Army NG SMP + ROTC

armyrotcmom

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Hi. Mom of a ROTC college freshman who did not get a national or campus scholarship. He joined the NG and did get a scholarship towards his second semester through the Simultaneous Program. He goes to basic this coming summer. He misunderstood his educational benefits last fall when talking to his recruiter and gave his dad and I (divorced parents) inaccurate information that we based financial decisions on for paying for college. I'm a few thousand short and figuring it out but would really love to get accurate information so I'm coming here to try to find out so I can appropriately budget. We are trying to make housing decisions for next year...stay on campus for ROTC to help pay housing (one mom told me to have him do this) which is $16000 at his school and needs to decide by 2/6 or move off campus and this one is half the cost (the one mom said ROTC wouldn't pay for off campus housing). As you can see getting accurate information is the difference of almost $8000.

1. He says he will get ROTC money when he contracts next year and that he will contract sooner because he is in NG. Is that correct? My research is showing he won't get the stipend until his junior year.

2. He also says he will get Montgomery GI bill money monthly after he goes to basic this summer. Is that correct? I can't figure out by reading the website.

3. He thinks he gets BAH and I don't think he does.

4. Is there a website that explains in plain English what benefits are given and when when someone does ROTC and SMP? Because what I have found on different schools site varies greatly and the official website I found doesn't really help.

While having tuition paid is great, housing is almost triple what his tuition is. His dad and I's divorce was financially devastating for me and I'm still in recovery mode. Accurately budgeting is not a nice to have but a definite need for me.

Thank you.
 
I am not a current expert, but I will post a few comments to get this post some activity. I don't believe non-ROTC scholarship cadets get the monthly allowance until they contract at the beginning of junior year. Also, BAH is for active duty personnel or NG personnel serving on active duty orders, so your son would not receive BAH as an SMP cadet.

Some universities give benefits to non-contracted cadets, but it is normally just the out-of-state tuition differential, which isn't an issue in your case. Assistance with room and board and or off campus housing is very rare at most colleges, and if available for ROTC cadets, is usually just an added benefit for scholarship cadets.
 
Housing allowances are not given by ROTC. Even with scholarship they only pay tuition, books, and monthly stipends.
Is he an SMP or is he enlisted in the Guard? There could be different benefits and requirements depending.

Tuition Assistance (not to be confused with the GI Bill) varies based on what state's National Guard he is in. Weird, right? In most cases he has to finish basic before he is eligible for any benefits. The good news is a Private in the NG makes much more for their weekend drill than an ROTC scholarship stipend and sometimes you can even get both.

Your kid seems really confused (not surprising given the options and complexity). He will really have to research and ask the right people the right questions, both ROTC Cadre and NG unit and recruiters. THE RIGHT PEOPLE. Sometimes parents get involved in talking, too. This is well within your rights as this is your kid and your pocket book.

The bad news is housing is gonna end up on you and there aren't many options for this although some versions of the GI Bill offer BAH. You have to meet certain qualifications to use this and it is not a practical short-term solution but might be worth researching, too.

Some schools give added benefits for rotc or veterans. Varies school to school.
 
Hi. Mom of a ROTC college freshman who did not get a national or campus scholarship. He joined the NG and did get a scholarship towards his second semester through the Simultaneous Program. He goes to basic this coming summer. He misunderstood his educational benefits last fall when talking to his recruiter and gave his dad and I (divorced parents) inaccurate information that we based financial decisions on for paying for college. I'm a few thousand short and figuring it out but would really love to get accurate information so I'm coming here to try to find out so I can appropriately budget. We are trying to make housing decisions for next year...stay on campus for ROTC to help pay housing (one mom told me to have him do this) which is $16000 at his school and needs to decide by 2/6 or move off campus and this one is half the cost (the one mom said ROTC wouldn't pay for off campus housing). As you can see getting accurate information is the difference of almost $8000.

1. He says he will get ROTC money when he contracts next year and that he will contract sooner because he is in NG. Is that correct? My research is showing he won't get the stipend until his junior year.

2. He also says he will get Montgomery GI bill money monthly after he goes to basic this summer. Is that correct? I can't figure out by reading the website.

