ROTC as plan B after WP appointment

brovol

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My son recieved a WP appointment, and also was awarded a 4 year ROTC scholarship to his #1 non-academy school. He is solid on USMA, but we know it is possible that he could get sick or injured before or during beast barracks and then not be eligible to start classes at WP, thus putting plan B in the game, at least until he reapplied for the WP class of 2021. We hope of course this doesn't happen, but if it does he would like to take advantage of the ROTC scholarship (and other scholarships he has been offered at the same school). He has until Friday to accept the ROTC scholarship. So, is it possible to accept the WP appointment, and accept the ROTC scholarship, and use the ROTC option as the plan B as insurance in the event that he has injury, ailment or something else?
 
My son recieved a WP appointment, and also was awarded a 4 year ROTC scholarship to his #1 non-academy school. He is solid on USMA, but we know it is possible that he could get sick or injured before or during beast barracks and then not be eligible to start classes at WP, thus putting plan B in the game, at least until he reapplied for the WP class of 2021. We hope of course this doesn't happen, but if it does he would like to take advantage of the ROTC scholarship (and other scholarships he has been offered at the same school). He has until Friday to accept the ROTC scholarship. So, is it possible to accept the WP appointment, and accept the ROTC scholarship, and use the ROTC option as the plan B as insurance in the event that he has injury, ailment or something else?

Yes, a lot of folks do this, though some just let the scholarship go. Just make sure he accepts the ROTC scholarship within the 30 day deadline and pays his deposit to the Plan B school.
 
My son recieved a WP appointment, and also was awarded a 4 year ROTC scholarship to his #1 non-academy school. He is solid on USMA, but we know it is possible that he could get sick or injured before or during beast barracks and then not be eligible to start classes at WP, thus putting plan B in the game, at least until he reapplied for the WP class of 2021. We hope of course this doesn't happen, but if it does he would like to take advantage of the ROTC scholarship (and other scholarships he has been offered at the same school). He has until Friday to accept the ROTC scholarship. So, is it possible to accept the WP appointment, and accept the ROTC scholarship, and use the ROTC option as the plan B as insurance in the event that he has injury, ailment or something else?

ROTC can be a back up plan for the instance of him being injured prior to reporting on R-Day. Once he reports in, the ROTC Scholarship is nullified. So, if he is injured during beast, then he will not be able to use the ROTC scholarship.
 
I know I am in the minority, but I see it as either or, not both. It's not about taking a ROTC scholarship from someone else. Your DS earned it. In theory, if your son declines his ROTC scholarship now there is a chance (I don't know how much), someone else would get that scholarship. I am not a socialist, but a person should not have more XYZ than others just because he or she can.

Usually, some folks are very vociferous that there is absolutely nothing wrong with holding on to a ROTC scholarship and/or accepting an offer from another college as a "Plan B." Another aspect is well to do vs not well to do. Some candidates can't afford to put a deposit down that they might not get it back.

Just providing an opposing view.
 
I am not a socialist, but a person should not have more XYZ than others just because he or she can.

But that is a socialist point of view.
Why should someone not have something that they worked hard to earn? The student didn't have the ROTC scholarship and SA appointment handed to them - that student had to work very hard for both of these things. So, they should that student be encouraged to give up something earlier than needed just because someone, who maybe didn't work as hard, can have it?

That said, my son did receive both and quickly opted to accept the WP appointment and he gave up his ROTC scholarship. But that was his choice to do so. We did not encourage him one way or the other.
 
I know it may not have been the absolute wisest thing to do, but both of my USMA sons declined their 4 yr AROTC scholarships once they received their USMA appointments. They just had a hard time holding on to the AROTC scholarship when thinking how much someone else would appreciate and benefit by it. My sons would have just attended the local community college for a year at minimal cost if they needed to wait for 1 year due to a medical turn back.
 
It's funny from when I went through the plan that Ice64's kids had was what 90% of our plans were if we got injured. I even asked a handful of my buddies if they kept their scholarships the other day and they all said no. Guess things have changed!
 
Also, some kids don't want to go into Beast with a fallback in case that makes it too easy to back out when the going gets tough.
 
Also, some kids don't want to go into Beast with a fallback in case that makes it too easy to back out when the going gets tough.
As USMAROTCFamily pointed out, once one reports to an Academy any xROTC scholarship is nullified. So... if someone had that as a backup plan if things got tough I'd have to say they had a pretty sorry plan. :)
 
My concern is baseball season. My son has had injuries in baseball over the years, and a little concerned with that. Varsity season ends a couple weeks after he is done with school, depending on how far they go in playoffs. But just would be a great disaster plan.
 
