Some college students take ROTC and then decide it's not for them or just take it for the leadership experience.

If he truly wants to serve, he could consider cutting his losses with the Navy and consider either Marines or Army.
IF he considers Marines he can check out the Marine PLC program. This will provide some money for college and does not require ROTC.
If he considers Army then he should go to the AROTC office. If he gets with them this year he can go to LTC (Leader's Training Course) next summer. This takes the place of MS I and MS II.
His Junior and senior year he would take MS III and MS IV and the summer prior to his senior year he would go to LDAC.
I *think* after successful completion of LTC next summer he would be eligible to contract.
I have no idea about a scholarship. He would have to discuss this with the AROTC batallion.

I am pretty sure that the decision to contract a cadet/mid is always made after the second year of college, if they are not on scholarship.

[basilrathbone]

I doubt that the "whole student" thing is a factor in this case. The fact that he got into Harvard indicates that his EC's and recs were already stellar enough to have him stand out in a field crowded with applicants with perfect SATs and Class Valedictorians. Academics alone don't get you into Harvard.

I don't know the answer. Maybe it's his concentration or maybe there were no spots available at all this year. If he really wants to serve in the Navy then his time in the Unit as a programmer is providing valuable experience for him. That should help him for Advance Standing. Otherwise he can also consider applying for OCS upon graduation. It would seem that his time in the Unit would be very valuable in getting a spot at OCS. I wouldn't worry too much about the percentages working against him. It could be that there have been no college programmers to be commissioned from Harvard becasue no one has ever tried.

If you decide to go with the suggestion to contact your congressman then I strongly suggest you run that by the Captain first. Surprise phone calls from Congressmen to CO's never seem to go over very well.