Are my SAT scores keeping me from getting the NROTC scholarship

theophrastus94

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My SAT scores were 610 for math and 660 for verbal, which are okay but not great by any means. I have played soccer in high school for four years, I was captain of the JV team. I am Vice President of the National Honor Society, last year I served as Parliamentarian, I did an internship at an engineering place, I am the Vice President of the Spanish Club, I have a 4.4 GPA. I haven't heard a decision on my NROTC scholarship yet, so I was just wondering if my SAT scores are what is keeping my from getting the scholarship, or is there another glaring thing that I lack but all of the other candidates have?
 
The navy is looking for 85% stem majors and the 610 is on the weak side. The other stats looks pretty good, are you taking AP's. If you can retake and push for near 700 math you are much more competitive although there are some acceptances with low 600's.
 
Thank you! The AP classes I'm taking are, Calculus, European History, Biology, Environmental Science, Language and Composition, Chemistry and independent study Physics C. Last year I took AP Physcis B, AP Spanish and AP World History.
 
Thats a good course selection. I know the academy weighs the math sat at 33% of the package, not sure about nrotc but it is heavy. Taking those AP's you are much better than a 610. Good luck
 
Your SAT verbal score is solid as is your GPA. You've had leadership positions and athletic involvement, which is great. I suspect you haven't been picked up yet due to your SAT math score, the difficulty of you classes and perhaps your intended major.

A couple of years ago, approximately 2500 scholarship offers were made. This year there will be only about 1200 offers. Approximately 85% of the offers will go to Tier 1 (engineering majors). Candidates inclined to pursue an engineering degree typically like math, and have SAT math scores in the 700+ range.

For next years NROTC and USNA candidates -- take and excel in all the math classes you can. Plan to take both the SAT and the ACT multiple times before the end of you junior year. My best SAT math score was a 700, but my best ACT math score was a 34. The USNA converted my 34 ACT into a 800 SAT math score. (All ACT scores are converted to their SAT equivalent).

Don't give up hope. There are still four (maybe five?) boards left.
 
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Thank you very much. My intended major is mechanical engineering. I have gotten an A in all of my math classes, so I don't understand why my SAT score is so low. Hopefully I will get an appointment to the USNA or the NROTC scholarship, it'd be nice to have all of the handwork pay off.
 
Thank you very much. My intended major is mechanical engineering. I have gotten an A in all of my math classes, so I don't understand why my SAT score is so low. Hopefully I will get an appointment to the USNA or the NROTC scholarship, it'd be nice to have all of the handwork pay off.
I assume you're retaking the SAT to improve your score? Have you tried the ACT? Some folks do better on that.
 
What is your class rank? It is my understanding that the board does not consider GPA, only class rank. They will also look at course load, how many Hnrs and AP classes you took.
 
My SAT scores were 610 for math and 660 for verbal, which are okay
I agree they're OK, actually top 15% (combined) for all test takers, but I wouldn't say they're OK for those applicants who are competitive for an NROTC scholarship (or for Annapolis). The math score of 610 is a red flag, inasmuch as it is more important than the CR score for NROTC as well as USNA. Remember that all NROTC - Navy Option mids must take and pass a full year of Calculus, Chemistry, and calculus-based Physics in college.

Beyond that, your intended major is Engineering. At most Top 75 colleges in the country, the admissions into the Engineering school has different requirements than for other majors. Future Engineering majors have Math SAT scores in the high 600s, or into the 700s, pretty routinely.

Perhaps you'll do better on the ACT Math test. If you haven't taken it, I believe there is still time... not sure about that though for NROTC.

Unrelated to SAT Math, you write that you're Vice President of the National Honor Soceity and captain of a JV team. Understand a lot of your competition for the NROTC scholarship has been Varsity Captain vs. JV, and School officer vs. club officer. The Leadership component of your application seems to be a weakness unless there are other leadership-demonstrating activities you didn't list.
 
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One thing to remember is NROTC scholarships are like AROTC, not AFROTC it is tied to the school.

You have yet to acknowledge your school list.

I think before you take any opinion on this forum you need to give your college selection list for a better chance regarding NROTC scholarships.

610 and UVA or Harvard it will be a reach to say the least.


What are your college choices?
 
My colleges are Duke, UVA, VT, Cornell and Boston University in that order. I will be taking the SAT again and also the ACT. As far as class rank, I am 17 out of 376. Do they consider the ASVAB at all? I just got those scores back.
 
My colleges are Duke, UVA, VT, Cornell and Boston University in that order. I will be taking the SAT again and also the ACT. As far as class rank, I am 17 out of 376. Do they consider the ASVAB at all? I just got those scores back.

Are you a resident of Virginia?
 
