Hello, I am an applicant for the 2019 NROTC scholarship and I was wondering if some insight could be given into my chances of receiving it; keep in mind this is for the Marine Option so the stats are different. I’ve been confused on what to believe about the accepted statistics, looking at the official Marine numbers I seem qualified, but looking at some people’s stats on here I feel outclassed to say the least. Anyways, here are my stats:
1. 3.5 unweighted GPA (9-12 cumulative)
2. All AP classes senior year, 4.3 GPA junior year, 4.4 GPA my senior year
3. 1320 SAT (average accepted according to Marines is around 1220)
4. Varsity letters in two sports, particated for all four years non-stop (Track and Cross Country)
5. Captain of both teams 2 years in a row (4 consecutive seasons of captaincy)
6. Entered into the DEP program
7. Roughly 200 hours of community service (local food bank, assisting mobility challenged veterans at appreciation events, restoring vintage aircraft at local air museum as part of school STEM field)
8. 92/99 on the ASVAB (I don’t know how much this plays in but I’ve read from the official Marine Corps stats that the average for accepted is 88)
9. I have two separate Congressional nominations to the Naval Academy which I have been told is equivalent to a recommendation by them. One from a member of the Senate and one from the House. I included this in my package.
10. A 272 on the PFT, again, the official Marine stats place this score above average (from the stats given directly to me by a Marine the average accepted for the west coast is around 267). I did 13 pull ups, 108/105 sit-ups, and an 18:14 run time for 3 miles.
11. Multiple accolades regarding my athletics and academics, specifically scholar athlete awards given by my league for a perfect GPA my junior year and a near perfect GPA my senior year (a dip due to the AP workload, still above 4.0) while participating in varsity sports. Earned “beat first year runner” as a freshman.
12. Junior year track team won league championship while I was the captain. Senior year cross country team went undefeated in league and won the championship.
Am I literally wasting my time even trying for this scholarship? If the official stats are to be trusted the only weak point I have is my GPA (average accepted according to the Marines is a 3.6 unweighted). Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
It may not make any difference but my DS is nearly identical to you except a few numbers a 'bit' better - nothing major. His PFT scores are 1st class with his second being in the 280's. The one piece that does stand out is my DS's MC Officers noted is he would have to take the ASVAB. They were pretty compelling that he had to have a 94+ or he'd be under their desired tier. He scored a 95/99. They asked him multiple times since last July if he is interested in Aviation and he has conveyed each time that he's only interested in Ground and desires to become a Combat Engineer or potentially a Recon Officer - Needs of the Corps come first, so be mindful. They were positioning DEP prior to the ASVAB and once he took it they dropped the conversation entirely. With his ASVAB they spoke about being 'Tier - 1' and that is pretty much what you need to be to compete for the MO ROTC - again, that is what they said. The Major and the Captain are both USNA grads, combat decorated and have visible scars of war and medals showcasing it. A very close friend, nationally recognized athlete, went into the ROTC MO program and they dropped him immediately due to his ASVAB score. There are several other friends of his that have either (a) been dropped or (b) have gone the AD enlisted route or reserve route. Suffice it to say, his friend is an outstanding Rugby player and was awarded an athletic scholarship to the top collegiate D1 Rugby program in the US. My point is, as noted by others, there is no hard line on who receives an award and who doesn't. You have to want to be a Marine and you have to earn the position and title of Marine. Things change, people change, school, relationships, family challenges, etc. His Officers have almost been like second parents since last July. They pretty much weeded out a bunch of kids my DS knows. I believe he is the last one standing per him that started this process. Also, my DS, even though he is a Varsity Captain, etc. in Football and Lacrosse and works out every day at 0545 before school attends the Poolie workouts each week in the mid afternoon. I think that type of devotion, motivation and mindset will hopefully pan out. Ultimately, he has several plan b's and if needed he'll execute on them. He has been accepted to every school on the MO 'School of Intent' as well which the Officers were glad to hear. He is also focused that if he cannot get a scholarship and doesn't get a college/campus scholarship he will attempt PLC and/or OCS afterwards. If none of that works out he has already made a decision (at this point - life changes) to enlist or go reserves with the Marines and see how it pans out. Good luck and I hope all of your plans fall into place. There are a lot of awesome roles - MOS's - in the MC so don't *only* limit yourself to Aviation. Cyber is a huge need and is pretty awesome MOS too.
). If you do end up committing to The Citadel I will see you on Matriculation day!