AROTC scholarship accepted...what's next?

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FrauTeufelshund

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DS received a 4 year national Army ROTC scholarship at last October and uploaded his acceptance letter shortly after. He's been accepted to the U and paid the deposit.
I see all the SA appointees filling out a ton of forms to prepare for their R-days, I-days, etc. Do all those formalities that need attention for ROTC come from his cadre at the university? Or are the same nationwide and on the ROTC portal?
 
FrauTeufelshund said:
DS received a 4 year national Army ROTC scholarship at last October and uploaded his acceptance letter shortly after. He's been accepted to the U and paid the deposit.
I see all the SA appointees filling out a ton of forms to prepare for their R-days, I-days, etc. Do all those formalities that need attention for ROTC come from his cadre at the university? Or are the same nationwide and on the ROTC portal?
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The SA appointee and ROTC incoming have different To Do lists. The SA folks are being inducted into active duty, for which admin requirements abound. @Montana State Army ROTC has given the usual succinct advice.
 
Your DS's unit will provide him with the forms and info he needs to know, including when he is to report to his university, and what to bring for ROTC.
 
FYI, for my DD in 2016, the ROTC unit didnt send her anything until mid summer, and it was an email telling her when to show up for Orientation and she would have to move into dorms a week early. She received all paperwork during orientation. Every school is different and they will let him know. Good to keep in contact with the ROTC ROO or cadre. You didn’t mention if he has reached out to them yet or been in contact with them? If not good time to before they break from this school year then do everything Montana State says to do.
 
DS has been in contact with the cadre, they said more info on everything will come in July. I am just a little jumpy because there are too many moving parts, all who do not seem to be communicating with each other yet. Financial Aid has not received word from ROTC, thus neither tuition or room and board scholarship from the U are reflected in the package yet. (Meanwhile he is supposed to pick housing/meal plan/ roommate but all we have is one email from last fall from the LT (who meanwhile retired) stating he will receive R and B from the university). Financial aid listed his merit scholarships and when I asked how those work with the ROTC scholarship, they said their calculation will be adjusted when they receive word from ROTC. Also to complicate things more, I am an employee at the university and one of the perks of being an employee is a 50 to 75 percent reduction in tuition for dependents. I think we are in a good place in terms of having the big parts of the cost covered and I probably just need to let the bureaucracy just do it's thing but at $35K a year, I just don't want any unexpected surprises (and have him end up a commuter because something went wrong).

Thanks for all the advice so far! Going to look into good boots soon!
 
FrauTeufelshund said:
DS has been in contact with the cadre, they said more info on everything will come in July. I am just a little jumpy because there are too many moving parts, all who do not seem to be communicating with each other yet. Financial Aid has not received word from ROTC, thus neither tuition or room and board scholarship from the U are reflected in the package yet. (Meanwhile he is supposed to pick housing/meal plan/ roommate but all we have is one email from last fall from the LT (who meanwhile retired) stating he will receive R and B from the university). Financial aid listed his merit scholarships and when I asked how those work with the ROTC scholarship, they said their calculation will be adjusted when they receive word from ROTC. Also to complicate things more, I am an employee at the university and one of the perks of being an employee is a 50 to 75 percent reduction in tuition for dependents. I think we are in a good place in terms of having the big parts of the cost covered and I probably just need to let the bureaucracy just do it's thing but at $35K a year, I just don't want any unexpected surprises (and have him end up a commuter because something went wrong).

Thanks for all the advice so far! Going to look into good boots soon!
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One thing, that DS was succinctly (haha) told regarding the financial aid of his scholarship when he emailed, inquiring why it wasn’t showing in his financial aid piece with the school, is that he ‘had an offer of a scholarship. It isnt EARNED until SUCCESSFUL completion of NSI (navy, but probably same concept)’.
 
