ROTC Scholarship Disqualification

missourirunner

5-Year Member
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Hello all, this is my first post on this forum, so sorry if I mess up some protocol. I have already searched the forums and couldn't find anything similar to my question.

Here is my situation:

I am currently applying for an AROTC scholarship (as well as to West Point), and part of the scholarship application requires you to report how many college credits you have already earned. When I input that I have 26 (16 Spanish and 10 Chemistry), the system notified me that I am disqualified because I will not be considered a fall freshman. The full message is here:


Thank you for your interest in serving this country by applying for an Army ROTC 4 Year Scholarship. Your application is currently disqualified due to the following: You have more than the allowable college credits. The number of college credits you have earned indicates your academic standing will be beyond that of a first semester freshman for fall.
If you would like to request a waiver please click on the "Contact Us" link at the top of the page. Make sure to include any facts or circumstances that will help us determine if we can grant you approval on your waiver request. We will contact you as soon as we have reached a decision.


These 26 credits are community college credits I earned during dual enrollment through high school. It is not guaranteed that whichever college I attend will accept them, and they most likely will not be enough/of the right type for me to finish an engineering/science degree in four years. I fully intend to spend 4 years in college. I just feel that it is a little ridiculous that I'm not allowed to apply for ROTC because I achieved too much in high school.

So my questions:
Does anyone have any experience with/knowledge of this? Is it a huge deal, and am I likely to get a waiver? What can I say in my message to them that will make me more likely to receive a waiver?

Thanks for the help.
 
Hello all, this is my first post on this forum, so sorry if I mess up some protocol. I have already searched the forums and couldn't find anything similar to my question.

Here is my situation:

I am currently applying for an AROTC scholarship (as well as to West Point), and part of the scholarship application requires you to report how many college credits you have already earned. When I input that I have 26 (16 Spanish and 10 Chemistry), the system notified me that I am disqualified because I will not be considered a fall freshman. The full message is here:


Thank you for your interest in serving this country by applying for an Army ROTC 4 Year Scholarship. Your application is currently disqualified due to the following: You have more than the allowable college credits. The number of college credits you have earned indicates your academic standing will be beyond that of a first semester freshman for fall.
If you would like to request a waiver please click on the "Contact Us" link at the top of the page. Make sure to include any facts or circumstances that will help us determine if we can grant you approval on your waiver request. We will contact you as soon as we have reached a decision.


These 26 credits are community college credits I earned during dual enrollment through high school. It is not guaranteed that whichever college I attend will accept them, and they most likely will not be enough/of the right type for me to finish an engineering/science degree in four years. I fully intend to spend 4 years in college. I just feel that it is a little ridiculous that I'm not allowed to apply for ROTC because I achieved too much in high school.

So my questions:
Does anyone have any experience with/knowledge of this? Is it a huge deal, and am I likely to get a waiver? What can I say in my message to them that will make me more likely to receive a waiver?

Thanks for the help.

The issue is not that you have achieved too much in High School, it is that you have too many college credits.

When you respond let them know that the credits you have earned will not all be put toward your intended degree. Let them know that you chose the dual enrollment to take harder classes and realize that not all credits will be transferrable. You should also let them know that you intend to major in STEM, and that you also intend to be enrolled in college for a minimum of 4 years.

You might want to contact the ROO at your top choice college ROTC Battalion and ask them for some guidance as well.
 
You should also let them know that you intend to major in STEM, and that you also intend to be enrolled in college for a minimum of 4 years.

As usual +1 to Jcleppe. Although his entire message is important, I think this is the most important part. If you tell them nothing else, tell them this (and tell them the rest of it as well, but this part is key). Good luck. I actually don't think you'll have any issues, but that's just my opinion.
 
As usual +1 to Jcleppe. Although his entire message is important, I think this is the most important part. If you tell them nothing else, tell them this (and tell them the rest of it as well, but this part is key). Good luck. I actually don't think you'll have any issues, but that's just my opinion.

I agree that you shouldn't have any trouble getting qualified to apply for the scholarship. The hardest part will be getting CC to actually go into the database and do something about it.
 
For the colleges that you look at - take a look at what credits would transfer over specifically for your intended major. I know at some schools, language credits wont transfer (for engineering majors at least) - which would definitely help your case.

You may want to research that, and then mention it.
 
At most universities, 24-30ish credits is considered an academic sophomore. Are you "assuming" you have 20+ college credits or was this an official credit evaluation from an accredited university?
 
MabryPsyD makes an excellent point. In our area, these "dual credit" high school/ college credits didn't transfer to any school our DS was looking at.
 
I received my 4 year AROTC scholarship with 40 credits, all from high school AP classes. This would make me a junior at some schools. When this was brought up, I informed my CoC that I was aware of this and from the beginning had always intended on being a cadet for 4 years, taking a light course load and minoring as well. They were perfectly fine with it, was never brought up twice.
 
