Here is my understanding of the process.
About every month, the board convenes to score all new applications completed since the last board and re-score any applications with updated information (like improved SAT/ACT test scores being reported). Units are contacted to see if they will accept a candidate, if they haven't done so already. This takes most of a week.
These new or updated scores are then merged with the remaining (from previous boards) scores on a new Order of Merit List (OML).
They then start at the top of the OML and start filling out offers based upon how many scholarships are left in a unit or campus and whether a unit/campus has accepted the candidate. They have a stopping point - not sure where, but I imagine that because they are handing out multiple scholarships offers, they know that the majority of the offers can't be accepted (you can only accept 1), so I would think they would stop handing them out when too many schools on a candidate's list are filled by others in the same board (each school being limited in how many they can have out there).
I know it sounds confusing. Let me simplify. Let's say you have 100 candidates for 10 schools, each with 10 slots, just enough for everyone. Let's say the board's goal is to give everyone at least 3 schools to choose from.
Further, lets say 50% of the people have school 1 in their top 7 and 40% of the people have school 2, 30%, have school 3 and 20% have school 4 and the rest have about 15%.
You can see that the they probably won't get below #20 before the first school is filled (1/2 of 20 is 10) with these applicants getting all 5 of their top 5 choices. Then the #2 school is filled after about 25 applicants get processed. School #3 is filled after about 34 applicants are processed. School #4 is filled after 50 of the applicants are processed. Clearly, at this point there are 4 schools closed, so there will be some applicants who can't get into more than 3 schools at this point.
However, if you wait the month for those top 50 applicants to take 50 slots from the 200-250 offered, you will find that there are another 150-200 slots available for the next board to re-assign in that selection.
It is very complicated and I guess they don't know how many scholarships they will award until they work their way down the list to the point where applicants aren't getting enough schools to choose from.
As to your chances, nobody here is qualified to speculate. We also don't know your EC/Sports (which have a significant impact), nor do we know which schools are on your list (or other people's list for that matter). And that has a major impact on when or whether you will get an offer.
Let's say you picked 7 very popular schools where you are a reach as an admit. Several PMS's will probably turn down your application if they have better qualified candidates who are more likely to be admitted.
However, if you picked 7 schools where you are likely to be admitted that aren't overly popular with other applicants, you are much more likely to get an offer.
All of this being said, from what others have posted about past years, you are likely to get an offer somewhere eventually. However, this year there are stories of reduction in scholarships (they overenrolled last year) out ther as well as an increased interest in the scholarships as people's 529 accounts have evaporated lately.
I'm sorry if I cannot be more reassuring, but if you are going to survive in the military, you'd better get used to dealing with a certain degree of uncertainty and having flexible plans.
You do sound like you have good credentials and you should be proud of yourself no matter what the outcome of the scholarship application.
), you should be very competitive. Very similiar to goaliegirl overall.