Army ROTC 2023-2024 1st Board

lingROTC said:
4.0/4.0 GPA, 13 APs (score 3-5), 1570 SAT, weak in sports, will I still have chance next board? Also, if I can improve PFA, shall I re-submit?
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Yea I had good academic as well (not as good as yours but maxed most of it) but my athletics were not as good because of no varsity sports. They said me leadership was good in the interview though so mainly the A part of SAL which I’m lacking. Can’t change much but can only hope for the 2nd board
 
CoasterToaster2552 said:
I was offered the 2-year ECP scholarship, and although I'm incredibly grateful for the offer it simply does not align with my interests and intents I had with going into the army, so more than likely I will reject it. On the other hand, from what I have read it is a take-what-you-can-get type of situation, and my odds of getting a 4 or 3-year from the next two boards are relatively low because of the offer. It's a tough situation to be in because I would hate to reject the only offer I might get. Does anyone have any advice/information that could help me with my dilemma? I really do want to hold onto hope for the next two boards, but I'd hate to bite the hand that feeds and be left with nothing at the end of the day.
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Congratulations! My son was also offered the Ike Skelton Scholarship. He was feeling pretty much the same as you seem to be. But from what he found out today, it seems like it was a really good thing to have gotten the offer off the first board. My advice...reach out to your ROO or your interviewer (I forget the acronym). My son did and was given both feedback and a school based 3-year ROTC scholarship offer. He was told he had an excellent package...and I will say he did not have top SAT scores, or top PFA scores....good, but not fabulous. What he does have is tons of leadership and community involvement. Excellent references, Boys State and many awards. He also maxed out his interview score. They want diverse candidates. The representative he spoke with looked at my son's feedback sheet. His GPA was just under the threshold for who they were offering 4-year scholarships to this round, but was considered an excellent candidate otherwise. The rep told him to be proud of the offer he got because it was only offered to a handful of applicants who just missed the cut off for this round. Again...I can only speak to what was communicated to my son. But I think it can't hurt to reach out to your contacts and get their feedback/take on your package before you make a decision. Remember...the scholarship you received is a four-year scholarship. It is just broken down differently. You enter ROTC at the JMC as an MSIII and graduate in two years to become a 2nd Lt...in 2 years...and then use the Army's education assistance to complete your degree. They are guaranteeing you 100% tuition and a non-deployable status while you complete your Bachelors Degree...all the while, you are a 2nd LT and getting paid as such and will have your years in service beginning before you graduate college. That is huge. You can defer your reserve status your second year at the JMC and go to your 4 year college and compete for active duty spots equally with your fellow ROTC cadets. There are many different paths to the same end goal. You have some time. Research talk to those around you and your ROTC contacts. Get info and feedback. There is no wrong decision here. You just have to make the best decision for you with the information you have at the time. And you do have some time...so don't feel rushed. You've got this!

Anyhow...my son's dilemma now, is that if he accepts the 3-year offer by the school, he will bump out of the running for a 4-year national scholarship...which is not a guarantee. But as his first choice does not cover room and board, not at least trying for the 4-year could cost him thousands of dollars more than he will already be paying extra. His second choice school covers room and board for the Corps of Cadets on ROTC scholarship and he could go to school for free. Loads of hard choices.

Also, I want to say...many people are looking at stats. This process is not simply about GPA, test scores and the PFA. Those are pieces of the whole individual package. The interview itself is worth 40%, I believe. Anyhow....my two cents.

Good luck!
 
