AROTC Interview

jbeykz

5-Year Member
Joined
May 17, 2011
Messages
19
I am a little bit behind schedule and am trying to get my interview done by the January 10th deadline. Everything else on my application is complete.

I believe I am supposed to contact the Professor of Military Science at the school I wish to interview at, so I contacted the Professor at Rutgers University because I am from NJ and wanted to get my interview done locally rather than traveling down to NC State (my number 1 choice). I sent the email the the Professor of Military Science at Rutgers on Friday, and it is now Tuesday and I have heard no response. Is their anything else I can do besides emailing him again.

Any feedback would be great. Thanks!
 
I am a little bit behind schedule and am trying to get my interview done by the January 10th deadline. Everything else on my application is complete.

I believe I am supposed to contact the Professor of Military Science at the school I wish to interview at, so I contacted the Professor at Rutgers University because I am from NJ and wanted to get my interview done locally rather than traveling down to NC State (my number 1 choice). I sent the email the the Professor of Military Science at Rutgers on Friday, and it is now Tuesday and I have heard no response. Is their anything else I can do besides emailing him again.

Any feedback would be great. Thanks!

Try calling the Battalion, see if they can fit you in. Be aware that schools will be letting out starting the end of this week, most colleges are in finals week so it may be tough setting a quick appointment time.

I believe that as long as you have you application turned in by Jan. 10th you still have some time after that date to complete the interview. Unless you have everything completed and turned in including the interview by Dec. 26th you will be too late for the Jan. board. Looks like you will have just one shot with the March Board.
 
I am a little bit behind schedule and am trying to get my interview done by the January 10th deadline. Everything else on my application is complete.

I believe I am supposed to contact the Professor of Military Science at the school I wish to interview at, so I contacted the Professor at Rutgers University because I am from NJ and wanted to get my interview done locally rather than traveling down to NC State (my number 1 choice). I sent the email the the Professor of Military Science at Rutgers on Friday, and it is now Tuesday and I have heard no response. Is their anything else I can do besides emailing him again.

Any feedback would be great. Thanks!

If you cannot get it done in NJ you can come see me in NY during the week over the holiday break. Just let me know a few days in advance.

http://www.marist.edu/studentlife/rotc/
 
Check it out. If you wait until 10 Jan don't be rushed, because you really have until the end of February. Unless you get that interview done by 26 December your file will not be boarded until the third board, so take your time. If I were you I would plan a trip to NC some time in January and do your interview then or call Princeton, or Marist, or Temple, or Deleware, or....
 
If you cannot get it done in NJ you can come see me in NY during the week over the holiday break. Just let me know a few days in advance.


Thank you. I will definitely keep that in mind and will let you know if I don't hear anything back from Rutgers in the near future.

Everyone else, thank you also. I'm going to do my best to try and possibly get it done by the 26th now that I know thats when things have to be in by for the second to last board.
 
NC can be lovely in January. Just played a round of golf on the NC State course today in fact. I'm assuming you've already visited the school otherwise I would insist on your making the trip. Not sure where in NJ you are but it's probably an 8 hour drive. You could leave after school one day and be back home the next night (albeit somewhat late). Only one day of school lost. You might be able to squeeze in a trip now although I'm not familiar with State's exam schedule.

Then there is always Marist's offer to visit him in the beautiful Hudson Valley. No golf though.
 
I believe I am supposed to contact the Professor of Military Science at the school I wish to interview at, so I contacted the Professor at Rutgers University because I am from NJ and wanted to get my interview done locally rather than traveling down to NC State (my number 1 choice).

Let me give you something to think about, that I didn't even consider. Back in the summer, I went up to Penn State (#1 choice & accepted :D) for a summer visit. I specifically set up an appointment -- NOT an interview, but more of a meet/greet & Q+A. I spoke with both Army and AF ROTC, and the XO of the Nittany Lion Battalion made something very clear to me that I believe you should consider as well.

To be blunt - be careful when interviewing at a school you aren't even going to consider. Why? Simple; HUMAN NATURE. Although technically your interviewer should not discriminate/hold anything against you for interviewing w/ them, but not planning to enroll in that school - of course they will! If I decide to interview at, say, University of Pennsylvania and I'm not planning on going there, of course the interviewer will be a bit more reluctant to give me a passing grade on the interview (providing I ace the interview!).

... on the other hand, say I decide to go up to Penn State to interview (... which I will next Monday haha) AND I want to go there, which I am (and as mentioned; have already been accepted). I do the interview, and I pass with flying colors - of course he wants me!! He'll make every possible attempt in the report to try to get me a 4 year scholarship to come to Penn State (hope this happens BTW).

