When to begin?

truenorth

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Nov 6, 2015
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Newbie here. DS is a HS junior. He is applying to USNA, and we have that process squared away. Turning our attention to ROTC, he has the schools identified, etc but when is the right time to start his NROTC application?
 
As soon as they open the applications for NROTC. The boards will typically start meeting for NROTC in the end of Aug./early Sept. They go by 1st come 1st boarded. Many kids will have their applications submitted sometime in July.

If your DS has not taken the SAT/ACT yet I would strongly suggest he take as often as he can this spring and take both because some kids do better on one compared to the other. Plus, some kids do better on one test compared to the other. Aim for high 1300's or 30+ ACT composite to feel competitive. Note: I said competitive, not safe. There is no such thing as a guarantee for either, but the closer you get to that 1600 or 36, the higher the chances will be for getting a scholarship, if they are competitive in all of the other portions.
 
The online application for NROTC is available now. The first scholarship board is in October every year, so I would recommend having the application submitted NLT 1 September in order to give yourself the most looks by the board. The board meets every two to three weeks, so applications submitted early have a greater number of opportunities to be selected.
 
The first scholarship board is in October every year,

When did they change it to October? I know in years past that the late Aug board was usually slipped back to Sept., but I didn't realize that NROTC boards now starts in Oct.
 
So, does DS has time to wait for all score results and final year grades to come in (score results in May, final grades in June), or should he start the app now?
 
When did they change it to October? I know in years past that the late Aug board was usually slipped back to Sept., but I didn't realize that NROTC boards now starts in Oct.

It's been October the past couple years.
 
So, does DS has time to wait for all score results and final year grades to come in (score results in May, final grades in June), or should he start the app now?

He can start it now. The recruiter who will be working with him will collect the high school transcript as part of the process, as well as verify standardized test scores and coordinate reference letter collection. Those typically happen after the student presses the "submit" button on the online application.
 
Pima is correct, the 1st NROTC board is earlier than Oct. DS was selected by first board this year and had his app completed in Aug.
 
Pima is correct, the 1st NROTC board is earlier than Oct. DS was selected by first board this year and had his app completed in Aug.

If you don't mind, please let me know when your son was notified of his selection.
 
If you don't mind, please let me know when your son was notified of his selection.

I ask because I saw in one of your previous posts that your son was notified of his scholarship in November. Placement and notification happens about a week after the board ends, give or take. So, based on a November notification in your son's case, he would have been selected on the late October board or the early November board. I had students in my unit selected on both of those boards this year, so I'm quite familiar with the timeline.

The first board the last couple years has been either the last week of September or the first week of October. Students selected before this are those receiving ISR scholarships, which is a different process.

Back to the question of the OP, if your student has their application completed by 1 SEP, they'll be in pretty good shape. This is the same advice I give to all prospective students and parents who visit our unit throughout the year.
 
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Start the application now, so you know what you have to provide and what essay/s you need to write. Also you can start asking teachers for reccomendations. You can also start putting together your resume. All of those same things need to be done for your SA app and Noms. Then you can put together a plan to have everything completed on Sept 1. Sometimes teachers and schools will are difficult to reach during the summer. If you have everything done Sept 1 and you have to follow up with school in the fall you could still have a completed app by mid Sept.
 
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