What if I dot receive an AROTC Scholarship?

Rednosis

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Apr 18, 2012
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As the second board has begun, I couldn't help but to think negatively, but what happens if I don't receive the AROTC Scholarship?

I'm confident in myself but better to have a contingency plan rather than caught off guard later on. All the schools I have listed on my schools of intent are within my parents budget.

Question is though, will I still be able to participate in AROTC? What are the differences between a cadet that has a scholarship and one who doesn't? Are they treated differently by both peer cadets and commanding officers? And once in the AROTC battalion will I still have another chance to apply for scholarship?
 
Yes, you can still join. No, you are not treated differently for the most part. Yes, you can still compete for a Scholarship or contract once you start ROTC.
 
I concur with everything Bull has just stated.

In the mean time, while we sit and wait for an answer - starting formulating your backup plans; in the event Plan A does not work.

No, you are not treated differently for the most part.
... could you elaborate upon "for the most part"?
 
I concur with everything Bull has just stated.

In the mean time, while we sit and wait for an answer - starting formulating your backup plans; in the event Plan A does not work.


... could you elaborate upon "for the most part"?

Not sure what the differences are for AROTC but for NROTC the only difference if your not on scholarship (contracted) then you cannot participate in summer training. Otherwise you receive the same training and opportunities as someone on scholarship.
 
Of course you can. A young man I know at NYU came to arotc his freshman year and worked his butt off by participating and having a positive attitude. Despite being at a crosstown school he just received his contract and scholarship in time for paying tuition 2nd semester sophomore year
 
Yes, you can still join. No, you are not treated differently for the most part. Yes, you can still compete for a Scholarship or contract once you start ROTC.

Just as someone else asked, could you elaborate on the "No, you are not treated differently for the most part"?
 
Thank you to all those that responded.

Just a few more questions though, is there somewhere where I could see the percentage of cadets that receive scholarships compared to the percentage of those who don't but are still in AROTC? Do the cadets with scholarships usually outnumber those who don't?

OH and no one nagged me for it yet, but on the title is a typo; Dont*
 
Here's the deal...some of the answers to your questions are very school dependent. Some schools may treat you a little differently if you aren't contracted. In the Golden Knight Battalion you aren't required to attend PT until you contract. Of course if you don't attend PT you are showing us you may not want to be contracted.
Currently I am out of qualified cadets in my freshman class. I could probably get 4 or 5 more on scholarship if the were qualified. I started the semester with one 4 year winner. we have awarded 2 campus based scholarships and we will contract 6 more cadets. The target in our Brigade is to be arouind 65% scholarship by the end of sophomore year.
If you want to be an Army Officer you need to come to campus, enroll in ROTC class and do everything that is asked of you, and be academically successful. If you do that you will probably be an officer when you graduate.
 
I'll elaborate. The "for the most part" was a caveat I threw in because I can't tell you how every battalion treats their non-contracted. Also, because sometimes you run into things that require you to be contracted (i.e summer schools). And yes, I know you don't have to be contracted to attend summer training, but if you can find an example of it happening this year, be my guest. Also, non contracted are treated a little differently because they're not required to do anything. They won't get hounded for missing PT, class, or lab like a contracted cadet will. If an FTX is coming up, they're asked if they would like to participate, not told like a contracted cadet. I think you get my point.

They're not treated differently as in looked down upon or outcasted, just little things here and there that really aren't a big factor. Depending on the size of the class you are in, I bet most of the contracted and non-contracted couldn't even tell you who all else is contracted or not. :thumb:

For your last question, I'd suggest doing some research on your own if you want percentages and what not. If you're actually interested in joining ROTC, now is a great time to learn to take an initiative. They're looking for go-getters, not passive drones. As far as my school goes, in the MS1 and MS2 classes, scholarship cadets are a small percentage of the overall class. It used to be the opposite, but due to changes in budget/scholarship allotment, its changing. As far as MS3 and MS4 classes go, everyone must be contracted and the majority at my school are also on scholarship. You'll see this change as well, when the Army continues to downsize and scholarships are not needed as much to recruit.
 
AROTC

Our son enrolled crosstown without a scholarship and reported that most ms1s did not have scholarships. He worked hard went to every pt and was a awarded a 4 year scholarship in December. As a side note he attended an optional FTX during parents weekend when other ms1s did not and he was the only ms1 to receive a 4 year scholarship (there were two other 3 years awarded). We were a little disappointed not to see him much that weekend, but the tuition reimbursement for first semester will soften the blow. Also he was dq'd temporarily due to a paperwork glitch but he and another ms1 still reported for pt in civilian workout clothes, that sent a message to the leadership about their commitment. So to sum up, enroll and participate fully, even the stuff they say is "optional." And no, non-scholarship cadets are not treated any differently in our son's battalion.
 
They're not treated differently as in looked down upon or outcasted, just little things here and there that really aren't a big factor.
Ah - okay, this was what I was wondering about!

is there somewhere where I could see the percentage of cadets that receive scholarships compared to the percentage of those who don't but are still in AROTC? Do the cadets with scholarships usually outnumber those who don't?
Like clarkson said, that is school dependent. Your best shot for info, would be to contact the school(s) of your choice and ask these questions to the cadre. ... trying to pull from memory, but I think the LTC @ Penn State said 90% are on scholarship ... but now that I think of it - that's a really, really large amount ... so I might be wrong ..
 
It's probably better to ask how many cadets are on scholarship by the time they reach their Junior year. A majority of cadets do not start out on scholarship, many of these cadets will receive a campus ROTC Scholarship by the time they reach their junior year.
 
If my memory serves me well, it seems that my daughter didn't know who was on scholarship and who wasn't for quite a while after she arrived (she was one who was on scholarship).

The one thing she could tell though was who was a "high speed" and who was a "low speed" cadet. The former generally got contracted/got scholarships. The latter, not so much.

The cadre figure out who is who out there and works with the best to get them what they need. As others have said, maximize your grades, volunteer for anything you can in your unit, don't just limit your exercise to morning PT unless you are already maxing out your PT by a mile. Your opportunities will come.
 
The target in our Brigade is to be arouind 65% scholarship by the end of sophomore year.
That is a very encouraging stat for non scholarship MSIs. That is higher than I had thought. I had thought about 50%. This is in contrast to NROTC-Marine Option, and to a lesser extent NROTC - Navy Option, where the majority of college programmers don't get a scholarship award, but many are allowed into Advance Course without scholarship. It almost sounds like anybody who prioritizes AROTC class, Lab and FTX will eventually get a scholarship.

does anybody know the stats for NROTC-Navy Option... that is, what % of freshmen college programmers eventually earn a scholarship while in the program?
 
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