Do you see now, how human nature can play a part?

Not trying to be a downer, but I just wanted you to be aware of this.

Best of luck to you!
 
Let me give you something to think about, that I didn't even consider. Back in the summer, I went up to Penn State (#1 choice & accepted :D) for a summer visit. I specifically set up an appointment -- NOT an interview, but more of a meet/greet & Q+A. I spoke with both Army and AF ROTC, and the XO of the Nittany Lion Battalion made something very clear to me that I believe you should consider as well.

To be blunt - be careful when interviewing at a school you aren't even going to consider. Why? Simple; HUMAN NATURE. Although technically your interviewer should not discriminate/hold anything against you for interviewing w/ them, but not planning to enroll in that school - of course they will! If I decide to interview at, say, University of Pennsylvania and I'm not planning on going there, of course the interviewer will be a bit more reluctant to give me a passing grade on the interview (providing I ace the interview!).

... on the other hand, say I decide to go up to Penn State to interview (... which I will next Monday haha) AND I want to go there, which I am (and as mentioned; have already been accepted). I do the interview, and I pass with flying colors - of course he wants me!! He'll make every possible attempt in the report to try to get me a 4 year scholarship to come to Penn State (hope this happens BTW).

Do you see now, how human nature can play a part?

Not trying to be a downer, but I just wanted you to be aware of this.

Best of luck to you!

I think your reading more into this human nature thing than there really is. I'm sure there is some of that but its more that your making demands on their time and they will not directly benefit from it... at the most. Look, these people are professionals. The do NOT represent the school and really couldn't care less if you attend there. They represent the Army, Air Force, Navy or Marines. They're looking to get the best potential officer talent they can. At least one reason for this is they may one day be serving in the field or fleet with YOU and they will only want the best to serve with them. Someone they know they can rely on. So although there may be some element of what you mention its very very tiny. Color me naive I guess but those are my thoughts on this.
 
You could be right; I could be wrong; who knows! Actually, I just remembered that a different ROTC cadre officer was telling me the same about the human nature aspect in reference to a cross-town ROTC. In the sense that if you have to go to a different school for ROTC, you may be treated a little less equally since you don't go to that school/aren't really ever there in a sense - and because of this idea, are somewhat taking away money from the program. His words; not mine.

But hey; you could be right.
 
Kinnem +1

The cadre care very little about what school you attend. Once you make the choice to attend their school, the attitude changes since you are becoming one of theirs, but until then, they're focused on making officers regardless of schools. Most cadre are not even from the same state as the school they're teaching at. Their loyalty is to their service, not the school. They just wear the schools colors temporarily, they wear their service colors forever.

You are over thinking it. Schedule an interview, do well, and drive on. FWIW, the school I interviewed at is not the school I attend. The person I interviewed with knew that, offered me a scholarship still and after I declined, he called the school I wanted to (and now do) attend and recommended me to the PMS.
 
A short story about the interview.

If you have had contact with a ROTC battalion and the PMS and ROO have expressed interest in having you attend their program, they will probably want you to interview with them. The reason is not always because they feel that you may not get a good interview score from a school you do not intend to attend. This is where the story comes in.

My older son set up an interview with the Flagship School in our state, he had not listed this school on his application and did not plan on attending. Before the interview he was told he had to list the school so that they could see his entire application. On the day of the interview we received a phone call from battalion, the Major asked that I (his dad) come to the interview with my son. When we arrived the Major talked with both of us for a while, she then said that the LtCol wanted to speak with me while she conducted the interview. What was interesting is that the Major spent half the interview trying to talk my son into attending their program, the LtCol. did the same with me, both were very nice and really explained how the program worked. My son received a couple letters and a few phone calls from that school after the interview, he also received a scholarship offer from the school as well. My son did not attend the school, he stayed with his #1 choice, the cadre from the school he interviewed with were very supportive.

The ROO at the school he did attend, told us at orientation that they always try to have the applicants interview at their school, one big reason, if they interview somewhere else they may change their mind on where to attend.

I have to agree with the others, don't over think this. The interview has a maximum of 200 points. at least half those points are not subjective, just check the boxes, there is not a lot of room on those interview sheets.
 
the advantage of interviewing at the school you hope to attend is that you start a relationship with a PMS who can help you down the road. If you don't get a scholarship, that PMS will already know you, will know of your longer term commitment than some other cadets in the Battalion, and when it is time to put a few cadets up for an in-college scholarship, you're a little ahead of those cadets the PMS does not know personally. Finally, if that PMS is still there in four years time (not likely, but an outside chance), that PMS is the one determining about 20 points of your OMS. It never hurts to have a good history in those cases.
 
