NROTC teacher evaluations and NROTC recruiter

williamsdr3

williamsdr3

Parent of USNA Mid '24
5-Year Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2018
Messages
378
My son is just starting the NROTC scholarship process. He had a question which was not clarified in the instruction document regarding which teacher evaluation is required for which program. In addition to the required counselor/school administrator and any teacher/counselor/coach/employer evaluations, it says one will be needed from a math, science or English teacher depending on program option but we don't know which program requires what.

He tried in 3 ways (emailed and got a form letter to contact recruiter; tried to find recruiter but links all broken in on website provided form letter, tried to login to actual application to see if it says exactly which one but keeps getting DOB is incomplete error) to get this question answered. Anyone know? He is trying for LREC option.

Second, as mentioned above, he is having trouble locating a recruiter who is supposed to answer any questions but I guess more importantly he is advised that they should review application before submission. What is the best way to locate a recruiter? He identified the region we are in but their page has local listings for our city and none of the links actually work. Could the recruiter be someone at his target university - should he contact NROTC there?

Thanks much.
 
Hopefully you are able to get a reputable answer. I would assume though that his English teacher would provide the recommendation since he wants the Language option. But you know what they say about assuming.

Good luck to him!

My youngest will be going through this next year. My oldest just went through the AFROTC scholarship process.
 
He should try to talk to an Officer Selection Officer. You can try drilling down starting here: https://www.nrotc.navy.mil/locate_coordinator.html. Sometimes your local mall recruiter can be helpful but be wary of signing anything, especially if they tell you 'this will help your application'.

EDIT: I don't see a separate LREC option on their web site anymore. I assume it still exists but is a checkbox within Navy Option, but I'm just guessing.
 
The local state university NROTC unit provided our DS with a contact. There was very little actual interaction: maybe a couple of emails (with slow response time) and one phone call. But he also interviewed through this unit. Just be aware this person wears many hats.
 
5centsmom said:
The local state university NROTC unit provided our DS with a contact. There was very little actual interaction: maybe a couple of emails (with slow response time) and one phone call. But he also interviewed through this unit. Just be aware this person wears many hats.
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Get used to that. We had little to no response and it got frustrating. He will need to keep on top of everything. And escalate as needed.
 
TONS of recent experience with DS and his assigned recruiter. When he initiated his NROTC scholarship application online--he got routed to a recruiting area/district. This person was several states away. And his address is in a VERY large state so it never made sense. He had a hellish time with this process. Documents never turned in. Recruiter was not responsive. Had to go up the chain of command multiple times in order to get anything done. Since this was his deal--we tried to stay as un-involved as possible--until it just got ridiculous. None of the recruiters he was assigned via NROTC netfocus were officers and they seemed uninterested in how important this could be for a young person.

I do not know how you go around the "assigned" recruiter from the initiation of the online application. If you are not getting responsiveness at this point I would be VERY vigilant in making sure that whoever is responsible for getting his stuff in--is actually doing it.

When he applies online he should be providing the email addresses of his teachers and counselors. Those evaluations should go directly to them. They OFTEN get sent the the junk folder. Stay on top of the teachers as well. Sometimes they have no idea they have the eval in the junk mail and the submission is often tricky.

All of his documents will need to be submitted to the recruiter or whomever you've got helping--and that person will then submit those documents to the board on his behalf (Drug Statement, Debarment, Statement of Understanding, Transcripts, SAT/ACT, AFA/PFT, etc). In my son's case he got all those docs submitted to the recruiter very early--and those docs never got sent to the board--until someone of a much higher grade stepped in to help.

Good luck in the process. It was a hard balance to strike--his self-efficacy and independence clashing with my experience that things don't always get done right the first time.
 
longhornmom said:
TONS of recent experience with DS and his assigned recruiter. When he initiated his NROTC scholarship application online--he got routed to a recruiting area/district. This person was several states away. And his address is in a VERY large state so it never made sense. He had a hellish time with this process. Documents never turned in. Recruiter was not responsive. Had to go up the chain of command multiple times in order to get anything done. Since this was his deal--we tried to stay as un-involved as possible--until it just got ridiculous. None of the recruiters he was assigned via NROTC netfocus were officers and they seemed uninterested in how important this could be for a young person.

I do not know how you go around the "assigned" recruiter from the initiation of the online application. If you are not getting responsiveness at this point I would be VERY vigilant in making sure that whoever is responsible for getting his stuff in--is actually doing it.

When he applies online he should be providing the email addresses of his teachers and counselors. Those evaluations should go directly to them. They OFTEN get sent the the junk folder. Stay on top of the teachers as well. Sometimes they have no idea they have the eval in the junk mail and the submission is often tricky.

All of his documents will need to be submitted to the recruiter or whomever you've got helping--and that person will then submit those documents to the board on his behalf (Drug Statement, Debarment, Statement of Understanding, Transcripts, SAT/ACT, AFA/PFT, etc). In my son's case he got all those docs submitted to the recruiter very early--and those docs never got sent to the board--until someone of a much higher grade stepped in to help.

Good luck in the process. It was a hard balance to strike--his self-efficacy and independence clashing with my experience that things don't always get done right the first time.
Click to expand...

Same story as DS’s application. Teachers/counselors did submit their online rec’s and they didn’t get ‘gathered and submitted’. Very frustrating. They did them three times, three different recruiters were assigned. Each starting over with that kind of stuff. The Captain at DS’s school choice was all ready to interview him, but couldn’t. So DS has reached out to many people.