3. He thinks he gets BAH and I don't think he does.

4. Is there a website that explains in plain English what benefits are given and when when someone does ROTC and SMP? Because what I have found on different schools site varies greatly and the official website I found doesn't really help.

While having tuition paid is great, housing is almost triple what his tuition is. His dad and I's divorce was financially devastating for me and I'm still in recovery mode. Accurately budgeting is not a nice to have but a definite need for me.

Thank you.
Here's the Official ARNG Website with info. If you click on the highlighted areas it goes into more depth.

One thing to keep in mind, most of the benefits of joining the ARNG/Army Reserves stem from a commitment to contract with either the Army Reserves or ARNG, NOT Active Duty Service. Although, I think I have heard of ARNG/Reserve Officers being able to basically go Active Duty after graduation if there is a need for additional Commissioned Officers.

Hopefully @MowhawkArmyROTC will chime in. Better to get info from someone in the know!
 
Housing allowances are not given by ROTC. Even with scholarship they only pay tuition, books, and monthly stipends.
Uhhh.... not true. AROTC scholarship cadets can get room and board instead of tuition. It's their choice. There is an upper limit to what they can receive if they live off campus. I'm not sure as to any on-campus limits.

I don't know about the other ROTC programs. I know there was talk of NROTC allowing this, but I'm not sure if it has been implemented.
 
Uhhh.... not true. AROTC scholarship cadets can get room and board instead of tuition. It's their choice. There is an upper limit to what they can receive if they live off campus. I'm not sure as to any on-campus limits.

I don't know about the other ROTC programs. I know there was talk of NROTC allowing this, but I'm not sure if it has been implemented.
Okay, worth exploring. ROTC will not pay for BOTH. My kid got a $5K per year scholarship to his first choice (only choice) for tuition but the school will let him use the $5K for room and/or board instead while ROTC pays tuition. I guess it's hard for me to visualize a school where room and board is more than tuition.
 
Uhhh.... not true. AROTC scholarship cadets can get room and board instead of tuition. It's their choice. There is an upper limit to what they can receive if they live off campus. I'm not sure as to any on-campus limits.

I don't know about the other ROTC programs. I know there was talk of NROTC allowing this, but I'm not sure if it has been implemented.
Our resident NROTC wizard @GWU PNS has posted that NROTC will allow the scholarship to be used for room and board instead of tuition, but I don't recall the limit on that. I do remember thinking it sounded like less than I would expect for tuition (then again my DS attended University of Michigan as an out of state student, so my perspective is skewed)

@JohnMcLane- Keep in mind that if scholarship money is used for room and board, it becomes taxable.
 
Housing allowances are not given by ROTC. Even with scholarship they only pay tuition, books, and monthly stipends.
Is he an SMP or is he enlisted in the Guard? There could be different benefits and requirements depending.

Tuition Assistance (not to be confused with the GI Bill) varies based on what state's National Guard he is in. Weird, right? In most cases he has to finish basic before he is eligible for any benefits. The good news is a Private in the NG makes much more for their weekend drill than an ROTC scholarship stipend and sometimes you can even get both.

Your kid seems really confused (not surprising given the options and complexity). He will really have to research and ask the right people the right questions, both ROTC Cadre and NG unit and recruiters. THE RIGHT PEOPLE. Sometimes parents get involved in talking, too. This is well within your rights as this is your kid and your pocket book.

The bad news is housing is gonna end up on you and there aren't many options for this although some versions of the GI Bill offer BAH. You have to meet certain qualifications to use this and it is not a practical short-term solution but might be worth researching, too.

Some schools give added benefits for rotc or veterans. Varies school to school.
My understanding is you can choose tuition or housing, but they won’t cover both. Altogether, I think that you should consider talking to the financial office at his school. They may be able to walk you through typical scenarios for ROTC kids at that school. Also, go to the office with your son and ask questions. It is VERY confusing at times.
 
My understanding is you can choose tuition or housing, but they won’t cover both. Altogether, I think that you should consider talking to the financial office at his school. They may be able to walk you through typical scenarios for ROTC kids at that school. Also, go to the office with your son and ask questions. It is VERY confusing at times.
This is the norm, but I recall a thread maybe last year listing over 100 schools that include room and board with any ROTC scholarship, not sure how complete it is or up to date it is, but there were a lot of really good schools that gave room and board to ROTC Scholarship winners.

