Texas A&M

Patriot95

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My name is Max Patty and I am a junior in high school. I live in Ohio and really want to go into the Army ROTC program at Texas A&M, but the only way I could attend there is if I got a scholarship. I am not really sure what they are looking for. Right now my overall gpa is a 3.2 and I take all the average classes. My grades right now are A+, A, A, A, B and a B- in Spanish 3. If I were to bring up my two B's and were to keep up these kind of grades my junior and senior year would I have a good chance of getting in? I also run cross country in the fall and track in the spring and I'm pretty sure I have varsity letters for each.
 
Are we talking about getting into A&M or getting an AROTC scholarship? Because the ROTC scholarship is a national competition...A&M doesn`t decide if you`ll get it, just if you`re accepted to the school.
 
I guess mainly an Army ROTC scholarship and then Texas A&M in order to be able to attend the school. Which is more difficult?
 
My name is Max Patty and I am a junior in high school. I live in Ohio and really want to go into the Army ROTC program at Texas A&M, but the only way I could attend there is if I got a scholarship. I am not really sure what they are looking for. Right now my overall gpa is a 3.2 and I take all the average classes. My grades right now are A+, A, A, A, B and a B- in Spanish 3. If I were to bring up my two B's and were to keep up these kind of grades my junior and senior year would I have a good chance of getting in? I also run cross country in the fall and track in the spring and I'm pretty sure I have varsity letters for each.

you might have a chance. You certainly won't have a chance if you don't apply. Take as heavy a class load as you can manage with as many AP and Honors courses as possible. Do not take Underwater Basket Weaving.

If you think you have Varsity Letters, you probably don't, but I'm willing to be wrong. What are your run times? How are you at pushups and situps and the other things you'll need to do for the physical fitness test? What are your ECs? What leadership positions have you held? What are your SAT/ACT scores? All these things are important. ROTC is looking for scholars/leaders/athletes.

And BTW how do you know you couldn't afford it? There are always other scholarships you could shoot for plus financial aid through the FAFSA. What others schools are on your list? What colleges in Ohio would you list on your ROTC application?

Good Luck.
 
My best 5k time which is 3.1 miles in 17:24 and my best 2 mile time is a 10:42. I can't switch into any AP or honors classes this year. I really do not want to go somewhere that I cannot get a scholarship to and when I get out of college be in a lot of debt. I live in Cincinnati Ohio and I am not positive where else I would really want to go. I'm pretty sure I have varsity letters because I have the forms and the actual letters you put onto your jackets. Also when should I start my application?
 
ROTC scholarship will be harder, and if you get into A&M, you can always go college-program and get a scholarship or loan, and then receive a 2 or 3 year scholarship. kinnem`s son is currently a NROTC-MO college programmer.

You can qualify for automatic admission to the university even as an out-of-stater if you meet these requirements: http://admissions.tamu.edu/freshmen/gettingin/waysAdmitted/academic.aspx

And even if you don`t, you can still get in.

But there`s also other financial aid available: https://financialaid.tamu.edu/

EDIT: And there are a lot of in-state colleges and universities that have great ROTC programs. Really, you can`t go wrong, but you had mentioned U of Cincinnati, and Ohio State and Ohio University also have excellent battalions, and I`m not too well-versed in the other public schools. But you can also apply to other SMCs if you want to attend one of them:
-VMI
-North Georgia
-Norwich
-The Citadel

And like we said, scholarships are awarded from the colleges too.
 
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My best 5k time which is 3.1 miles in 17:24 and my best 2 mile time is a 10:42. I can't switch into any AP or honors classes this year. I really do not want to go somewhere that I cannot get a scholarship to and when I get out of college be in a lot of debt. I live in Cincinnati Ohio and I am not positive where else I would really want to go. I'm pretty sure I have varsity letters because I have the forms and the actual letters you put onto your jackets. Also when should I start my application?

You should start your application in the spring of your junior year.

If you have the letters then I don't understand why you said you thought you had Varsity letters, but its neither here nor there.

