Is having an ROTC scholarship a hook?

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militarymomcpg

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My son received an AROTC scholarship with his choice of four of the schools he had listed. One of these schools is Notre Dame which is highly competitive. He would like to choose Notre Dame, but he is concerned that it may be the biggest reach school of his options. My question is if he reaches out to the ROTC officer at the school, can they assist a student with the admissions in the same way a coach would with an athlete. His grades, test scores and resume are in line with their admission standards but he is just worried.
 
militarymomcpg said:
My son received an AROTC scholarship with his choice of four of the schools he had listed. One of these schools is Notre Dame which is highly competitive. He would like to choose Notre Dame, but he is concerned that it may be the biggest reach school of his options. My question is if he reaches out to the ROTC officer at the school, can they assist a student with the admissions in the same way a coach would with an athlete. His grades, test scores and resume are in line with their admission standards but he is just worried.
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I would also have his guidance counselor send a copy of his award letter to their admissions department.
 
ACatSLP said:
militarymomcpg said:
My son received an AROTC scholarship with his choice of four of the schools he had listed. One of these schools is Notre Dame which is highly competitive. He would like to choose Notre Dame, but he is concerned that it may be the biggest reach school of his options. My question is if he reaches out to the ROTC officer at the school, can they assist a student with the admissions in the same way a coach would with an athlete. His grades, test scores and resume are in line with their admission standards but he is just worried.
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I would also have his guidance counselor send a copy of his award letter to their admissions department.
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That is a great suggestion.
 
He has to respond to the award letter with his selection by Nov. 24 and will not hear from ND until December
 
Definitely the the ND ROO know, if they have influence with admissions, they will use it. After that it is a leap of faith to accept it and then if not accepted the scholrhisip can be transferred, but usually not until spring. Congrats to your son!
 
militarymomcpg said:
My son received an AROTC scholarship with his choice of four of the schools he had listed. One of these schools is Notre Dame which is highly competitive. He would like to choose Notre Dame, but he is concerned that it may be the biggest reach school of his options. My question is if he reaches out to the ROTC officer at the school, can they assist a student with the admissions in the same way a coach would with an athlete. His grades, test scores and resume are in line with their admission standards but he is just worried.
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ROO of a school that was my DD’s top choice on ROTC app called her last week. Acceptance rate to school is <10%.

ROO asked her if she is planning to apply ED because the ROTC dept has a good relationship with admissions. DD said she won’t be applying ED because it’s binding. ROO told her if she is apply RD and wants to attend the school IF selected, then to let him know. He added not to back out of “promise” to attend if selected RD or else makes ROTC dept look bad.

Sounds like, for this school anyway, the ROTC dept has some influence. I know many things are never guaranteed, but I would saying having a 4-year scholarship can help with admissions at some schools.
 
Notre Dame can afford to be highly selective and I don't believe a ROTC scholarship would be a "hook." All things being equal, you are far more likely to be accepted if you live in a remote state, US Territory or a foreign country as ND wants to report the breadth of its student body's geographical diversity. That said, you should definitely follow the advice above and contact the ROO and the Admissions Office.
 
Definitely reach out to the ROO ASAP. DD received NROTC to ND before EA decision came out and spoke with her admissions representative and the NROTC department who reached out to Admissions. She told the admissions representative that ND was her #1 choice and would absolutely go to the school if she were admitted. She was accepted EA and her standardized test scores were toward the lower end of the 50% percentile. The PNS and a former AROTC PMS both told us that if admissions had 2 equal candidates and one has an ROTC scholarship and the other does not, that the scholarship winner would get the admissions slot. ND has a rich, supportive history with ROTC. I know that AROTC, in particular, is trying to increase their number of cadets at ND, as most have been at their satellite schools recently.
 
Appreciate this post and replies. (Son won’t be applying for 2 more years to a school with an ROTC program but am trying to learn more about this process, etc.).
 
militarymomcpg said:
My son received an AROTC scholarship with his choice of four of the schools he had listed. One of these schools is Notre Dame which is highly competitive. He would like to choose Notre Dame, but he is concerned that it may be the biggest reach school of his options. My question is if he reaches out to the ROTC officer at the school, can they assist a student with the admissions in the same way a coach would with an athlete. His grades, test scores and resume are in line with their admission standards but he is just worried.
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Did your son do his interview at ND? If not, then maybe a tour is in order?
 
Another interesting fact about Notre Dame: they get a significant rise in applications when the football team does well. Thus this application season will be hyper competitive.
 
jebdad said:
militarymomcpg said:
My son received an AROTC scholarship with his choice of four of the schools he had listed. One of these schools is Notre Dame which is highly competitive. He would like to choose Notre Dame, but he is concerned that it may be the biggest reach school of his options. My question is if he reaches out to the ROTC officer at the school, can they assist a student with the admissions in the same way a coach would with an athlete. His grades, test scores and resume are in line with their admission standards but he is just worried.
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Did your son do his interview at ND? If not, then maybe a tour is in order?
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Yes, I agree and we have suggested that to him.
 
@USMAROTCFamily +1! I have always appreciated the relationship between ND and Navy - the history is fascinating. But in the end, I have to root for ND. As a grad who is married to a grad (and townie) along with the 16 immediate family members who have graduated from Notre Dame... it is in our bloodline. I cheer for Navy in all but this game. Huge respect for the academies who compete in sporting events with Universities who don't recruit athletes under the same standards but find a way to compete anyway.

In the end, however, when it comes to the Commander's Cup, I have to cheer for Navy over Army and Air Force.
 
My family and I met with an officer in ND's ROTC program a few weeks ago. My son is a Junior interested in NROTC and we were on campus visiting our daughter, who is a freshman at ND. He said that the ROTC departments and admissions do communicate with each other, and having the scholarship offer on hand during the admissions process can't hurt. However, he said for ND's Class of 2022, about 75 kids were matched with ND as their first choice, and only about 25 of those were admitted to the University. I also recently talked to a Naval Officer at another highly selective school who encouraged a student who has been given a scholarship to absolutely share that award with admissions, and/or the regional admissions rep and the the ROTC unit itself--especially if that school is a student's first choice.
 
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