AROTC room and board vs tuition for scholarship payment

[Blackhawkgirl5]

My daughter earned a 4 year national scholarship and we are being told that the Army will only pay $5000 towards room and board if we choose to have her scholarship applied to room and board instead of tuition. Have any of you had this experience?

 

[AROTC-dad]

You are being given correct information. Army ROTC allows $5,000 per semester up to $10,000 per academic year. Please note that using AROTC scholarship for room and board makes it taxable in the eyes of the IRS.

Generally speaking, it is a better deal to use the AROTC scholarship toward tuition and fees because it is not capped.

Sources:
Room and Board https://armyrotc.gatech.edu/faq
Taxation by the IRS: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc421

 

[NJROTC-CC]

Generally speaking, it is a better deal to use the AROTC scholarship toward tuition and fees because it is not capped.

That is often true. However, every case is different. If the student is going to a state school with in-state tuition, it could be that it is a better deal to take the room and board. In our case, we have a pre-paid college plan that will cover most of in-state tuition and can also be used out of state (in which case the pre-paid plan would not go as far because the tuition would be higher.) For us, for in-state, room and board might be better. You just need to do the math and see what works out best for your situation. If you are smart enough to win the scholarship, figuring this out should be easy for you. LOL!

 

[AROTC Parent]

OP - sorry your benefit is limited.

The Room and Board benefit should be reviewed and considered for increase or a change to the benefit calculation by Cadet Command. Room and Board costs have increased dramatically across the nation. They should go back to the benefit value of a traditional double (by school) plus a full meal plan cost. The use of this benefit is still less expensive to the government than full tuition at many schools. Those with non ROTC scholarships paying full tuition should be granted the cost of housing and food rather than a flat rate - or housing and food cost not less than 5K per semester if Room and Board is less than 5K per semester. Another option is to tie the benefit to BAH for the school Zip Code.

Cost of living varies so drastically across the US and even per zip code in the US this benefit should change. If a high performing scholarship recipient is willing to commit to serve for the cost of Room and Board rather than tuition cost at any school in the US I think that's a great benefit to the Army.

 

[NJROTC-CC]

By the way. Lest anyone get confused. The original post was about AROTC. Navy is different. I have been advised directly by the NROTC Candidate Guidance Office, Naval Service Training Command/OD2 in Pensacola that "The NROTC scholarship does not pay for room and board under any circumstance." So, even if you have a scholarship from another source or, as in our case, a state pre-paid tuition plan, you cannot use the Navy ROTC scholarship to pay for room and board. In our case, if DS were to receive a NROTC scholarship to a state school, we would be able to use the prepaid tuition plan (a 529 plan) to pay for room and board.

 

[Herman_Snerd]

All good posts above, but it's important to point out a couple of additional details here. While it is factual that "The NROTC scholarship does not pay for room and board under any circumstance." Just for future candidates fyi, there are in-fact some universities who offer full Room and Board support to AROTC, NROTC, and AFROTC scholarship winners, in addition to the academic, book stipend, fees, and monthly stipend scholarship from the service branch.

Also, there are some schools who will let you apply the additional scholarships for room and board, and others as posted above, some schools will not. My DS's school will let you use scholarships for room and board, and if those scholarships don't cover room and board, the unit will cover the rest. For Army and Navy, no scholarship student will pay for room and board there - period. For Air force, I didn't confirm as I knew by then that his other scholarships would cover the room and board.

My DS currently receives a free room (shared/ double) and a 14 meal per week plan - we upped that to a 21 meal plan at our own expense, by choice. If he moves off campus in a couple of years, they will actually hand him a check to cover what would have been room and board and the basic meal plan costs.

And he can keep scholarship moneys up to the "total cost of attendance" number which includes tuition, fees, anticipated travel costs, books, etc. Meaning yes, he will actually get a check at the end of the year for the difference. There are other schools, like Penn State for example, that do not offer scholarship support for room and board specifically for ROTC scholarship winners. Please see the room and board section of this forum for details. Also look at the ROTC sites of each branch like the AF one listed below, and lastly/ as always, confirm the current details with the school's unit, as things do change.

I recommend doing your full due diligence - it's unfortunate that some ROTC students get handed for example a 14k x 4 = 56,000.00 bill for room/board to finish school, while others actually get not only free room and board, but paid, each year. But this is surmountable - learn the options and if this matters to you like it does for most of us, then choose your schools to apply to and go to, accordingly.

Hope this helps.

https://www.afrotc.com/search?term=room and board

https://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php?threads/afrotc-free-room-and-board-schools.57614/

 

[Herman_Snerd]

Quick search - these costs including my grad school alma mater there at the top of the list, are bananas! Future scholarship winners, pick a school that doesn't ZAP you with a bill for room and board if you can!

Colleges With The Most Expensive Room and Board Fees

School Name

Room and Board (per year)

New York University

$17,664

Harvey Mudd College

$17,592

New York Institute of Technology

$17,086

California State University - Channel Islands

$16,954

Smith College

$16,730

St John's University - New York

$16,640

Scripps College

$16,294

Pitzer College

$16,264

Claremont McKenna College

$16,220

Pomona College

$16,150

 

[justdoit19]

Quick search - these costs including my grad school alma mater there at the top of the list, are bananas! Future scholarship winners, pick a school that doesn't ZAP you with a bill for room and board if you can!

