Choosing ROTC with no Scholarship

Just thinking ahead of the curve, my DS was reboarded for AFROTC and denied 4 year NROTC.
Assuming that he gets denied AFROTC as well, he will likely reapply before his sophomore year.
He is going into Electrical Engineering which is a desired degree, and I am fairly confident he will do well. So now he is considering which ROTC to pursue during his non-scholarship Freshman year.
So my question is, how does he go about this? Does he sign up for the ROTC class? It is service specific right? So that means he would need to choose and put his eggs in that basket for a reapplication, right?
Any insight is appreciated.

You could start by contacting the ROTC staff at the particular college that he plans on attending. I'm sure that they know the exact process and wouldn't mind sharing it with you.

Thanks, of course he will do that, but... surely there are posters on here that have personal insight....

You are correct. My DS did this for AROTC and earned a 3 1/2 year scholarship after participating as a non-contract cadet for the first three months.
Essentially it works the same for NROTC except that to reach "advanced standing" your DS would have to earn a contract or scholarship by the end of sophomore year. (also known as a "sideload" in NROTC). Marine option differs a little mainly in that the Marines don't care what your major is wheras the Navy does.

Here is a good summary on how NROTC college program works:
http://nrotc.gatech.edu/prospective-midshipmen/college-program/

F15DOC said:

Just thinking ahead of the curve, my DS was reboarded for AFROTC and denied 4 year NROTC.
Assuming that he gets denied AFROTC as well, he will likely reapply before his sophomore year.
He is going into Electrical Engineering which is a desired degree, and I am fairly confident he will do well. So now he is considering which ROTC to pursue during his non-scholarship Freshman year.
So my question is, how does he go about this? Does he sign up for the ROTC class? It is service specific right? So that means he would need to choose and put his eggs in that basket for a reapplication, right?
Any insight is appreciated.

Click to expand...

I am not familiar at all with AFROTC, but I can tell you about my DD's situation. She is still waiting to hear from USNA, but she has been accepted into VMI and has chosen VMI as her backup school. We have paid the deposit there and have filled out all the FAFSA stuff.

DD had applied for the NROTC scholarship, but was denied a couple weeks ago. She emailed the professor of Naval Science at VMI to let him know she was not awarded the 4 year scholarship but would like to apply again. He has been working with her to apply for a sideload scholarship once she gets to VMI. For NROTC a sideload is a national competition, not awarded by the school (unlike Army).

I'd suggest that your son reach out to the Naval Science prof at his school of choice, let them know that he will be attending (if not USCGA), and plans to reapply for scholarship, and ask for any advice.

Good luck!

**and/or reach out to the AF prof!

Great intel guys, that is very helpful!

He needs to make arrangements this summer to join a unit for the fall semester. If he's planning to pursue NROTC, he will apply for the National scholarship (the one he just got turned down for) again during the fall of his freshman year as a College Program (non-scholarship) student in the unit. If he receives it, it will start day 1 of sophomore year. If he doesn't receive it, he'll apply for a 3-year Sideload scholarship in May, following the completion of his freshman year. The 3-year Sideload also starts day 1 of sophomore year. College Program will make any National applicant SIGNIFICANTLY more competitive, and it is also virtually required in order to get selected for a Sideload.

Speaking on the AFROTC side, please note that the scholarship would've been a 2+2, and if you were to be nominated for next year's scholarship, it'd be a 1.5 + 2 (second semester of Freshman year) or 1+2 (first semester of Sophomore / 200 / 250 year).
- This means that regardless, you'll have to compete for a summer field training slot across a national board that consists of GPA, PFA, and commander's ranking to say a few.
-If you are selected, your scholarship will be prolonged, if not you will be disenrolled and possibly have to pay back the scholarship.

Another note, I hope he chose that major because he is genuinely interested / good in it. It's definitely a tough major and for the most part, I'd say expect 5 years. For Air Force, you would have to wait a while to report in after commissioning so you're looking at ~ 6 years.

Whatever branch he decides to choose, it'll always be competitive. Now, the process is, at least for AFROTC, is you contact the detachment you are attempting to join (so look up the school that he was accepted to and look for the host detachment. At times, it'll be that college but others it will not be.)
-I believe there's a New Student Orientation where you take the PFA to actually be admitted. Please note this is different for each detachement.
-Over summer, make sure he stays fit.

AFROTC as mentioned in my first paragraph has two scholarship opportunities for him if he decides to enroll as a freshman.
-Note that there MIGHT not be a board because of limited funding.
-Average GPA for tech is ~ 3.5, 94 on PFA, and 29 ACT
-Average GPA for nontech is ~ 3.8, 95 on PFA, and 28 ACT

Best of luck. You may contact me privately if you have any questions that I hopefully may be able to answer.

For NROTC my son had to enroll for three things:
1. The initial Naval Science Class
2. Naval Lab
3. Naval PT
He should also contact the unit although it isn't strictly necessary. They can give him the exact courses to sign up for at their college. It also gives them a heads up that you are pursuing this. Once your DS is enrolled in the classes this will kick off the process of the NROTC unit contacting your son regarding NROTC freshman orientation, details on what to bring, etc etc.

It varies from year to year, and my perspective is AROTC, but my DS says that most years, the MSI class is largely made up of non-scholarship cadets, you won't be alone in your battalion. Work hard and good luck!