Army ROTC chances , advice welcome!

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hokie2018

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Jan 25, 2017
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I've been looking at this forum for awhile and and decided to join in. I'm currently a junior in high school so I will applying for the army rotc scholarship next year my stats are
3.75 unweighted gpa/ 4.0 weighted
1220 sat that is for the new sat
All honors or ap classes
6 Ap classes overall
Vice President of fishing club, operation smile, FBLA, njhs, earned a varsity letter for football, have held two jobs one was a deckhand on a head boat and life guarding I currently volunteer at the local aspca and plan on attending Virginia tech but have not yet settled on a major. I have very good pt scores 6:30 mile 50 push-ups and 48 sit ups and will have very strong letters of recommendation as I live in a very very military dense area and know many active duty and retired personnel. Any help on what my chances are and please any advice on how to strengthen my application is greatly appreciated.
 
Looks like you have a solid resume, but work on improving that SAT score. It looks like your SATs are your weak spot.
 
I know NROTC will take SAT or ACT score. If AROTC will take either, you may want to consider taking that as well. The tests are structured differently and my DS did substantially better on the ACT than the SAT. His SAT score on the new SAT was a 1280. His second sitting at the ACT was a 34, which NROTC converted to a 1600 SAT equivalent. I'm sure he would have improved his SAT score on a second sitting, but he liked the way the ACT was set up much better. You can find more info online about how the tests differ. It has to do with how your brain processes information. I'd also look for ways to increase leadership roles in your clubs and/or sports. Good luck!
 
ProudDad17 said:
I know NROTC will take SAT or ACT score. If AROTC will take either, you may want to consider taking that as well. The tests are structured differently and my DS did substantially better on the ACT than the SAT. His SAT score on the new SAT was a 1280. His second sitting at the ACT was a 34, which NROTC converted to a 1600 SAT equivalent. I'm sure he would have improved his SAT score on a second sitting, but he liked the way the ACT was set up much better. You can find more info online about how the tests differ. It has to do with how your brain processes information. I'd also look for ways to increase leadership roles in your clubs and/or sports. Good luck!
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Thank you yes I agree that my SAT needs work as that was my sat score from last year as a sophomore so I plan on seeing some improvement after this year with all the studying and prep work. And I will definitely look into the act I'm from Virginia where sat is dominant so I never hear much about act but thank you again very useful advice
 
The direction of your stats is promising. A couple of points: 1) You only have the rest of your Jr year (and summer) to really improve any school/EC activities; 2) Create a Resume now - it will help you visualize your strengths/weaknesses. Structure it focusing on Scholar, Athlete, Leader (should be lots of resume info you can search on this board) and itemize your accomplishments/grades, etc. 3) Find additional opportunities over the next 6 months for service and leadership stuff; 4) Buy/read the Robert Kirkland book "Insiders guide to Army ROTC Scholarship"...it is full of great advice, and explains in detail how the Whole Person Score works/adds up. 5) Don't mess with letters of recommendation, they are not required, and not seen by the Board

Note: my DS received a 4 year scholarship this year from Board #1. He did the things I recommend above. His SAT score: 1170 (new SAT). I mention this mainly to point out that no one stat will make/break your application.
 
Consider boys state. I know the SA consider attendance highly and I could assume ROTC programs do also.
 
AggieWill said:
The direction of your stats is promising. A couple of points: 1) You only have the rest of your Jr year (and summer) to really improve any school/EC activities; 2) Create a Resume now - it will help you visualize your strengths/weaknesses. Structure it focusing on Scholar, Athlete, Leader (should be lots of resume info you can search on this board) and itemize your accomplishments/grades, etc. 3) Find additional opportunities over the next 6 months for service and leadership stuff; 4) Buy/read the Robert Kirkland book "Insiders guide to Army ROTC Scholarship"...it is full of great advice, and explains in detail how the Whole Person Score works/adds up. 5) Don't mess with letters of recommendation, they are not required, and not seen by the Board

Note: my DS received a 4 year scholarship this year from Board #1. He did the things I recommend above. His SAT score: 1170 (new SAT). I mention this mainly to point out that no one stat will make/break your application.
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Thank you very good points, I agree I need more leadership spots, what did your son do for leadership spots in order to receive a first board selection?
 
My DS academics: 1170 SAT, 3.85 GPA (UW), 4 AP classes. Athletics: 3 years each varsity fooball and baseball. ECs: NHS, Special Needs camp counselor, Special Olympics, School paper editor, youth sports coach, Boy Scouts. Key leadership roles: Football Team Captain x 2, Baseball Team Captain, NHS VP, Boy Scout SPL. PFT: 6:30 mile, 52 pushups, 57 situps.

