VMI Chance of Scholarship/ Advice

B

Brodiecaps1

Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2018
Messages
32
Hello everyone, I’m an incoming high school senior whose dream school is VMI. I’m from New York and out of state tuition is very pricey and I was wondering if anyone could possibly predict if I could receive some form of scholarship to the school. My parents said they don’t think they would send me there if I don’t receive a decent scholarship. My goal is to one day become a Marine officer however my parents are not completely for it and don’t want me applying for an ROTC scholarship so I’m relying on my merit as I don’t qualify for financial aid.
My Stats-
Goes to #2 public school in country( specialized high school)
- all classes are Ap’s non Ap’s are honors classes
Extreme upward curve- went from 86 weighted average freshman year to 99.8 weighted average junior year
AP scores- 3 in Ap World 4 in AP Us and 5 in Ap Language
100 average all junior year in college Business class, received highest grade in school on BizInnovator Test for college credit
- will most likely be captain of track team this year
- #1 ranked high jumper in NYC, Freshman and Sophomore City Champion
- worked as a service coordinator, library volunteer, marketing intern, and now I’ve built my own website to help kids in my city have easy access to programs concerning their career interests and make it available to them
1350 SAT (700 English 650 Math)
- Senior Year Classes - AP psychology , Ap macroeconomics, Ap Russian, Honors Journalism, Internship/ Career Skills class, Honors Calculus

If anyone had any advice or tips to improve on that would be greatly appreciated as well. Thank you for your time.
 
Last edited:
Are you looking for a VMI scholarship? Are you a good enough jumper to compete NCAA D1, that might be a route

I don't see a lot of STEM stuff so NROTC and AFROTC might be a stretch. ROTC might be in play.

I see the VMI Insitute scholars you barely make the SAT cut for that, with their small class size I'd suspect competition for those slots is fierce, on par with Federal Academy

Citadel is a bit larger and has more scholarships and is quite similar in the corps of Cadets program. There is also Tex A&M and Norwich and VA Tech and North Georga

Good luck, one of five hundred is a big goal and a life changing adventure
 
CitadelN88 said:
Are you looking for a VMI scholarship? Are you a good enough jumper to compete NCAA D1, that might be a route

I don't see a lot of STEM stuff so NROTC and AFROTC might be a stretch. ROTC might be in play.

I see the VMI Insitute scholars you barely make the SAT cut for that, with their small class size I'd suspect competition for those slots is fierce, on par with Federal Academy

Citadel is a bit larger and has more scholarships and is quite similar in the corps of Cadets program. There is also Tex A&M and Norwich and VA Tech and North Georga

Good luck, one of five hundred is a big goal and a life changing adventure
Click to expand...
Thank you for the help I really appreciate it I will be sure to look at the other schools you’ve mentioned. I am looking for a VMI academic scholarship, and I’m not sure if they give them to kids that didn’t make Institute honors which as you said is probably extremely competitive. I think I could definitely walk on to the VMI team but doubt I would get a scholarship. Do you think it would be worth applying for the ROTC scholarship and hope for the best? My parents would probably be upset but I think with money on the line it’s definitely worth a shot.
 
Hi there. You have a lot going for you. My son just matriculated as a freshman, so this is all fresh in my mind. Basically through the whole process, we learned that the 2 big scholarships you can get are the ROTC and the VMI academic scholarship.

I would definitely apply for the ROTC scholarship. There are multiple steps, and at the end if you receive an award you can always turn it down if you decide to, but I would not eliminate it yet. That leaves it open after being further along in the process and further in discussions with your parents. If they haven't visited VMI, it will really impress them. Choosing Marines doesn't mean what many think. Air Force VMI grads have a pilot selection rate of 99%. Other branches probably have similarly fantastic choices. I met a guy ehose nephew (?) was a VMI grad and flew the Marine 1 helicopter for a previous president. Parents are important, but ultimately at age 18, you are making decisions about your future as a man. We as parents all have to accept this at some point.

My son qualified for the academic scholarship but did not receive it after the interview. It made sense once we understood their focus: heavy writing, speaking, and debate strengths seemed to be what they wanted. These are the cadets that will represent VMI at symposiums and similar events, I think. I would draw in some type of critical-thinking debate element into your resume and be ready to show that off in your interview.

All the little misc scholarships you may apply for elsewhere from local sources can help, but if your "need-based" aid from VMI is more than 0, they allow you to apply only 2k from those sources before they start reducing your need-based award (to get your need-based award amount you and your parents fill out the FAFSA online, then apply for aid through VMI).

I hope this helps. With ROTC and the academic scholarship, you may be surprised at your total aid pkg. You have to get going on the processes as soon as you can, so you have the numbers to make your decision with as early as possible. Good luck.

