NROTC Scholarship Failure

Gingermom99 said:
So much good advice here; I will just add more encouragement. Being a college programmer will give you a chance to prove yourself in a new way, and your unit leadership will have lots of support to offer if you work hard. Best to you!
Click to expand...
I will be joining the Corps of Cadets and be taking ROTC Classes, can anyone clarify on what a college programmer is?
 
kinnem said:
Comment wasn't aimed specifically at you. There were a lot of posts here about things going wrong with recruiters and wanted to address that.

EDIT: Edited to change was to wasn't. Oops! Sorry @justdoit19
Click to expand...

Haha no apologies required...as I didn’t really “get” the pre-edited post [emoji23]! It’s all good. Point stays the same: follow up if you haven’t heard, or something seems not right. Know when the boards are if possible and push to get your stuff to them for maximum exposure.

I really do think that’s a big difference between USNA and NROTC process. And should be understood that it’s different.
 
BTW...for readers here, NROTC scholarship is a truly national competition from the git-go. Something to be very proud of! Another difference between NROTC scholarship and USNA.
 
kinnem said:
I wanted to add this for lurkers. What little assistance DS needed with the application, he addressed through an officer, or sometimes a Sgt, at the Navy Recruiting District Headquarters. You are far better off working through an Officer Selection Officer (OSO) than the local mall recruiter. Just my 2 cents. YMMV.
Click to expand...
this is good advice. for first time applicants that have zero history of the inner workings of the US military it can be difficult to know when to ask for help or clarification and when to just be quiet and wait. a lot of the advice in this forum is ...Just wait your turn and stop being so anxious! but in this case we are glad DS and his school admin reached out and complained and went up a rank or 2 to do so. otherwise we'd be sitting here today with no scholarship.
 
AROTC-dad said:
Garett-Walls said:
anyone clarify on what a college programmer is?
Click to expand...

College Programmer = A non-scholarship NROTC midshipman.
Advanced Standing = A College Programmer who earns a contract and can advance to the third year of NROTC.

https://naval.dasa.ncsu.edu/join-nrotc/college-program-advanced-standing/
Click to expand...

Is there any possibility of a ROTC scholarship holder to attain a Master’s Degree through the program, after completion of Bachelors Degree, or does ROTC scholarship end after 4 years, and immediate commencement of service ?
Are there any scholarship op, as the USNA offers, to some worthy (fortunate) Mids?
 
rocatlin said:
My son went through the same thing. He is now a 2nd Lt. He graduates TBS next week and reports to Pensacola in May.

First of all, if you have less than 30 hours of college credit built up, you can reapply for the 4 year scholarship. You'll only get 3 years of it, but it's an additional avenue.

Second, as has been mentioned, start the paperwork to enter as a college programmer. This will set you up for the "sideload" / 3 year scholarship if you do well.

My son reapplied for the 4 year scholarship as soon as he found out he was turned down. He also reported as a college programmer. He was awarded the 4 year scholarship on the early Marine Option board. He was also in line to get the sideload.

Basic advice is: Move on past this setback and explore all avenues if you want to get a commission.
Click to expand...


I don't know if things have changed since your son went through the program, but you can be awarded a 4 year scholarship as early as your spring semester of your freshman year (we had many people at my unit who did this). I believe the Navy will refund the money that you spent on the fall semester if this is the case.

However, OP keep your head up. Do as well as you possibly can and stay on top of your scholarship application. You can't worry about what happened in the past. If your goal is to be an officer in the Navy or Marine Corps, then don't let this discourage you. There is more than one way to earn a commission. Especially if you are going to TAMU, they will push you and do their best to get you a scholarship.

Good luck and keep your head up.
 
ScreamingEagle2023 said:
AROTC-dad said:
Garett-Walls said:
anyone clarify on what a college programmer is?
Click to expand...

College Programmer = A non-scholarship NROTC midshipman.
Advanced Standing = A College Programmer who earns a contract and can advance to the third year of NROTC.

https://naval.dasa.ncsu.edu/join-nrotc/college-program-advanced-standing/
Click to expand...

Is there any possibility of a ROTC scholarship holder to attain a Master’s Degree through the program, after completion of Bachelors Degree, or does ROTC scholarship end after 4 years, and immediate commencement of service ?
Are there any scholarship op, as the USNA offers, to some worthy (fortunate) Mids?
Click to expand...

Someone in my program got a masters, but it is very very selective for the navy to approve this. Usually you would have had to overload courses during your normal four year, and even then they were approved bc the school offered an accelerated 5 years program.
 
ScreamingEagle2023 said:
Is there any possibility of a ROTC scholarship holder to attain a Master’s Degree through the program, after completion of Bachelors Degree, or does ROTC scholarship end after 4 years, and immediate commencement of service ?
Are there any scholarship op, as the USNA offers, to some worthy (fortunate) Mids?
Click to expand...

Looking ahead to a Master’s, the majority of officers get their Master’s through a variety of programs after a few years of AD. The opportunity for immediate post-grad education is available to only a handful of USNA grads and (I suspect) NROTC grads. New officers are expected to get out there to their training pipeline and first duty stations and learn their warfare specialty and perform in it. The drawback to immediate post-grad ed is that those officers will be one to two years behind classmates, professionally, when they report to the Fleet or Corps. The fall from the ivory tower can be painful, and it takes hard work to catch up. The good news is they already have their Master’s, so they can do something else when their peers are headed to the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey or the Naval War College or National Defense University or Georgetown or Harvard or Stanford or MIT.

There are many threads here on SAF describing the various paths to a Master’s. Most in the Navy get one after their first sea tour. There are opportunities for full-time grad study as a student, as well as after-hours classes and distance learning opportunities through Tuition Assistance. There is no mad rush to get one after graduation. The Navy expects you to have one by the time you come up for review at the O-5 promotion board, and as stated, that degree is a career milestone and relatively easily worked into the career path.

If your DS stays on AD long enough to get the full post-9/11 GI Bill educational benefit, he can head right to a Master’s program upon separation, including top programs in the country. Have some fun researching that benefit, along with the universities which are designated Yellow Ribbon schools.

The focus now should be on being a good midshipman, learning about warfare specialties, exploring all options, but in general, expecting to head to the Fleet to serve and learn as a junior officer. Good performance there will open many, many doors.
 
Blanky45 said:
If your a valedictorian with 1280 SAT that says something about your school.
Click to expand...
Perhaps, but not necessarily. Perhaps someone is just a bad scholastic aptitude test taker. It's not a conclusion I would jump to without more evidence.
 
Some do better on the ACT. Some do better on the SAT.

A few things to keep in mind...

Better statistics on the college tests does not necessarily mean one will have a better chance of earning a scholarship. So many other factors to figure in.

Better stats and "better" schools, don't always equate to better leaders.

No one on this board is qualified to value judge or make predictions.

People posting on this board offer advice, gouge, etc. based on experiences -- everyone's experience can be different.

Don't get target fixated on the scholarship. Your goal is the commission -- and there are various ways to achieve that.

It's often best to follow the advice of the legendary Cold War hero, Sgt Hulka, and "Lighten up, Francis." Control the things you can control -- you can't control past stats once your application is in the pipeline.
 
Garett-Walls said:
I guess you are going to ignore the fact that I got a 30 on my ACT, but I'm wondering why you're being slightly hostile towards my school. We have an exemplary academic record at my school and I take pride in it.
Click to expand...

Definitely retake SAT and ACT. Shoot for over a 1400 and a 32 to be competitive for scholarship
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top