AROTC Scholarship Third Round Waiters

StowieJ

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Joined
Jan 10, 2015
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182
I just wanted to set up a channel where all of us (still) hopefuls could talk.

I know that being able to talk with people through the scholarship process is extremely beneficial, so if anyone has any questions about getting their application in on time, there are tons of us that are willing and able to help.

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There's still plenty of time. Worst case scenario, it's not changed in a week, and I would give CC an email. Or if you have the magic phone number, I'd call that. (I don't have it.)

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Thanks for starting this. DS has been in since the 1st round, and yes, we've got some backup plans if he doesn't get a scholarship on the 3rd round either, but it sure would help to know so he can make a final decision about which school to choose.
 
Me and you both snowmom. And probably another 100 people.

I've already decided that I'm not going to go to the most expensive school on my list. Makes it a bit simpler.

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All right, this question has been going around in my head for a while now, and so I'm just going to ask it...and even before I ask it, I'm sure there is not a definitive answer. My DS is planning to work his butt off to earn some type (4-year, 3-year, 2-year???) of AROTC scholarship when he gets to campus (if he doesn't get it 3rd round). If he does all he needs to do and more (the things I've read about on the forum (good GPA, physical stuff, etc., etc.), has anyone that has gone through 4 years of AROTC NOT been given some type of scholarship (is there a 2-year AROTC scholarship)? Has an AROTC-enrolled cadet that stuck with it all 4 years in college and did all he/she was supposed to do not gotten at least a partial campus-based scholarship?
 
I think at the beginning of junior year they decide whether to contract you or not. I know there are 2 yeat scholarships.

If they think you're unfit to lead they have the right to drop you on the spot. If you stick with it, if they're willing to contact you, I think they'll be willing to put you on scholarship. But that's just an assumption

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I know that from talking to people who were dropped from the course out of the blue. They do always have the right to drop you and just say that you showed no leadership potential, and then your SOL and have to pay back the scholarship as if it were a loan.

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StowieJ,

Please don't answer questions with an assumption, give it time, someone will come along and give an answer soon enough. There are a lot of people that read these threads that do not post, they will see answers and run with them.

SnowMom,

There are always plenty of cadets that commission each year that were never on a scholarship. When your son starts ROTC as a MS1, scholarship cadets will be a small minority. If the battalion and brigade has the funds and available slots they "May" offer either upgrades to existing scholarship cadets or offer scholarships to other cadets. At the end of the cadets sophomore year the battalion will decide whether to move the cadet (Non Scholarship) from the Basic Course to the Advanced Course that starts Junior year. At this point the battalion will decide whether to offer the cadet a contract. Being contracted as a MS3 has nothing to do with scholarships. Many cadets move to the Advanced Course with a contract that are not offered scholarships.

As a non scholarship cadet moves throughROTC they may decide to join the National Guard/Reserves and become a SMP cadet, some will accept a GRFD Scholarship which locks them into the NG/Reserves, there are many options.

When a cadet that is not on scholarship receives a contract they will receive the monthly stipend from the start of the contract.

Non scholarship cadets have the same opportunity to compete for Active Duty and Branches as a Scholarship cadet. The scholarship does not matter and is not a consideration in the OML.

If a battalion has the money and slots, and the cadet is near or at the top of his/her ROTC class, they would have a much better chance at a scholarship, if they only have one scholarship to give then you don't want to be number two on the list.
 
StowieJ,

Please don't answer questions with an assumption, give it time, someone will come along and give an answer soon enough. There are a lot of people that read these threads that do not post, they will see answers and run with them.

SnowMom,

There are always plenty of cadets that commission each year that were never on a scholarship. When your son starts ROTC as a MS1, scholarship cadets will be a small minority. If the battalion and brigade has the funds and available slots they "May" offer either upgrades to existing scholarship cadets or offer scholarships to other cadets. At the end of the cadets sophomore year the battalion will decide whether to move the cadet (Non Scholarship) from the Basic Course to the Advanced Course that starts Junior year. At this point the battalion will decide whether to offer the cadet a contract. Being contracted as a MS3 has nothing to do with scholarships. Many cadets move to the Advanced Course with a contract that are not offered scholarships.

As a non scholarship cadet moves throughROTC they may decide to join the National Guard/Reserves and become a SMP cadet, some will accept a GRFD Scholarship which locks them into the NG/Reserves, there are many options.

When a cadet that is not on scholarship receives a contract they will receive the monthly stipend from the start of the contract.

Non scholarship cadets have the same opportunity to compete for Active Duty and Branches as a Scholarship cadet. The scholarship does not matter and is not a consideration in the OML.

If a battalion has the money and slots, and the cadet is near or at the top of his/her ROTC class, they would have a much better chance at a scholarship, if they only have one scholarship to give then you don't want to be number two on the list.

Thank you. I appreciate your reply as we are trying to make the big decision about which school he will choose, and the more we know the better.
 
I know that from talking to people who were dropped from the course out of the blue. They do always have the right to drop you and just say that you showed no leadership potential, and then your SOL and have to pay back the scholarship as if it were a loan.

