Daughter had 34 ACT / 3.9 GPA, but homeschooled with 29 college credits including 4 semesters of Chemistry and Physics.
Great Fitness, 6:30 mile, maxed out pushups/situps/pull ups
Civil Air Patrol , Mitchell award, which is the big milestone, equivalent to an Eagle Scout, leads her squadron.
Type I
The big variation in results, in my understanding, is the interview. Really top scores give you a 50% chance at a type I, the interview is weighted I think 50%. Our ROTC coach said in his opinion, interviews may even be overweighted. Civil Air Patrol really helps here because there's lots of little courtesies you learn there in how to interact with officers. Also helps to show up in your Dress Blues for an interview, right?
Speaking of our coach, Lt Col Kirkland of ROTC consulting was just STELLAR.
The AFROTC scholarship deadline is January 14, 2021. There will only be 3 boards this year, so complete your application packet early!
rotcconsulting.com
90% of his work with my daughter was practicing for the interview. They had 3 separate hour+ long practice interviews with real time feedback on each of her answers. The AFROTC and NROTC questions are public knowledge. Unlike the Academies, I think they pretty much have to ask the same questions to everybody. The practice sessions were GOLD, due to feedback, iteration, and getting several officers involved to evaluate her and give her feedback from different angles.
And the cost for just AFROTC consulting was under $2000. For a better shot at a Type I , that is money very well spent.