Waiting on AFROTC but NROTC rejection

FPMOM2015

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Mar 24, 2015
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My DD checked NROTC portal yesterday and was not selected for NRTOC. Biology major, 32 ACT, 4.1 GPA; 4 years varsity xc and track. Dad is an O6 navy surgeon, still active duty and on third deployment in Afghanistan. Lots of service and tutoring jobs … She was very bummed. She was reboarded for AFROTC. But on the AFROTC website, there is something that says "All scholarships for current year have been allocated".. any insight on if that means they are all gone? She received an email December 18 stating she was reboarded and would hear some time in late March, early April.
She was accepted to all her NROTC schools that she listed, including U of MN, U of Michigan, Fordham, U of I… Confusing process even for a military family..
 
Honestly that is a shock that she did not recieve the NROTC scholarship, the AFROTC website saing they have been allocated means they are all gone but the results from the feb board are not out yet which means you will be hearing in the next two weeks from that board
 
And do not forget that there is the option to start with out the scholarship and then earn one. She needs to be happy in the branch she chooses. My DS started in AFROTC, non-scholorship, and realize within that first year that it did not fit his personality. As a sophomore, he switched to the NROTC MO, loved it from the start, and with the help of the program, earned his scholarship starting his junior year.
 
The way I would read this is that HQ AFROTC is announcing that they filled all of their slots through the regular board, and would not be holding the supplemental reboarding board that is/was due to meet next week.

That is just my 0.0187532 cents. I would have her contact Maxwell and ask if they are going to hold that supplemental board. If she feels uncomfortable contacting Maxwell directly, than maybe contact the PMS she interviewed with to see if they have been told directly that the Mar 30th reboarding board was canceled.

Good luck, and tell her to keep striving forward because many cadets are offered scholarships in college via the ICSP.
 
Thank you JMullins, Sampia and Pima for your insight. I believe she will do rotc with or without scholarship. And see what happens in the coming year.
I think all of these kids are amazing. When I look at other threads and read what these HS kids have been up to, it amazes me.. Good luck to all the kids out there waiting to hear and congrats to all who have received scholarships, regardless of Branch!
 
As much as it sucks...remember NROTC and AFROTC really really only want tech/engineers...I know if I wasn't engineering, I would not have gotten the scholarship.

Has she tried for Army? Those stats would probably get in Army, and they are less restrictive about major.
 
Thanks Akrogan. We talked about that. She did some research and doesn't want to do army. Also - she does not want to major in engineering so we didn't push it. She loves science, biology, chem etc.. So it will all work out. The good news is - the school she wants to attend has offered a substantial merit scholarship and we are super happy.
 
Marines, also part of NROTC, don't care what your major is.
 
FPMom,

She will find that those on scholarship are the minority....traditionally AFROTC offers only @ 16-18% to all those boarded. However,I would say that many more cadets are on merit scholarships from the university due to the stats that they have. Many of those cadets get an ICSP because a lot of schools require a much higher cgpa to maintain the scholarship.
~ AFROTC only requires a 2.5. I remember one semester our DS was told his college merit was in jeopardy because he had a 3.194 and they required a 3.2. He made sure from there on out that he never got near 3.2 again, which in turn helped him for SFT selection as a sophomore.

My suggestion to your family right now is to some more research because not AFROTC and NROTC has that make or break year.. Kinnem is a great resource for NROTC. I believe it basically is the same. Sometime in the spring of the sophomore year they must get picked up by a board to move forward for their last two years.
~ AFROTC does not care if they are scholarship or not. That aspect is masked for the board. AFROTC calls it the EA board or what many here call SFT. It is based on many aspects. CGPA, PFT, AFOQT ( AFs equivalent to an SAT/ACT), plus the Commanders ranking. They also look at major and eventual career desire (rated or non rated).

If not selected for EA/SFT chances are quite high that they will be disenrolled from AFROTC. Selected and graduate from it, the cadet will become a POC in the fall of their junior year.

I believe for NROTC they do the same, but from what I can gather is if on scholarship than they will become a POC as long as they follow the course set forth. It is only non scholarship mids that compete. Again kinnem will be the poster for guidance on this matter.

Finally, I bleed AF Blue, but have no problem saying impo NROTC is the hardest scholarship to obtain.Like AFROTC, NROTC gives @ 85% of their scholarships to STEM majors. I would also remind you and every lurker, that for ROTC candidates many do not apply to the SAs as their plan B, but many SA candidates will apply for a ROTC scholarship as their plan B. Just because they might not post on the ROTC forums, doesn't mean they are not competing with your child. There are many SA appointees that hold onto their ROTC scholarship until I day. ROTC knows this, and that is why come next fall scholarships may open up for the ICSP. They need to let the dust settle from not only the SAs, but candidates like your DD. If she was given both scholarships, she would have been allowed to accept both since they are non binding. Only upon arrival at the detachment and passing the PFA would they contract and the branch know how much money for that year group was returning into the pot.
~ I won't lie or give false hope. @4 years ago AFROTC did not have an ICSP board because once the dust was settled they found no money left in the pot.
 
Thanks Akrogan. We talked about that. She did some research and doesn't want to do army. Also - she does not want to major in engineering so we didn't push it. She loves science, biology, chem etc.. So it will all work out. The good news is - the school she wants to attend has offered a substantial merit scholarship and we are super happy.