Edit: Some advice my son received from an F-16 pilot: never self-eliminate!! So many people do that based on assumptions or poor advice.... by the way, you have time for 1 more SAT.... with a prep course, my son's score eeked up about 70 point everytime he took it:).
 
Last edited:
My personal opinion is if you're looking at the rotc to fund school with service as a secondary desire you're doing it for the wrong reason.

Seems to me time to do some more digging on your part - there is money out if you search hard enough to find it. More knowledgeable folks will probably be along shorty
 
CitadelN88 said:
My personal opinion is if you're looking at the rotc to fund school with service as a secondary desire you're doing it for the wrong reason.

Seems to me time to do some more digging on your part - there is money out if you search hard enough to find it. More knowledgeable folks will probably be along shorty
Click to expand...

My main goal and desire is to become a Marine officer and use ROTC to get to that point. The scholarship would be extremely helpful as it could be a deciding factor in the school that’s why I would appreciate it, not as a way to receive money. I will be sure to look for scholarship opportunities out there, thank you for your help.
 
AirForceVet said:
Hi there. You have a lot going for you. My son just matriculated as a freshman, so this is all fresh in my mind. Basically through the whole process, we learned that the 2 big scholarships you can get are the ROTC and the VMI academic scholarship.

I would definitely apply for the ROTC scholarship. There are multiple steps, and at the end if you receive an award you can always turn it down if you decide to, but I would not eliminate it yet. That leaves it open after being further along in the process and further in discussions with your parents. If they haven't visited VMI, it will really impress them. Choosing Marines doesn't mean what many think. Air Force VMI grads have a pilot selection rate of 99%. Other branches probably have similarly fantastic choices. I met a guy ehose nephew (?) was a VMI grad and flew the Marine 1 helicopter for a previous president. Parents are important, but ultimately at age 18, you are making decisions about your future as a man. We as parents all have to accept this at some point.

My son qualified for the academic scholarship but did not receive it after the interview. It made sense once we understood their focus: heavy writing, speaking, and debate strengths seemed to be what they wanted. These are the cadets that will represent VMI at symposiums and similar events, I think. I would draw in some type of critical-thinking debate element into your resume and be ready to show that off in your interview.

All the little misc scholarships you may apply for elsewhere from local sources can help, but if your "need-based" aid from VMI is more than 0, they allow you to apply only 2k from those sources before they start reducing your need-based award (to get your need-based award amount you and your parents fill out the FAFSA online, then apply for aid through VMI).

I hope this helps. With ROTC and the academic scholarship, you may be surprised at your total aid pkg. You have to get going on the processes as soon as you can, so you have the numbers to make your decision with as early as possible. Good luck.

Edit: Some advice my son received from an F-16 pilot: never self-eliminate!! So many people do that based on assumptions or poor advice.... by the way, you have time for 1 more SAT.... with a prep course, my son's score eeked up about 70 point everytime he took it:).
Click to expand...
Thank you for all your help and insight I really appreciate it!
 
Brodiecaps1 said:
AirForceVet said:
Hi there. You have a lot going for you. My son just matriculated as a freshman, so this is all fresh in my mind. Basically through the whole process, we learned that the 2 big scholarships you can get are the ROTC and the VMI academic scholarship.

I would definitely apply for the ROTC scholarship. There are multiple steps, and at the end if you receive an award you can always turn it down if you decide to, but I would not eliminate it yet. That leaves it open after being further along in the process and further in discussions with your parents. If they haven't visited VMI, it will really impress them. Choosing Marines doesn't mean what many think. Air Force VMI grads have a pilot selection rate of 99%. Other branches probably have similarly fantastic choices. I met a guy ehose nephew (?) was a VMI grad and flew the Marine 1 helicopter for a previous president. Parents are important, but ultimately at age 18, you are making decisions about your future as a man. We as parents all have to accept this at some point.

My son qualified for the academic scholarship but did not receive it after the interview. It made sense once we understood their focus: heavy writing, speaking, and debate strengths seemed to be what they wanted. These are the cadets that will represent VMI at symposiums and similar events, I think. I would draw in some type of critical-thinking debate element into your resume and be ready to show that off in your interview.

All the little misc scholarships you may apply for elsewhere from local sources can help, but if your "need-based" aid from VMI is more than 0, they allow you to apply only 2k from those sources before they start reducing your need-based award (to get your need-based award amount you and your parents fill out the FAFSA online, then apply for aid through VMI).

I hope this helps. With ROTC and the academic scholarship, you may be surprised at your total aid pkg. You have to get going on the processes as soon as you can, so you have the numbers to make your decision with as early as possible. Good luck.

