AFROTC Scholarship Major Question

ThePilot18

The most Texan American you'll ever meet
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Nov 24, 2019
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Hi all,

I was looking at which majors the Air Force considers "technical" (and thus, priority will be given to them as far as AFROTC high school scholarships go). I noticed that there are honestly not many degrees it has listed, in my opinion. My question is, given these majors (https://www.afrotc.com/scholarships/desired-majors/), is that the defined list, or is it more of suggestions?

I am thinking of doing a "Technology & Engineering Studies: Technical" BS degree, but also trying to compete for an AFROTC scholarship later. I'm worried the AF may consider it non-technical/ not as highly desired.

What do y'all think? Thanks.
 
At our interview we were told it was technical majors only. It’s so competitive and they have enough technical majors applying that it’s really hard to get the money otherwise. My DD had put in general studies because she wanted to do bio, and it was suggested she change.
 
Honestly, I would put whatever major you WANT to do. Do not put a technical major if that’s not what you want. Apparently it is very difficult to switch from a technical to non-technical if it doesn’t work out.

My son was fortunate to earn a scholarship with an International Studies major. Although he had a decent SAT score, he knew upper level math just wasn’t for him.
 
Honestly, I would put whatever major you WANT to do. Do not put a technical major if that’s not what you want. Apparently it is very difficult to switch from a technical to non-technical if it doesn’t work out.

My son was fortunate to earn a scholarship with an International Studies major. Although he had a decent SAT score, he knew upper level math just wasn’t for him.
Your advice here suffers somewhat from hindsight bias...
 
Major in something you're passionate about. Don't major in something technical if you're not keen on the subject. It will likely end badly.
 
What if I do want to major in something technical (I have no interest in non-tech degrees), but it's not one of the so-called "Highly Desired Majors?" Does that decrease my chance of scholarship, despite the fact that it is a technical degree?
 
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I saw this post and it made me start thinking about this situation. Would anyone agree with what this poster is saying?
 
What the AFROTC person at a college told me is that the ROTC has a limited number of scholarship money available per year, depending on the DOD budget. They doll out scholarships according to that. They give priority to majors they desire, which are listed as technical majors and if they have money left over, or really want a certain person, they will make offers to people majoring outside of those technical areas. Just what I’ve heard, I have no idea.
 
As part of the HSSP process, you will list the majors you intend to pursue, without any specificity as to whether they are "technical" or "non-technical".

Traditionally, a higher percentage (historically around 80-85%) of scholarships are awarded to awardees declaring intent to pursue a major AFROTC considers "Technical". This tradition, however, is non-binding and is subject to the annual needs of the USAF as directed to HQ AFROTC.

Non-technical scholarship awards can generally be used for any accredited four-year degree. So in the post you cited above, the respondent appears to have indicated that ChemE could be pursued under AFROTC scholarship, but the implication is that it would only be for a non-technical award.

The rationale for these restrictions is that (a) the USAF currently places a higher value on technical and foreign language degrees in terms of their investment monies, and (b) AFROTC is one avenue for the USAF (and USSF :) )to train future officers that meet the desired characteristics stipulated by the USAF.

In other words, AFROTC scholarships are a mechanism to attract, retain, train, and appoint future USAF/USAFR/ANG/USSF officers-- it is not a mechanism designed to pay for the general college education of college students. The GI Bill and VEAP programs are designed to cover that objective.

Don't lose sight of that.
 
I was looking at which majors the Air Force considers "technical" (and thus, priority will be given to them as far as AFROTC high school scholarships go). I noticed that there are honestly not many degrees it has listed, in my opinion. My question is, given these majors (https://www.afrotc.com/scholarships/desired-majors/), is that the defined list, or is it more of suggestions?

Excellent question. Does anyone know the answer to this? If you were to major in Materials Engineering (not on the desired list) would you lose your technical scholarship?
 
Excellent question. Does anyone know the answer to this? If you were to major in Materials Engineering (not on the desired list) would you lose your technical scholarship?
Yes, I know the answer and answered it directly above your post.

Assuming my answer was not clear enough, I will summarize again.

