3 Year AROTC National Scholarship Question

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aliciafary

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I'm currently a freshmen at Virginia Wesleyan College with the National 3 year Army ROTC scholarship that will kick in next year. Upon being rewarded the scholarship I was informed that it will cover the entire cost of my education (Tuition, room and board)

A couple buddies of mine are looking to rent a house for next school year, does anyone know if the money that they are providing me for room and board can be used for off campus living?

Thanks!
 
You can use it for tuition, or room and board, but not both. I'd suggest applying it to whichever is more expensive.
 
There are some colleges that will waive room and board for Army ROTC scholarship awardees. However the AROTC scholarship can only pay for tuition and fees or R & B but not both as @Jcc123 stated above.

In addition, if the scholarship is used to pay room and board, it is regarded as taxable income by the IRS.

You should get clarity from your ROO on this before moving forward.
 
I can only speak for the school by daughter looked into that cover both, in the form of a room and board waiver. One of the schools only waived the room and board once the student is contracted, or in this case, receiving the scholarship. Since the school is actually waiving the cost to you, this would be on campus housing only (unless the school owns off campus housing and rents through school housing, then maybe). The school my daughter goes to now waived her room and board all 4 years, even with a 3 year scholarship, again, only for on campus housing. Both schools offer a townhouse or apartment style living for junior and seniors, so she is looking forward to that. If you use your ROTC scholarship for room and board and NOT tuition and fees it can be used to pay for off campus housing, but since it sounds like you have the opportunity to have it all covered, I probably would not do that. My daughter is just now contracting this semester and had to fill out that form that selects tuition and fees OR room and board, and was a little confused, but quickly realized that her room and board is a separate issue so selected tuition and fees. I would talk to an older student, like your squad leader, or the ROO at your school, even your financial aid officer should be able to give you details on how it works at your school. Good luck, and exciting that next year will be here before you know it.
 
Good Morning, you should talk to the financial aid office since the room award is a matching award to your ROTC scholarship (tuition) from you school.
 
I have a question that feels totally silly, but I am asking anyway. My DS has been awarded the 3-Year Advanced AROTC scholarship. In trying to calculate costs and having a very different college experience myself, does room and board mean that the meal plan is included? I realize I should know this one, but I don't. Thanks for the help.
 
Hi LifeLearner...How could anyone know this stuff, right? It is all so different depending on the university and on the type of scholarship. So, first, which service? Army, Navy, Air Force? But then, which university? Room--the room, just like it sounds. Board--the meal plan. If a school or scholarship offer Room & Board, then it covers both--which is pretty awesome. However, remember that the people in the Financial Aid office or the Bursar/Billing Office, they work for you and your child--so don't be afraid to call or email and write with your questions about things and how they work at the university our child will attend.
 
DrMom said:
Hi LifeLearner...How could anyone know this stuff, right? It is all so different depending on the university and on the type of scholarship. So, first, which service? Army, Navy, Air Force? But then, which university? Room--the room, just like it sounds. Board--the meal plan. If a school or scholarship offer Room & Board, then it covers both--which is pretty awesome. However, remember that the people in the Financial Aid office or the Bursar/Billing Office, they work for you and your child--so don't be afraid to call or email and write with your questions about things and how they work at the university our child will attend.
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Thanks for the support. We tried calling on Friday, but the Financial Aid office was closed a bit earlier than we anticipated. DS is trying to finish up a couple of scholarship applications tonight to help cover additional funds needed. He can call again tomorrow. He still hopes to receive an appointment to an SA. I am constantly amazed by the level of planning he has put into this since he started high school.
 
For the Army ROTC Scholarship, the R&B option is maxed out at $10,ooo and paid directly to the cadet via EFT. The Tuition and Fees option doesn't cap out and is paid directly to the school.
 
lifelearner said:
Thanks for the support. We tried calling on Friday, but the Financial Aid office was closed a bit earlier than we anticipated. DS is trying to finish up a couple of scholarship applications tonight to help cover additional funds needed. He can call again tomorrow. He still hopes to receive an appointment to an SA. I am constantly amazed by the level of planning he has put into this since he started high school.
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Getting an email for whoever handles the ROTC cadets for financial aid manners will help him in the future, so nice to send an email when you are thinking about it in the evening an the poof get an answer first thing in the morning!

At my DD school they cover room and board for all national scholarship recipients, even 3 year AD, so she got to use it as a freshman as long as she passed her APFT when she got on campus. A lot of schools that offer room and board do not activate it until the student contracts so she felt really blessed. Now she is contracted so she selected to use her Army scholarship for tuition and fees and her room and board is waived by the school. They cap it at a double occupancy room (if she ever wants to go single room she can choose to pay the difference) and they provide the middle meal plan. She said most of the guys use some of their stipend to upgrade their mela plan but more than enough for her. Totally college dependant obviously but a great way for the school to attract scholarship recipients!
 