Edit: Some advice my son received from an F-16 pilot: never self-eliminate!! So many people do that based on assumptions or poor advice.... by the way, you have time for 1 more SAT.... with a prep course, my son's score eeked up about 70 point everytime he took it:).
Click to expand...
Thank you for all your help and insight I really appreciate it!
Click to expand...
Brodiecaps1 said:
AirForceVet said:
Hi there. You have a lot going for you. My son just matriculated as a freshman, so this is all fresh in my mind. Basically through the whole process, we learned that the 2 big scholarships you can get are the ROTC and the VMI academic scholarship.

I would definitely apply for the ROTC scholarship. There are multiple steps, and at the end if you receive an award you can always turn it down if you decide to, but I would not eliminate it yet. That leaves it open after being further along in the process and further in discussions with your parents. If they haven't visited VMI, it will really impress them. Choosing Marines doesn't mean what many think. Air Force VMI grads have a pilot selection rate of 99%. Other branches probably have similarly fantastic choices. I met a guy ehose nephew (?) was a VMI grad and flew the Marine 1 helicopter for a previous president. Parents are important, but ultimately at age 18, you are making decisions about your future as a man. We as parents all have to accept this at some point.

My son qualified for the academic scholarship but did not receive it after the interview. It made sense once we understood their focus: heavy writing, speaking, and debate strengths seemed to be what they wanted. These are the cadets that will represent VMI at symposiums and similar events, I think. I would draw in some type of critical-thinking debate element into your resume and be ready to show that off in your interview.

All the little misc scholarships you may apply for elsewhere from local sources can help, but if your "need-based" aid from VMI is more than 0, they allow you to apply only 2k from those sources before they start reducing your need-based award (to get your need-based award amount you and your parents fill out the FAFSA online, then apply for aid through VMI).

I hope this helps. With ROTC and the academic scholarship, you may be surprised at your total aid pkg. You have to get going on the processes as soon as you can, so you have the numbers to make your decision with as early as possible. Good luck.

Edit: Some advice my son received from an F-16 pilot: never self-eliminate!! So many people do that based on assumptions or poor advice.... by the way, you have time for 1 more SAT.... with a prep course, my son's score eeked up about 70 point everytime he took it:).
Click to expand...
Thank you for all your help and insight I really appreciate it!
Click to expand...
 
Sure thing. By the way, you do have a good SAT score, it is just on the border for the academic scholarship... but it should get you the interview then you can blow them out of the water. If you do have a chance to up it a little more, all the better.
 
AirForceVet said:
Sure thing. By the way, you do have a good SAT score, it is just on the border for the academic scholarship... but it should get you the interview then you can blow them out of the water. If you do have a chance to up it a little more, all the better.
Click to expand...
I retook my SAT yesterday and I’ve studied 3 hours everyday the entire summer so I would greatly hope my score has improved. Once again, thank you for all your help.
 
Have you taken the ACT? Some people seem to do better on one than the other. Different styles of tests. If not and there’s still time I would highly recommend trying it too.
 
gill0610 said:
Have you taken the ACT? Some people seem to do better on one than the other. Different styles of tests. If not and there’s still time I would highly recommend trying it too.
Click to expand...
I’ve signed up for the one in September, thank you for the advice!
 
You should contact the VMI track coaches and tell them of your interests and your accomplishments:

http://www.vmikeydets.com/StaffDirectory.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=9800&DB_OEM_ID=9800

Darrin Webb Director of Track and Field/Cross Country 540-464-7060 webbda@vmi.edu
Dr. Drew Ludtke Head Cross Country/Assistant Track and Field Coach 540-464-7613 ludtkeaw@vmi.edu
Zack Scott Assistant Track and Field Coach - Throws 540-464-7018 scottdz@vmi.edu
Sean Bernstein Assistant Track and Field Coach - Sprints, Hurdles 540-464-7324 bernsteinsd@vmi.edu
 
My son had an Army ROTC scholarship to VMI. Even with the scholarship, room and board was still expensive and VMI won't comp the room and board to ROTC scholarship recipients like some other schools. There were other ROTC options that were much more affordable.

(He ended up taking a prep school spot instead so I can't comment on whether the money would have been worth it.)
 
New@This said:
My son had an Army ROTC scholarship to VMI. Even with the scholarship, room and board was still expensive and VMI won't comp the room and board to ROTC scholarship recipients like some other schools. There were other ROTC options that were much more affordable.

(He ended up taking a prep school spot instead so I can't comment on whether the money would have been worth it.)
Click to expand...
FYI! Norwich comps the room and board with the ID White scholarship - around $13k
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top