Please help with Plan B for my NROTC Nursing Option daughter

Hopeful4

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Wow! I am so pleased to have found this forum. I am realizing we have gone into this process a little blind.

My senior DD, has been dreaming of being a Nurse in the Navy for the last two years. Having no military backround in our family this process is very foreign to us. She is very determined.

After looking at other people's stats on these forums, I am pretty confident that she will not be chosen for one of the only 30 scholarships for Nurses. We had NO idea there were so few.

While she is a good student, she works VERY hard for her grades. She currently has a 3.79 GPA in a small private high school that has a reputation for being challenging. Her classes consist of honors and AP sciences, and english, with a few STEM classes. Her achilles heal, is math. She only scored a composite score of 26 on ACT, math being the culprit. She only was able to get an 18 on the math portion which does not meet the minimum requirement. Her grades in math (she is currently in pre-calc) have always been no lower than a B. She does have a history of testing poorly on standardized tests.

She is Captain of Cross Country, Captain of Swimming, she is running the Air Force Marathon, was a YMCA Junior Leadership participant in our city, and is a Executive Board member of the Horizons in Medicine club in her school. Along with being members of other clubs in her school, she also has several hours of documented community service hours.

So....what are her options? The local recruiter has not been much help. They of course wanted her to enlist, and worry about college later. That is not the path she is interested in. She very much wants a career in the Navy and would like to be a nurse.

A few weeks ago, she wouldn't even talk about AF or Army. Now she is willing to think about AF.

Thank you in advance for any advice you might offer.
 
The USN has (or at least used to have) officer recruiters specific to the medical programs. I would contact that person in your area.

It may be possible for her to complete nursing school on her own and then apply to be a Navy nurse. I would discuss that with the officer recruiter.

If she is looking for the military to fund her nursing education -- as opposed to simply becoming a military nurse -- the path may be more difficult.
 
My senior DD, has been dreaming of being a Nurse in the Navy for the last two years. Having no military backround in our family this process is very foreign to us. She is very determined.

Since you are talking about Plan B, why not a nurse in the Army (not sure if AF has the same program, if so why not Air Force).

Kids will be kids, but I could never understand how kids with no practical experience picks a branch and don't even want to consider another branch at all. Nurses take care of people. Military nurses take care of military members. So what makes Army/Air Force/Navy nurses different?
 
http://www.navy.com/careers/healthcare.html

Education Opportunities

Wherever you are in your nursing career, the Navy can help ease your financial burdens and advance your career with generous scholarships, financial assistance and continuing education.
High School Students
The Navy can cover the full cost – up to $180,000 – of your nursing education at some of the best colleges and universities in the country. You may receive a scholarship through the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC).
As a student, you can concentrate on your education or training with no military/training obligation until after your program is completed.
Offers have many variables. To get details and find out which offer would benefit you most, request that a Navy Recruiter contact you.
Nursing Students
For the Nurse Candidate Program (NCP), you can get an initial grant of $10,000, plus a stipend of $1,000 per month for up to 24 months. That’s up to $34,000 to help pay your way through nursing school.
Offers have many variables. To get details and find out which offer would benefit you most, request that a Navy Recruiter contact you.

The site recommends that you talk to a "Recruiter" and dosen't specify a specific type of recruiter.

Here's that address:

http://www.navy.com/locator.html
 
Keep Plan A. Work on it. Also apply for Non Rotc campus scholarships, to at least 6 schools. Call the financial aid offices at each school. Visit with them if you can. Spend time on their webisites. Some schools have a lot of money to distribute in aid. Also gives plan B possibly more options.

Good Luck
 
Hopeful4 said:
A few weeks ago, she wouldn't even talk about AF or Army. Now she is willing to think about AF.

I believe Agagles' DD will be commissioning this spring as an AF Nurse. I believe she is also on AFROTC scholarship.

