Applying for ROTC

Fengawr

5-Year Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2011
Messages
129
Hello everyone! Junior year is coming up and I am curious about a few things:

Is there anything as far as ROTC goes that I can do during junior year?

When exactly can I apply for the ROTC scholarship? I am not really sure if it is during junior year or senior year, if anyone can shed some light on that, it would be great!
 
Get good grades, take the most rigorous course load you can, SAT/ACT, be involved in school for EC's, practice the PF

You did not identify the branch, AFROTC does not place school selection in the process/award. AROTC/NROTC do. NROTC and AFROTC place intended majors into the equation, AROTC does not.

Meet with the units at the schools you are interested in, this can be combined with a school visit.

Application process opens up the spring of jr.yr. The 1st of the boards will not meet until the fall. In other words, believe it or not on a good day it will be @ 16 mos from now before you are awarded a scholarship, bad day it could be 21 months (april SR yr)

Good Luck.
 
Thanks for the advice! I do have the GPA and EC's, but I feel I need to talk to my counselor about my class schedule. I am only taking like 1 AP class and doing calculus and I think it will be too easy.
 
"one AP and Calculus"

Trust me, that is sufficient as a Junior. You will find that getting an A in regular Calculus, for most people, is harder than getting and A in AP Bio, or AP Chem.

Taking Calculus as a junior is plenty of rigor. For next year, if you haven't already, make sure to take Physics and Chemistry. Air Force and Navy (Naval Option) are big on Calculus, Physics, Chemistry. Each year Army is heading that direction more and more as well.
 
"one AP and Calculus"

Trust me, that is sufficient as a Junior. You will find that getting an A in regular Calculus, for most people, is harder than getting and A in AP Bio, or AP Chem.

Taking Calculus as a junior is plenty of rigor. For next year, if you haven't already, make sure to take Physics and Chemistry. Air Force and Navy (Naval Option) are big on Calculus, Physics, Chemistry. Each year Army is heading that direction more and more as well.

Oh yes, I forgot to specify, I am taking pre-calculus. But some say it can be harder than regular calculus. The branch I want to join is the Army. I was thinking about of switching to AP physics instead of just physics two, but I am not sure.
 
For Army, worry more about GPA/class standing than additional AP's, if you already have some AP. Your senior yr GPA will not matter much, load up on AP's then.

What do you have for Leadership and Athlete?
 
That is the real question gojack, what branch does the OP want.

Fengawr,

What branch? Until you state the branch every poster will give general guidance for the branch they are related to, and that can hurt you.
 
The branch I want is Army. I am varsity cross country, i've gone to states in racquetball, and I will most likely be varsity track. I was in student govt the first semesters of both my freshmen year and sophomore year. I am going to apply to boys state. My cumulative GPA is about a 3.9 un-weighted. I got a 4.0 this last semester.
 
I would say you are sitting "very pretty", you seem to have the "whole package" only thing missing is SAT/ACT.
 
Yes, I took the PSAT and the sophomore ACT thing this year.. I only got like a 24 on the sophomore ACT, but I aced the math part. With some proper studying I could raise the rest of the sections and make it pretty well..
 
^^^
Good idea, what majors/colleges are you considering?

In college, I want to do criminal justice or possibly even law. I've been looking at the schools around me for the AROTC scholarships and also the citadel, texas a&m and maybe norwich. I might also apply to West Point.
 
If your future interests lie in Criminal Justice or Law, don't bother taking AP Physics. Just take the regular Physics.

Agree that you don't have to do a lot of APs for Army ROTC, and certainly not in Junior year. Concentrate instead on activities that prove your leadership, that in fact, others will follow your lead .... for example President of Sr. Class, rather than VP or Secretary...Captain of your sports team, or get a job where others actually report to you. I'm not that familiar with Boy's State, whether that is more academic or leadership oriented. You don't need any more academic, most likely.

Here's what I'd do:

1. Focus on Leadership, and
2) since you're a runner, situps and pushups.
3) do enough research, interview enough people (officers preferably), etc. to be able to explain exactly how you came to the conclusion that being an Army Officer is a great fit for your skills, character, and goals.
4) Get at least 600 on both Math and Verbal SAT, or 27 on ACT. The higher of course the better.
 
If your future interests lie in Criminal Justice or Law, don't bother taking AP Physics. Just take the regular Physics.

Agree that you don't have to do a lot of APs for Army ROTC, and certainly not in Junior year. Concentrate instead on activities that prove your leadership, that in fact, others will follow your lead .... for example President of Sr. Class, rather than VP or Secretary...Captain of your sports team, or get a job where others actually report to you. I'm not that familiar with Boy's State, whether that is more academic or leadership oriented. You don't need any more academic, most likely.

Here's what I'd do:

1. Focus on Leadership, and
2) since you're a runner, situps and pushups.
3) do enough research, interview enough people (officers preferably), etc. to be able to explain exactly how you came to the conclusion that being an Army Officer is a great fit for your skills, character, and goals.
4) Get at least 600 on both Math and Verbal SAT, or 27 on ACT. The higher of course the better.

Thanks for the advice Dunninla! I am thinking about becoming a lifeguard for a part-time job but I am not sure if I can pass the test. I think that will look pretty good on a resume. I have decent chance of becoming captain of the XC team senior year too. But I just think the part I lack in is in leadership activities. I may have been in student council for a semester for both freshman and sophomore years, but I was not president or anything like that. Only vice president.
 
Fengawr,
For a start take a look at the interview form, and see how you stack up LINK
 
In college, I want to do criminal justice or possibly even law. I've been looking at the schools around me for the AROTC scholarships and also the citadel, texas a&m and maybe norwich. I might also apply to West Point.

May be helpful for you to look at what degrees are in demand in the
Law enforcement / criminal justice fields, when my son was looking at it,
he was surprised to find out that an Accounting, Finance, Computer Science degrees (all with a foreign language) or the forensic sciences are all strongly preferred over a criminal justice major.

http://www.fbijobs.gov/111.asp
https://www.cia.gov/careers/opportunities/index.html
http://www.justice.gov/dea/resources/job_applicants.html
http://www.dia.mil/careers/
http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/careers/civilian_opportunities.shtml#criminalist

FWIW; Texas A&M offers a "Forensic & Investigative Science Degree-Pre-Law Option"
 
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Fengawr,
For a start take a look at the interview form, and see how you stack up LINK

I've compared myself to the review sheet that you linked to me and in all the areas, I will get the most amount of points possible (On the athletics sections and extra curricular). But some of the things I looked at were just rough estimations for myself.

Also looking at some of the other sections where I get scored, I just realized the importance of having a good interview. It seems to me that the person interviewing can decide your whole fate regarding ROTC and a scholarship.
 
I've compared myself to the review sheet that you linked to me and in all the areas, I will get the most amount of points possible (On the athletics sections and extra curricular). But some of the things I looked at were just rough estimations for myself.

That's great,
pick the area(s) where you find you are the weakest
and concentrate on improving those in your junior yr.
The Army is big on balance in the SAL categories.
But the ACT (smarts) still trumps all

Also looking at some of the other sections where I get scored, I just realized the importance of having a good interview. It seems to me that the person interviewing can decide your whole fate regarding ROTC and a scholarship.
Command presence, charisma and leadership potential are all highly subjective, you can't put them on paper. Interview with your first choice school and hope the PMS thinks you have potential and goes to bat for you. If your top choice PMS is on your side, that is the best you can hope for. The more committed you are to your top choice the better your odds.

__________________
free advice... it's always worth what you paid for it
 
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