ARMY ROTC Scholarships

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USMAROTCFamily

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If a student gets an Army ROTC scholarship and is given several school options to select from, must they select the school when they accept the scholarship? They only have about 30 days to accept the scholarship after being awarded it, correct? If this is the case, there can be some very difficult decision when many admissions decisions won't come in, potentially, until well after the 1st and 2nd scholarship boards. Obviously, students should only be listing schools on the scholarship application that believe they are likely to get into, but some with some of the highly selective colleges, it can be a real crap shoot if you'll get in, even if your stats/profile indicate you would be a good match. I've read previous threads about people accepting scholarships and then being denied admissions and then trying to scramble to get the scholarship transferred to a school where they were accepted. How often does this situation occur? I understand from a budget standpoint that you would be more likely to transfer a scholarship awarded to a high-cost private school to another, as well, but is this extremely difficult to do?
 
USMAROTCFamily said:
If a student gets an Army ROTC scholarship and is given several school options to select from, must they select the school when they accept the scholarship? They only have about 30 days to accept the scholarship after being awarded it, correct? If this is the case, there can be some very difficult decision when many admissions decisions won't come in, potentially, until well after the 1st and 2nd scholarship boards. Obviously, students should only be listing schools on the scholarship application that believe they are likely to get into, but some with some of the highly selective colleges, it can be a real crap shoot if you'll get in, even if your stats/profile indicate you would be a good match. I've read previous threads about people accepting scholarships and then being denied admissions and then trying to scramble to get the scholarship transferred to a school where they were accepted. How often does this situation occur? I understand from a budget standpoint that you would be more likely to transfer a scholarship awarded to a high-cost private school to another, as well, but is this extremely difficult to do?
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Yes, cadets get awarded and accept scholarships to schools were they are not accepted every year.

Yes, there is a mad scramble in April to transfer the scholarship to a school where the prospective cadet has been accepted. The most successful transfer occurs when the receiving BN also has similarly situated scholarship awardees.

The easiest scholarship transfers are within the BN (got scholarship to X school but got accepted at Y cross-town affiliate). This is handled by the PMS.

Trades within the brigade are the next easiest as scholarship budgets do exist at that level as well, so if there is a mad dash from 1 brigade to another, this creates problems.

The best advice is that if you absolutely need the scholarship to afford college, take the scholarship where you will certainly be accepted.

Other sage advice is that attending a "reach" school on top of ROTC and other EC type activities (necessary to keep a high OML position) puts AD chances at additional risk, as GPA is very important to OML which is the key to AD selection. In the upcoming years, Pentagon budgets will be slashed, AD slots will be reduced and the competition will only become more intense.

Uncle Sam doesn't treat a 3.7 from bi-directional state U any differently than one from over-the-top-hard-knox-school as far as OML goes. Go where the student will be successful academically and socially. Let someone else take that chance with their AD chances.
 
goaliedad said:
In the upcoming years, Pentagon budgets will be slashed, AD slots will be reduced and the competition will only become more intense.
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This is a very important point because many people assumed that the sequester was really only for last yr., but in fact if it stays in place, the DoD will have to reduce their budget by 10% every yr for 9 more yrs. Right now they have a projected budget of over 500 BN, but will have to reduce it down 10%. The plans are if this budget is not passed, the reduction will start in Jan. for FY14. It won't create as big of a problem like it did last yr., (cancelling airshows and non-essential TDYs), but it still will create a problem.

This is compounded with that many people are already forgetting about the risk of war since they are not being bombarded with nightly news regarding this issue, and the high cost of a college education makes a ROTC scholarship look very attractive. Plus, the longer our economy/employment remains with a low confidence the retention rate is still going to be high which means they may have to reduce troops, thus the competition will remain at a higher standard than a decade or more ago.
 
Follow up question... As the October board has been pushed back to an unnamed date, if college early admissions decisions come rolling in before the first arotc board decisions are made can college selection order be changed?
 
Vista123 said:
Follow up question... As the October board has been pushed back to an unnamed date, if college early admissions decisions come rolling in before the first arotc board decisions are made can college selection order be changed?
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I wondered about this, too. Does anybody know if the files have been reviewed by the PMSs yet for them to make their "4 year, 3 year or No" decisions before going to the National Board? After that has happened, is that the end of making changes to the school selections?
 
Do PMS's have a say in the type of scholarships suggested to be awarded to applicants? I know there's a box to input personal comments. I always thought it was more of either a yes/no, then CC looks at the PMS comments to factor into the type of scholarship awarded.
 
Thompson said:
Do PMS's have a say in the type of scholarships suggested to be awarded to applicants? I know there's a box to input personal comments. I always thought it was more of either a yes/no, then CC looks at the PMS comments to factor into the type of scholarship awarded.
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Not sure if it is still this way, considering all the recent changes from CC.

Each Battalion PMS has a form, they can check 3yr, 4yr, or not check anything for each applicant that listed their school on their application. Just one more reason it's a good idea to interview or at least visit the schools you would really like to attend.
 
Our son easily transferred his scholarship.

The best situation is to have all your applications in early to the schools you want and that way you can choose your favorite school right off the bat once you have received the scholarship.
 
What are my chances?

Hey! What are my chances of getting a 4 year AROTC scholarship or NROTC scholarship? I didn't make the first board but I improved my ACT and GPA!

GPA: 3.7 (Un-weighted)

ACT: 25 Composite

Class Rank: 64/330 (top 20%)

Course Type: All AP and Honors. Dual Enrollment Senior Yr w/ a 4.0 college GPA

Future Major: Biology

School of Intent: The Citadel (accepted)

Athletics: Three Varsity Letters in Track and Team Capt.; Varsity Letter in Cross Country and Team Capt; Black belt in Tae-Kwon-Do; Many athletic awards. All state for Tae-Kwon-Do

Leadership & Activities:
ROTC Corps of Cadets Commander
Club President
Student Government Treasurer
Service Club Member
Church Leader
Team Capt
Pool Manager
Boy's State Delegate
Beta Club
Drama Actor and Competition
Drill Team
Yearbook Photo Editor
ROTC Academic Bowl
Leadership Conference

Awards & Honors:
Presidential Volunteer Service Award (300+ Hours)
Three letters in Community Service
American Legion Scholastic ROTC Medal
SARS and DARS Medal
Letter in Academics

Had a good interview with the PMS.

Mile Time: 5:47
Crunches in Min: 49
Pushups in Min: 51

What are my chances? :confused:
 
lemlac said:
Our son easily transferred his scholarship.

The best situation is to have all your applications in early to the schools you want and that way you can choose your favorite school right off the bat once you have received the scholarship.
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Hello! I am scrolling through forums and I think you can help me, if you don't mind which school did your son transfer his scholarship to? And from where? I am very nervous and I need some feedback thanks so much
 
Transferring scholarships can be easy. The trick is to stay within the same brigade.
 
BAMA ROTC said:
Transferring scholarships can be easy. The trick is to stay within the same brigade.
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I am trying to transfer within the same brigade...! (First brigade) only problem is the school I'm trying to transfer to is about 5,000 dollars per year more than the one I have the scholarship at currently.. Will that hurt me?
 
That will depend on the bde. I have never seen money as a primary concern when transferring within a brigade.
 
In my BDE the very first step of a transfer is that the losing and gaining PMS agree to the transfer.

ETA: If you intend to transfer you should initiate contact with the ROO at the school the scholarship was awarded to.
 
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