I received my 4 year AROTC scholarship with 40 credits, all from high school AP classes. This would make me a junior at some schools. When this was brought up, I informed my CoC that I was aware of this and from the beginning had always intended on being a cadet for 4 years, taking a light course load and minoring as well. They were perfectly fine with it, was never brought up twice.

Does that make you the exception or the rule?
 
I got 34 dual enrollment credits from a state college my senior year and 31 of them transferred to my top college for my STEM major, it's all about taking the right type of classes and checking the transfer system for your dream school before hand. That being said, I had similar worries when I was applying for an AFROTC scholarship last yr. When I called up CC I was told that it is ok that I have so many college classes, the main thing is that I couldn't have graduated from HS yet so as long as I didn't have a diploma, I was eligible to compete. You really need to get in touch with someone at AROTC CC ASAP and explain your situation. The purpose for the no college credit rule is to disqualify ppl who have graduate hs already and are enrolled in college. Idk if Army is different, but I highly doubt it, you are not the 1st, nor will you be the last applicant with a ton of college credit from hs. 30 credits is considered an academic sophmore, which is what I came in as last yr and I got a scholarship, and since I'm a STEM major I had 4 yrs left anyways so there was no problem. Ill probably be a senior for the next 2 yrs or so(took full loads fall, spring, and even summer classes too so I think I'll have enough to be a senior next semester)... but academic qualification and what year you are are two totally different things for at a major STEM school so this is pretty normal.

I think you'll be fine, but in the off chance they say absolutely not even though your still a hs student, apply to AFROTC, they won't disqualify you for it:shake:
 
This is an interesting thread. My son is also dual-enrolled. When he filled out the ROTC application, he indicated that he had 18 hours of college credit, so nothing was flagged (unlike OP). However, the 18 hours were only those credits earned through the end of his junior year. He will have an additional 18 hours by the end of his senior year. But, based on my understanding of how things work, DS can either double major or have at least one minor in order to remain at college for the required amount of time. So, should we be concerned at this point about DQ'ing, or is OP only having a problem because they raised a flag on the front end by having so many credit hours at the time of application?
 
This is an interesting thread. My son is also dual-enrolled. When he filled out the ROTC application, he indicated that he had 18 hours of college credit, so nothing was flagged (unlike OP). However, the 18 hours were only those credits earned through the end of his junior year. He will have an additional 18 hours by the end of his senior year. But, based on my understanding of how things work, DS can either double major or have at least one minor in order to remain at college for the required amount of time. So, should we be concerned at this point about DQ'ing, or is OP only having a problem because they raised a flag on the front end by having so many credit hours at the time of application?

You're DS, like the OP, should call up AROTC CC, tell them how many credits he has now AND how many credits he will have by the time he enter's college(full time). I called up AF's when I was in the process of completing my application for clarification on this subject. The Officer basically told me that as long as I do not have a diploma in hand, then I am good to go on the application. At the rate I'm going, I actually could have completed a degree that usually takes 5 yrs in 3, but like Full Metal I took up a minor which stretched it back to 4, or your DS can just chillax, take 13 or 14 hrs a semester, that's what some ppl do. I know a cadet who only took 1 core class his last semester and took 3 random fun classes to bring him to full status ( badminton, underwater basket weaving, etc). Either way, he'll be able to plan it out to be 4 yrs. Unless Army is different, which again is doubtful, he'll be fine.
 
OP, you haven't earned 26 college units. You've earned 26 high school-college dual-enrollment units. Those are not the same. You won't know how many college units you've earned until the registrar at the University you end up attending decides how many of your dual-enrollment units are in fact units their college will accept. Until that time, you don't have any "college units earned".

I would ask CC to revise your application to show zero (0) college Units.

It would be helpful if the Application would change the phrase to: "post High School college units."
 
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OP, you haven't earned 26 college units. You've earned 26 high school-college dual-enrollment units. Those are not the same. You won't know how many college units you've earned until the registrar at the University you end up attending decides how many of your dual-enrollment units are in fact units their college will accept. Until that time, you don't have any "college units earned".

I would ask CC to revise your application to show zero (0) college Units.

Even if he does that, his transcript will reflect the college classes he's taken and where he took them so its not like they'll go away.

And many universities have an online transfer credits catalog generally located on their Registrar's site. You input your college, and then the course ID/name and it will tell you if it will count at that school and, if it does, what it will count as. Ex: I took a Global Economics class at my state school, but at the university I attend now it translates as a regular Economics class, minus the global part. So it counted as a SS credit for me, but not as the Global Perspective overlay I also needed. CALC I usually transfers ok, but since my current school is one of the few places that teach Linear Algebra in CALC II it didn't count for my major, they offered me the choice of repeating CALC II there or just taking a Linear Algebra class, I chose the former for an easy A.