raag said:
Yes so I’m 99% sure it was my lack of varsity sports that pushed me to the 2nd board.
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It just goes to show t
BuckeyeDude said:
Congratulations! My son was also offered the Ike Skelton Scholarship. He was feeling pretty much the same as you seem to be. But from what he found out today, it seems like it was a really good thing to have gotten the offer off the first board. My advice...reach out to your ROO or your interviewer (I forget the acronym). My son did and was given both feedback and a school based 3-year ROTC scholarship offer. He was told he had an excellent package...and I will say he did not have top SAT scores, or top PFA scores....good, but not fabulous. What he does have is tons of leadership and community involvement. Excellent references, Boys State and many awards. He also maxed out his interview score. They want diverse candidates. The representative he spoke with looked at my son's feedback sheet. His GPA was just under the threshold for who they were offering 4-year scholarships to this round, but was considered an excellent candidate otherwise. The rep told him to be proud of the offer he got because it was only offered to a handful of applicants who just missed the cut off for this round. Again...I can only speak to what was communicated to my son. But I think it can't hurt to reach out to your contacts and get their feedback/take on your package before you make a decision. Remember...the scholarship you received is a four-year scholarship. It is just broken down differently. You enter ROTC at the JMC as an MSIII and graduate in two years to become a 2nd Lt...in 2 years...and then use the Army's education assistance to complete your degree. They are guaranteeing you 100% tuition and a non-deployable status while you complete your Bachelors Degree...all the while, you are a 2nd LT and getting paid as such and will have your years in service beginning before you graduate college. That is huge. You can defer your reserve status your second year at the JMC and go to your 4 year college and compete for active duty spots equally with your fellow ROTC cadets. There are many different paths to the same end goal. You have some time. Research talk to those around you and your ROTC contacts. Get info and feedback. There is no wrong decision here. You just have to make the best decision for you with the information you have at the time. And you do have some time...so don't feel rushed. You've got this!

Anyhow...my son's dilemma now, is that if he accepts the 3-year offer by the school, he will bump out of the running for a 4-year national scholarship...which is not a guarantee. But as his first choice does not cover room and board, not at least trying for the 4-year could cost him thousands of dollars more than he will already be paying extra. His second choice school covers room and board for the Corps of Cadets on ROTC scholarship and he could go to school for free. Loads of hard choices.

Also, I want to say...many people are looking at stats. This process is not simply about GPA, test scores and the PFA. Those are pieces of the whole individual package. The interview itself is worth 40%, I believe. Anyhow....my two cents.

Good luck!
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Great post! You mention your son has "great references," but my. understanding is that ROTC does not accept letters of recommendation. On the other hand, I do see that "Letter of Recommendation" is one of the documents you can upload to your portal in the scholarship application. So, needless to say, this is far from clear to me one way or the other.

Bottom line: can you submit letters of recommendation as part of your ROTC application and, if so, who looks at them and how much weight is given to them?
 
This question might be out of left-field, but how much do you think the COLLEGES you list on the application factor? What I mean, with 1000 schools hosting ROTC or a satellite, do they (the PMS decision makers) try to spread the scholarships around so all programs benefit from scholarship winners?
 
Another question that popped in my head...a lot of the candidates getting 4yr to REALLY TOP NOTCH schools...I would imagine some of them also are trying for SA, wouldn't you think? So SOME of those 4yr scholarships might be rejected if the candidate is successful and gets into a SA? What do y'all think?
 
pa-outdoorsman said:
Yes, I'd say that's correct based on what I've read. Also keep in mind that what happens with a lot of these 4-year offers made this week is that many of these kids are going to ultimately end up at a SA. Remember, these offers made this week are to the best and brightest. You see all the Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Notre Dame, etc.

So, what I think happens is all these kids are going to accept their offers, but a few months down the road if they get into West Point or Annapolis, they are going to end up giving them back, and those scholarships probably end of being "recycled" in the second and third boards.

If you think about it, the way ROTC puts its "class" of roughly 3,000 cadets together each year is not much different than the way an individual college fills its freshman class. It's a constant counting, sifting and re-sorting until you ultimately end up with the group you'll move forward with.
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I just asked this very question about recycled awards when those kids get into SA! Thanks for this.
 
interestinrotc said:
Another question that popped in my head...a lot of the candidates getting 4yr to REALLY TOP NOTCH schools...I would imagine some of them also are trying for SA, wouldn't you think? So SOME of those 4yr scholarships might be rejected if the candidate is successful and gets into a SA? What do y'all think?
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Yea someone already mentioned this, so even if 300 4 years are already awarded not all will be put to use
 
pa-outdoorsman said:
So, what I think happens is all these kids are going to accept their offers, but a few months down the road if they get into West Point or Annapolis, they are going to end up giving them back, and those scholarships probably end of being "recycled" in the second and third boards.
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Not necessarily. I believe that many, if not most, ROTC scholarship winners who then get SA offer of appointment hang on to those scholarships as a backup plan. This is in line with the practice of paying the deposit for a civilian school, just in case.

