Changing nrotc schools

usslloyd

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Dec 7, 2017
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I have read other posts on changing the selection of your list of 5 schools, but may have missed this issue: If you are awarded a scholarship but none of your original 5 schools works because 1) you did not get accepted or 2) their units have filled, can you transfer the scholarship to a school NOT on your original list and, if so how difficult is that? (Of course assuming you're accepted to that other school and they have not filled their quota)
 
You should ask that question directly to the unit commanders at the schools you are applying to like we did. This forum can only give you many speculations. Get the right answer directly from the schools and programs you’re applying to. Most we spoke to said that transferring is normally granted so long as their units don’t run out of funds. But this happens April-May when students are accepting and declining their scholarships. National scholarship winners funds are normally placed to one of the schools you applied to. Normally to your number 1 ranked school on your list. That school will be the gate keeper for your scholarship until you enroll or decline or not get accepted.
 
Usslloyd,

Have you been in fact awarded the NROTC scholarship?

If yes have you in fact been rejected from all of your schools listed?

Just need some clarification in an effort to give solid direction. If your answer to both questions are yes I would check your OP for some advise from a Sr member that has seen or heard of this.

In the last 5 years I have not seen anything as you have rolled out. It’s not to say it hasn’t happened, I just haven’t seen it. My first thought would be to reach out to your regional NROTC point of contact for a path forward. I’ll do some research on this one myself.

Cheers and good luck.
 
It's really just planning ahead to a point some might see premature, but real issue is we've rolled over to second marine board, and first two choices are texas a&m and v tech. As SMC's, we know they have larger quotas, but also assume they fill up fast. Other schools on list are a safety and a couple of reach schools, so we're in the world of plan c, d, etc. Of course that assumes we get the scholarship at all; we know marine option are few and tough to get. So maybe real question is if anyone knows how many spots texas a&m and v tech have and how quickly they tend to fill. But we have applied to schools beyond the five and are planning in case it gets to that, plans c,d, e f, etc. We've been accepted to texas a&m but no scholarship, yet...
 
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So maybe real question is if anyone knows how many spots texas a&m and v tech have and how quickly they tend to fill.
Just call the OIC in charge of this for each of the college's units to ask them. They will be able to tell you how many scholarships have already been assigned and how many they typically are assigned. Our DD did this when she was applying. If you don't get the scholarship for the 2nd board, call again to see where they stand with their numbers. If you find out that you don't get accepted to a school before you are notified of getting a scholarship, or if you find out a unit has already reached their maximum, then you should update your school list for M/O NROTC Scholarship. There is no sense keeping a school on the list if you have not been admitted or if their slots are full. If you win a scholarship, the NROTC HQ will go to your college list and assign your scholarship to a college. If your top school still has room, that is where you will get the scholarship to. If you later find out you did not get into the school, then you will need to request a transfer to another unit that still has slots. You can request to be put on a waitlist for your top choice, that may be already be filled, after you are awarded/accepted a scholarship to another school. At my DDs school, they typically fill up fast, but later on, some scholarship winners accept appointments to an academy and that frees up another scholarship spot at their school. She has a classmate that found out in June that he was able to go to this school with his NROTC scholarship! He was thrilled because he was admitted to the school, but the unit was full by winter when he was awarded his scholarship. Let's say that hypothetically, you have not updated your list to remove schools that were already full and then you get a scholarship but when then look at your school list they determine that every school on your list has met their quota, my understanding is NROTC will reach out to you to try to find you another school that still has scholarship slots available, that was not on your school list, where you could possibly use it at. The problem is you still have to be admitted to the college to be able to use it. It may have to be a state school that has rolling admissions where you could still get in at that point. I think the chance of every unit on your list being filled up would be extremely rare, though. So the key, in my opinion, is staying in touch with the units that are on your list and be prepared to update your priority list on your scholarship application.
 
Exactly what we were looking for, we appreciate your information and advice a tremendous amount!
 
I have read other posts on changing the selection of your list of 5 schools, but may have missed this issue: If you are awarded a scholarship but none of your original 5 schools works because 1) you did not get accepted or 2) their units have filled, can you transfer the scholarship to a school NOT on your original list and, if so how difficult is that? (Of course assuming you're accepted to that other school and they have not filled their quota)

This issue gets brought up every year but is hard to search for.

You can transfer your scholarship to any NROTC unit at any time provided the accepting school (determined by he folks in P-cola) has room and the costs are similar. (This is not always the case. They sometimes will let you transfer from a state to a private, it depends on a lot of factors.)

You can also update your list of 5 schools so that schools you are considering see you have been awarded a scholarship.

You can do this by emailing the folks in P-Cola, the address is on the Netfocus page that told you about where your scholarship was awarded.

I disagree with Patriot4Life. You are the keeper of your scholarship. If it is assigned to school X and you ask to transfer to school Y, neither school has any say in that assignment. The folks in P-cola own and moderate the quotas.
Come April/May time frame, the folks in P-Cola will sometimes raise or lower quotas at certain schools to make room for awardees. Having support from the Unit CO to add a quota is helpful and you should be proactive in keeping them informed. The unit does have some say in late stage transfers. Example: if they have three folks that are similar in standing, the unit CO pulling for you will make a difference.

Last point. There are always schools that have room for scholarship awardees. These schools typically have rolling admissions and/or will accept you solely based on being a scholarship winner. If you goal is being commissioned, you will find a unit. It just may be at a college you never considered.

THE FOLLOWING IS OPINION:
You should always assign your scholarship to a safe school that you are afraid will fill up. If you get accepted to your stretch school, it is generally easy to switch late in the game. A couple examples where this doesn't work: USC and Notre Dame are stretch schools that fill up and are hard to transfer in. TAMU and Embry Riddle Daytona are an example of schools that fill up early but aren't generally as competitive as a top 25 school.
 
My above post was for Navy options.
Marine Options are a different breed and have priority, in most cases, over Navy folks transferring in. They are separate but similar quotas.
 
My above post was for Navy options.
Marine Options are a different breed and have priority, in most cases, over Navy folks transferring in. They are separate but similar quotas.
Yep, so when you call the school's unit, make sure they know you are talking about Marine Option Scholarship.
 
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