NROTC Recruiter

ProudMom14

5-Year Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2013
Messages
15
My son has been working on his NROTC application. He was very surprised to receive an email and phone call after just starting his application. He received another email today and I was shocked at how unprofessional the email was. The email was full of spelling errors, grammar errors, punctuation errors and was very poorly written. Is the recruiter an important part of the process? Should we be concerned about this individual's ability to help?
 
My son has been working on his NROTC application. He was very surprised to receive an email and phone call after just starting his application. He received another email today and I was shocked at how unprofessional the email was. The email was full of spelling errors, grammar errors, punctuation errors and was very poorly written. Is the recruiter an important part of the process? Should we be concerned about this individual's ability to help?

First, I wouldn't be surprised if the email was sent from a cell phone or something and I know I am notorious for misspellings, etc when using that method. The recruiter is not critical to the process but could very well be a useful resource during the application process. I'd withhold judgement for a while but would certainly be wary of how I used that particular resource until I had further evidence it was reliable. I might also be wary of info you receive from the recruiter. Some are very familiar with NROTC and can be very helpful. Some are not. My DS avoided working with those who weren't and sought out those who were familiar with NROTC. Good luck.
 
My daughter received a NROTC scholarship this past year; she is now a freshman at her University. We never used a recruiter, and in fact did not know that working with a recruiter was even a possibility. She did receive an e-mail once along the way, but it seemed to be a follow up to the online application.

I did not discover this forum until after she had submitted her application, and then worried about all of the things we DIDN'T do because of information on here! There is some truly great advice on this forum and I have learned a lot since then!

But I can reassure you that you don't have to do everything through a recruiter and still have a great outcome!
 
Proudmom14:

From the NROTC website: "After the applicant has completed and submitted his/her application online, that is only the beginning of the journey. The recruiter/coordinator will be arranging for one or more officer interviews, teacher recommendations, gathering transcripts, and ensuring that test scores are received from the testing agencies"

http://www.nrotc.navy.mil/apply.aspx

Can't say for sure, but it seems that various recruiting regions have different approaches to this. Some applicants go through the process above, others never have contact with anyone until an Officer interview.

I suppose there is a range of competency with recruiters (just like every other profession in life). There is also an issue of experience - in the job and with ROTC.

Your DS (with your guidance) should be his own advocate in the process and make sure he respectfully follows a path that puts him the best position for a scholarship.

In my son's case (NROTC MO) he was very friendly with the local recruiter. In our area, they must check everything over before the OSO gets involved. My son made it clear from the beginning he only wanted a commissioning program and wasn't interested in enlisting. That may have eliminated any ulterior motives with the recruiter right from the start. I am not sure but they had a very good working relationship.

Good luck
 
In my son's case (NROTC MO) he was very friendly with the local recruiter. In our area, they must check everything over before the OSO gets involved. My son made it clear from the beginning he only wanted a commissioning program and wasn't interested in enlisting. That may have eliminated any ulterior motives with the recruiter right from the start. I am not sure but they had a very good working relationship.

And they ARE always recruiting. I live a couple doors from a YMCA and while walking the dog this morning I saw a bunch of young men training with some Navy/Marine officers and enlisted present. I asked if they were poolees or doing SEAL training. The answer was SEAL training. And then one of them asked me if I knew anyone who would be interested! :biggrin: Told him "No. My son is already enrolled in NROTC".

USMCGrunt is correct that different areas run things differently. We live only a 15 minute drive from the Headquarters of our recruiting district. All our dealings were with officers at the headquarters, aside from the initial contacts my son had with the local recruiting office during his high school years. It was one of those recruiters who gave him his initial information on NROTC, but after that it was all through headquarters.
 
DS went through the NROTC process this year and we were pleasantly surprised at how quickly the local recruiting office acted. They called, set up the interview, completed paperwork, and even offered transportation.
 
DS became interested in Navy after recruiter came to 3 of his classes. First I heard about his interest was when DS told me he was going to set up an appt with the recruiter, but was told he needed to have a parent along. (One of those times a parent swallows hard, smiles and says, "let me check my calendar"!) DS also "made it clear from the beginning he only wanted a commissioning program and wasn't interested in enlisting."

The recruiter was very helpful with the application, setting up interview and encouraging to DS. The recruiter had a good working relationship with high school which was helpful. He also arranged for presentation of the "giant check" at HS awards ceremony.

What was interesting to us was the number of calls and letters DS received from USNA after he started his NROTC application. He was never interested in USNA and hadn't ever inquired or started a process with them.

I also discovered this discussion board later in the process, when I was researching and trying to find out as much as I could without pestering DS. I "lurked" for quite a while, created a user id one day and he received his scholarship notification the next:thumb:

DS is completing successful 1st year of NROTC and college!
 
Call the Unit

Instead of going through a recruiter, you can contact the NROTC unit that services the universities your DS wants to attend. The Freshman advisor is usually the recruiting officer to.
They will know how to get you started.
I think that's the best way to go about things.
You can find a list of schools and phone numbers by going to the NROTC website.

Recruiters are usually much more worried about their numbers than a NROTC advisor. Freshman advisors will have a very good idea of how many slots are still available for next year.
 
Back
Top