AFROTC scholarship works differently than either AROTC or NROTC.
1. The SAT/ACT score is best sitting, not SUPERSCORE.
2. The only thing you can update as a SR. are those scores. The AFROTC 1st board will be Dec. I would strongly suggest have her take both the SAT and ACT every month through Dec.
~~~~ Honestly, 26 is low for AFROTC. As you have realized she will probably not even meet academic mins to be boarded. A 26 ACT means on her other portions she was hitting @ 29 on the other 3 portions. 29 is @ in the avg range for a Type 7.
3. AFROTC scholarships are tied to the cadet, not the school. IOTW, if they give you a scholarship you can take it to any college that accepts the scholarship. A/NROTC are tied to both the cadet and the college.

One thing to understand for AFROTC, and ADAF has determined that Nurses are a critical manning career field, so they give some slack later on.

AFROTC scholarships for any major are truly only guaranteed for 2 yrs. As a sophomore in college they will go to a board for Summer Field Training (SFT) selection. If not selected for SFT, in all likelihood the cadet will be dis-enrolled from AFROTC and lose their scholarships.

For the selection board, they do not give any weight to scholarships. It is what the AF calls "masked". IOTW, nobody on the board knows which cadet is on scholarship and which isn't. One item that they do give weight to fro their decision is the ACT/SAT score. Hence, even if she goes into AFROTC without a scholarship that score will be in her records, and chances are she will not be selected. It is 20% of their score. They do give an edge to critical manning career fields, like nursing when it comes to SFT.

Again, this is why she should keep taking it over and over again until that composite is higher. If it means in April, May and June. Do it, because it is easier to take those tests when still at home, than being at college, trying to pull a strong cgpa, participating in ROTC and having a social life, while also finding time to study for it and find a HS nearby that is offering it....hopefully it won't be homecoming or parent's weekend.

Finally, FWIW, please understand that less than 20% of AFROTC cadets get a HS scholarship. They are truly the minority in AFROTC.

Additionally, like A/NROTC, AFROTC also offers in college scholarships. Another reason to keep taking those tests. I am not sure about NROTC, but I know AFROTC offers also 3 1/2 yr scholarships once in college.
 
I think there are a couple of considerations that your daughter may need to prioritize:

1st: Are her standardized test scores high enough for her to be accepted into the nursing programs that she is interested/applying? Hopefully she has already applied to some colleges with AROTC/NROTC/AFROTC programs. These nursing programs fill up fast and there is a lot of competition for a relatively few spots. Four years ago when my daughter was applying it was important to at least one of the programs (I think AFROTC & NROTC) that she was admitted to a "direct entry" nursing program. Either way, I think your daughter needs to study, practice and re-take the standardized tests (has she tried the SAT?) as many times as she can.

2nd: Is a scholarship directly out of high school important or can you/she afford to wait and attempt to secure an in-college scholarship? Both the AROTC and the AFROTC have recently been offering in-college scholarships to nursing majors that meet their requirements after the first year or two. My understanding is that the Navy (NROTC) in-college scholarships for nursing have dried up completely (at least for the past year). Of course things may change next year.

3rd: What is more important to your daughter.....receiving a ROTC scholarship or commissioning as a nurse and officer in whichever branch she decides? You do not need to be a scholarship student to join any of the ROTC programs in college. In fact most of the ROTC students do NOT have scholarships. The officers in charge of the ROTC programs at your daughter's prospective colleges would be the best source of information on what she would need to do to be commissioned as a nurse in their program. Call them or if possible visit them.

Good luck!:thumb:
 
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Don't give up.

My DD is in her second year of NROTC on a nursing scholarship. She started the process as Air Force only and did NROTC as a "backup” Along the way she decided it did not matter where she served and so she was not completely devastated when she did not receive the AFROTC offer. She is really starting to enjoy herself and the Navyness (her words) of what she is learning and doing. Keep taking the ACT/SAT. During this process visit your in-state University that has NROTC and nursing and talk with them about how they handle the nurses’ schedules, classes etc. Ask them do they have in college money for nursing students, do you have to be in the nursing program to apply (some nursing programs start as freshmen others as juniors) etc… They will/should have a staff member that is responsible for nurses and that is who you want to talk to if they will let you. Good luck
M
 
So what makes Army/Air Force/Navy nurses different?

Before I get stoned for this, I would like to say the Navy is kind of quirky with nurses. While the AF and Army are pretty much on the same page as far as the nursing profession goes the Navy puts theirs in a much more administrative or delegating role utilizing corpsman. This is contrast to the other branches who do not utilize the medics in the same way and stay truer to the nursing model of practice. This is just in MY experience.

For the most part I don't understand why people come on here with such preference for one branch (for nursing) over the other but to each their own.

I chose Army because it trumps any other nursing for the amount high in demand specialty opportunities like CRNA, NP etc.
 
After looking at other people's stats on these forums, I am pretty confident that she will not be chosen for one of the only 30 scholarships for Nurses. We had NO idea there were so few.

A few weeks ago, she wouldn't even talk about AF or Army. Now she is willing to think about AF.

Thank you in advance for any advice you might offer.

Navy has 30 and the Army has well over 100....the fact she is so focused on the Navy and STILL doesn't consider the Army is a little odd.

I realize she is just a kid but I am going to the guess the avoidance of the Army stems from she's scared of our purpose as a ground force and the reality that we get a little dirty sometimes. :yllol:

Look, does she want to be a military nurse or not? The services are really full on nurses right now and there are plenty of civvys with actual experience trying to get in. Now is not the time to be picky. Besides, while she prefers the Navy how much does she really know about it and it's nursing corps....?
 
The services are really full on nurses right now and there are plenty of civvys with actual experience trying to get in. Now is not the time to be picky. Besides, while she prefers the Navy how much does she really know about it and it's nursing corps....?
+1

