Scholarship is waiting on waiver...help

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Momofcadet2020

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My son is at Norwich U., sophomore year and was awarded a 3 year scholarship. Scholarships were late to arrive in this past fall and his DoDMerb expired. So he had to get the physical/vision exams all over again and he is on waiver again (as he was the first time). Now its 4 weeks until this year is over and if not cleared/ granted in time his scholarship will be voided! He is being told he needs to pay $30,000 now just to register for classes next year. Any advice for him...like can he speak to someone reviewing waivers? Where is that done for AROTC? He is going to see if he can talk with the President and get some help here. I can't call and help him but would love to find out if there are any other avenues to help him in this timely process.
Thank you for any advice!
 
What is his DQ condition? I don't see why he wouldn't get a waiver again for the same condition unless it worsened.
 
I'm not sure I explained myself well. He is on waiver, from concussion in 8th grade. First time through dodmerb he was on waiver then granted. However Army scholarships didn't arrive at Norwich before that DoDMerb expired. He had to initiate a new DoDMerb application and do new physicals and is now on waiver again. If it clears, in time (4 weeks to go in semester) he will receive scholarship awaiting him for this year. If it doesn't he is out the scholarship! He paid for fall semester, and Norwich was kind enough to not make him pay for spring, b/c everyone expected his DoDMerb waiver to be expedited...but here we are. Also NU now says they can't wait any longer and he cannot register for fall classes unless he pays $30,000. Who can he go to? His ROTC commander says they just have to wait and there is noth in ng that can be done...
 
Is your son the only one in the AROTC unit that is experiencing this issue? It seems to me if the army was late than there would be others impacted as well, particularly those with 3 yr scholarships. He must have had a late summer or early approval in his senior year to have it expire in the fall of his sophomore year, correct? Is there any way that the ROTC can intercede for him with the financial aid folks. If your son had a least a 2.25 GPA he should be able to qualify for some merit scholarship awards. Norwich is very generous with their merit awards.
 
I would have your son talk to the ROO for his ROTC unit at the school.
 
He wasn't the only one I heard about late in the fall. Financial aid and Bursars said then there were a handful in his position, but I think the others resolved. He did do all his DoDMerb very early during high school...had it done in early November his senior year.
He is going to talk to Bursar and financial aid today. He did receive Presidential last year and his grades are good so I'll make sure he asks about that. Thank you!
 
Based on your posts, it seems DODMERB has DQ'ed and now the waiver is at the US Army Cadet Command level for disposition. Or are you still waiting for DODMERB to officially DQ it so it can move on to the Army for waiver processing?

If it's already at Cadet Command, I don't see why the PMS at Norwich couldn't go up to brigade and ask for an expedite of the waiver. Cadet Command may have rules that prevent this from happening. However, I would argue expediting the processing of the waiver will retain a cadet (i.e. meet mission) who otherwise may not be able to continue at Norwich. It would be in the best interest of the detachment to go to bat for your DS. Someone on this forum who is currently a cadre an AROTC unit may be able to chime in the feasibility of doing a drug deal with Cadet Command to have the waiver packet moved up the queue.
 
GoCubbies said:
Based on your posts, it seems DODMERB has DQ'ed and now the waiver is at the US Army Cadet Command level for disposition. Or are you still waiting for DODMERB to officially DQ it so it can move on to the Army for waiver processing?...
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Yes it went through DoDMerb and was DQ'ed.
I have sent him your thoughts and hope he can get some relief from the powers that be at Norwich.
He was told his risk of losing the scholarship yesterday and Ironically he received his fall financial aid letter from NU today that says he will be receiving it for next year along with the Room and Board scholarship that is given if a Cadet is on ROTC scholarship. It seems like there is not a lot of communication happening between departments.
 
Update: my son was able to meet with the President and he made the call to Larry Mullen to find out his status. And it is not good. He was denied due to the concussions in 8th grade. This seems crazy since his waiver was granted in his prior DoDMerb that expired and it was the exact same application. He explained that each year the threshold can change based on new science. So he will lose his scholarship and also not be able to go to Fort Knox this summer for basic. He also will have to figure out if he can even stay at Norwich...I'm heartbroken for him.
 
So if DODMERB DQ’s it, then doesn’t it go to Cadet Command for waiver approval/disapproval?

Personally, I don’t think the science of concussions has changed in 2 years. I get we are learning more about CTEs as it relates to football players who have been banging their heads against each other since 5th grade and now can barely remember their address after an 8-10 year NFL career.

This is a case of a college student who got concussions as an 8th grader. Two things to be concerned about - post-concussion seizures and cognition.

If he didn’t get any seizures within 2 years of the event, then his chances for a seizure now is the same as you and me.

As for cognition, he did well in HS - proved it by getting a scholarship and getting into Norwich with the requisite GPA and ACT/SAT scores - so no issues in my mind.

Did your DS get a definite no from Cadet Command? The only thing mentioned in your post is DODMERB. I honestly don’t think justice was done here.
 
