Army ROTC Questions

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Mom79Texas

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My daughter is graduating a year early from high school. She seems to have everything people are posting is needed for the ARMY ROTC scholarship except one biggie, her ACT score.
Her GPA unweighted is 3.9, she's number 20/542 (graduating one year early) was number 1 or 2 on varsity tennis, National Honor Society, HOSA, a member of the Student Council Presidency, National Art Society, lettered in cheer-leading.
She is a SLOW test taker and after multiple private tutoring sessions she can't get her ACT above a 21. Is it possible for her to still get a scholarship if she interviews well? Will they take any consideration to the fact she graduated a year early and was strong in the other areas?
 
The ACT score meets the minimums but it is not competitive. That is not to say she cannot win a scholarship. The whole person is taken into account, including early graduation and strength in other areas.

That being said, the SAT/ACT scores are probably the best indicator of one's success at college and improving that score will have a lot to do with what colleges she can get accepted into, unless there is some deal in your state that a GPA of x requires admission into Big State U. So regardless of the scholarship it probably behooves her to increase that score. One alternative is to try the SAT. Some folks do better on one over the other. Another approach is a test prep course which often helps to speed one's test taking ability.

Retake the test(s), and apply for that scholarship. Good luck to your DD.
 
Thank you for your feedback. She can get into any state school in Texas because is in the top 4% of her class 20/542, it is automatic in Texas schools. We are going to continue to work on her speed, but between school, sports, work and school clubs...it's overwhelming.
 
You might also check out March to Success - the Army's website for help with Test prep. They have online tests, flash cards, etc. I believe it's free, too, by just signing up. Here's the website. https://www.march2success.com/main/index

She might also take the SAT as well. Some students do better on one or the other. SAT doesn't have the Science section either.
 
it is possible she could be tested so she can get extra time for the ACT or SAT. Only thing is she would need to drop those accommodations in college and have good grades without them for a semester to have the disability waived by dodmerb. May or may not be worth the time/risk
 
My DS was similar to your daughter. Tons of activities, great GPA, but lousy on the standardized tests like the SAT and ACT.

Four years ago, he was nominated to both USNA and USMA, but did not receive an appointment. He also applied for but did not receive a NROTC/Marine scholarship. He ended up going to his state school and enrolling in Army ROTC as a "walk-on" and earned a 3 year campus-based Army scholarship by the end of his first semester (later extended to 3.5 year).

He just commissioned last May as an active duty Army 2LT.
 
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rjb18 said:
it is possible she could be tested so she can get extra time for the ACT or SAT. Only thing is she would need to drop those accommodations in college and have good grades without them for a semester to have the disability waived by dodmerb. May or may not be worth the time/risk
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Yes, I've always suspected she had dyslexia, but then I'm told if she does and got accommodations, it would disqualify her for army!
 
One thing to keep in mind is that unlike the other ROTC programs, AROTC Superscores the ACT and SAT. They will take the highest score from each section to arrive at a final score. Sounds like she has taken the ACT multiple times, has she determined what her superscore is from those multiple tests?
 
Mom79Texas said:
Thank you for your feedback. She can get into any state school in Texas because is in the top 4% of her class 20/542, it is automatic in Texas schools. We are going to continue to work on her speed, but between school, sports, work and school clubs...it's overwhelming.
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If she gets into Univ of Texas (Austin) that would be pretty sweet and they do have army Rotc there (assuming that is what she wants)
 
Mom79Texas said:
rjb18 said:
it is possible she could be tested so she can get extra time for the ACT or SAT. Only thing is she would need to drop those accommodations in college and have good grades without them for a semester to have the disability waived by dodmerb. May or may not be worth the time/risk
Click to expand...
Yes, I've always suspected she had dyslexia, but then I'm told if she does and got accommodations, it would disqualify her for army!
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Well 1, being in the army with dyslexia would be tough, especially when dealing with coordinates and other reading and writing that is important in the field. 2) if she gets tested and it turns out to be a mild form of ADD or ADHD instead, waivers can be put in place after using that extra time for the ACT as long as she is successful in college without it. I got a waiver for my extra time but only because it was mild and I didn't need medication. I had to get rid of my extra time to eventually be qualified.
 
