Was anybody on this board who was offered an Ike Skelton scholarship...

eljay60

AFROTC parent, former ANC in USAR
Joined
Nov 1, 2016
Messages
253
a winner in the AROTC national scholarship?

DS was offered an Ike Skelton after the first board, and decided to wait to see if he could go to his preferred college all four years. It seemed like a good sign, but he got offered nothing, nil, squat from any other board. Wondering if anyone else experienced this.
 
yes, my son, did not check off that he wanted this, but was offered this after the first board and then nothing, even though everyone that saw his application said that he was a very good candidate and scored very well on his interview
 
yes, my son, did not check off that he wanted this, but was offered this after the first board and then nothing, even though everyone that saw his application said that he was a very good candidate and scored very well on his interview

DS also did not ask for this scholarship, and did not respond when offered the ECP. If this was the only offer that was going to be made, they should have been very clear about that, and allowed a true opt out for those that didn't want reserve duty. I remember at the time Wentworth had something on Facebook that this was the only offer that would be made, and the statement was dismissed. Apparently it was true.
 
Same thing here. I thought I had a shot. I did not ask for or accept ECP and did not get any other offer. Still planning on working hard at ROTC to make things work. Over the past 2 months I narrowed it down to 2 SMCs, Norwich and UNG and 2 in state schools Siena and Niagara. Decision time...
 
Same thing here. I thought I had a shot. I did not ask for or accept ECP and did not get any other offer. Still planning on working hard at ROTC to make things work. Over the past 2 months I narrowed it down to 2 SMCs, Norwich and UNG and 2 in state schools Siena and Niagara. Decision time...

DS has UNG as his Plan A now. I highly recommend a visit and talking to Cadet Admissions. The campus is fantastic with plenty of outdoor recreational activities for your down time, and the Admissions team has been very helpful.
 
I was awarded it the first board. I was gonna do the same as most other people and deny it to wait for a 3 or 4 year scholarship. Most of what I heard was that this was all I was gonna get and changed my decision last minute. They are a little wrong for putting kids in a bind like that but I'm happy with the opportunity at hand. Anybody else planning on going to Marion?!
 
I was awarded it the first board. I was gonna do the same as most other people and deny it to wait for a 3 or 4 year scholarship. Most of what I heard was that this was all I was gonna get and changed my decision last minute. They are a little wrong for putting kids in a bind like that but I'm happy with the opportunity at hand. Anybody else planning on going to Marion?!

Good for you! I just wish they were clear when it was awarded that was all that you would get. We could have made a more educated decision. The misinformation involved with this is what distresses me the most. Either make the opt out on the application a true opt out, or be up front at the time of the award this is how the program works.
 
I was awarded it the first board. I was gonna do the same as most other people and deny it to wait for a 3 or 4 year scholarship. Most of what I heard was that this was all I was gonna get and changed my decision last minute. They are a little wrong for putting kids in a bind like that but I'm happy with the opportunity at hand. Anybody else planning on going to Marion?!
My son is working with the recruiters at NMMI and they just submitted a ROTC Scholarship for him. They have been more then helpful. Marion is a good school as well I have a friend who went their commissioned, did 2 years at a university and was commissioned in regular Army and retired a major. So plan B and C is always doable. Dont give up.
 
I am definitely grateful that my DD did not have to face the decision of receiving an Ike Scholarship offer last year (not sure nurses would be put in that position since their scholarships work differently). It had to be really confusing not understanding what it meant or not wanting the early commissioning option. My daughter is finishing her MS1 year and I just want to give hope in that if what is wanted is a four year experience ending in commissioning as well as a scholarship to help pay for that, there are different options still available. Make sure to look at ALL of them before signing anything. My daughter's freshman class all have scholarships now for next year (3 year AD), with the exception of one person. They have them either through campus based or SMP with the national guard. The important thing is, they made those decisions or got those offers after getting on campus. If you did not receive a scholarship definitely talk to the ROO's at each school. They can let you know what the options and likely hood are. Some schools definitely prioritize those who went through the process of a national scholarship application. The main thing is, don't panic and make a decision you cannot undo. ROTC itself does not oblige you, even with a scholarship you have until first day of sophomore year to decide to walk away. Joining the Guard or Reserves now does not give you that same opt out, and they will be there a year from now if that is the best option. I will be excited to hear what everyone decides to do. Good luck!
 
My son is working with the recruiters at NMMI and they just submitted a ROTC Scholarship for him. They have been more then helpful. Marion is a good school as well I have a friend who went their commissioned, did 2 years at a university and was commissioned in regular Army and retired a major.

Make sure your son asks a lot of questions regarding these schools. I assume he is looking at the ECP program. While your friend may have gone through this program and entered the regular Army, this has not been the case for the majority of ECP cadets lately. The chances are very high that your son will be required to serve his service obligation in the National Guard/Reserves if he goes through this program.

You may want to search this board for conversations regarding the ECP program, also reach out to a poster named QA1517, their son went through this program and is currently finishing his degree and will be serving in the Guard (He had requested Active Duty). QA1517 has a lot of information on the program and is a great resource for filtering out what actually happens from what is presented by the schools.