Momofcadet2020 said:
Update: my son was able to meet with the President and he made the call to Larry Mullen to find out his status. And it is not good. He was denied due to the concussions in 8th grade. This seems crazy since his waiver was granted in his prior DoDMerb that expired and it was the exact same application. He explained that each year the threshold can change based on new science. So he will lose his scholarship and also not be able to go to Fort Knox this summer for basic. He also will have to figure out if he can even stay at Norwich...I'm heartbroken for him.
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What horrible news! I feel terrible for you and your DS.
 
GoCubbies said:
So if DODMERB DQ’s it, then doesn’t it go to Cadet Command for waiver approval/disapproval?

Personally, I don’t think the science of concussions has changed in 2 years. I get we are learning more about CTEs as it relates to football players who have been banging their heads against each other since 5th grade and now can barely remember their address after an 8-10 year NFL career.

This is a case of a college student who got concussions as an 8th grader. Two things to be concerned about - post-concussion seizures and cognition.

If he didn’t get any seizures within 2 years of the event, then his chances for a seizure now is the same as you and me.

As for cognition, he did well in HS - proved it by getting a scholarship and getting into Norwich with the requisite GPA and ACT/SAT scores - so no issues in my mind.

Did your DS get a definite no from Cadet Command? The only thing mentioned in your post is DODMERB. I honestly don’t think justice was done here.
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Yes it was the final denial after waiver board from cadet command. This also now precludes him from going to 30 day basic at Ft. Knox. Mellen said the army does not want to put money into someone who is a liability.
 
Gosh I’m so sorry to hear this! Been following. I would hug you if I could. And you wanted one.

This will all be but a blip on the radar of life someday....as devastating as it seems now. Just a hard but of news. I cannot imagine....
 
Momofcadet2020 said:
GoCubbies said:
So if DODMERB DQ’s it, then doesn’t it go to Cadet Command for waiver approval/disapproval?

Personally, I don’t think the science of concussions has changed in 2 years. I get we are learning more about CTEs as it relates to football players who have been banging their heads against each other since 5th grade and now can barely remember their address after an 8-10 year NFL career.

This is a case of a college student who got concussions as an 8th grader. Two things to be concerned about - post-concussion seizures and cognition.

If he didn’t get any seizures within 2 years of the event, then his chances for a seizure now is the same as you and me.

As for cognition, he did well in HS - proved it by getting a scholarship and getting into Norwich with the requisite GPA and ACT/SAT scores - so no issues in my mind.

Did your DS get a definite no from Cadet Command? The only thing mentioned in your post is DODMERB. I honestly don’t think justice was done here.
Click to expand...

Yes it was the final denial after waiver board from cadet command. This also now precludes him from going to 30 day basic at Ft. Knox. Mellen said the army does not want to put money into someone who is a liability.
Click to expand...
Wait, what? He was granted a waiver from AROTC last year, but his dodmerb expired, so he had to go through it again, was DQ'd for the same reason (I would expect that) and now AROTC won't grant him a waiver even though they did 6 months ago and nothing has changed in the interim?

That is crazy - i would be interested to know the extent of the original concussion. Decisions like this are what drives kids away from seeking treatment or making complaints. Concern over concussions is so overblown - anytime anyone complains of a headache following a sports competition or even a fall they are immediately diagnosed with a concussion, which we now see can have long term consequences. I certainly wouldn't take my kid to the doctor for anything head related unless he was bleeding from the ears.
 
Op, did you contact cadet command? When we were going through this process their staff was very helpful. I’m sure most know this but DoDMERB is not the waiver authority that is up to each service. DoDMERB is simply the clearing house for information to the commissioning authority.
 
Korab said:
Wait, what? He was granted a waiver from AROTC last year, but his dodmerb expired, so he had to go through it again, was DQ'd for the same reason (I would expect that) and now AROTC won't grant him a waiver even though they did 6 months ago and nothing has changed in the interim?

That is crazy - i would be interested to know the extent of the original concussion. Decisions like this are what drives kids away from seeking treatment or making complaints. Concern over concussions is so overblown - anytime anyone complains of a headache following a sports competition or even a fall they are immediately diagnosed with a concussion, which we now see can have long term consequences. I certainly wouldn't take my kid to the doctor for anything head related unless he was bleeding from the ears.
Click to expand...

Could not agree more. It is also a very subjective diagnosis currently. And potentially life altering. This one really is curious!
 
This is definitely a unique situation. Both the president of NU and Larry Mullen said the same. At least the president is invested in trying to help every student at Norwich. He asked my son to come back and see him and he, personally, will help him figure out the financial aid opportunities he might be able to find now that the scholarship is out.
We will see...trying to remain hopeful.
 
Oh God NO! This is awful! I'm so sorry!

My son had a mild concussion in January or February of this year and I think he disclosed it on his DODMERB. Is he at risk of being disqualified?
 
@tlatrice Of course he's at risk. People are at risk for many conditions from asthma, to eczema, and concussion. However he did the right thing in reporting it. It would show up in medical records anyway as long as he was diagnosed with it. However, each case is unique and your outcome might very well be different. Even the waiver situation could be different because he is in a different class year.
 
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