AFROTC application--"sanctioned varsity sports only"

[AFwife Claire]

Hi! My son is homeschooled, and here in Virginia, we are not allowed to participate in sports at public schools. That has been a challenge, but ds has sought out other physical fitness/team opportunities. He runs cross-country with a local cross-country club that competes in meets against private schools and other local clubs, and he plays rugby for a rugby club that is made up of mainly public-school students (and competes against other local rugby clubs), since rugby is not a high school sport here.

So when he was filling out the AFOTC application, he was pretty stumped when the section for sports said "sanctioned varsity sports only". I have googled around and can't find any clarification as to what exactly this means. Surely it can't meant sports like fencing or karate don't count because they aren't varsity sports? And the academies at least really encourage things like running, even just local 5ks, if you can't join a high school team. Is ROTC so different? It just seems weird, and we didn't see another spot for "club sports" or anything like that.

He is trying to contact the ROTC officer at VA Tech to see if he has any advice, but I wanted to know if anyone else had any helpful information. It doesn't seem like many people on here homeschool, but surely there are other people, especially from other highly competitive areas like NoVA where the schools are huge and there are limited opportunities to make school teams, where this might be an issue! Or maybe the AFROTC application is the only one that has this phrase? Ds hasn't done an army application yet.

Thank you!

 

[Pima]

It has been a long time since I was on this path, but if memory serves me correctly there is an EC section. This is where you can place those activities.

My DS did TKD and was a life guard. He did have a hook in a way because under that he stated he was 2x national champion. Bronze medalist in Junior Olympics. He was a TKD instructor too. He also had 23 saves as a lifeguard. Thus, for them they saw that he did have athletics, just not traditional.

Both the AFA and AFROTC are accustomed to dealing with home schoolers. Make sure he maxes out the PFA. This will also allow them to see he is physically fit and just not paying to play.

In the end the way the system works is it is a Whole Candidate Score (WCS) 60% is their prior academic record (PAR), than you have the recommendation, ECS , PFA and Sports.

Also, his major is going to matter.

So, when you place it altogether sports matter, but it is not going to hurt his chances as much as if he is going non tech or if hisSAT/ACT is below the median.

If he wants to feel truly competitive than he needs to crack the 1300/30 best sitting, higher if he is going non tech.
~ Our DS was a scholarship recipient without school sanctioned sports as a non tech, but his ACT best sitting was 33 or 34, cant remember. He also maxxed his PFA and his ALO gave him max point for the interview.

In the end if they do ding him, as long as everything else is strong it won't be that big of an issue impo.
~ Be realistic, a type 1 scholarship is only 5% of all scholarships awarded, maybe 50. If you put that with the number of boarded it is 1%. Type 2 is @3% of all boarded. Type 7 is @15%. Overall the entire selection is 18% of all candidates boarded.

Once in AFROTC, the slate is wiped clean. They don't discuss who is on scholarship and who is not. SFT/EA selection as a sophomore does not award any points directly to scholarship recipients, but tech majors do get an edge.
~ I say directly because scholarship recipients typically have higher SAT/ACTscores and logic typically follows they will do better on the AFOQT from a test taking aspect since the median for even a type 7 is @29 and type 1 is close to 31. Best sitting

 

[AFwife Claire]

Yes, he is competitive--his last SAT was 1420 (we're waiting on scores from Oct. 11 to see if that improved) and ACT was 33. He wants an engineering major, so he's technical. He did really well on the CFA, maxing most areas, and he will take the PFA this weekend. I appreciate your perspective on the ROTC scholarship process and chances! I would definitely say our understanding of ROTC is the weakest, so this information is very helpful.

 

[a400831]

Since I was home schooled from 3rd grade all the way through high school I thought I would throw my $.02 in. I am a 400 (senior) in AFROTC so I have experience with the process.

Just to echo what Pima said, sports are always a plus, but they are not the majority of the application. What matters the most are the scores on the PFA and SAT along with GPA and major. Try hard for the scholarship, but don't be to disappointed if not selected. The scholarship selection has zero impact on ranking and is no indication on future success in the program. For the record, I applied and was not selected for a scholarship back in 2011.

Once in the detachment, no one cares who is on scholarship. The only thing that matters is how you perform as a cadet, on the PFA, and with GPA. When they select cadets for Field Training, they are not allowed to see who is on scholarship and who is not. Additionally, there are scholarships they give out to cadets already in the program so he will have another opportunity to compete if not selected for one right out of high school. That is how I received mine during sophomore year.

Work hard, be a wingman, and he shouldn't have any problems