NROTC - 4 Yr Scholarships for Tier 3 Majors

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I know that the Navy prefers Tier 1 and Tier 2 majors and that perhaps 85% of 4-yr scholarships go to Tier 1 and Tier 2 majors. My DS is likely going to be interested in pursuing a Tier 3 major because he is a very strong verbal guy and not so much STEM. He has no interest in being an engineer.

QUESTION: Are there any particular Tier 3 majors that the Navy Prefers over others? And does which Tier 3 major you pick effect your chances of getting a 4-yr scholarship? Example, would the Navy prefer an International Relations major to an English Literature Major?
 
First, I don't know whether or not they care between majors within a Tier. Second,one should pick their major based on what they are interested in, not which one gives them a better chance of a scholarship. Just my two cents. One thing I might add is that they don't care what major the Marine Option applicants plan on pursuing. DS was a History major, but did not receive a scholarship until the middle of his sophomore year in college.
 
My DS does fit the profile of a Marine officer in a lot of ways. He is still in high school and hasn’t decided on a major yet. A lot of people, not limited to ROTC, change majors in college. I did. In any event, I will urge him to follow what he is interested in. But for some people it’s tough to decide on one major when they are still a junior in high school.

QUESTION: When applying for NROTC scholarship must you pick one choice: Navy or Marine? Or, can you have a first choice and a second choice?
 
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Yes, when applying for NROTC one must declare MO or Navy. And all kinds of folks make up the Marine Corps, but it isn’t for everyone.
 
Yes, you can only pick one option.... Navy OR Marine.
You are right that majors can change, but you still need to graduate within 4 years and check every semester to make sure you're on track with that. You also need permission to change majors which is less of a problem for Marine Options than Navy Options.
 
If your son is more passionate about humanities and less about STEM, he should go for humanities majors. You don’t want to pick a major you won’t be happy with for four years. Chances are, if you aren’t happy with your major you won’t succeed, and grades are important in determining your service selection. I knew it was a risk applying for the NROTC Navy option scholarship as a Tier 3 major (I selected Political Science), but if your son is academically and athletically qualified, and shows his passion for service, he should trust his choice. I ended up receiving the 4-year scholarship, so don’t be discouraged about the 85/15 ratio. Best of luck.
 
If your son is more passionate about humanities and less about STEM, he should go for humanities majors. You don’t want to pick a major you won’t be happy with for four years. Chances are, if you aren’t happy with your major you won’t succeed, and grades are important in determining your service selection. I knew it was a risk applying for the NROTC Navy option scholarship as a Tier 3 major (I selected Political Science), but if your son is academically and athletically qualified, and shows his passion for service, he should trust his choice. I ended up receiving the 4-year scholarship, so don’t be discouraged about the 85/15 ratio. Best of luck.

Good advice. DS is very fit and gets good grades. He’s just not a math guy. He will likely apply for Navy Option. If he does not get a 4 yr scholarship due to his major, i have confidence that he will be kind of MIDN who will earn a 3 yr once he enrolls.
 
R-day was an extremely emotional, and rather somber day for everybody. We had just our immediate family and we were glad, and so was our cadet, that nobody else had been invited to come. For A-day, we had others and that was more of a celebratory event.
 
Look into the LREC majors under the tier 3 majors. You can find more info about it under the navy.mil website but 20-30 National scholarships will be given to these specific tier 3 majors. This is for navy option.
 
I'd be curious about the acceptance rate of Tier 3 Majors versus Tier 1 and Tier 2 STEM majors for the NROTC scholarship. It is well known 85% of the Scholarships go to the Tier 1 and Tier 2 majors, but what is the percentage of applicants applying for Tier 1 and Tier 2 versus the number applying for Tier 3? It may be that the acceptance rate i close to the same, due to more STEM applicants.
 
I'd be curious about the acceptance rate of Tier 3 Majors versus Tier 1 and Tier 2 STEM majors for the NROTC scholarship. It is well known 85% of the Scholarships go to the Tier 1 and Tier 2 majors, but what is the percentage of applicants applying for Tier 1 and Tier 2 versus the number applying for Tier 3? It may be that the acceptance rate i close to the same, due to more STEM applicants.

“I only believe in statistics that I doctored myself”

― Winston S. Churchill
 
My daughter is a rising 3C at Tufts Navy Option (Tufts/MIT/Harvard make up the battalion). She is Tier III LREC. She got an ISR (Immediate Scholarship Reservation) with this major, which is under Tier III, but is preferred. We were not told specifically, but got general sense that going LREC under Tier III gave her a step up in the scholarship process. That said, she has talked with her NROTC battalion advisor about switching to an IR/International Security major while continuing to study Arabic, and they expect (though will not guarantee of course) that it will be approved, since it is a move within Tier III.
I should emphasize that no matter what Tier you come in under, the Navy requires a year of college Calculus and a year of calculus based Physics (Marine option does not). So math and science continue to be a part of your MIDN’s life no matter how “non-technical” the major. This makes sense because of the highly technical nature of all Navy work and the kind of analytical mind they want to cultivate, but is an added challenge in the NROTC experience if your son/daughter does not thrive in those types of courses.
 
