Not looking good for AFROTC EA, options?

I am currently on a Type 2 AFROTC scholarship. I am a
sophomore and my tech major is Computer Science. I have a GPA of 2.9 despite two failures (both of which were physics and calculus courses I was approved for by my advisor, however did not meet the pre-reqs). I finished last semester with 4 "A's", 1 "B", and an F! Needless to say, my scholarship is now on suspension so my chance of EA are slim to none.
My question is (I will be discussing this with my Cadre soon), what are my options? My end goal is to become a military officer, period. I would be thrilled with a commission to any branch of service after graduation at this point. If I stay in AFROTC after not getting picked up for EA, (not on scholarship of course, I'm sure it will be gone after not getting picked up), will it improve my chances of OTS after graduation? Or, if I joined a reserve unit/air or national guard, would it improve my chances? Would it be better to focus on my degree (which if I don't get picked up, will change to a non-tech Management degree with a minor in Business Adminstration), keep up my GPA, and apply to all branches of OTC/OCS when I have graduated? Anyone know of any special programs? Thanks for any advice you can offer.

joshual said:

I am currently on a Type 2 AFROTC scholarship. I am a
sophomore and my tech major is Computer Science. I have a GPA of 2.9 despite two failures (both of which were physics and calculus courses I was approved for by my advisor, however did not meet the pre-reqs). I finished last semester with 4 "A's", 1 "B", and an F! Needless to say, my scholarship is now on suspension so my chance of EA are slim to none.
My question is (I will be discussing this with my Cadre soon), what are my options? My end goal is to become a military officer, period. I would be thrilled with a commission to any branch of service after graduation at this point. If I stay in AFROTC after not getting picked up for EA, (not on scholarship of course, I'm sure it will be gone after not getting picked up), will it improve my chances of OTS after graduation? Or, if I joined a reserve unit/air or national guard, would it improve my chances? Would it be better to focus on my degree (which if I don't get picked up, will change to a non-tech Management degree with a minor in Business Adminstration), keep up my GPA, and apply to all branches of OTC/OCS when I have graduated? Anyone know of any special programs? Thanks for any advice you can offer.

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I don't know a heck of a lot about AFROTC so take this with a grain of salt.

I'm not sure that EA and scholarship are connected. In fact I think they are not since non-scholarship cadets can get an EA. That being said, I do think your GPA will probably keep you from getting an EA. As I understand the process you cannot continue in AFROTC without the EA, scholarship or no. The EA strikes me as the equivalent of NROTC Advanced Standing. If you don't get it you're out. Period. (I'm sure Pima will jump in if I'm wrong).

If you are no longer allowed to pursue ROTC, I think you have a few options.
1. Complete your degree and try OTS/OCS after graduation.
2. Pursue Marine Corps PLC where you would be at Quantico the next two summers training and commission that way. I'm sure the other services have similar programs but I am not familiar with them.

I have no idea what the options would be with National Guard and Reserves.

I know this is water under the bridge and cannot be changed (and I probably do't need to point this out) but taking those courses without first taking the prereqs was probably a poor decision. No one will watch out for your interests like you. I'm not sure I woulod have trusted an advisor who probably really didn't understand my abilities. I just point this out for future reference. Good Luck. I hope your dream to commission still comes true.

PS. Discuss with with the cadre as you plan. I'm sure they can be a lot hore helpful on this... there may even still be light at the end of the tunnel in AFROTC. But then I'm an optimist!

As kinnem stated if you do not attend SFT, AFROTC has the option to roll you over to a 250 or disenroll you completely from the program.

This is not your choice, as in you now become a 250, it is their choice between these two options.

This is why you see many AFROTC transfer to AROTC at this point.

As far as OTS/OCS in the AF they have 2 different boards, 1 is rated and the other is non-rated, sim. to what C400 cadets go through for AFSC. Of course if you are trying to go rated, STEM majors will have an edge.

Understand that about 2 yrs ago they cancelled the non-rated board in July due to already being over-manned, and nobody here is psychic to state with certainty they will not cancel again in the near future due to looming budget cuts.

The one thing I would state is to investigate what you want to do in the AD world and what that means you will do in each branch. I admire your desire to serve as an officer, but to be a good officer you need to want to be there, and that means job satisfaction.

Pima said:

As kinnem stated if you do not attend SFT, AFROTC has the option to roll you over to a 250 or disenroll you completely from the program.

This is not your choice, as in you now become a 250, it is their choice between these two options.

This is why you see many AFROTC transfer to AROTC at this point.

As far as OTS/OCS in the AF they have 2 different boards, 1 is rated and the other is non-rated, sim. to what C400 cadets go through for AFSC. Of course if you are trying to go rated, STEM majors will have an edge.