The military, as a whole, are overstrength on vanilla RNs. The military is more willing to direct commission a 250lb 4'11 family nurse practitioner than "gamble" a scholarship on an untested/unproven applicant. Essentially, people need to be more worried about earning their RN (by any means), than the color of their uniform.
 
Before I get stoned for this, I would like to say the Navy is kind of quirky with nurses. While the AF and Army are pretty much on the same page as far as the nursing profession goes the Navy puts theirs in a much more administrative or delegating role utilizing corpsman. This is contrast to the other branches who do not utilize the medics in the same way and stay truer to the nursing model of practice. This is just in MY experience.

For the most part I don't understand why people come on here with such preference for one branch (for nursing) over the other but to each their own.

I chose Army because it trumps any other nursing for the amount high in demand specialty opportunities like CRNA, NP etc.

I too think she should pursue all the services. That being said, there is an emotional component to these decisions. Not all decisions are strictly rational, nor should all decisions be strictly rational. Financial decisions should always be rational ones, IMHO.
 
The military, as a whole, are overstrength on vanilla RNs.
Are these "vanilla" RNs being released from military duty as their commitments end, or are they releasing the excess RNs early to meet the military's RIF goals? Certainly (like the other military occupations) there would be no reason to keep an over abundance of unneeded nurses while releasing other personnel.
The military is more willing to direct commission a 250lb 4'11 family nurse practitioner than "gamble" a scholarship on an untested/unproven applicant.
Not too surprising that the military would rather commission a nurse that has a post graduate degree and practical nursing experience that did not cost the military anything to educate. How successful have the various branches been at recruiting these nurse practitioners from the civilian market and what starting pay grade and bonuses are they receiving?
Essentially, people need to be more worried about earning their RN (by any means), than the color of their uniform.
Actually anyone interested in becoming a military nurse should focus on first acquiring their BSN (a military requirement) and then passing the NCLEX so that they are also RNs (another military requirement). Just becoming an RN (by any means) will not get you a military nursing job.

I would also recommend ROTC (any branch) with or without a scholarship, if you are interested in becoming a military nurse. You have (IMHO) a far better chance of receiving a commission and becoming a military nurse from a ROTC program than applying as a recent college grad. Again...JMHO
 
I too think she should pursue all the services. That being said, there is an emotional component to these decisions. Not all decisions are strictly rational, nor should all decisions be strictly rational. Financial decisions should always be rational ones, IMHO.

Exactly, I would pursue whatever branch paid for my school and got me a slot in the military. For the OP, Navy doesn't seem like the best option so she should definitely look into the other branches. As others have said before despite the slight differences nursing is nursing. I know we can't always expect rational decisions from 17/18 year olds but that's the purpose of this forum, to educate :)
 
Are these "vanilla" RNs being released from military duty as their commitments end, or are they releasing the excess RNs early to meet the military's RIF goals? Certainly (like the other military occupations) there would be no reason to keep an over abundance of unneeded nurses while releasing other personnel.

Not too surprising that the military would rather commission a nurse that has a post graduate degree and practical nursing experience that did not cost the military anything to educate. How successful have the various branches been at recruiting these nurse practitioners from the civilian market and what starting pay grade and bonuses are they receiving?

Actually anyone interested in becoming a military nurse should focus on first acquiring their BSN (a military requirement) and then passing the NCLEX so that they are also RNs (another military requirement). Just becoming an RN (by any means) will not get you a military nursing job.

I would also recommend ROTC (any branch) with or without a scholarship, if you are interested in becoming a military nurse. You have (IMHO) a far better chance of receiving a commission and becoming a military nurse from a ROTC program than applying as a recent college grad. Again...JMHO

Normally I'm a big proponent of the college program (see tag line). Not so sure about Navy Nursing though. I know there were NROTC college program nurses last year who were told that no nursing college programmer would be given advanced standing. I've got a call into DS to find out if that actually came to fruition, but that's the latest I have at present. Of course this doesn't necessarily apply to AROTC or AFROTC, nor does it even necessarily apply to this year or future years. Just wanted to add a word of caution on something to look out for that might also be a good question when interviewing or visiting units.
 
Are these "vanilla" RNs being released from military duty as their commitments end, or are they releasing the excess RNs early to meet the military's RIF goals? Certainly (like the other military occupations) there would be no reason to keep an over abundance of unneeded nurses while releasing other personnel.

I can tell you that either last year or the year before, the Army decided they had too many nurses that would be graduating in 2014 and offered them either "out" of their commitments or the chance to move to a standard "line" scholarship. 2-3 weeks later, they came back and said that they had all teh reductions/volunteers to move/opt out that they needed.
 
I can tell you that either last year or the year before, the Army decided they had too many nurses that would be graduating in 2014 and offered them either "out" of their commitments or the chance to move to a standard "line" scholarship. 2-3 weeks later, they came back and said that they had all teh reductions/volunteers to move/opt out that they needed.

Odd, I worked a lot with my ROTC brigade nurse counselor the past couple years (there are only a handful in the country, 10 or less) and they never mentioned this type of program or chance to op out. The only thing I can confirm was that not all nurses were selected AD for the Army.

Can you confirm this info?
 
..My understanding is that the Navy (NROTC) in-college scholarships for nursing have dried up completely (at least for the past year). Of course things may change next year...
Normally I'm a big proponent of the college program (see tag line). Not so sure about Navy Nursing though. I know there were NROTC college program nurses last year who were told that no nursing college programmer would be given advanced standing.
I have the same understanding....as stated in my previous post.
 
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