Colleges With The Most Expensive Room and Board Fees

School Name

Room and Board (per year)

New York University

$17,664

Harvey Mudd College

$17,592

New York Institute of Technology

$17,086

California State University - Channel Islands

$16,954

Smith College

$16,730

St John's University - New York

$16,640

Scripps College

$16,294

Pitzer College

$16,264

Claremont McKenna College

$16,220

Pomona College

$16,150

Geeeeze! Back in my day, I cash flowed my education. It’s so unbelievable how expensive it is anymore. And this is just a small shared dorm room and french fries for 9 months.

My oldest two went (are) to state U. We bought a nice townhome, they each live (ed) there with 3 roommates and the mortgage is paid via rents. Best decision we ever made. Will sell it for at least what we bought it for.

Yes, there are lists I’ve seen of colleges that provide the room and board to supplement the scholarship. Why wouldn’t a student select one of those schools? But that’s the college....not the rotc program benefits.

 

[Overwhelmed]

All of this can be so confusing.

In DS's case, he chose the most expensive option paying room and board with a four year ROTC scholarship.

However, simultaneously his choice is also the least expensive option if can't fulfill his ROTC scholarship requirements.

 

[nature boy]

All good posts above, but it's important to point out a couple of additional details here. While it is factual that "The NROTC scholarship does not pay for room and board under any circumstance." Just for future candidates fyi, there are in-fact some universities who offer full Room and Board support to AROTC, NROTC, and AFROTC scholarship winners, in addition to the academic, book stipend, fees, and monthly stipend scholarship from the service branch.

Also, there are some schools who will let you apply the additional scholarships for room and board, and others as posted above, some schools will not. My DS's school will let you use scholarships for room and board, and if those scholarships don't cover room and board, the unit will cover the rest. For Army and Navy, no scholarship student will pay for room and board there - period. For Air force, I didn't confirm as I knew by then that his other scholarships would cover the room and board.

My DS currently receives a free room (shared/ double) and a 14 meal per week plan - we upped that to a 21 meal plan at our own expense, by choice. If he moves off campus in a couple of years, they will actually hand him a check to cover what would have been room and board and the basic meal plan costs.

And he can keep scholarship moneys up to the "total cost of attendance" number which includes tuition, fees, anticipated travel costs, books, etc. Meaning yes, he will actually get a check at the end of the year for the difference. There are other schools, like Penn State for example, that do not offer scholarship support for room and board specifically for ROTC scholarship winners. Please see the room and board section of this forum for details. Also look at the ROTC sites of each branch like the AF one listed below, and lastly/ as always, confirm the current details with the school's unit, as things do change.

I recommend doing your full due diligence - it's unfortunate that some ROTC students get handed for example a 14k x 4 = 56,000.00 bill for room/board to finish school, while others actually get not only free room and board, but paid, each year. But this is surmountable - learn the options and if this matters to you like it does for most of us, then choose your schools to apply to and go to, accordingly.

Hope this helps.

https://www.afrotc.com/search?term=room and board

https://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php?threads/afrotc-free-room-and-board-schools.57614/

I know this is an old post, but know you're still active on the boards. I am a 3 year campus based scholarship with the Army; my University covers room and board for all 4 years, if we were selected prior to setting foot on campus, which is my situation. I am now a sophomore and I just noticed that there's a $7,000 credit sitting in my balance for this semester. I talked with some of the other guys that are upper classman who received the same scholarship I did, as well as grant/merit aid for the school which is constant all 4 years. And they said this extra money is refunded to us and we're free to use it however we like, but they don't release the funds to us, until the semester ends. In your son's case is this refunded money taxable? I asked the guys and they told me no, they don't put it on their taxes, because it doesn't show up anywhere on the 1098-T. But I have read other places that the room and board portion is taxable and as such I did pay taxes on it last year and now just trying to plan ahead if I'll need to pay taxes on this 14k a year, plus the 16k a year room and board?

 

[Herman_Snerd]

I know this is an old post, but know you're still active on the boards. I am a 3 year campus based scholarship with the Army; my University covers room and board for all 4 years, if we were selected prior to setting foot on campus, which is my situation. I am now a sophomore and I just noticed that there's a $7,000 credit sitting in my balance for this semester. I talked with some of the other guys that are upper classman who received the same scholarship I did, as well as grant/merit aid for the school which is constant all 4 years. And they said this extra money is refunded to us and we're free to use it however we like, but they don't release the funds to us, until the semester ends. In your son's case is this refunded money taxable? I asked the guys and they told me no, they don't put it on their taxes, because it doesn't show up anywhere on the 1098-T. But I have read other places that the room and board portion is taxable and as such I did pay taxes on it last year and now just trying to plan ahead if I'll need to pay taxes on this 14k a year, plus the 16k a year room and board?

I am out of my depth to give tax advice other than the general guidance that moneys applied directly to room and board are taxable per the IRS. If you receive the room and board money directly, to be used for rent and food or other, do you have to report it? what about for moneys from perhaps financial or merit aid overages, up to the cost of attendance that you receive directly from your school, do you have to report that, and how? Apologies - I do not know - I would consult a tax professional or perhaps someone else can assist. Good luck.

 

[kinnem]

Agree with checking with a tax consultant. I strongly suspect that in addition to taxing room and board, overages are also taxable. The IRS will be intent on getting theirs.