I would have to say even as a resident in VA, I think Duke and UVA are reaches for you regarding your SAT scores. You really want to be in the mid to high 1300's for those schools. UVA is known as a public Ivy, and has for yrs ranked nationally as the number 2 in the nation, only behind Berkeley. They want the whole package, and although you have it in the EC and curriculum areas, that SAT is going to hurt you since all of the applicants will have the same caliber resume, but also a higher SAT.

VT is different because they give an academic edge for admissions when it comes to applicants that intend to join the corps.

However, I would say if you were a non-cadet applicant, your SAT is on the low side. Our DD attends VT, she had a 1290, 4.17 cgpa our of 4.5, IB, AICE, Magna Cum Laude, and was deferred from ED to RD with her stats as a sociology major.

I think you will be accepted, but be prepared that candidates for VT applying NROTC will have some very high stats and not to be shocked if you don't get a scholarship. Remember for most VA residents, that have VT on their list, they will either have UVA as their reach, and VT as their match, with JMU, VCU or GMU as their safety. If VT is their reach than the others become their safety. When DD applied to VT, she had GMU as her safety. In both acceptance letters they stated the number of applicants. Both schools had over 33K applicants. In these economic times, getting into a state school can be as hard as getting into a private. VA only in 2010 changed their regs for state colleges because of this issue. It use to be 70% must be VA residents, 30% OOS, now it is 75% IS and 25% OOS.

I have to be honest, I do not see what I would call a safety school on your list.
 
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Theo,

I am very sceptical of any paid service which claims to raise one's chances of getting into a "better" college. Having said that, take a test prep course or better yet, hire a tutor. It has to be the right test prep or tutor. You can take practice tests all day long, but it is a waste of time to grind through them for the general purpose of "wanting a higher score."

If you are taking AP Calc, only gotten A's in Math but only a 610 on the SAT, there is an issue. Both my sons smoked the Math SAT, but had problems with Verbal. We used a private tutor for each, spending about $30-40/hour for 6-8 hours. BTW, we didn't pay the tutor to watch them take the tests. He taught them the techniques which they employed while taking the tests at home. He then analyzed the results with them looking for consistent weaknesses, most of which were correctable.

I am totally unqualified to pinpoint your issue. In both sons' cases, it was intimidation by and dislike of the Verbal section feeding off of each other. Once they learned the "tricks", it became more of a game. You seem like a bright kid who has never been instructed on how to take these tests. There are strategies for test taking, but also tactics for standardized tests. The SAT and ACT even have their own peculiarities. There is a specific way to read each question. There are tricks and tactics which allow you to eliminate possible answers almost without reading the question. The tactics are few and they are simple. You learn the skills and then employ them with practice tests. After doing that, you will walk into the test looser and with greater confidence. This is how an O lineman develops his blocking technique, giving him confidence when facing Ndamukong Suh.

If it is too late to find a good tutor, search the internet for tactics and strategies for taking standardized tests. Remember, use the practice tests as a way to develop those test taking skills.

Best of luck.
 
+1 to cb

I would right now sit down with the folks and discuss how you can attend your top 5 without a scholarship.

As asked prior are you a VA resident?

What is your intended major?

If you are not a VA resident, UVA is a reach, like Duke and Cornell unless you have a Hook.

Understand, the NROTC system for scholarship. NROTC can award a scholarship to UVA, but UVA can decide to decline admissions...or vise a verse. Talk to the folks.
 
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I am not a Virginia resident, I live in Maryland. I will definitely look up the test taking strategies, I really like math so I don't understand why my score was so low, perhaps it is a mental thing as suggested. Thank you guys for all of the great responses as well, I really do appreciate it. As far as my major, I would like to major in Mechanical Engineering or Physics.
 
I thought for NROTC you had to have at least 1 IS on your list, maybe I am confusing AROTC and NROTC.

If I am correct, you need to re-jig your list. I can understand why you wouldn't place UMDCP on the list because it is not a host unit, but if you need to have 1 IS, you might have to place it on anyway.
 
I thought for NROTC you had to have at least 1 IS on your list, maybe I am confusing AROTC and NROTC.

You are not confused. NROTC requires one in state. DS did not have one on his app and the recruiter specifically had him correct it.
 
I guess Theo is going to have to change his list too.

I would be curious to see how many NROTC scholarships go out to Duke and Cornell since they are private regardless of residency. His other 3 would also be considered private IMPO from a tuition perspective since they are all OOS.

I know NROTC is like AFROTC regarding 85% of the scholarships go to tech majors, i.e. engineering, computers, physics, etc.

The difference is AFROTC is tied to the cadet not the school. That being stated, they would need a Type 1 scholarship, and only 5% of all scholarships go to Type 1. (Covers 100% of tuition) The last AFROTC numbers I knew were 5K+ applied for a scholarship, 911 were awarded. That would mean less than 1% would be able to take it to any of his schools on his list if they were him.

I think candidates need to understand how truly competitive this process is to get that golden ticket.
 
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