Not specific for an AROTC scholarship. But, a NROTC scholarship is cancelled once you spend your first day at a SA.
 
@brovol , your concern is a valid one.

If he gets hurt before Rday and won't heal in time to report for Rday, then having an ROTC scholarship/plan B college in place would be a blessing. If your cadet wants to pursue USMA, then the cadet has to apply all over again and there is absolutely no guarantee of a second appointment. Talk about stress!
This exact scenario, is a real possibility for any cadet, for especially when the cadet has a spring season sport and that cadet chooses to continue playing hard.

If the injury happens anytime after Rday, then the situation is entirely different.
 
Being a military family, we've learned through the years that it is always good to have a plan B in place, because often, things don't work out the way we initially expect.

DS received a 4 year ROTC scholarship as well as an appointment. He is also an athlete that plays hard - like most of our kids. He has worked extremely hard and gone above and beyond his entire school career, as this has been his dream. Since he was 7, to be exact. We have never pushed him one way or the other; he has done this on his own. The only thing we have done is give him the tools that he needed to be successful, but seeking out his appointment and scholarships have all been on him.

I can not imagine the heart break if he were to get injured before Beast. Yes, he could try again. If he declines the ROTC scholarship, then what? We are not in the position to pay for college out of pocket. Even community college would be a struggle at this point. He could apply for other scholarships in the future, most have already passed the deadline for the upcoming fall semester. He will not be declining his ROTC scholarship until he reports for R-Day. Some might see this as selfish; so be it. He has poured every ounce of his being into doing what it takes to get where he is, and he will not jeopardize his future and give away a certain Plan B until he knows for a fact that Plan A is reality.
 
@MilitaryMama - exactly. The reality is that many don't understand the consequence of giving up the ROTC scholarship if their cadet happens to be the unlucky one who gets hurt before Rday.
And you are correct in pointing out that the college scholarships that this student would have qualified for are now gone. For many that leaves community college as the only affordable option and frankly a kid who was accepted into a service academy isn't going to find a great 'fit' at a community college.

While my son did give up his ROTC scholarship early, in hind sight, I should have required him to keep it for this very reason. I simply didn't know then what I know now. My learning curve about things military has been huge.

Plan A (USMA) is never a reality until they get checked in on Rday.
 
But that is a socialist point of view.
Why should someone not have something that they worked hard to earn? The student didn't have the ROTC scholarship and SA appointment handed to them - that student had to work very hard for both of these things. So, they should that student be encouraged to give up something earlier than needed just because someone, who maybe didn't work as hard, can have it?

That said, my son did receive both and quickly opted to accept the WP appointment and he gave up his ROTC scholarship. But that was his choice to do so. We did not encourage him one way or the other.

It would have been a socialist point of view if I stated your DS should be forced to make a choice by the government.
 
No one should feel guilty for holding onto plan B ROTC scholarship, I don't think scholarship money is transferable (you are not taking away an opportunity from another kid). If the ROTC scholarship committee felt this was wrong practice...then they should retract the scholarship once a student accepts a SA appointment?
 
My son only had the 3 year ROTC, so this was not an issue for us...but I wonder...if they are hurt to the point they cannot continue or start at USMA, wouldn't they have to report that to DoDMeRB? Wouldn't that put the ROTC scholarship in jeopardy since they must medically qualify for it?
 
If they are too injured to finish Beast, and it is early into training, they go home. ROTC, if they are too injured to commission four years later, they are dismissed. For example, a broken leg would probably wash them back from USMA but not DQ them from ROTC. My DS injured his toe literally walking across the room two weeks before Beast. Thankfully it wasn't broken and he reported, after X-rays, etc., and is a "happy" Plebe at USMA today. He had argued with me about keeping his Plan B in place, but he said when he heard his toe "pop" that day, he thought to himself, "I should have picked better classes at Plan B!" Keep the backup until the last possible minute is my advice. While it is correct that his ROTC scholarship was void on R Day, we didn't dis-enroll him from Plan B until after A day.
 
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No one should feel guilty for holding onto plan B ROTC scholarship, I don't think scholarship money is transferable (you are not taking away an opportunity from another kid). If the ROTC scholarship committee felt this was wrong practice...then they should retract the scholarship once a student accepts a SA appointment?

Like to make it clear that I am only sharing my opinion. I am not passing judgment on anyone for choices they make (check my posting). I can be only responsible to my actions. One of my lessons I learned from West Point is not to ask if I am breaking the rule or not, rather asking am I doing the right thing or not. It is what it is as when the majority of postings on this topic is to keep the ROTC scholarship, someone needs to present an alternate position.
 
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