It is usually a slow and painful process to get waivers for this but the extra time could get her a better Standard Test score and make her more competitive
 
Mom79Texas said:
rjb18 said:
it is possible she could be tested so she can get extra time for the ACT or SAT. Only thing is she would need to drop those accommodations in college and have good grades without them for a semester to have the disability waived by dodmerb. May or may not be worth the time/risk
Click to expand...
Yes, I've always suspected she had dyslexia, but then I'm told if she does and got accommodations, it would disqualify her for army!
Click to expand...
That is true
 
Mom79Texas said:
My daughter is graduating a year early from high school. She seems to have everything people are posting is needed for the ARMY ROTC scholarship except one biggie, her ACT score.
Her GPA unweighted is 3.9, she's number 20/542 (graduating one year early) was number 1 or 2 on varsity tennis, National Honor Society, HOSA, a member of the Student Council Presidency, National Art Society, lettered in cheer-leading.
She is a SLOW test taker and after multiple private tutoring sessions she can't get her ACT above a 21. Is it possible for her to still get a scholarship if she interviews well? Will they take any consideration to the fact she graduated a year early and was strong in the other areas?
Click to expand...
I wrote a post recently on the importance of the ACT/SAT to the overall selection of these scholarships. You can access this post here:

https://www.serviceacademyforums.co...olarship-selection-process.67748/#post-681830
 
Daughter had a similar path. 3rd ACT try she had a 22. Her issue, she couldn’t finish the test in time (SAT was worse). Not finishing the ACT she couldn’t increase her score to get the minimum 24 for full points on the interview. The advice she got was to retake the test again and apply for the second board. When you have enough posts to message me I can share the program she used that made a huge difference and her final setting she got a 25 and a superscore of 26.
 
Dckc88 said:
Daughter had a similar path. 3rd ACT try she had a 22. Her issue, she couldn’t finish the test in time (SAT was worse). Not finishing the ACT she couldn’t increase her score to get the minimum 24 for full points on the interview. The advice she got was to retake the test again and apply for the second board. When you have enough posts to message me I can share the program she used that made a huge difference and her final setting she got a 25 and a superscore of 26.
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Thank you! I'd appreciate that information!
 
Honestly, your daughter and yourself need to make a decision regarding accomdations and the ACT/SAT. Assuming there is even time to qualify for accomadation, you need to decide if going with a pure 21 ACT score is worth it because not only will that score hurt her chances of getting into an scholarship but it will also hurt her chances with civilian schools outside of Texas. My non military son has learning issues and went to a school that specialized with kids learnings issues. He got acccomodations all around including the ACT. He did have a 3.8 GPA with a 21 ACT score. However, he got every accomdation you can receive including extra time when he took the ACT test. Even with his high GPA score, he still had a lot of difficulty getting into a college with a low acceptance rate. The biggest difference is that your daughter was tops in her class so at the very least it shows that she is competitive (at least at her high school). To me she is taking a gamble because if she doesnt get the scholarship, she is going to have a harder time getting into a non Texas school. On other hand if gets accomodations for the ACT and scores higher, it will give her more choices. I am not saying this is what she should do, but you should consider the consequences of what trying to get a scholarship will do do her other choices. As for getting accomodations, my son had to be evaluated by a neuro psychologist when he was in third grade and later re evaluated at 17 in order to receive the ACT accomodations. In other words, it isnt a five minute deal
 
Humey said:
Honestly, your daughter and yourself need to make a decision regarding accomdations and the ACT/SAT. Assuming there is even time to qualify for accomadation, you need to decide if going with a pure 21 ACT score is worth it because not only will that score hurt her chances of getting into an scholarship but it will also hurt her chances with civilian schools outside of Texas. My non military son has learning issues and went to a school that specialized with kids learnings issues. He got acccomodations all around including the ACT. He did have a 3.8 GPA with a 21 ACT score. However, he got every accomdation you can receive including extra time when he took the ACT test. Even with his high GPA score, he still had a lot of difficulty getting into a college with a low acceptance rate. The biggest difference is that your daughter was tops in her class so at the very least it shows that she is competitive (at least at her high school). To me she is taking a gamble because if she doesnt get the scholarship, she is going to have a harder time getting into a non Texas school. On other hand if gets accomodations for the ACT and scores higher, it will give her more choices. I am not saying this is what she should do, but you should consider the consequences of what trying to get a scholarship will do do her other choices. As for getting accomodations, my son had to be evaluated by a neuro psychologist when he was in third grade and later re evaluated at 17 in order to receive the ACT accomodations. In other words, it isnt a five minute deal
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She’s already been
 
She’s already been accepted to her first pick for college as a nursing major. Now she’s hoping to get into the army ROTC nursing program.
 
Dckc88 said:
Daughter had a similar path. 3rd ACT try she had a 22. Her issue, she couldn’t finish the test in time (SAT was worse). Not finishing the ACT she couldn’t increase her score to get the minimum 24 for full points on the interview. The advice she got was to retake the test again and apply for the second board. When you have enough posts to message me I can share the program she used that made a huge difference and her final setting she got a 25 and a superscore of 26.
Click to expand...
Did she end up getting into the ROTC w a scholarship?
 
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