Army ROTC

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MNRC2018

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Dec 9, 2019
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My son is currently applying for a AROTC scholarship. He maxed out the CFA and is medically cleared. ACT M 28, SCI 30 , R 32, E 36 super score 32. Eagle Scout, Varsity Athlete, team captain etc. He has been having trouble getting an interview. He has been able to set up an interview via skype with a representative at one of the state schools where he has been accepeted.
Hopefully this will all be in done for him to be considered for the second tier.
He has already accepted to VMI, Citadel and some state schools with ROTC programs. He also has a MOC nomination to USMA and USAFA ( not sure if that helps with the ROTC scholarship process)
My main question is if he is awarded the scholarship ( 3 or 4 year) is he allowed to use that at any of the schools he has been accepted to, or do they basically tell him where to go?
Since one of the interviews is with the representative from a state school will that matter ?
Just really have very little idea how this works.
 
MNRC2018 said:
My main question is if he is awarded the scholarship ( 3 or 4 year) is he allowed to use that at any of the schools he has been accepted to, or do they basically tell him where to go?
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The Army will usually offer the national scholarship to the schools on your son's preference list so long as it has openings. However, if for example, your son accepts the scholarship for his first choice, but is not accepted to that school by admissions, your son can request Cadet Command to transfer the scholarship to another school further down the list (While Cadet Command will try to accommodate the transfer, there are no guarantees).

If you receive an offer to a school further down your list, you should still select that school and notify Cadet Command because that reserves the scholarship in your name.

MNRC2018 said:
Since one of the interviews is with the representative from a state school will that matter ?
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No. The system is designed to make it easy for your son to interview (ideally in person) with the PMS located near where you live. It really doesn't matter which school PMS does the interview. They all just want to make sure that your son has the leadership potential to become an Army Officer.

For LOTS of good details see @clarksonarmy blog website for Army ROTC.

Transfers: https://goldenknightbattalion.com/2018/04/03/how-to-accept-transfer-an-army-rotc-scholarship/
Interviews: https://goldenknightbattalion.com/2017/12/29/the-interview-2017-edition/
 
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If he is awarded a scholarship it will be for specific schools selected from the list he provides as part of his application. I believe he has to list 7 schools. If he is awarded a scholarship they will tell him the schools from his list that he can use it for. DS was offered a choice of 2 schools (fortunately including his top choice) although I believe it is typical to be offered 3 and then he can pick which one he would like to use the scholarship at. Hope that helps
 
Our son is interviewing and trying to get on 2nd board deadline.
We recently learned, through this forum, NOT to attend any school on ROTC scholarship that we can’t otherwise pay for in the small chance it must be repaid.

Question: do they often run out of spots for some schools? Our son has been accepted to honors college at our selective and very desirable State U. Since he waited until this late I wonder how often they run out of ROTC spots? He spent months and was very prompt with his other ROTC application.
 
Mousie29 said:
Question: do they often run out of spots for some schools? Our son has been accepted to honors college at our selective and very desirable State U. Since he waited until this late I wonder how often they run out of ROTC spots? He spent months and was very prompt with his other ROTC application.
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Actually it is the schools that are "target" schools that fill up slots the fastest. The elite schools don't always have volume of applicants who are outstanding academics and who also seek a military commission.

Because of this, the ROO at a college with tough admissions standards is more likely to have a few scholarship slots open than a mid grade college with a higher acceptance rate.

Regarding the risk of disenrollment, I support approaching a military scholarship as an interest free "loan" with an eight year contractual string attached, and not as a lottery win of "free money." The loan could pay fantastic dividends, if the school is a perfect academic fit, and the student is well prepared for the major (especially if it is STEM). However, not unlike non-military students taking on excessive student loans, there is the risk of payback that is debilitating in size and weight.

As a financial advisor, I caution folks to weigh the pros and cons very carefully.
 
MNRC2018 said:
My son is currently applying for a AROTC scholarship. He maxed out the CFA and is medically cleared. ACT M 28, SCI 30 , R 32, E 36 super score 32. Eagle Scout, Varsity Athlete, team captain etc. He has been having trouble getting an interview. He has been able to set up an interview via skype with a representative at one of the state schools where he has been accepeted.
Hopefully this will all be in done for him to be considered for the second tier.
He has already accepted to VMI, Citadel and some state schools with ROTC programs. He also has a MOC nomination to USMA and USAFA ( not sure if that helps with the ROTC scholarship process)
My main question is if he is awarded the scholarship ( 3 or 4 year) is he allowed to use that at any of the schools he has been accepted to, or do they basically tell him where to go?
Since one of the interviews is with the representative from a state school will that matter ?
Just really have very little idea how this works.
Click to expand...

and
Mousie29 said:
Our son is interviewing and trying to get on 2nd board deadline.
We recently learned, through this forum, NOT to attend any school on ROTC scholarship that we can’t otherwise pay for in the small chance it must be repaid.

