Interview

S

scotto

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Apr 10, 2018
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DS completed his NROTC Interview in Houston yesterday. I've watched this Forum for a while so I thought I was somewhat knowledgeable about the process.

As I understood it, once all submissions are in, His application and the interviewer notes go to the Board in Florida for review. But DS comes out of his interview yesterday, and says that he was told he may get a second interview from the CO in Houston, and the CO has the power to confer an immediate scholarship, circumventing the Board (in Florida).

I was surprised, and a little skeptical, to hear about this method so I figured I would post it here to see what people know.

Thanks.
 
That could actually be very good news for your DS. It sounds like he is going to be considered for an ISR (Immediate Scholarship Reservation). Same basic thing happened to my DS two years ago. We had never heard of the ISR as he was completing his application, but what we learned is that the CO of each regional recruiting district has (I believe) 5 ISR scholarships they can award. Traditionally these were given to some of the most highly competitive candidates. If he is offered the ISR, the benefits are the same, it is the same NROTC scholarship, just a different path to obtain it. If he is awarded the ISR, his package goes to Pensacola and the board reviews it, just to be sure all qualifications are met and the scholarship is awarded to one of his selected schools. From his experience and other posts on the subject, it seems the CO interview and award process can vary from region to region. For some, several candidates are interviewed and selected for the ISR. For others, the CO has already selected the candidates he/she plans to award the ISR to and the interview is just to confirm the choice and offer the award. The CO is required to personally interview anyone they award an ISR to.

I accompanied my DS to his CO interview and the CO invited me to sit in on the interview. With my DS' blessing, I jumped at the opportunity, making sure to sit out of view behind him and remain absolutely silent. Just like any other NROTC scholarship, accepting the ISR is non-binding. The CO explained that, while it was not binding, he was asking for my DS' word of honor that, if he were offered the ISR, he would accept it, unless he received an appointment to a service academy (which he wasn't pursuing). The CO explained that he only had 5 (I think) to offer and he wanted to be sure they were offered to people who would use them.

It sounds like your DS impressed the officer who interviewed him with his application package and his interview.
 
ProudDad17 said:
That could actually be very good news for your DS. It sounds like he is going to be considered for an ISR (Immediate Scholarship Reservation). Same basic thing happened to my DS two years ago. We had never heard of the ISR as he was completing his application, but what we learned is that the CO of each regional recruiting district has (I believe) 5 ISR scholarships they can award. Traditionally these were given to some of the most highly competitive candidates. If he is offered the ISR, the benefits are the same, it is the same NROTC scholarship, just a different path to obtain it. If he is awarded the ISR, his package goes to Pensacola and the board reviews it, just to be sure all qualifications are met and the scholarship is awarded to one of his selected schools. From his experience and other posts on the subject, it seems the CO interview and award process can vary from region to region. For some, several candidates are interviewed and selected for the ISR. For others, the CO has already selected the candidates he/she plans to award the ISR to and the interview is just to confirm the choice and offer the award. The CO is required to personally interview anyone they award an ISR to.

I accompanied my DS to his CO interview and the CO invited me to sit in on the interview. With my DS' blessing, I jumped at the opportunity, making sure to sit out of view behind him and remain absolutely silent. Just like any other NROTC scholarship, accepting the ISR is non-binding. The CO explained that, while it was not binding, he was asking for my DS' word of honor that, if he were offered the ISR, he would accept it, unless he received an appointment to a service academy (which he wasn't pursuing). The CO explained that he only had 5 (I think) to offer and he wanted to be sure they were offered to people who would use them.

It sounds like your DS impressed the officer who interviewed him with his application package and his interview.
Click to expand...


Ok, that's probably what happened. Good information. Knew I could count on this group to answer.

Thanks.
 
ProudDad17 said:
@scotto Curious for any update on your DS application.
Click to expand...
Haven’t heard back from the Naval Recruiter since the interview for a follow-up interview with the CO, but that could possibly be because:

1). His submission is not totally complete- still waiting for a counselor and a math teacher rec.
2). The holidays
3). They’re not interested

I check DS’s application status daily but no changes this week. We live in Houston and the recruiting office is in town, so I’m thinking I should let him go on the next interview by himself if one gets scheduled . What do you think?
 
My son always went by himself to his interviews. You wouldn't be sitting in with him anyway, so it's mox nix if you take him. Nor will your taking him get him extra points in the assessment. If he meets minimum requirements they WILL interview him, whether they are "interested" or not. Actually they aren't going to make any decision until all the data is in, and that will be made by a national board.

Lots of the military disappear around Thanksgiving as they'll have a 96 (hour leave) or better. They will also be gone between Christmas and New Year, just like the rest of America. If you think the submissions are not complete then follow up with the counselor and math teacher. If they've sent it in then recheck with the recruiter regarding the holdup of getting them in the system.

If you can't reach the recruiter after Thanksgiving, then drive over to their office. Someone will be there and they can't refuse you if you're standing in front of them. Oh yeah, sign nothing while you're there... they have quotas to meet. :D
 
I'd venture to say that the holiday may have delayed contact and that your DS probably should have everything completed before he would hear about an interview with the regional CO. When my DS was initially contacted about his interview with the regional CO, it took a few weeks to actually hear back and get the interview scheduled. Prior to the interview, he did meet with an enlisted person from the regional recruiting office who had forms for my DS to sign that were specific to NROTC. I don't remember exactly what they were, but I believe a drug statement was one of them, so your DS may need to sign some forms, but just tell him to be sure he understands what he is signing and why. When you say the recruiting office is in town (Houston) do you mean the regional recruiting office, because that is where the regional CO would work. This would be different than the recruiting office in the strip mall where the enlisted recruiters are located. I'd say there is nothing wrong with your DS going to an interview by himself. I only went with my DS out of convenience, as we had some plans in the area after his interview. Even after the interview and the CO awarding my DS the ISR, it still took 6-8 weeks for his status to change on his portal. It seems like the paperwork probably didn't get to the board in time for the September board and I think we heard the October board was cancelled, so it rolled over to November before we heard a response. Get used to waiting; it seems to be a huge part of military life.
 
DS has follow-up interview with Company Commander this Thursday, 12/6. Looks like everything else on is "on file" except the math teacher evaluation. Both me and the counselor have trouble with the NROTC link, in that it reports to the browser that it's not a secure link. The Counselor pushed passed this error, but obviously the math teacher wasn't as bold.

Anyway, Proud Dad, I'll let you know how he makes out sometime after the 2nd interview. This is the month we'll hear from Admissions too, so a lot going on!
 
Good luck to him! As far as the link not being secure, I believe my DS found that it was better to use Explorer instead of Chrome, but you could get past the warning with Chrome if you bypassed it.
 
DoD uses self-signed SSL certificates, hence the reason for that bogus "not-secure" warning.

Also, Chrome and other browsers have started saying "not-secure" for any website that doesn't use https (http secure) protocol by default.

See here.

You can safely ignore it or use an alternate browser (IE, Edge, Firefox, etc.).
 
That's great!!! Good for him. Just prepare him (and yourself) that it will be some time before this updates on his portal. His packet still needs to go before the board for approval and school assignment. This could take a couple months depending on board dates and the holidays, but a very good Christmas gift indeed.
 
scotto said:
DS just finished his Commanding Officer interview, and was awarded the ISR.
Click to expand...
My DS was awarded an ISR in Houston as well (right around the same time as yours). Has your DS's portal been updated yet with information? Just curious if they're both in the same boat (no pun intended...ha ha).
 
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