No one wants to go into debt for college (and I wasn't suggesting you should) but there are other forms of financial aid besides loans. Some schools will offer you a part-time job on campus which can help cover some costs. Some might offer you a grant. You can try for a summer job and save those earnings over the next two summers. And a little debt isn't a bad thing. It's unmanageable debt that is bad.

What do you think you want to major in? What schools offer those majors. In-state ROTC scholarships are becoming more common and you will need to list several colleges on your application, including some in-state schools. Do some research. Try College Confidential.

How are your pullups and crunches? With those run-times you might be NROTC Marine Option material. Marines put more emphasis on the leader/athlete part of scholar/leader/athlete. You can apply to both AROTC and NROTC. You might consider that to increase your odds.

I would add to all the above that if you're thinking of ROTC merely as a way of paying for school you will probably not be a happy camper. It takes dedication and intense effort to succeed in ROTC and you will need some motivation to dig deep within you to persevere besides "it pays for college". Why do you want to lead soldiers? (Rhetorical question.. no answer required).

Just trying to give you some food for thought. You need to start doing some homework on the scholarships, what's required, and the colleges you might want to attend. This is the time to be doing those things so get to it soldier! :thumb:
 
In order to be in the ROTC @ Texas A&M, you have to be admitted by the university first, then you apply for ROTC. So you need to get your grades up and/or knock the SAT/ACT out of the park (you can do it!:thumb:)The good news is, if you are admitted from out of state and join the Corps of Cadets, you get to pay an in state tuition rate. Definitely a cost saver!
 
There are also some "backdoors" into TAMU. One is to attend Texas A&M University's Galveston campus. They have a Corps there, all Navy ROTC. If you have a 2.5 at the end of your first year you are guaranteed admission to the College Station main campus. You'd then do a semester as a Fish in Squadron 18. There is also the Blinn Team. One doesn't apply for the Blinn Team but rather it is offered as an option to some applicants. You take some course at Blinn, which is a nearby community college and some course at the A&M main campus. Cadets who are Blinn-ers live on the A&M Campus and are indistinquishable from the other cadets, they also are in most of the various units or 'outfits'. If you are doing well by the end of the two years you are guaranteed admission to the main College Station campus. You can learn more by contacting the Corps. As other posters have said, admission to A&M is a necessary first step before joing the Corps there. Similarly, the ROTC scholarship is different from admission to A&M. You might also want to consider North Georgia. As I understand it cadets there also pay in-state tuition regardless of whether or not they are contracted. Good luck.
 
Cindy,

Your post confuses me. AROTC scholarship applications open months and months before a student can apply for college. Many candidates submit their paperwork for AROTC scholarships starting Aug 1st. I believe they open up the applications early spring, the candidate's jr. yr in hs. That was a point kinnem was making when he stated to start this spring.

It appears you are saying that for TAMU they 1st must be accepted, and than they submit for scholarship. If they do this that way and find out they were accepted in Feb., they would be way behind the power curve for an AROTC scholarship. Are you discussing getting a TAMU only AROTC scholarship, which in that case I agree.

There are a lot of hurdles/paperwork that candidates must complete to meet the boards; additionally it is a queue system. Even if a candidate finds out in October that they were admitted to TAMU, the problem is if they start right now, they will miss the 1st board, and probably the 2nd one too because of these issues.

Plus, for AROTC they need to list a selection of school choices, so even if they get in, AROTC might award the scholarship to another college. Many posters here have gone through the awarded to a college that they don't want or didn't get admitted to attend, and come spring try to get the scholarship switched to the college they want to attend.

Again, I might be reading your post incorrectly, and you maybe talking about TAMU only AROTC scholarship and not the national AROTC program, if so, I apologize. I am just taking it from a perspective like their sister SMC, VT. You don't apply for ROTC if you are not-scholarship, you enroll as a student at the college. As a sr. in hs. you just place on the application you want to join the CoC. This gives an admission edge, but it can be done simultaneously with the application.