Question: do they often run out of spots for some schools? Our son has been accepted to honors college at our selective and very desirable State U. Since he waited until this late I wonder how often they run out of ROTC spots? He spent months and was very prompt with his other ROTC application.
Click to expand...

The second board deadline for your children was originally December 30th, but moved to today, January 6th. If everything except a PMS Interview is not already completed by today (there's more time for PMS to be done), your children will most likely be moved to the third board of PMS's. I highly suggest they focus on completing the rest of the application by midnight tonight so they can be under consideration for the second board. Good luck!
 
JBfortunecookie1 said:
and


The second board deadline for your children was originally December 30th, but moved to today, January 6th. If everything except a PMS Interview is not already completed by today (there's more time for PMS to be done), your children will most likely be moved to the third board of PMS's. I highly suggest they focus on completing the rest of the application by midnight tonight so they can be under consideration for the second board. Good luck!
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His application is finished and all he needs is the interview. It has been crazy, the representative in our city will not get back with him at all, unless he did today. There is a rep 7 hours away who is willing to do the interview via Skype so that he can get his file completed before the deadline. HE also has MOC nomination ( already went through that panel interview ). It would seem that you could use that interview as well but I am sure it is not as simple as that. I sure wish it were.
 
AROTC-dad said:
Actually it is the schools that are "target" schools that fill up slots the fastest. The elite schools don't always have volume of applicants who are outstanding academics and who also seek a military commission.

Because of this, the ROO at a college with tough admissions standards is more likely to have a few scholarship slots open than a mid grade college with a higher acceptance rate.

Regarding the risk of disenrollment, I support approaching a military scholarship as an interest free "loan" with an eight year contractual string attached, and not as a lottery win of "free money." The loan could pay fantastic dividends, if the school is a perfect academic fit, and the student is well prepared for the major (especially if it is STEM). However, not unlike non-military students taking on excessive student loans, there is the risk of payback that is debilitating in size and weight.

As a financial advisor, I caution folks to weigh the pros and cons very carefully.
Click to expand...

Here is another question. I keep seeing STEM this and that. I know STEM is important and my sons STEM score is good, but he has no desire at this time to get a degree in a STEM field. He may change his mind, but he is more of a history and English type. I see him going into foreign affairs or something like this. Those majors are needed as well, its not just STEM? Maybe it is ?
 
MNRC2018 said:
Here is another question. I keep seeing STEM this and that. I know STEM is important and my sons STEM score is good, but he has no desire at this time to get a degree in a STEM field. He may change his mind, but he is more of a history and English type. I see him going into foreign affairs or something like this. Those majors are needed as well, its not just STEM? Maybe it is ?
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Note: My comment pertains only to Army ROTC.

Unlike Navy and AF ROTC, Army ROTC gives VERY little advantage to STEM majors. An Army cadet entering ROTC can major in languages or social sciences without a problem. (Army ROTC cadets were in the past, given some extra points on the OML for being STEM majors).

The reason I mentioned STEM, is that students entering college focusing on STEM are typically the ones who have the most potential to fall below the academic standards and risk losing their scholarship. Simply put, a political science major is usually less likely to fall below a 2.0 than an electrical engineering major!
 
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MNRC2018 said:
Here is another question. I keep seeing STEM this and that. I know STEM is important and my sons STEM score is good, but he has no desire at this time to get a degree in a STEM field. He may change his mind, but he is more of a history and English type. I see him going into foreign affairs or something like this. Those majors are needed as well, its not just STEM? Maybe it is ?
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My DS is on a national scholarship and his major is international relations/global studies. His rotc scholarship friends are history, pol sci, nursing and business majors so it doesn’t seem to matter.
 
MNRC2018 said:
HE also has MOC nomination ( already went through that panel interview ). It would seem that you could use that interview as well but I am sure it is not as simple as that. I sure wish it were.
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Those are totally different things. The MOC nomination and it's interview has no bearing on ROTC. The ROTC interview will have an entire different set of questions. There are no extra points for having a MOC nomination to an academy.
 
MNRC2018 said:
His application is finished and all he needs is the interview. It has been crazy, the representative in our city will not get back with him at all, unless he did today. There is a rep 7 hours away who is willing to do the interview via Skype so that he can get his file completed before the deadline. HE also has MOC nomination ( already went through that panel interview ). It would seem that you could use that interview as well but I am sure it is not as simple as that. I sure wish it were.
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There are AROTC battalions at most colleges, but not all. I had to travel 35 minutes to do my interview (before winter break thankfully), and presenting my folder with all documents to the PMS was super easy. I'm concerned that with a skype call some things may be missed had there been an in person interview. Was there not a single PMS in your area responding to calls? My point is, make sure your child has everything prepped for the interview so the objective 120 points can be easily gained, and it's obvious to the PMS that those things have been done. As already said MOC interview cannot replace the AROTC interview.
 
So my DS has his interview via Skype today. Would rather have it in person but the local rep still has not returned his calls or e mails.
Hopefully he will not be disadvantaged because it is over Skype
He interviews well, he got very positive feedback from the nomination Panel.
Fingers crossed
 
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