If your son has any interest in serving in the Active Duty Army a traditional ROTC program at a 4 year school would be his best opportunity. There are often opportunities to receive a scholarship once they start school and ROTC.

Transferring from the Guard/Reserves is difficult and happens very rarely, when you read the instructions and procedures to make the switch it sounds easy, how it actually turns out is quite different.

The ECP program changes all the time and with little notice.
 
Good for you! I just wish they were clear when it was awarded that was all that you would get. We could have made a more educated decision. The misinformation involved with this is what distresses me the most. Either make the opt out on the application a true opt out, or be up front at the time of the award this is how the program works.

If your DS/DD has any desire to serve in the Active Duty Army, turning down the 2 year scholarship will turn out to be a good idea. Going to a traditional ROTC program at a 4 year school will be a much better opportunity to get Active Duty. Work hard and show up prepared and there could be scholarships available through the battalion.
 
Good for you! I just wish they were clear when it was awarded that was all that you would get. We could have made a more educated decision. The misinformation involved with this is what distresses me the most. Either make the opt out on the application a true opt out, or be up front at the time of the award this is how the program works.

If your DS/DD has any desire to serve in the Active Duty Army, turning down the 2 year scholarship will turn out to be a good idea. Going to a traditional ROTC program at a 4 year school will be a much better opportunity to get Active Duty. Work hard and show up prepared and there could be scholarships available through the battalion.

Good advice! I have looked at this scholarship from all angles and there is one thing I can't seem to find the answer to. While you are going to the MJC for the first two years do you have to be in SMP?
 
Good for you! I just wish they were clear when it was awarded that was all that you would get. We could have made a more educated decision. The misinformation involved with this is what distresses me the most. Either make the opt out on the application a true opt out, or be up front at the time of the award this is how the program works.

If your DS/DD has any desire to serve in the Active Duty Army, turning down the 2 year scholarship will turn out to be a good idea. Going to a traditional ROTC program at a 4 year school will be a much better opportunity to get Active Duty. Work hard and show up prepared and there could be scholarships available through the battalion.

But what the experience of this year shows is the Ike Skelton/ECP was offered to those who had said on their applications that they did NOT want the option. All had packets good enough to be offered an option they did not want first go round - my DS had a 1260 SAT, Eagle Scout, Varsity sports, highest Math/Science courses offered by his school, NHS, graduating with honor. He was told by both his interviewing school and his first choice school he had a "strong" application. It's why I started the thread, to see if anybody who got offered IS/ECP had a conventional offer later. So far, the answer has been no. Yes, he can join the unit at school. Yes, the ROO has been encouraging. But at this public university, estimated costs for tuition, books, room and Board are $27,000/year, until you become an upperclassman, then it goes up. It would almost be worth waiting to submit for second Board rather than be given an unwanted offer or nothing. (Sorry, I'm feeling rather bitter today.).
 
Also in the same boat. ROO from U of South Carolina was impressed and said I passed the interview with flying colors. Said I was almost certain to get a scholarship by the 3rd board. And well... hear I am, no scholarship! Of course it sucks but I'll be attending my #1 in the fall proving that I'm worthy of a 2 year/3 year.
 
Good advice! I have looked at this scholarship from all angles and there is one thing I can't seem to find the answer to. While you are going to the MJC for the first two years do you have to be in SMP?

If they accept the ECP scholarship then yes they have to do SMP. It is part of the scholarship offer and their contract.
If for some reason they would go thru the program non-scholarship then they do not have to.
 
I agree. In this situation waiting for board 2 would have been a better idea. I guess no board 1ECPs were offered anything.
 
I believe this year ECP scholarships were also offered on the 2nd and 3rd boards, not just the first.
The logic of waiting until the second board to submit your application wouldn't necessarily do anything for or against you. You still might have ended up with no offer at all, even an ECP offer.

Look at it this way, if you received a 3yr offer on the first board and turned it down hoping to get a 4 yr offer on the 2nd or 3rd board, your chances of getting that 2nd offer are not very good.

There are always people that have strong applications that do not get offered anything. Many of them feel they might have a stronger application than those that received an offer. There is not a magical equation for receiving any offer, sometimes it's just the interpretation of the application by people that review them.

I agree and understand that if you checked NO for interest in the ECP scholarship on your application that it is confusing as to why that offer is made anyways, other than the board feels that is the best offer they can make you.
 
Good for you! I just wish they were clear when it was awarded that was all that you would get. We could have made a more educated decision. The misinformation involved with this is what distresses me the most. Either make the opt out on the application a true opt out, or be up front at the time of the award this is how the program works.

If your DS/DD has any desire to serve in the Active Duty Army, turning down the 2 year scholarship will turn out to be a good idea. Going to a traditional ROTC program at a 4 year school will be a much better opportunity to get Active Duty. Work hard and show up prepared and there could be scholarships available through the battalion.

Good advice! I have looked at this scholarship from all angles and there is one thing I can't seem to find the answer to. While you are going to the MJC for the first two years do you have to be in SMP?
I believe you do have to be SMP and you get paid monthly by them to attend drills or if no drills close by then the school will have you do something in exchange.
 
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