I’m very interested to know the best route to get to the right person (whom DS ultimately did....we felt LUCKY, even though he was so prepared). Maybe this is just the nature of the application process.

Our junior is getting ready to apply. I cringe. Felt like we were banging our heads on a wall. It was frustrating.
 
So, I just have to share the other side of the experience. DS started off working with a local recruiter. This recruiter did not know the ROTC process, but made the effort and took the initiative to find out. Everything was uploaded and submitted in a timely manner. The recruiter set up the interview at the nearby Officer Programs office and reviewed DS' application package. We are very thankful to him for his work; even more so seeing some of the stories of much different experiences. After his interview, DS was contacted about an ISR scholarship and began working with another recruiter from the district office to secure that spot. This recruiter was on top of things too. Maybe we just got lucky, but there are good recruiters out there who aren't just interested in helping those who want to enlist.
 
Update - he managed to get logged in - seemed to be a problem with using dashes in the SSN giving the incomplete DOB error (go figure). That resolved two things - he got through enough of the app to see that Navy option (did not yet ask about which tier so LREC is irrelevant) requires math teacher - not sure about Nurse and Marine option for any lurkers. He also got an email with an automatically assigned recruiter - he was trying to find a recruiter on his own earlier and had contacted the "application questions" contact. He has not tried to contact the assigned recruiter yet. Thanks everyone for the input on this process.
 
williamsdr3 said:
Update - he managed to get logged in - seemed to be a problem with using dashes in the SSN giving the incomplete DOB error (go figure). That resolved two things - he got through enough of the app to see that Navy option (did not yet ask about which tier so LREC is irrelevant) requires math teacher - not sure about Nurse and Marine option for any lurkers. He also got an email with an automatically assigned recruiter - he was trying to find a recruiter on his own earlier and had contacted the "application questions" contact. He has not tried to contact the assigned recruiter yet. Thanks everyone for the input on this process.
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That is the recruiters DS used. The auto/assigned ones. And to be clear, they were all very nice and kind and helpful when they were there....but then they seemed to just disappear and then we got a 2nd assigned. And a 3rd. Each subsequent one saying the previous was reassigned. I get that. Makes sense.

I think this year we will START with the captain at DS’s school, reach out to him and see if he directs us. Perhaps he will tell us to go the online rout me like my other two sons did.

Good luck to everyone and GO NAVY!!
 
ProudDad17 said:
So, I just have to share the other side of the experience. DS started off working with a local recruiter. This recruiter did not know the ROTC process, but made the effort and took the initiative to find out. Everything was uploaded and submitted in a timely manner. The recruiter set up the interview at the nearby Officer Programs office and reviewed DS' application package. We are very thankful to him for his work; even more so seeing some of the stories of much different experiences. After his interview, DS was contacted about an ISR scholarship and began working with another recruiter from the district office to secure that spot. This recruiter was on top of things too. Maybe we just got lucky, but there are good recruiters out there who aren't just interested in helping those who want to enlist.
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I am so glad to hear of really positive experiences. Without a doubt there are wonderful and dedicated recruiters. My FIL was a career Navy recruiter. I assume that there are glitches in the system and possibly too much to do in too little time. The initial contact was very positive, but then the recruiter(s) literally fell off the map and would not return calls, emails, texts. I don't know if it's a district/region issue or a person issue. In the end, the student needs to be vigilant and this is a good lesson for life in general. Things don't always just fall into place because you've done your part.
 
longhornmom said:
TONS of recent experience with DS and his assigned recruiter. When he initiated his NROTC scholarship application online--he got routed to a recruiting area/district. This person was several states away. And his address is in a VERY large state so it never made sense. He had a hellish time with this process. Documents never turned in. Recruiter was not responsive. Had to go up the chain of command multiple times in order to get anything done. Since this was his deal--we tried to stay as un-involved as possible--until it just got ridiculous. None of the recruiters he was assigned via NROTC netfocus were officers and they seemed uninterested in how important this could be for a young person.

I do not know how you go around the "assigned" recruiter from the initiation of the online application. If you are not getting responsiveness at this point I would be VERY vigilant in making sure that whoever is responsible for getting his stuff in--is actually doing it.

When he applies online he should be providing the email addresses of his teachers and counselors. Those evaluations should go directly to them. They OFTEN get sent the the junk folder. Stay on top of the teachers as well. Sometimes they have no idea they have the eval in the junk mail and the submission is often tricky.

All of his documents will need to be submitted to the recruiter or whomever you've got helping--and that person will then submit those documents to the board on his behalf (Drug Statement, Debarment, Statement of Understanding, Transcripts, SAT/ACT, AFA/PFT, etc). In my son's case he got all those docs submitted to the recruiter very early--and those docs never got sent to the board--until someone of a much higher grade stepped in to help.

Good luck in the process. It was a hard balance to strike--his self-efficacy and independence clashing with my experience that things don't always get done right the first time.
Click to expand...

Your story is our story
 
Quick bit of advice for the letters. In addition to having your teachers submit them directly to NROTC, I also asked for a copy in a sealed envelope that they signed across the seal to protect against tampering. That way if something gets lost in the paperwork shuffle at Naval Training Command, you still have a copy to bring to your Officer interview.
 
So sorry to hear mcfamilyof4. Wonder what is going on and also if it's the same recruiting district.

We are just very thankful that DS was awarded a scholarship. Had it not been for serious intervention--his application and documents would never have even been sent to the board.
 
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