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Ok Stowie, you really need to stop with this type of information. What you stated above is not just that simple, if you talked to other cadets that were dropped you did not get the full story. Before offering advice wait until you start ROTC, sign the Contract, and meet with the battalion HR, this is the person that fully understands the contracts.

They do not just drop a cadet because they think they do not have leadership skills if they are on scholarship and or a contract. The key word is contract. Once the cadet has a contract and they fulfill the basic requirements, GPA, APFT, Full time student, and morals clause, it is hard to just drop them. To be honest once you are contracted you will have to do something that breaks the contract, they are not just going to walk up to a cadet and tell them that they don't think they have leadership skills and drop them. Now, if a cadet fails his MS classes then yes he has broken the contract and can be dropped but if the cadet passes all the classes, passes CLC, meets the contract requirements, the cadet will commission, they may not make Active Duty but they will commission.

There is a clause in the contract that does say they hold the right to withdraw at any time, but if that happens and the cadet had met all the contract requirements the cadet will not be required to pay back the scholarship. Contracts work both ways.
 
StowieJ,

Please don't answer questions with an assumption, give it time, someone will come along and give an answer soon enough. There are a lot of people that read these threads that do not post, they will see answers and run with them.

SnowMom,

There are always plenty of cadets that commission each year that were never on a scholarship. When your son starts ROTC as a MS1, scholarship cadets will be a small minority. If the battalion and brigade has the funds and available slots they "May" offer either upgrades to existing scholarship cadets or offer scholarships to other cadets. At the end of the cadets sophomore year the battalion will decide whether to move the cadet (Non Scholarship) from the Basic Course to the Advanced Course that starts Junior year. At this point the battalion will decide whether to offer the cadet a contract. Being contracted as a MS3 has nothing to do with scholarships. Many cadets move to the Advanced Course with a contract that are not offered scholarships.

As a non scholarship cadet moves throughROTC they may decide to join the National Guard/Reserves and become a SMP cadet, some will accept a GRFD Scholarship which locks them into the NG/Reserves, there are many options.

When a cadet that is not on scholarship receives a contract they will receive the monthly stipend from the start of the contract.

Non scholarship cadets have the same opportunity to compete for Active Duty and Branches as a Scholarship cadet. The scholarship does not matter and is not a consideration in the OML.

If a battalion has the money and slots, and the cadet is near or at the top of his/her ROTC class, they would have a much better chance at a scholarship, if they only have one scholarship to give then you don't want to be number two on the list.
The reason I made this thread was to have a discussion page where we could talk out all our issues. The fact that I give my understanding of the issue isn't your problem, and the reason I say "this is am assumption" is so that people know I'm not certain of it.

The point of a forum is to make a discussion, and that's what we're doing here. Add on to what people say, don't just tell them to shut up. I see how someone whith almost 4000 posts knows more than me, but honestly, you can stop telling me the same thing on everything I post. If I'm wrong say it. Please don't tell me not to post responses.

My answer was very clearly just a representation of my understanding, building a wealth lf knowledge, and my working as a group to understand the issue. We need people like you to input things that we don't know, to clarify situations when we are wrong, but I honestly don't appreciate your constant reminders to think before I post. I thought about what I know about the topic, and I posted a legitimate response that, albeit limited in scope, enhanced the discussion, and (IMHO,) helped SnowMom, even if it was mearly by a fraction of a percentage.

The question was if her son put in all the effort he could, and was on track to commisioning, would he be gauranteed a scholarship. From my understanding there are 5,4,3,2, and even 1 year scholarships. But most that are qualified cadets, with leadership potential, that the cadre are comfortable requesting a scholarship for would know long before there senior year, hence I think that if you hadn't made it by then, then you best look for other ways to finance your college fees.

As I understand it, the poster wanted to know if her sons efforts would go unnoticed, and I highly doubt any one of us could ever answer that. It's all based on her son, and his potential as a future officer in the Army.

Yes this is entirely within my limited understanding of the situation, but I don't think that makes my contribution unwelcome, or wrong.

I don't mean to offend anyone with my avid posting, but this thread is one of my ways of coping with the long wating period, hence my starting it. I would like it to be that same way for all other posters.

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Good topic and a challenging one at that. I've heard conflicting feedback that school-based ROTC scholarships are far more difficult to acquire than some think. I am with you, my DS is a solid candidate who has and should continue to do very well. However, anything can happen once they land at an SMC and I struggle with "rolling the dice" on an overly expensive school with the hope that my DS will secure a school-based deal in his sophomore or junior years. That's a risky proposition at $48k a year. And the last thing I want to do is take him out because of finances. So here I sit with a hard-charging, smart, patriotic, ambitious, and very physically fit/healthy DS who has yet to receive an award. My plan B (as head of finance :) doesn't necessarily align with his.
 
