Space Force / NSSF ROTC Type 1 Scholarship - Schools question

S

slavatka

Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2024
Messages
33
DS received the NSSF Type 1 Scholarship. Separately, he was admitted to University of Michigan with a tuition scholarship and he could convert the ROTC $ into a room and board stipend. Great, except he'd also like to swim and he's a solid D3 swimmer and has been recruited by many of those schools.

When he applied for AFROTC (and toggled Space Force, as well), the schools he put down other than U-M had already been vetted by him to have both engineering (that's the scholarship applied for and received), as well as a coach who was offering him a position on the swim team. The schools are WPI (Worcester Polytechnic Institute), Catholic University of America, University of Rochester and Illinois Institute of Technology. All of these schools also offer the room/board grant should you use the ROTC scholarship, so they are on the list with Michigan.

Here's my question, will choosing to follow his secondary goal of swimming and going to one of those four schools that are not U-M (that all seem great) affect his chances of eventually getting that Space Force spot after college? So if he rejects University of Michigan, would these schools make it harder for him to get a Space Force assignment than if he went to U-M and gave up swimming. Thanks for any insight on this.
 
slavatka said:
DS received the NSSF Type 1 Scholarship. Separately, he was admitted to University of Michigan with a tuition scholarship and he could convert the ROTC $ into a room and board stipend. Great, except he'd also like to swim and he's a solid D3 swimmer and has been recruited by many of those schools.

When he applied for AFROTC (and toggled Space Force, as well), the schools he put down other than U-M had already been vetted by him to have both engineering (that's the scholarship applied for and received), as well as a coach who was offering him a position on the swim team. The schools are WPI (Worcester Polytechnic Institute), Catholic University of America, University of Rochester and Illinois Institute of Technology. All of these schools also offer the room/board grant should you use the ROTC scholarship, so they are on the list with Michigan.

Here's my question, will choosing to follow his secondary goal of swimming and going to one of those four schools that are not U-M (that all seem great) affect his chances of eventually getting that Space Force spot after college? So if he rejects University of Michigan, would these schools make it harder for him to get a Space Force assignment than if he went to U-M and gave up swimming. Thanks for any insight on this.
Click to expand...
Peripherally, he may be affected in the sense that swimming as a sport is basically a full time job. As is an engineering major. As is ROTC and getting involved with the crew/PT/etc. All while trying to learn how to live on your own and manage freshman year in college as a new adult.

I think he has a lot on his plate imo. Idk how competitive spots are for commissioning. .
 
Last edited:
It should not impact his chances (although I agree with @justdoit19's point on his schedule). However, instead of my opinion, the real experts are at the ROTC units. I recommend that your son call one of the school units, like WPI, and discuss his concerns.
 
USSF selection board utilizes quality spread, meaning they choose a chunk from the top of the top third, a chunk from the top of the middle third, and a chunk from the top of the bottom third. With the exceptions of EAs (field training slots), pilot selection, and to some extent base selection, most things within AFROTC are chosen somewhat randomly utilizing quality spread. They try to take into consideration preferences, but at the end of the day, it's up to the needs of the Department of the Air Force. I know that it's generally not advertised as it's not something that's great for PR or just motivating cadets to work hard, but just something to be aware of. I know multiple people (myself included) who were top third for the USSF board and are going to commission USAF and vice versa (people not super interested/competitive for USSF that are commissioning USSF).

All this being said, the school probably won't affect chances of getting a USSF slot, but that may not be true when your DS goes up for that board as they're overhauling the whole system and it very well may change within the next 2 years when that time comes. Make the best decision with the information you currently have and don't be too hard on yourself if that ends up not being the most "optimal" choice in hindsight.
 
so7 said:
USSF selection board utilizes quality spread, meaning they choose a chunk from the top of the top third, a chunk from the top of the middle third, and a chunk from the top of the bottom third. With the exceptions of EAs (field training slots), pilot selection, and to some extent base selection, most things within AFROTC are chosen somewhat randomly utilizing quality spread. They try to take into consideration preferences, but at the end of the day, it's up to the needs of the Department of the Air Force. I know that it's generally not advertised as it's not something that's great for PR or just motivating cadets to work hard, but just something to be aware of. I know multiple people (myself included) who were top third for the USSF board and are going to commission USAF and vice versa (people not super interested/competitive for USSF that are commissioning USSF).

All this being said, the school probably won't affect chances of getting a USSF slot, but that may not be true when your DS goes up for that board as they're overhauling the whole system and it very well may change within the next 2 years when that time comes. Make the best decision with the information you currently have and don't be too hard on yourself if that ends up not being the most "optimal" choice in hindsight.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for this insight. I can imagine things will change and then change again with something so new. I appreciate this!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top