Are Marine letters of recommendations accepted?

Sll1231

New Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2018
Messages
3
Hello, (I’m new to the board)

I’m new to the MOROTC scholarship information. My daughter just recently applied. She has some letters of recommendation from current Marines. They are from Marines that know/knew of her brothers, who joined as enlisted (both had excellent fit reps) and did well. We are also a Gold Star family from my oldest son. Has anyone had the same (recommendations, not Gold Star) and have they helped? She has obviously missed the early decision for the scholarship deadline and she has for college as well. She had a difficult time making decisions on colleges. She has decent grades- honor roll- gpa- AP and honors classes. Leadership positions on equestrian teams and at her job.

Thank you in advance for the advice.
 
I do not believe that they accept letters of recommendation from anyone other than the teachers they specify. It MAY be something useful to bring to the officer interview, but not even sure they would look at it then.

I'm sorry to hear of the loss of your son. Your DD is impressive, in that she is willing to serve even though she is intimately familiar with the potential costs. God bless you and your family.
 
Morning - My DS was asked that from his SSGT and Captains running his package. That said, he was able to receive several LoR's from Police Chiefs, CEO's, Retired Sports Professionals, etc. Their feedback was to get something different than the standard LoR's from Teachers, Coaches, etc. Hope this helps and good luck!
 
I do not believe that they accept letters of recommendation from anyone other than the teachers they specify. It MAY be something useful to bring to the officer interview, but not even sure they would look at it then.

I'm sorry to hear of the loss of your son. Your DD is impressive, in that she is willing to serve even though she is intimately familiar with the potential costs. God bless you and your family.

Thank you so much.
 
Morning - My DS was asked that from his SSGT and Captains running his package. That said, he was able to receive several LoR's from Police Chiefs, CEO's, Retired Sports Professionals, etc. Their feedback was to get something different than the standard LoR's from Teachers, Coaches, etc. Hope this helps and good luck!
Thank you!
 
@Sll1231: please accept our condolences and best wishes. It sounds like you have remarkable children.

For clarity, the Marine Option scholarship falls under the NROTC scholarship process - there is nothing named the MOROTC program.

My standard response would be to forego any letters of recommendations unless specifically asked by the OSO (Officer Selection Officer). In addition, letters from people who know the family aren't necessarily as strong as letters from people who have strong experience with the applicant. That said, in your DD's case, I would recommend she bring any letters to her interview and ask the OSO if they would be useful in her application.

Your daughter is under a tight timeline but it is still possible to get the application in, the letter of recommendations from her teachers, the interview and the physical fitness test completed. The holidays will make this even more difficult. So if she has any interest in pursuing NROTC, she needs to get going.

If she misses the deadline, she can always join a unit in college (the school must have NROTC or a cross-town affiliation with a unit) and reapply as a freshman. From there, there are in-school scholarship opportunities and then there is the Platoon Leaders Class (PLC) and even Officer Candidate School (after graduation). In other words, there are plenty of routes to get to where she wants to go.

Feel free to post any questions either of you have and our community will do our best to provide guidance.
 
If the primary intent is military service, and the secondary is to have DoD pick up the cost of your daughter's academics for all 4-years, don't overlook the idea of:

  1. Enlisting in the active-duty USMC (or sister service)
  2. Using 100% tuition assistance after 24-months (or after technical training in some of the sister services)
  3. Applying for an SA while enlisted (this is fairly common), or applying for ROTC while enlisted (again, not uncommon)
  4. Either finishing initial enlistment or getting an early release as part of an enlisted commissioning program
    1. Option B would be to finish initial enlistment and then use the GI Bill (which is VERY nice-- pays housing allowance and 100% tuition)
  5. Finishing out undergrad or grad degree at an SA or ROTC
  6. Commission
That process would only add a couple of years to the degree process, but would result in your daughter being a much more well-rounded officer, as well as putting her into a strong position for cadet leadership and advanced opportunities within ROTC.

Alternatively, the majority of states pick up the full cost of in-state tuition for National Guardsmen (Air and Army) post-technical training. You can simultaneously be in the Guard and in ROTC-- and this eliminates the need to be on scholarship (and again positions the cadet to be better suited for cadet leadership).

She is late getting started, but it's not the end of the world. Don't get tunnel vision and miss the other opportunities unless the only viable route for your daughter is ROTC scholarship-->Preferred School-->USMC commission.

Lastly, don't overlook other ROTC's. You still have *just* enough time to knock out the AFROTC application and still be considered by the last three boards. Army is the same boat. Once commissioned, it is not terribly difficult to switch between services, especially if done at the CGO level.
 
Hello, (I’m new to the board)

I’m new to the MOROTC scholarship information. My daughter just recently applied. She has some letters of recommendation from current Marines. They are from Marines that know/knew of her brothers, who joined as enlisted (both had excellent fit reps) and did well. We are also a Gold Star family from my oldest son. Has anyone had the same (recommendations, not Gold Star) and have they helped? She has obviously missed the early decision for the scholarship deadline and she has for college as well. She had a difficult time making decisions on colleges. She has decent grades- honor roll- gpa- AP and honors classes. Leadership positions on equestrian teams and at her job.

Thank you in advance for the advice.

God Bless You and your family -- I am sorry for your loss and hope that your DD gets her dream.
 
Back
Top