AFROTC Reinstates Scholarships

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unkown1961

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Interesting article about the AF deciding to give scholarships back this year after having:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2021/05/09/air-force-rotc-cadets/
"...rejected far more cadets than in past years. The cuts were so drastic that they swallowed up cadets with excellent grades and high fitness marks, according to current and former Air Force officials, sending scores of families into financial panic after scholarships vanished."
"Congressional representatives, retired officers and a wave of parents and students pressed the Air Force behind closed doors to reexamine decisions to reject 1,000 cadets, an Air Force official said. Policy officials relented Thursday evening, reinstating 400 cadets, about 130 of whom won back scholarships.

“We cut too deep,” said Ann Stefanek, an Air Force spokesperson. “We recognized that the planned reductions to meet end strength requirements were going to cause unanticipated hardships for many well-qualified cadets.”

The article states that the large cuts were due to AD members "staying at the highest rate in two decades."

I'm sure we have members here who are impacted.
 
They reached the right result, but the tone of the article implies that it could have been driven for the wrong reasons. What's more, and pretty surprising to me, is that the workaround will be to cut future OTS slots. This is of course the obvious answer, but why did it take external pressure to do this??? Wasn't that an obvious solution that they should have considered first?

Bottom line is that this episode shows why it is never a good idea to blindly accept that "the process" is foolproof. It simply isn't. People in positions of authority, including the military, make dumb decisions all the time. So it is always important that these decisions, particularly administrative decisions, always be open to reasonable scrutiny.
 
It would be nice if they'd offer a few more scholarships this year as well...numbers were sure down.
 
Is there somewhere to see how many ROTC scholarships were awarded each year by type?
 
It's funny, on a Reddit post discussing this same issue, it was mentioned that some of the pressure came from people in the Ivy League schools. I say its funny because there is a dad of an Ivy Leaguer who went on a five-day rant on this forum on how unfair it was and how his son got screwed as the Air Force never mentioned that there was a possibility that scholarships aren't guaranteed (assuming your grades are good and you do well in AFROTC). I wonder if the student got his spot back.
 
Humey said:
It's funny, on a Reddit post discussing this same issue, it was mentioned that some of the pressure came from people in the Ivy League schools. I say its funny because there is a dad of an Ivy Leaguer who went on a five-day rant on this forum on how unfair it was and how his son got screwed as the Air Force never mentioned that there was a possibility that scholarships aren't guaranteed (assuming your grades are good and you do well in AFROTC). I wonder if the student got his spot back.
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i thought it was the mom! LOL...
 

AF decisions

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...
www.serviceacademyforums.com

it was this thread....VERY interesting the outcome!!
 
It’s actually a pretty devastating situation, as it all reads. Kids in their sophomore years with good grades being dropped due to retention rates, due to job market bc of Covid. So already through two years. Side blinded bc of nothing they did.

I think this thread was a bad way to go about the frustration the dad felt, but doesn’t mean the situation wasn’t awful. And according to OP here, sounds like AFROTC is seeing that it’s perhaps a problem.

I hope it all works out for everyone. And regardless of the outcome, that readers will realize to read and question and understand what they are signing....good lessons to be learned from all things!
 
Humey said:
...how his son got screwed as the Air Force never mentioned that there was a possibility that scholarships aren't guaranteed (assuming your grades are good and you do well in AFROTC).
Click to expand...
When do AFROTC cadets see the full terms of the scholarship? It's been a long time, but my recollection is that my son (NROTC) only saw that after he started school and passed the PT test - but the fine print followed the general terms he'd been given.

That was the only point of the parent's rant I had some sympathy for. If the first time it is spelled that you have to be selected for SFT to continue in the program (and the selection rates are dependent on officer retention in the AD USAF) is after you've started the school year that's something AFROTC might want to be a bit more up front about.
 
ncbill said:
so most afrotc scholarships are only two-year?
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The HSSP is 4 years. But you have to earn the final 2 years by getting a Field Training slot after sophomore year. In prior years, good grades, good PT and good military scores almost assured a spot. This year, not so much.
 
hokiesfan said:
When do AFROTC cadets see the full terms of the scholarship? It's been a long time, but my recollection is that my son (NROTC) only saw that after he started school and passed the PT test - but the fine print followed the general terms he'd been given.

That was the only point of the parent's rant I had some sympathy for. If the first time it is spelled that you have to be selected for SFT to continue in the program (and the selection rates are dependent on officer retention in the AD USAF) is after you've started the school year that's something AFROTC might want to be a bit more up front about.
Click to expand...
I'm thankful that the Detachment my DD will be joining was very upfront about the issues happening this year and (possibly) next year and what she will need to ensure she is in a good spot going into spring of her sophomore year.
 
justdoit19 said:

AF decisions

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...
www.serviceacademyforums.com

it was this thread....VERY interesting the outcome!!
Click to expand...
Never saw that thread. I should read up on it.....
 
It sounds like they only backtracked because of the amount of people that complained. I’m sure it also helps that many of the disgruntled folks were from Ivy league schools, seeing as how a lot of the shoe clerk generals making these decisions are also graduates of those schools.
 
Well that AF Decisions thread was a fascinating read.
While the one parent in that thread lamented no one told me, the contract, the info sessions, the literature, the internet all had a clear message of the risks. I also have a ROTC participant young adult DS who just completed his first 2 years of training, and I distinctly remember hoping he, who was offered Army, Navy and Air Force ROTC scholarships would turn down AF because the clearly stated risk of possibly getting dropped for an EA slot and path to commission halfway through - goal remains not to get 2 years of free schooling but to serve. But all 3 branches present risks.

It's interesting how many people start out in ROTC but do not commission, scholarship or not. Navy/ Marines, Army too have their ways of weeding down the number from start to finish. Watch this summer how many gung-ho national scholarship winners drop after just 3 weeks at NSI. So for those applying to ROTC in the years ahead or newer participants, you should really know the risks and that you are starting a journey that could lead to you having to pay back serious money or serve while not commissioning as an officer. But if your calling is to serve and it's in your heart to do so,. then proceed in pursuing your dream - just proceed with an educated understanding of the risks, and with caution.
 
Tex232 said:
It sounds like they only backtracked because of the amount of people that complained. I’m sure it also helps that many of the disgruntled folks were from Ivy league schools, seeing as how a lot of the shoe clerk generals making these decisions are also graduates of those schools.
Click to expand...
And I thought Generals were there because of a combo of being male, white, fighter pilot, and part of one or another good ole boy network. It's good news to find of that the cream from selective schools rises. :)
I tend to think they initially made a massive cut with no thought toward what was being cut. Then, based on outside reaction, they realized they were cutting STEM majors from MIT, Stanford, USC, Rice, GA Tech, etc. with perfect GPAs and fitness records and said "whoa!" - much like the young lady in the article.
 
Not sure how many of the returning are from the Ivy Leagues, but I have to imagine that the military, in general, has been for decades trying to recruit people from these schools as they are some of the top students in the country. Then cutting them off at the knees only makes future recruitment even harder. Not saying they should allow all the Ivy League recruits back because then everyone else would be pissed off, but the optics on these massive cuts sucks. As it is, most people think that someone who attends Harvard or MIT and then commissions is an idiot because of the loss of opportunity. Obviously with a son in the AF, I don't think that. However, you are already fighting a perception of those who join the military and when you reject those 1% who are willing to serve their country and look beyond money, as an organization you look dumb.
 
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