 
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Seriously - call your son’s college office that handles either financial aid or the office that handles your payments (eg treasurers or bursars office etc) and explain what your son is doing and ask their experience. They should know what the different commissioning programs pay and when. Many schools offer merit aid to supplement ROTC scholarships - as a recruiting tool, but most are geared to recruiting new students with national ROTC scholarships not students who sign up for National Guard or ARMY Reserve scholarships.
 
Hi. Mom of a ROTC college freshman who did not get a national or campus scholarship. He joined the NG and did get a scholarship towards his second semester through the Simultaneous Program. He goes to basic this coming summer. He misunderstood his educational benefits last fall when talking to his recruiter and gave his dad and I (divorced parents) inaccurate information that we based financial decisions on for paying for college. I'm a few thousand short and figuring it out but would really love to get accurate information so I'm coming here to try to find out so I can appropriately budget. We are trying to make housing decisions for next year...stay on campus for ROTC to help pay housing (one mom told me to have him do this) which is $16000 at his school and needs to decide by 2/6 or move off campus and this one is half the cost (the one mom said ROTC wouldn't pay for off campus housing). As you can see getting accurate information is the difference of almost $8000.

1. He says he will get ROTC money when he contracts next year and that he will contract sooner because he is in NG. Is that correct? My research is showing he won't get the stipend until his junior year.

2. He also says he will get Montgomery GI bill money monthly after he goes to basic this summer. Is that correct? I can't figure out by reading the website.

3. He thinks he gets BAH and I don't think he does.

4. Is there a website that explains in plain English what benefits are given and when when someone does ROTC and SMP? Because what I have found on different schools site varies greatly and the official website I found doesn't really help.

While having tuition paid is great, housing is almost triple what his tuition is. His dad and I's divorce was financially devastating for me and I'm still in recovery mode. Accurately budgeting is not a nice to have but a definite need for me.

Thank you.
@armyrotcmom Here is some info from the horse's mouth for you:

1. Sounds like your son is not on any type of scholarship, and is talking about contracting non-scholarship. What did he get exactly for his second semester? It wasn't an Army scholarship. There are Minuteman Scholarships available through the guard via TAG nomination, but they are awarded by Cadet Command, and you need to be contracted in order to receive the benefits. Additionally, if he was contracted by ROTC, he wouldn't be going to Basic Training this Summer as his MOS would now be 09R. He may have received an enlistment bonus, or perhaps he is going to a state college, and the ARNG of that state pays for state school tuition. Some states like NY and FL do that. Once contracted by ROTC, he will get the ROTC stipend of $420/month while school is in session. All ROTC cadets can contract as soon as their first semester of sophomore year if they have credit for the freshman ROTC classes, and meet all contracting requirements.

2. Once completing BCT, he is eligible for the Montgomery GI Bill.

3. No, he will not get BAH. You only get BAH as part of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. You need to have completed 3 years of active duty service to qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

4. The official websites are not very helpful. I think they are designed to lead you to talk to an actual recruiter, so they can make a "sale". The basic SMP benefits are:
- additional officer training during monthly battle assembly
- paid at the E5 pay grade
- starts your years of service for pay purposes
- eligible for federal tuition assistance
- Montgomery GI Bill (if BCT is completed)
- Some ARNGs have additional educational benefits, with some paying the tution for that state's, state colleges.

As mentioned by others, ROTC will not pay a $16k housing bill. If you get a scholarship you get the choice of it either paying for full tuition & fees (paid directly to school) OR room & board ($10k direct deposited to the cadets' account; taxable) - which the cadet will still receive if living at home. If you are going to a state school with tuition less than $10k, better to take the R&B option, going to an expensive private school, go with tuition & fees.
 
He should get BAH when he is at BCT and AIT. Then when he completes BCT and AIT he gets the Montgomery GI Bill when he is in college. Thats like 450 dollars approximately. If he has the GRFD Scholarship, he can pick housing 10K a year housing if he picks that I think that's taxable. If he is at State School many states cover tuition and fees if you are in Guard. He drills as an E 5 so that's like 360 bucks a weekend. When he contracts with ROTC that's like 400 bucks a month. Also, I think he gets book stipend for 1400 a year.
 
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