If you haven't made a separate campus visit, this will be the only opportunity the Army or other service has to meet you in person and to form an initial impression of whether you are someone who can be gradually trained over the next five or six years to lead a platoon of men and women. What and who motivated you to have this goal? If you're not at the interview because you want to be there, then this will probably come out. Similarly, it's a great chance to sell yourself (not literally)

Here are some common sense suggestions to help the interview go smoothly:

1. Start out with a firm handshake.
2. Wait for the PMS or other interviewer to extend the courtesy of asking you to be seated (and thank them)
3. Maintain eye contact both while speaking and being spoken to. If you find yourself mumbling to your feet, re-establish eye contact.
4. Do not slouch or crack your knuckles.
5. If you have a plug of tobacco tucked in between cheek and gum, do not assume a cuspidor will be available or, if so, that you can reach it from where you are sitting; have a clean handkerchief ready to discreetly dab any effluent.
6. Turn off your cellphone in advance (if I keep harping on this, it's for a good reason).
7. Relax and try to have some fun. Despite your preparation, every interview is bound to take an unexpected turn.
 
I agree with Thompson that human nature plays a large role in the process.

An additional aspect to consider is what happens if you do not receive a scholarship from the National Board. Who is more likely to receive an on campus scholarship ? A cadet that interviewed at that school and made frequent phone calls and emails to cadre during senior year, or an unknown Cadet that reports on Day 1 of the Fall Semester.
 
Thank you for all the insight. I have contacted the Cadre at Drexel University (only about an hour from me) and it looks like I will have an interview next Wednesday.

I would love the go down to NC State and interview their, but it is just hard to fit into my current schedule, well I guess my parents schedule. They just had a new grand daughter, and they are very busy with planning my one sisters wedding which is right after Christmas, so it would be very difficult for them to make a trip down their soon. I have already visited the school and am actually very familiar with it since my other sister went their, so I don't have the excuse of going on a visit also. So, I will plan to Interview at Drexel.

Hopefully human nature does not play a role in this, and my interview goes well. I will hope for the best!

Thanks for all your help again. It was greatly appreciated.
 
Well hey! Best of luck to you for your interview! Hopefully the PMS will see past the human nature aspect!!

And congrats!
 
Thank you for all the insight. I have contacted the Cadre at Drexel University (only about an hour from me) and it looks like I will have an interview next Wednesday.

I would love the go down to NC State and interview their, but it is just hard to fit into my current schedule, well I guess my parents schedule. They just had a new grand daughter, and they are very busy with planning my one sisters wedding which is right after Christmas, so it would be very difficult for them to make a trip down their soon. I have already visited the school and am actually very familiar with it since my other sister went their, so I don't have the excuse of going on a visit also. So, I will plan to Interview at Drexel.

Hopefully human nature does not play a role in this, and my interview goes well. I will hope for the best!

Thanks for all your help again. It was greatly appreciated.

I certainly understand the difficulties getting to Raleigh even if your family didn't have all the other stuff going on. Good luck with your interview. I'm glad it can happen in time to make the Jan. boards.

Just one final suggestion. I know this is just a forum but proper writing in any situation is critical to success. You might consider double-checking the meanings of their, there, and they're. I know. I do it all the time and have to always double-check my you're, your, usage. I expect I only find about half of the incorrect usages. You should have seen all the red marks my editors left on my work back when I spent a couple years writing technical manuals.
 
I certainly understand the difficulties getting to Raleigh even if your family didn't have all the other stuff going on. Good luck with your interview. I'm glad it can happen in time to make the Jan. boards.

Just one final suggestion. I know this is just a forum but proper writing in any situation is critical to success. You might consider double-checking the meanings of their, there, and they're. I know. I do it all the time and have to always double-check my you're, your, usage. I expect I only find about half of the incorrect usages. You should have seen all the red marks my editors left on my work back when I spent a couple years writing technical manuals.

You're definitely right. It was more of just a lack of attention to proper writing, and I should pay full attention to it at all times. I'll be sure to make more of a habit of always writing correctly, even when it is just a forum like this.

Thank you for the good luck, and I am also very grateful that I will be getting it done in time for the January Boards!
 
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