If materials engineering is not on the desired technical degree list, then you would presumably lose your technical scholarship unless you are otherwise granted approval by HQ AFROTC to pursue that degree.

HQ AFROTC defines technical degrees based off of projected manning needs in the USAF in key career fields. The reasoning for this is that certain technical career fields require specific degrees. Most of these career fields are defined as "critical demand", meaning they are historically understaffed.

HQ AFROTC historically prioritizes technical and foreign language degrees for scholarship receipt over non-technical degrees in an effort to meet these projected manning needs. This is logical.

Also note that engineering degrees have historically had to be ABET-accredited. Non-ABET engineering courses would require HQ approval or be pursued under a non-technical scholarship award.

As force needs change over time, you will see the scholarship awards adjust accordingly. Most recently, this has been seen through the prioritization of foreign language scholarships.

Does that answer your question?
 
Your advice here suffers somewhat from hindsight bias...

I don’t believe so. My son was going to be in AFROTC regardless of getting a scholarship. He said he would study what he wants and the Air Force will train him in whatever job he’s suited for after commissioning.

I understand your thought process though. Had he not received a scholarship, I would NOT have told him he should’ve chosen a STEM (technical) major instead.

My youngest wants to be a nuclear engineer, so that’s a no brainer for him when he applies (NROTC) But now I wonder what if he receives a scholarship but isn’t accepted into an engineering program? Hmmm... I’ll have to research that one. I’m sure that question’s been asked before.

Sorry, off topic now.
 
. ...

My youngest wants to be a nuclear engineer, so that’s a no brainer for him when he applies (NROTC) But now I wonder what if he receives a scholarship but isn’t accepted into an engineering program? Hmmm... I’ll have to research that one. I’m sure that question’s been asked before.

Sorry, off topic now.

As DS2 does research, ensure he takes a look at the NUPOC program. It’s an excellent path for those who know they want nuke.

See below:




Unofficial:

If he goes NROTC, he doesn’t have to be an engineering major. The Navy teaches them nuclear engineering after they are commissioned, in the nuke training pipeline. He could be a systems engineer or other STEM major. USNA mids with strong performance in STEM courses who are English, History or other non-STEM majors, get picked up for nuke power. Of course, they all get BS degrees with required engineering courses.
 
Question: I finished my application, however I received a late email concerning problems with my PFA upload. The site has closed document submissions, denying me the ability to go back in and try uploading again. Will I still be called in for an interview if my PFA document isn't attached?
 
Question: I finished my application, however I received a late email concerning problems with my PFA upload. The site has closed document submissions, denying me the ability to go back in and try uploading again. Will I still be called in for an interview if my PFA document isn't attached?
Email it to your technician this morning (your technician is identified I believe at the bottom of you application page explaining what happened. Ask for a confirmation that he/she has received it.
 
Question: I finished my application, however I received a late email concerning problems with my PFA upload. The site has closed document submissions, denying me the ability to go back in and try uploading again. Will I still be called in for an interview if my PFA document isn't attached?

This is not the time to go to an Internet forum, it’s time to take actual steps to address the issue.

Contact the AFROTC scholarship folks, and I recommend using the phone. Organize your thoughts, have everything in front of you, have something to write on in case they give you an email to mail a scanned doc to, and be appreciative. This is yours to solve by going right to the primary source.

Link below was found using search string: “AFROTC scholarship contact us.” There is email but also a phone. It’s there for a reason. If you want this, go after it. Otherwise, IMHO, you have an incomplete application, and those are easy to set aside.

Let us know how it goes.

 
This is not the time to go to an Internet forum, it’s time to take actual steps to address the issue.

Contact the AFROTC scholarship folks, and I recommend using the phone. Organize your thoughts, have everything in front of you, have something to write on in case they give you an email to mail a scanned doc to, and be appreciative. This is yours to solve by going right to the primary source.

Link below was found using search string: “AFROTC scholarship contact us.” There is email but also a phone. It’s there for a reason. If you want this, go after it. Otherwise, IMHO, you have an incomplete application, and those are easy to set aside.

Let us know how it goes.


Edit: even better, the suggestion to email your technician. Don’t sit on this.
 
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