Why do that? Because of fear of injury or illness or some other development that prevents matriculation on I-Day/R-Day. Or, in the case of an LOA recipient, the possibility that they don’t fulfill the outstanding requirement, e.g. nomination, medical clearance.

When an ROTC scholarship winner takes the SA oath, their scholarship is automatically cancelled. But at that point, it’s probably if no use to someone else. The powers that be account for this “slippage” via yield management. They know the approximate number of scholarships that will go unused, so estimate the number of recipients accordingly. It’s not unlike college admissions in general.
 
pa-outdoorsman said:
It just goes to show t


Great post! You mention your son has "great references," but my. understanding is that ROTC does not accept letters of recommendation. On the other hand, I do see that "Letter of Recommendation" is one of the documents you can upload to your portal in the scholarship application. So, needless to say, this is far from clear to me one way or the other.

Bottom line: can you submit letters of recommendation as part of your ROTC application and, if so, who looks at them and how much weight is given to them?
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You upload them on the file upload. I have no idea if they contribute to the score itself, but the entire package is looked at by the interviewer and the board, I believe. My son was told to include them, if possible. Someone more involved in the process may know more. I am just a parent.

I can't imagine why the Scholarship board wouldn't want them. People can look good on paper and master tests but not be decent humans or leaders. References help communicate knowledge of the person's long-term character, I feel.
 
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BuckeyeDude said:
You upload them on the file upload. I have no idea if they contribute to the score itself, but the entire package is looked at by the interviewer and the board, I believe. My son was told to include them, if possible. Someone more involved in the process may know more. I am just a parent.

I can't imagine why the Scholarship board wouldn't want them. People can look good on paper and master tests but not be decent humans or leaders. References help communicate knowledge of the person's long-term character, I feel.
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But I waived FERPA so I don't have access to my recommendation letters. Should I ask my teachers to send them to me so I can submit it?
 
pa-outdoorsman said:
It just goes to show t


Great post! You mention your son has "great references," but my. understanding is that ROTC does not accept letters of recommendation. On the other hand, I do see that "Letter of Recommendation" is one of the documents you can upload to your portal in the scholarship application. So, needless to say, this is far from clear to me one way or the other.

Bottom line: can you submit letters of recommendation as part of your ROTC application and, if so, who looks at them and how much weight is given to them?
Click to expand...
My daughter's ROO said to upload if letters of rec if you have them - didn't seem to stress one way or another. But her principal is retired LTC Marine Corps and former NROTC PMS, so she did get one from him and the president of the school. She's also a recruited athlete, so she got one from her national club coach. Who knows????
 
MidCakePa said:
Not necessarily. I believe that many, if not most, ROTC scholarship winners who then get SA offer of appointment hang on to those scholarships as a backup plan. This is in line with the practice of paying the deposit for a civilian school, just in case.

Why do that? Because of fear of injury or illness or some other development that prevents matriculation on I-Day/R-Day. Or, in the case of an LOA recipient, the possibility that they don’t fulfill the outstanding requirement, e.g. nomination, medical clearance.

When an ROTC scholarship winner takes the SA oath, their scholarship is automatically cancelled. But at that point, it’s probably if no use to someone else. The powers that be account for this “slippage” via yield management. They know the approximate number of scholarships that will go unused, so estimate the number of recipients accordingly. It’s not unlike college admissions in general.
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That's another take - someone told me that the SA changes are why the 3yr convert to 4yr in a lot of cases on the 3rd Board. Who knows really, I feel like I would have just as much clarity if I called one of those psychic hotlines...lol!
 
raag said:
Yea someone already mentioned this, so even if 300 4 years are already awarded not all will be put to use
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And probably not just SAs at play but there seem to be plenty of kids applying to NROTC & AFROTC - lots of moving parts.
 
pa-outdoorsman said:
With those numbers, you are literally off the charts academically!

It will all come down to your athletic and leadership categories. If you do not have good qualifications there, it will be difficult to manufacture much for your resume at this point.
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Thank you for your reply. If I can improve my PFA score, shall I re-upload the form? Not sure if that helps.
 
raag said:
Yea I had good academic as well (not as good as yours but maxed most of it) but my athletics were not as good because of no varsity sports. They said me leadership was good in the interview though so mainly the A part of SAL which I’m lacking. Can’t change much but can only hope for the 2nd board
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Thank you. Wish us good luck next board ...
 
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