Tuition/fees looks like $35K per year while room/board is around $9K/$10K per year. ROTC scholarship for tuition/fees seems like the smarter choice. Usually is.

ROTC classes are actually at Old Dominion (cross-town deal) for Virginia Wesleyan College (http://www.goarmy.com/rotc/find-schools.ALL-virginia.results.html). About 5 miles distance. A bicycle or bus should take care of this.

I tried to find additional information about ROTC-related scholarships for room/board offered by the school, but came up empty.

Living off-campus & sharing costs with roommates might be a good choice economically, but Norfolk has a shaky reputation for crime and such.

Contact the ROTC Adviser for more reliable information that I can give:

https://www.vwc.edu/admissions/rotc.php

"Old Dominion University ROTC is the parent group for the Marlin detachment. Prospective cadets can find more detailed information on courses and activities by contacting the VWC ROTC Advisor Amy Rush at arush@vwc.edu/757-455-3401 or by visiting ODU's Army ROTC Website."

Meet with Amy Rush
 
Dckc88 said:
Getting an email for whoever handles the ROTC cadets for financial aid manners will help him in the future, so nice to send an email when you are thinking about it in the evening an the poof get an answer first thing in the morning!

At my DD school they cover room and board for all national scholarship recipients, even 3 year AD, so she got to use it as a freshman as long as she passed her APFT when she got on campus. A lot of schools that offer room and board do not activate it until the student contracts so she felt really blessed. Now she is contracted so she selected to use her Army scholarship for tuition and fees and her room and board is waived by the school. They cap it at a double occupancy room (if she ever wants to go single room she can choose to pay the difference) and they provide the middle meal plan. She said most of the guys use some of their stipend to upgrade their mela plan but more than enough for her. Totally college dependant obviously but a great way for the school to attract scholarship recipients!
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Which school is your DD?
 
My DD was accepted to The Citadel today. I am worried, because 1st yr is $52k for OOS and subsequently $18k per yr thereafter. Being a single mom making $40k a year there is no way I can afford that. I called financial aid and left a vm for them to call me tomorrow. She has worked so hard and I am hopeful. I wasn't familiar with most of this Military stuff, so am just learning. She wante to go active, so no GMI for her in the ECP program. She crossed that off her list. We did the FAFSA...any other opportunities she may qualify for financially?
 
jllera1 said:
My DD was accepted to The Citadel today. I am worried, because 1st yr is $52k for OOS and subsequently $18k per yr thereafter. Being a single mom making $40k a year there is no way I can afford that. I called financial aid and left a vm for them to call me tomorrow. She has worked so hard and I am hopeful. I wasn't familiar with most of this Military stuff, so am just learning. She wante to go active, so no GMI for her in the ECP program. She crossed that off her list. We did the FAFSA...any other opportunities she may qualify for financially?
Click to expand...

Talking to someone in financial aid will help. In my DD's case they were able to bring a 57K bill down to around 32K for the first year. Yes that is a ton of money and we took loans, however, we also think of it as this is what we are paying for 4 years of college since she won't have that obligation for the other years. She ended up being blessed with a half year upgrade, and so we ended up borrowing about 16k. What other schools is she interested in or were given as options. Honestly, our daughter did not have UP even in her top 3, but it ended up being the best choice for several reasons, including financially. I would encourage her to talk to the other ROO's at the other schools that are options and look at all of her options including financial. Sometimes as parents we have to help them, because just "going where I want to go" is a very young and shortsided choice sometimes. Good luck and keep us posted!

Edit: To answer your specific question, yes there might be more she qualifies for. You will have to wait and talk to financial aid. I know nothing of the Citadel but sometimes there are campus need based grants on top of federal grants.
 
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Dckc88 said:
Talking to someone in financial aid will help. In my DD's case they were able to bring a 57K bill down to around 32K for the first year. Yes that is a ton of money and we took loans, however, we also think of it as this is what we are paying for 4 years of college since she won't have that obligation for the other years. She ended up being blessed with a half year upgrade, and so we ended up borrowing about 16k. What other schools is she interested in or were given as options. Honestly, our daughter did not have UP even in her top 3, but it ended up being the best choice for several reasons, including financially. I would encourage her to talk to the other ROO's at the other schools that are options and look at all of her options including financial. Sometimes as parents we have to help them, because just "going where I want to go" is a very young and shortsided choice sometimes. Good luck and keep us posted!

Edit: To answer your specific question, yes there might be more she qualifies for. You will have to wait and talk to financial aid. I know nothing of the Citadel but sometimes there are campus need based grants on top of federal grants.
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Thank you! We was invited to Pre-knob at The Citadel and her ROO said not to worry and they would figure it out. He said to speak to financial aid and scholarship director during pre-knob. She also just got her last ACT scores and their is still hope for USMA too.
ACT 30.5
Eng 32
Math 27
Read 35
Science 28
 
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