Quick VMI question

I am currently a high school junior and will be applying for an NROTC Marine Option scholarship after this year and will be applying for VMI during my senior year. My question is, if I gain acceptance to VMI and am not awarded a scholarship out of high school, what are the chances of getting a 3.5 or 3 year scholarship once at VMI? If it means anything, I plan on majoring in International Studies and are confident in my PT scores.

I know that NROTC-MO sideload scholarships are hard to come by. I emailed every Marine Officer Instructor at every school I was interested in (including VMI) and they all said it was unlikely to be awarded one in the future

That being said, Kinnem's DS got one, so it is possible. Just not the easiest of paths. Do what I did and email the MOI's a your schools asking the same question, they're generally pretty straight shooters.

The cadets at VMI told me that the instructors will work with you until you get one. And it's not possible, then they hand you off to the Army. But I will email those instructors and see what I can find out.

Only one person from my class got a 3 year Marine Corps scholarship. One out of the whole navy/marine corps ROTC at VMI got a scholarship.

What about the Army? If one did the same thing through the Army, would it be easier to get an in campus scholarship if I did AROTC? I don't want to have to sacrifice a commission in the Marines for the Army but my family can't afford $45,000 a year for 4 years. I need to get a scholarship.

Jarhead- I truly feel your pain about the cost of 4 years as an out of state cadet- that is a decision that you can not make lightly and though I love VMI , I would never advise a student to take on a debt burden that would potentially cripple you for many years after you graduate. I can offer a few suggestions though:
1. Contact the VMI AROTC department directly and ask your question about the possiblity and likelihood of getting a 3 or 2 year scholarship should you not get a 4 year. the point of contact at VMI is either Major Wells(email: wellsld10@vmi.edu ) or contact Col Wanovitch directly at wanovichwj10@vmi.edu. I would do the same for the Marine ROTC people at VMI- the Department head is Col Looney (email is looneypg@vmi.edu). The truth is that they will be able to give you the straight scoop while the rest of us can at best give you 2d hand information and do not have access to the real numbers or goals for the current and upcoming years. That includes current Cadets, recent and not so recent Alums, Parents, etc... So go directly to the source - they will help you.

2. You might want to talk to the VA National Guard about enlisting in the VANG. I believe that they have tuition assistance programs as well as the monthly drill pay which is around $300/month. The drawback is of course that you will have to go to Basic training and are eligible for deployments and callups - though that is not the issue that it was several years ago (Over 100 VMI cadets were called up for deployments with VANG and USAR units between 2002 and 2010. Clearly with the end of operations in Iraq and the drawdown in Afghanistan this is not the issue that it was)

3. If you really want to go to an SMC-Look at a couple of the other SMCs in addition to VMI. In particular- my experience with Norwich has been that they are very generous with their financial aid packages. Similarly- Texas A&M will give you in-state tuition if you get accepted into the Corps of Cadets.

4. Keep the end game in focus. While you may really want to go to an SMC, the reality is that you have the same opportunities for commission from civilian ROTC programs. Finding a program at a State university in your state may well be the most economical and affordable approach for you. In addition, the Marine Corps offers the opportunity to attend PLC - which is essentially going thru OCS at Quantico in 2 6 week phases in the summer. That was for many years the major commissioning source for the USMC and is still a launching pad for a large portion of the Marine Officer corps. http://www.marines.com/becoming-a-m...rams/four-year-colleges/platoon-leaders-class

Good luck- hope this helps

This really helps!! Thank you so much! I'll shoot these guys an email and make some decisions once I hear from the ROTC/NROTC boards.

Jarhead1775 said:

What about the Army? If one did the same thing through the Army, would it be easier to get an in campus scholarship if I did AROTC? I don't want to have to sacrifice a commission in the Marines for the Army but my family can't afford $45,000 a year for 4 years. I need to get a scholarship.

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I can think of at least five guys from Army ROTC at VMI in the class of 2016 who got three year scholarships. Compared to Marine Corps ROTC, Army hands out mores scholarships but there are more people applying....Also a few guys from 2014 and 2015 also got scholarships when I went down to Kilbourne to accept mine. (Kilborune Hall being VMI's ROTC building)