I’m a current tier 3 scholarship midn, had a scholarship ever since HS when I applied for colleges as a political science major. I never played a single sport in HS and my PRT was subpar at best. I’d argue my “liberal arts” qualities are what got me the scholarship in terms of my interview and my extra curricular a in HS. Do not apply as a tier 1 or 2 just because that’ll “increase your chances of a scholarship.” I know people who did this, and the navy would
Not allow them to switch out of their major. They ended up dropping out of the program and losing scholarship because they were just not good at STEM and could not get the grades. I said this last week in another post; there are a significant amount of tier 3 advanced standings given out; if the overall goal is to become an officer no matter what, so what you enjoy doing. Managing schoolwork and the ROTC stuff is gonna be hard enough, you may as well love what you study.
 
Some high school students have markedly higher verbal test scores as compared to math - and vice versa - but many (and I would guess most) NROTC scholarship candidates score well on both of them. Which is to say that while your DS has a strong preference for a non-technical major, he likely also possesses the aptitude to succeed in college-level STEM courses. And no matter what a scholarship midshipman majors in, a year of calculus and a year of physics are mandatory. I am not suggesting that he declare an engineering major, but he might want to take a close look at the requirements for a physics or a math major at the schools he is interested in. As these have traditionally been considered liberal arts subjects, it is often the case that certain "tracks" within these majors leave plenty of room for electives in non-technical subjects. That may be a worthwhile trade-off in order to get into Tier II.
 
he might want to take a close look at the requirements for a physics or a math major at the schools he is interested in.

Uh, that would be a negative. I know in my case, I had high SAT scores, actually higher in math than verbal. But I hated Math and Physics. Sure, I could have squeaked through a major in those subjects, but I would have been miserable.

After active duty, DS says he wants to go to law school and then the FBI, CIA or politics, while remaining in the reserve. He has no interest in math or physics. I strongly believe that everyone should major in what they love. In his case that might be political science or criminal justice. If that doesn't work for the Navy, he can consider Marine Option. If no 4 yr. scholarship, he can enroll in the NROTC college program and prove himself worthy of advanced standing through his performance in his unit. Whereas, he LOVES high school NJROTC, I think he will be a good MIDN in college. This is my one son who I do NOT worry about. He will find his way.
 
After active duty, DS says he wants to go to law school and then the FBI, CIA or politics, while remaining in the reserve. He has no interest in math or physics. I strongly believe that everyone should major in what they love. In his case that might be political science or criminal justice. If that doesn't work for the Navy, he can consider Marine Option. If no 4 yr. scholarship, he can enroll in the NROTC college program and prove himself worthy of advanced standing through his performance in his unit. Whereas, he LOVES high school NJROTC, I think he will be a good MIDN in college. This is my one son who I do NOT worry about. He will find his way.

It sounds like a good plan for your son. Do encourage him to consider checking the LREC box, because as others have said it might increase his chances of a Tier 3 scholarship. My son is LREC and is majoring in International Relations (in a Poli Sci department).
BTW if he is interested in the FBI I've heard the recommendation *not* to major in Criminal Justice, because they would rather see subject matter expertise in more specific areas (and they're probably glutted with applicants who are Criminal Justice majors).
 
P.S. - I am trying to get him interested in cyber security. EVERYBODY wants to recruit experts in that field. Remember in the movie “The Graduate” it was “Plastics?” Well, today the word is “Cyber Security”
 
It sounds like a good plan for your son. Do encourage him to consider checking the LREC box, because as others have said it might increase his chances of a Tier 3 scholarship. My son is LREC and is majoring in International Relations (in a Poli Sci department).
BTW if he is interested in the FBI I've heard the recommendation *not* to major in Criminal Justice, because they would rather see subject matter expertise in more specific areas (and they're probably glutted with applicants who are Criminal Justice majors).

With two former USNA sponsor mids having gone into the FBI, the agency was most interested in leadership experience, operational activity and decent academic undergrad performance, knowing the USNA grads all received B.S. degree regardless of major. One of them was an Oceanography major, who did 7 years as a Surface Warfare Officer - FBI assigned this one to offices with major port jurisdiction, Coast Guard liaison, etc. The other was a Math major, with language skills, Marine ground, who served with counter-terrorism teams. The FBI taught them everything they needed to know about criminal justice and law enforcement at the Academy at Quantico and follow-on courses. Their junior officer experience in leading people, managing resources, being physically fit, operating in stressful situations, ability to make decisions, already-established security clearance, understanding of chain of command, strategy and tactics - were far more recent and valuable than a college major from over 5 years ago, though a demonstrated ability to master complex materials would be expected.
 
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