Pima is essentially correct in how she describes NROTC as a college programmer. My son faced a similar path. He was absolutely determined to be a Marine but did not receive an NROTC scholarship. He did receive a merit scholarship from his first choice out of state school which made it possible to attend there at essentially in-state rates. So off he went and enrolled in NROTC as a college programmer. With hard work and excellent grades as a History major (he too had no interest in engineering) he won a NROTC MO scholarship which took effect the second semester of his sophomore year. A sideload scholarship,, which is how NROTC refers to scholarships won while in college is definitely not easy to obtain. It is still a national competition. The stats of the winners are similar to midshipmen accepted to USNA. Only 9 Marine Option scholarships were awarded the semester my son won his but more are typically awarded during the spring semester. I can't speak to the Navy Option stats.

Pima is correct that a college programmer must be approved to move on to the advanced course starting their junior year (they normally apply in the spring and are notified over the summer if they are awarded 'advanced status'. If approved for advanced status you begin to receive the stipend but tuition is still on you.

It's doable if one wants to work hard at it.
 
NROTC has 3 tiers of majors. Biology is a Tier 2 major along with all the other sciences and many engineering majors (there are only 7 Tier 1 majors and they are all engineering). My son started as a Mech E (Tier 1) this fall and is in the process of switching to Materials Science and Engineering (Tier 2). It is an easy switch as it's still STEM. I don't see why she couldn't go NROTC as a college programmer next year as a Biology major and compete for a scholarship if that is what she really wanted. But Kinnem is right, the Marines don't care what your major is (there is one guy in my son's unit who is a theater major....true story).

I don't know if she still checks the boards but DialtheGate has a son at U of M NROTC who may be able to provide more specific insight to that school's program.

All the best!
 
A whole bunch of ROTC scholarships will be declined in the coming weeks as kids finalize "I'm going to a S. Academy, not doing ROTC" or having to pick just 1 of the 2 or 3 ROTC scholarships they were awarded. All is not lost. Keep the faith and as others said, worst case start in Fall '15 without scholarship and earn it by being impressive and squared away within the school's battalion.

Also, remember, Navy and Army are "guaranteed" 4 year scholarships (when so awarded), AF is a 2 + 2, as Pima illuminated above -- BIG difference and a pretty big dice roll, IMO. Dis-enrolled after 2 years with AFROTC then what -- can DS/DD afford to finish up a that school? if not, what a social, transfer credit and psychological mess that could be.
 
FPMOM -- If I may ask, on which AF ROTC site and/or where on the AF ROTC site did you see the statement "All scholarships for current year have been allocated"

I'm looking too and I'm not finding the information. Best of luck to you and your DD. It sounds like she has a great record and will do well in whatever path she pursues.
 
If your DD really wants to pursue Biology then she should stick to that. My DS was awarded a 4 year NROTC scholarship in Feb and Bio is his major. Perhaps they do prefer tier 1 engineering but they do still take students from tier 2. I wouldnt rule it out for future scholarship awards .
 
Actually...if she has any interest in switching to chemistry for the application for AFROT C...it could help.

AFROTC considers chemistry to be a tech major, but not biology unfortunately. I know at my university, bio and chem have fairly similar classes in the first few years at least.

Also I don't worry too much about SFT...get a 95+ on PFA, always always work hard as a leader, and have a 3.0+ as tech and a 3.5+ as non-tech and you're pretty much golden. Basically care and you'll be fine. The prospect of commissioning and going into "real" engineering classes is what helps me succeed on the admittedly awful math classes. Lol
 
FPMOM - if this is the link you looked at: http://www.afrotc.com/scholarship-application/login

It is an outdated page from last year 2013-2014. It has the same picture on it as this year's page but the data in the text is a year old.

Here is the link to this year's 2014-2015 page: http://www.afrotc.com/scholarships

Notice, same picture different text. I think your daughter is still in the hunt for an AFROTC Scholarship unless you've received an email or portal message from AFROTC. Best of luck.
 
Falcon - I was looking at last year website. Thank you for update!
My daughter received email today that she was awarded TYPE 7 AFROTC. She is thrilled. We will have to see about converting it to a TYPE 2 (3 year). Also - this may be a stupid question but email states TYPE 7, Tech major. On application she was open and listed biology as intended major. I believe scholarship is conditional and only if she pursues a tech major (engineering, chem etc..) Any thoughts?

her first choice school has this listed on their AFRTOC site:

3 - Year Type 2 (converted from a 4 - Year Type 7)
    • AFROTC Pays: Click Here
    • University Pays: Full tuition (first year only), room and board (last three years), remainder of tuition (last 3 years)
    • Student Pays: Room and board (first year only)
 
First - Congrats!

I remember reading but cannot find the article that said the AF only granted 300 national AF ROTC scholarships in 2014, and the AFROTC POC I spoke with this past Fall inferred that there would only be about the same number this year. Others with more knowledge will correct me if I'm wrong.

From looking at the AFROTC site, biology isn't listed in any category so it may count as technical. I would call AFROTC and ask.
 
Falcon - I was looking at last year website. Thank you for update!
My daughter received email today that she was awarded TYPE 7 AFROTC. She is thrilled. We will have to see about converting it to a TYPE 2 (3 year). Also - this may be a stupid question but email states TYPE 7, Tech major. On application she was open and listed biology as intended major. I believe scholarship is conditional and only if she pursues a tech major (engineering, chem etc..) Any thoughts?

her first choice school has this listed on their AFRTOC site:

3 - Year Type 2 (converted from a 4 - Year Type 7)
    • AFROTC Pays: Click Here
    • University Pays: Full tuition (first year only), room and board (last three years), remainder of tuition (last 3 years)
    • Student Pays: Room and board (first year only)
FPMOM2015 - Is your daughter planning on going to University of St Thomas in Minnesota? If so, my DD won a AFROTC scholarship and that is her 1st choice school also. She is visiting next week for the overnight. Congrats to you and your DD!! It is quite an accomplishment!!
 
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