It's best to check all this BEFORE registering for Dual enrollment classes so that you can avoid wasting your time and money. If you do your research, having most or all of your credits not transfer wont be an issue.
 
Even if he does that, his transcript will reflect the college classes he's taken and where he took them so its not like they'll go away.

And many universities have an online transfer credits catalog generally located on their Registrar's site. You input your college, and then the course ID/name and it will tell you if it will count at that school and, if it does, what it will count as. Ex: I took a Global Economics class at my state school, but at the university I attend now it translates as a regular Economics class, minus the global part. So it counted as a SS credit for me, but not as the Global Perspective overlay I also needed. CALC I usually transfers ok, but since my current school is one of the few places that teach Linear Algebra in CALC II it didn't count for my major, they offered me the choice of repeating CALC II there or just taking a Linear Algebra class, I chose the former for an easy A.

It's best to check all this BEFORE registering for Dual enrollment classes so that you can avoid wasting your time and money. If you do your research, having most or all of your credits not transfer wont be an issue.

Your last paragraph is certainly good advice but it seems to me OP is beyond that now. Also, I believe there is only one slot to write in how many college credits you have, not one for each college. I think dunninla's advice would be what I would follow. You're right that they'll see the transcript and questions may be asked at that time. However, in the meantime OP could begin filling in his application. The whole thing is much ado about nothing since OP still plans on spending 4 years in college, and ultimately that's what the college credit question is all about. You have to do 4 years regardless of the number of credits you have. Period.
 
+1 Jcleppe youre the best

@ Jcleppe

As usual +1 to Jcleppe. Although his entire message is important, I think this is the most important part. If you tell them nothing else, tell them this (and tell them the rest of it as well, but this part is key). Good luck. I actually don't think you'll have any issues, but that's just my opinion.

+1 Jcleppe youre the best
 
Your last paragraph is certainly good advice but it seems to me OP is beyond that now. Also, I believe there is only one slot to write in how many college credits you have, not one for each college. I think dunninla's advice would be what I would follow. You're right that they'll see the transcript and questions may be asked at that time. However, in the meantime OP could begin filling in his application. The whole thing is much ado about nothing since OP still plans on spending 4 years in college, and ultimately that's what the college credit question is all about. You have to do 4 years regardless of the number of credits you have. Period.

You are right, the OP is past the point of actively avoiding taking classes that may not transfer, but he can still go to his dream schools' registrar websites and find out which credits he has will actually transfer. If the thing with Army is that you can apply with college credits but just not more than XX, another way to plead is case, without getting rid of probably his biggest edge for GETTING the scholarship in the first place, would be to prove that only this many credits will transfer which is below the eligibility limit of XX credits. Really all that needs to be done is for the OP, and future2ltmom for that matter since she thinks her DS may run into the same problem, to get in contact with someone whose job it is to know this stuff. If AROTC CC is similar to AFROTC's, a definite answer will be forthcoming. If they didnt know for sure the answer to my question, they went to someone who did and got back to me that same day.

I agree, it would be ridiculous if Army DQ'd ppl for outgrowing their HS before they left it. I'm sure there is a specific req pertaining to candidates like the OP because again, he is not the first nor will he be the last.

Edit: Kinnem, that may be the case at your DS's school, every college is different. However, it is still good to check. All of the colleges I was seriously considering had a giant database where you selected which college you would be transferring from and then you could scroll down and search for the course names/IDs of the classes you have taken. It has the entire transfer college's course catalog which is modified to include whether or not the new college will accept it.
 
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You are right, the OP is past the point of actively avoiding taking classes that may not transfer, but he can still go to his dream schools' registrar websites and find out which credits he has will actually transfer. If the thing with Army is that you can apply with college credits but just not more than XX, another way to plead is case, without getting rid of probably his biggest edge for GETTING the scholarship in the first place, would be to prove that only this many credits will transfer which is below the eligibility limit of XX credits. Really all that needs to be done is for the OP, and future2ltmom for that matter since she thinks her DS may run into the same problem, to get in contact with someone whose job it is to know this stuff. If AROTC CC is similar to AFROTC's, a definite answer will be forthcoming. If they didnt know for sure the answer to my question, they went to someone who did and got back to me that same day.

I agree, it would be ridiculous if Army DQ'd ppl for outgrowing their HS before they left it. I'm sure there is a specific req pertaining to candidates like the OP because again, he is not the first nor will he be the last.

That's certainly a valid approach to the problem. Not necessarily the only approach. Perhaps OP should follow multiple paths here, or at least investigate them and make a decision.
 
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