The following is a post from a different forum, on military advice, for an ROTC scholarship that was dropped and being forced to pay back his debt. The thing with this case was that him PMS Decided one semester to drop him because of his potential. Some people won't have what it takes to make it, and their PMS will drop them from the course, upon failure to get up to the standard they want. With a few cadets they stated that this was out of the blue. He was forced to pay back the scholarship, as they simply said that they didn't believe he had what it takes to be an officer.

"I recieved a notice yesterday that I was being disenrolled from ROTC based on AR145-1, specifically:

Chapter 3-43(a)(6) Failure to maintain a minimum semester or quarter cumulative academic GPA of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale or higher if required by the school and at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or equivalent semester or quarter and cumulative average in all ROTC courses.

Chapter 3-43(a) (13) Inaptitude for military service as demonstrated by lack of general adaptability, skill, hardiness, ability to learn, or leadership abilities.

The GPA thing is highly questionable as I have better than 2.0 gpa cumulatively and expect I will this semester as well. The 3.0 in the ROTC class is where they are getting me, but that in and of itself is questionable. My pms's grading system is set up as such:

LDAC AAR (10)
LDR Challenge 1 (10)
LDR Challenge 2 (10)
Collaboration (15)
Staff Position (45%)"

They used the other clauses on officer potential to justify a low mark on the "staff position" portion of the course, and dropped him, as he had below a 3.0 gpa. (As that 45% is subjective, all it takes is for thr cadre to decide he needs to be dropped, for them to get him kicked out, and effectively force him to repay the loan.)
 
I think everyone on the forum has great input usually, and everyone has different experiences and backgrounds that help all of us find the answers were looking for in our ROTC or SA adventures. I do enjoy the fact that forum is a safe place for anyone who's going through the ROTC or SA applicant process to post their questions and express their anxieties. I think StowieJ was doing just that by making this thread and trying to help SnowMom with her questions. Granted he may not have all the answers but he's willing to help someone else, and I think that's great!


OVO
 
The following is a post from a different forum, on military advice, for an ROTC scholarship that was dropped and being forced to pay back his debt. The thing with this case was that him PMS Decided one semester to drop him because of his potential. Some people won't have what it takes to make it, and their PMS will drop them from the course, upon failure to get up to the standard they want. With a few cadets they stated that this was out of the blue. He was forced to pay back the scholarship, as they simply said that they didn't believe he had what it takes to be an officer.

"I recieved a notice yesterday that I was being disenrolled from ROTC based on AR145-1, specifically:

Chapter 3-43(a)(6) Failure to maintain a minimum semester or quarter cumulative academic GPA of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale or higher if required by the school and at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or equivalent semester or quarter and cumulative average in all ROTC courses.

Chapter 3-43(a) (13) Inaptitude for military service as demonstrated by lack of general adaptability, skill, hardiness, ability to learn, or leadership abilities.

The GPA thing is highly questionable as I have better than 2.0 gpa cumulatively and expect I will this semester as well. The 3.0 in the ROTC class is where they are getting me, but that in and of itself is questionable. My pms's grading system is set up as such:

LDAC AAR (10)
LDR Challenge 1 (10)
LDR Challenge 2 (10)
Collaboration (15)
Staff Position (45%)"

They used the other clauses on officer potential to justify a low mark on the "staff position" portion of the course, and dropped him, as he had below a 3.0 gpa. (As that 45% is subjective, all it takes is for thr cadre to decide he needs to be dropped, for them to get him kicked out, and effectively force him to repay the loan.)

Again this is not the whole story, I read this post as well.

The cadet not only did not have a 3.0 for ROTC but he had also dipped below 2.0 for a semester. Cumulative GPA doesn't matter, you can have a 3.5 CGPA but if you drop below 2.0 for just one semester they can disenroll you.

That grading system is pretty standard for some MS classes. As I said before if you don't meet the requirements of the contract then they can disenroll you, not passing the MS class with a high enough grade is breaking that contract.

The point is they just don't walk up to a cadet and tell them they are disenrolled, the cadet has the entire semester to be evaluated, if they don't do the work needed then they pay the price.

You correct in that they most likely used the MS grade to close the deal rather then give him academic probation for not getting the required 2.0 on his overall GPA, but it was the Semester GPA that started the issue.

The cadre doesn't just decide one day that they want to disenroll a cadet, this is something that happens over time. To be honest, you really need to be a screw up to be cut if your on contract, if the cadre decided to disenroll this cadet there was much more to his story then one bad grading session.
 

Link Deleted

For anyone that wants to follow along...

Essentially he was dropped because he wasn't officer material. If the cadre believe that you aren't going to make it, they can drop you. And they will. And tbey will make you pay it back.

Essentially, you are agreeing with me. however, you're hiding it within a contrary statement.

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Essentially, you are agreeing with me. however, you're hiding it within a contrary statement.

Your right, I'm agreeing with you, not sure where I hid that.

Drop below a 2.0 for the semester and they can drop you.
Drop below a 3.0 in MS classes for a semester and they can drop you.
Break any part of the contract and they can drop you.

I'll let you move on, you have the vast experience of a senior in high school that has applied for an AROTC Scholarship to answer any question. I'll make sure not to hide within any contrary statements.
 
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