One thing all candidates need to do right now if the scholarship is the only way you can afford to attend a specific university is to talk with your folks about the what ifs? What if you decide after the 1st yr that ROTC is not for you, how will you pay the next 3 yrs? I don't think there is one ROTC unit in the nation that has a 100% graduation rate for entering classes. Our DD's close friend at VT, decided by T-Day that the Army was not for her, she wanted Navy. She took AROTC because they offered a scholarship and NROTC didn't. She left AROTC and joined NROTC, she was able to do so because the family discussed this before she went to VT. She is in NROTC and received a side load later on using their college programmer program. They had plan B in place financially for the JIC.

OBTW for the OP, I don't know about TAMU, but I know that at VT if you say you will be in ROTC and the Corps, you can't drop for @ 8 weeks into your fall semester. The reason why is when you applied you said you would be in the Corps, and they gave you an admissions edge. They don't want applicants gaming the system for admissions. At VT you can be in the Corps, but not in ROTC, but if you are in ROTC you must be in the Corps. Hence, if you hate ROTC and quit week 2 realize you can't just quit the Corps without a risk.

Like I said I don't know about TAMU, but for VT that is how they work it.
 
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In order to be in the ROTC @ Texas A&M, you have to be admitted by the university first, then you apply for ROTC. So you need to get your grades up and/or knock the SAT/ACT out of the park (you can do it!:thumb:)The good news is, if you are admitted from out of state and join the Corps of Cadets, you get to pay an in state tuition rate. Definitely a cost saver!
The ROTC scholarship and A&M admission process will run concurrently. Do not wait until you have gained admission to A&M to start the ROTC scholarship application.

If you are in the CoC, which you must be for ROTC, you will receive at least a small scholarship and this scholarship will allow you to receive in state tuition. We are out of state and my son could have attended A&M for less $ than one of our state schools.
 
Packer,

I know VT does that too for at least AFROTC, vamom's ds is at VT and although he was not awarded an AFROTC scholarship in HS, VT gave him merit because of his major and a ROTC/Corps student for his freshman yr.

He also got a ISS scholarship Dec. his freshman yr at VT.

This is why I strongly suggest that candidates talk to their folks when deciding college choices. The student needs to know dollars and cents regarding the cost. It becomes very important because that merit sounds great right now, but the cost of admission they are looking at is now, not next yrs when they enter, and not 4 yrs from now. Those scholarships typically don't adjust yr after yr. Typically it is a packet and a flat rate total for 4 yrs...i.e A 10K/yr merit sounds great right now and you won't be out a dime, but if we stay at the rate of tuition increases, you will be in trouble in 5 yrs if you don't acknowledge the cost issue now. I say 5 yrs because when the packet arrives you are looking at the 12/13 rate which is not when you enter for 13/14 yr. 13/14, 14/15, 15/16, and 16/17...that is 5 yrs of possible hikes when you include the belief that 12/13 will be 13/14 the same cost.

DS entered in 08 it was 28K, he graduated in 12 and it was 40K. The merit scholarships did not increase one penny during those 4 yrs. Expect to be safe at least a 7% increase when you are looking at colleges. TAMU might give the IS rate, which would make it affordable, but that IS rate is probably going to increase yrly. VT has, DD is a jr IS there, and it is several grand more in just since he entered in 2010. It was also a couple grand more from when she applied and when we got the bill fall freshman yr.
 
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Hi Pima. I think I can clear up for you what Cindy said versus how you interpreted it. (Love your posts, by the way. I've been following them ever since my son applied for his AROTC scholarship at A&M 4 years ago!)

Texas A&M is one of the top two public schools in the state and is harder to get into academically. Their Corps of Cadets is also very esteemed as the largest SMC and is a very important part of the fabric of the university. They spend a lot of time and effort to recruit students to want to join the Corps.

Because of that, some people have the misguided opinion that, as long as you put on your application that you plan to join the Corps, you will get in to the school ahead of everyone else. This is not the case. It is emphatically stated that A&M must accept you on your own academic/extracurricular merits first. Then you can join the Corps at your New Student Conference. (Does the Corps leadership have some sway in the admissions process? Well, that's a topic for another discussion.)

