Allow me, for a moment, to step back from the amazingly blissful interactions I've had with the OP...and say that your post was LOADED with exceptional insight and logic.I am so sad that this conversation has devolved the way it has. Yes, mntwng is upset and is going a little too far. Yes, I knew there was a chance that my son would not get an EA. But do any of you know what the recruiters and detachments are telling these kids? Are any of you that are totally unsympathetic listening in on those conversations? Sure they are told that there was a very small chance ( much less than 10%) that they (scholarship cadets) might not get a slot, but really only if they screw up. Our kids did not screw up, and they got screwed anyway. Sometimes screwing people is perfectly legal and in the contract. Great. If you read the wording of the contract that is posted, it is still very nebulous. As posted :
" I understand that I must compete favorably with applicants for a POC Enrollment Allocation. Failure to do so will result in disenrollment and the consequences thereof."
I mean, how nebulous is "complete favorably"? Maybe some of you see this as 50% will not get a slot. Again, my son was told compete favorably meant everything that he did. He believed, based on what he was told, that he was doing more than "competing favorably".
The AF has a right to do what it did. That doesn't make what they did any less awful for the cadets who have put in a huge effort for the past two years. My son had to make a commitment last September. He could not just walk away from it. The AF could. These cadets have lost a lot. They were fine young adults who stuck with it and have already shown perseverance, intelligence, and leadership. Most weren't there just for the scholarship money. Many were there without any scholarship. These are the fine young adults who wanted to serve their country.
None of us parents are stupid. Some of us aren't as familiar with the military than others. We have no military background and familiarity with the military in my family. We asked the question we thought we needed to before accepting the scholarship. And my son was going off of what he was told by his detachment - that as a scholarship cadet, unless he outright screwed up, he would get an EA slot. He made decisions based on this wrong information.
Now, there are young men and women that will have to leave their college because of financial concerns. Or families are scrambling to try to figure out where the money is going to come from. This is hard on families and these very bright kids. They will recover. They will find their paths, I am sure. But some of you could learn a little sympathy for what these families (yes, it affects the whole family) are going through.
And there are cadets who lost so much so quickly, not to mention the time put in. They lost their current job, they lost their future career, the lost their main college activity/club, and they lost what amounts to their "fraternity". They are hurting. We, as the parents who love them, are hurting for them. Telling us all "IT WAS IN THE CONTRACT" is not useful, helpful or kind.
I want to make myself absolutely clear, here: I genuinely feel bad for the kids that lost their current scholarships, and equally bad for those who believed themselves to be competitive for new ones, that didn't get selected. I mean that, sincerely. In a perfect world, everyone would be able to get what they want, pursue their dreams, and succeed for decades. Any decent parent would want the best for their child, and this forum is filled with folks who wish for nothing but absolute victory for their kid(s).
Had the discussion stayed within the confines of sanity and a willingness to accept reality, it would have remained on a straight and narrow path.
I wish the best for your child, and hope he/she can navigate themselves through a difficult situation, and find the success they long to achieve.