His various "service work" was about 250 documented hours through his high school time, getting lots of hours with just a few organizations. Both his ROO and PMS speculated that the Board would look very favorable on the amount of service time, and his sports leadership roles.

If you can get another Varisty Letter this spring, that would be great....if you can get elected/selected as a Captain even better! Another Club VP/President position would be good. If you can get elected early your Senior year, you can also include that on your Application. Usually, the final submission for Board 1 is Oct of your Senior year....any EC stuff you're doing at that time is fair game to add to the Application...it's just your grades that cut-off after your Junior year.
 
AggieWill said:
My DS academics: 1170 SAT, 3.85 GPA (UW), 4 AP classes. Athletics: 3 years each varsity fooball and baseball. ECs: NHS, Special Needs camp counselor, Special Olympics, School paper editor, youth sports coach, Boy Scouts. Key leadership roles: Football Team Captain x 2, Baseball Team Captain, NHS VP, Boy Scout SPL. PFT: 6:30 mile, 52 pushups, 57 situps.

His various "service work" was about 250 documented hours through his high school time, getting lots of hours with just a few organizations. Both his ROO and PMS speculated that the Board would look very favorable on the amount of service time, and his sports leadership roles.

If you can get another Varisty Letter this spring, that would be great....if you can get elected/selected as a Captain even better! Another Club VP/President position would be good. If you can get elected early your Senior year, you can also include that on your Application. Usually, the final submission for Board 1 is Oct of your Senior year....any EC stuff you're doing at that time is fair game to add to the Application...it's just your grades that cut-off after your Junior year.
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Yes forgot to mention in original post I was a captain for football and was I guess what you could call a manager when working as a deckhand . Do the boards take into account work experience like that?
 
Yes, I believe so. You'll have to write some essays, that's a good time to plug what you've learned having to hold down a job. Again, I strongly recommend getting the LTC Robert Kirkland book...it's an invaluable aid in mapping out a plan, and discusses items like that It runs about $15 on Amazon. there are other, similar books, but Kirkland's book was very beneficial for my DS.
 
AggieWill said:
Yes, I believe so. You'll have to write some essays, that's a good time to plug what you've learned having to hold down a job. Again, I strongly recommend getting the LTC Robert Kirkland book...it's an invaluable aid in mapping out a plan, and discusses items like that It runs about $15 on Amazon. there are other, similar books, but Kirkland's book was very beneficial for my DS.
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I'm ordering the book now thank you for all the great advice nice to talk to people who have been through the process and what to expect thanks again
 
hokie2018 said:
Yes forgot to mention in original post I was a captain for football and was I guess what you could call a manager when working as a deckhand . Do the boards take into account work experience like that?
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I think why it gets confusing is in reality there are not very many specific activities to "check" on the application and it can give the appearance that those are the most important. My DD was discouraged because she didn't have many check marks. After visiting a few schools and talking with a few ROO's, she quickly embraced the idea that there is an "other" box for a reason! She checked the other box for all four years of high school and used all the space in the blank box to list her activities and experience. Her biggest leadership roles were while volunteering and also leading middle school and high church groups, not being a captain of any sports, or doing Girl Scouts or Girls State she felt at a disadvantage because those activities were listed and her s were not, but those are just common ones they cannot list all options, She had also been a dance teacher, swim teacher and life guard. Not only can you list those things on the application when it is available to you but they can also be great sources of examples of when you have been a leader in your interview.

Biggest piece of advice is visit a few college's ROTC departments Sooner than later! Great source of information and inspiration. I look forward to updates from you during your process.

And FYI, my DD did receive a 3 year last year and is currently an MS1.
 
Dckc88 said:
I think why it gets confusing is in reality there are not very many specific activities to "check" on the application and it can give the appearance that those are the most important. My DD was discouraged because she didn't have many check marks. After visiting a few schools and talking with a few ROO's, she quickly embraced the idea that there is an "other" box for a reason! She checked the other box for all four years of high school and used all the space in the blank box to list her activities and experience. Her biggest leadership roles were while volunteering and also leading middle school and high church groups, not being a captain of any sports, or doing Girl Scouts or Girls State she felt at a disadvantage because those activities were listed and her s were not, but those are just common ones they cannot list all options, She had also been a dance teacher, swim teacher and life guard. Not only can you list those things on the application when it is available to you but they can also be great sources of examples of when you have been a leader in your interview.

Biggest piece of advice is visit a few college's ROTC departments Sooner than later! Great source of information and inspiration. I look forward to updates from you during your process.

And FYI, my DD did receive a 3 year last year and is currently an MS1.
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Thank you that answers a lot of questions I had about stuff like that and it's good to know that experience will count for something. I also plan on visiting many rotc departments particularly vmi and Virginia tech to
 
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