Hence, her statement, "you have to be admitted by the university first, then you apply for ROTC." She was only referring to joining the Corps, not to applying for the AROTC scholarship.
 
Thanks for the clarification.

If I read your post correctly, I think you agree, Corps is not ROTC. They will join CoC later on in the summer.

However, that was not stated.
Cindy15905 said:
In order to be in the ROTC @ Texas A&M, you have to be admitted by the university first, then you apply for ROTC.

This site was an amazing lifesaver for my family when we were going through the process. In that post it appeared to me that you apply for TAMU, and once accepted you apply for ROTC scholarship.

This can actually hurt a candidate if they wait to hear from TAMU before they start the process.

There are lurkers here and the key here was ROTC, not Corps. Only Cindy can clarify their statement. Did they mean Corps or ROTC? Would you agree with their statement that they should wait for TAMU's decision before they apply for a AROTC scholarship?
 
Hence, her statement, "you have to be admitted by the university first, then you apply for ROTC." She was only referring to joining the Corps, not to applying for the AROTC scholarship.

I am sure that is exactly what Cindy meant. The only reason I commented was if someone is not familiar with the process they may wait for TAMU to admit them before starting a ROTC scholarship application. If they wait they will most likely miss the opportunity to be considered for ROTC scholarship.
 
If you are in the CoC, which you must be for ROTC, you will receive at least a small scholarship and this scholarship will allow you to receive in state tuition. We are out of state and my son could have attended A&M for less $ than one of our state schools.
Isn't that the truth! TAMU In-State tuition/fees/room/board total to $16,900. At the nine University of California campuses, In-State Tuition/Fees/Room/Board is about $25,000 (double room). Cal States are about $19,000, give or take $1,000 depending on city and dorm cost.
 
You are all correct, the Corps consists of both ROTC (with and without scholarships) and non-ROTC cadets. I'm sure that is where the confusion came.

Pima, you are right, only Cindy can truly speak for her own post. Cindy, if I overstepped responding on your behalf, I apologize.

Definitely, you MUST start applying for ROTC scholarships well before the beginning of your senior year of high school. If you just want to join the ROTC at a school without the scholarship, then that can wait until after you have been accepted to the college.
 
Definitely, you MUST start applying for ROTC scholarships well before the beginning of your senior year of high school. If you just want to join the ROTC at a school without the scholarship, then that can wait until after you have been accepted to the college.

That being said, it's not too late if you get on the ball and get started on that application NOW!
 
Our DS has been accepted to several schools, including Texas A&M, (which appears to be his second choice behind USAFA). We haven't gotten word from USAFA yet, but the MOC who nominated him has posted 8 candidates on his website as having been accepted to the Academies, none of which were USAFA, and also none of which were my son.

Two weeks ago my son was asked via e-mail from his MOC if he would be interested in competing for an Army ROTC scholarship, to which he certainly replied yes.

We are preparing ourselves mentally for the TWE from the USAFA, but was wondering how long he'd have to wait to hear about the Army ROTC scholarship as we are very ready for this whole process to be over. He is also a very active wrestler, so there are some wrestling schools we are looking at, but his main goal is to follow an engineering program and serve his country as an officer.
 
If you are in the CoC, which you must be for ROTC, you will receive at least a small scholarship and this scholarship will allow you to receive in state tuition. We are out of state and my son could have attended A&M for less $ than one of our state schools.

Unfortunately this is no longer true. It used to be that 85% of CoC applicants received the Sul Ross scholarship which is worth $1200 and that fact granted them an -in-state tuition waiver. However, in Oct 2016, the Texas legislature changed the law and a student now needs $4000 in school-based scholarships to earn an in-state tuition waiver.

The CoC has not restructured their scholarships and most students still receive the $1200 scholarship and do not get in-state tuition.

My son applied to Texas A&M engineering, early admission, as an out-of-state student. He was notified that he was accepted in Dec. However the Sul Ross scholarship at $1200 was not enough to earn an in-state tuition waiver and the university scholarships that he was offered did not take him over the required $4000 limit.

He turned TexasA&M down and will be attending VMI which is in-state for us.
 
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