Understand that about 2 yrs ago they cancelled the non-rated board in July due to already being over-manned, and nobody here is psychic to state with certainty they will not cancel again in the near future due to looming budget cuts.

The one thing I would state is to investigate what you want to do in the AD world and what that means you will do in each branch. I admire your desire to serve as an officer, but to be a good officer you need to want to be there, and that means job satisfaction.

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You mean pick the option of becoming a 500 (a 200 or 250 who did not complete FT) not a 250 (new cadet enrolling as a 200 who did not complete 100 curriculum) . But this would result in an obvious loss of your scholarship. National Guard and OTS have been more competitive than AFROTC has been in the past years. There have been plenty of AFROTC cadets that have moved to AROTC like Pima said. To be honest, you could easily move your GPA to a competitive number (for tech) with two extra semesters if you do decide to become a 500. If you show desire and effort of wanting to stay in the program, your commander will likely allow you to stay. But there still is a chance to get an EA. There is no correlation to scholarship and getting an EA.

danielk5352 said:

There is no correlation to scholarship and getting an EA.

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And no chance at a scholarship if selected for SFT as a 500. Also keep in mind that if selected for SFT as a "500" cadet you will need 2 additional years of AFROTC (as a POC) AFTER successfully completing SFT for a total of 5 years in college (on your dime). Fortunately the 5th year could be while in Grad school if you are interested.

As aglagles stated they would have to stay for 2 yrs as a POC and this is not always a viable option from a fiscal perspective.

Again, it is also not your choice to move forward if you are not selected for SFT. It is AFROTC's call. You can't just say, let me stick around and try again next yr. They say, you didn't make it, but we believe in you so we will allow you to stick around.

There were a couple of posters on this site last yr that did not get selected and were asked to leave. Some were on scholarship, some were not so that didn't play into the equation.

The reason why they disenroll them is due to the fact that upon completion of SFT they become a POC, and that basically guarantees them they will enter ADAF. When the AF is downsizing like it is now, it becomes a cost and manpower issue to retain them for that yr. and possibly later on when it comes to commissioning. I.E. use the idea that this kid will stick it out for 5yrs instead of the 4, get his masters that last yr. In the end that is still 1 more O1 commissioned, 1 more they might not need. Cutting them now allows them to stay on course for their numbers in the ADAF. Hint: the reason why RIF's are occurring now even for the O1-O3 is because they have too many in that yr group. Also why they lowered the SFT selection rate from high 60% nationally to mid 50%. Trimming manpower so they won't have to do a RIF, which costs a lot more per member than the 18K scholarship.

Additionally, although I do not know the stats for passed over SFT cadets getting selected the following yr., I would assume it is low and sim to passed over officers making rank as an APZ, which is very low, this is why you see many jump at this point. The reasoning behind this is because they would need to show great improvement the following yr., and I mean great...180 degree turn great, most do not achieve this.

Look at the way a board works. They have X amount they can take and no more. Now they have the option to take the cadet that for whatever reason wasn't a strong candidate in zone or the cadet that has never met the board. There will always be that 1 last slot and 2 or more people vying for it. Some will say, the passed over cadet learned from his mistakes, and has proven it with the change so let him go, especially since it is their last chance. Some will say don't punish the cadet that didn't miss his 1st chance like the other one did and sacrifice his career when he didn't do anything wrong in the 1st place.

Those philosophies are why you will see some become 500's. The Commander is basically saying I will support you next yr., but don't make me regret it. Other commanders will believe you had your chance, and now it is someone else's turn, hence good by.

The OP needs to talk not to us, but his command and see if they will support him. Obviously as a Type 2, he entered as highly regarded academic student since only @15-20% are offered this scholarship out of a pool around 15K applicants and 1000 recipients.

Also, since the poster is thinking of going into a non-tech the reality is it may take him 5 yrs because he may not have enough credits to graduate on time for his new major. At most colleges like ROTC, as you go up the levels you will have pre-reqs, and for some they maybe only offered 1X a yr, which means if you are late in changing your major, you automatically are behind the power curve. Thus, going 500 would be doable for them from an academic POV.

Thank you all for your responses. Great information. Classes are going great for now. I'm going to be weighing my all my options so I will be prepared when the EA selection list comes out. One way or the other, I feel confident I will meet my goal of becoming a military officer.

Belief in your goal will equate to success or failure.

If you believe it will happen.

Met with Cadre.....changes of EA while on academic suspension with my current GPA he said are about 20% so I am seriously looking at my options. I have talked with a Marine recriuter about PLC and if not picked up for SFT and I am disenrolled, I am planning to apply. I just hope the timing works out because the PLC boards are already meeting and notifications for FT aren't usually until March. If I don't make it, how long does it take to be disenrolled?
Thanks again.