FrauTeufelshund said:
DS has been in contact with the cadre, they said more info on everything will come in July. I am just a little jumpy because there are too many moving parts, all who do not seem to be communicating with each other yet. Financial Aid has not received word from ROTC, thus neither tuition or room and board scholarship from the U are reflected in the package yet. (Meanwhile he is supposed to pick housing/meal plan/ roommate but all we have is one email from last fall from the LT (who meanwhile retired) stating he will receive R and B from the university). Financial aid listed his merit scholarships and when I asked how those work with the ROTC scholarship, they said their calculation will be adjusted when they receive word from ROTC. Also to complicate things more, I am an employee at the university and one of the perks of being an employee is a 50 to 75 percent reduction in tuition for dependents. I think we are in a good place in terms of having the big parts of the cost covered and I probably just need to let the bureaucracy just do it's thing but at $35K a year, I just don't want any unexpected surprises (and have him end up a commuter because something went wrong).

Thanks for all the advice so far! Going to look into good boots soon!
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Just remember the best advice about being in the military or (OMG never thought this day would come) someday soon a proud parent of a Army officer (god willing).

Hurry up and wait!

But I am with you. We have had to make several calls to my son's university admission office. He was suppose to pick a roommate but didn't know any of the kid names from ROTC or Golf. Meal plan but no idea on tournament schedule for the team. First semester trips for ROTC.

He signed his NLI to play golf but that money wasn't in his balance yet.

I feel very lucky though that he is in the situation he is and we are only talking these situations and he lobs emails to his counselor constantly.
 
FrauTeufelshund said:
DS has been in contact with the cadre, they said more info on everything will come in July. I am just a little jumpy because there are too many moving parts, all who do not seem to be communicating with each other yet. Financial Aid has not received word from ROTC, thus neither tuition or room and board scholarship from the U are reflected in the package yet. (Meanwhile he is supposed to pick housing/meal plan/ roommate but all we have is one email from last fall from the LT (who meanwhile retired) stating he will receive R and B from the university). Financial aid listed his merit scholarships and when I asked how those work with the ROTC scholarship, they said their calculation will be adjusted when they receive word from ROTC. Also to complicate things more, I am an employee at the university and one of the perks of being an employee is a 50 to 75 percent reduction in tuition for dependents. I think we are in a good place in terms of having the big parts of the cost covered and I probably just need to let the bureaucracy just do it's thing but at $35K a year, I just don't want any unexpected surprises (and have him end up a commuter because something went wrong).

Thanks for all the advice so far! Going to look into good boots soon!
Click to expand...
I remember this all too well, your feelings are normal, but rest assured, what you are witnessing is totally normal! I realize every university is different, however, my DD ROTC scholarship did not show up until she passed her PFT. She was a 3 year, so we knew the tuition was on us and her academic scholarships, however, her university covers room and board for all scholarship recipients, even 3 year AD. It showed as a charge, until she passed the PFT then they covered it. Her ROTC did not inform Financial Aid of who was in ROTC until after they arrived, did their paperwork and passed the PFT, this coincided with school starting so she had already moved on campus prior to anything showing up in her financial aid package.

One thing I did that helped a lot was I got in touch with the financial aid officer, my DD gave me permission in her portal, and I talked through things with him. He handled all ROTC kiddos, Army and AF, so he was able to tell me "this is how it works" and then my normal anxieties were put to rest. This might be your first rodeo but it isn't theirs, so getting all the info will help put those fears to rest. I want to clarify, other than the financial aid counselor, my DD did all other communications, especially with her cadre and academically, that was the only place that had direct involvement in her 4 years in college. It sounds like you might already have talked to them, rest in what they told you. They can fix it retroactively, and it is pretty standard if it is ROTC related they will reverse any late fees that are incurred. We had the hurry up and wait every semester. Once she activated her scholarship she had to enter info into a portal to get payment, that had to get approved by the AROTC and then set for payment. Sometimes this didn't happen until more than a month after the semester started. Financial aid department never blinked, they expected it and it was always no problem. However by that time, FA knew she was ROTC and had the estimate in her portal, just pending. It was just that first semester that nothing showed up until after she showed up.
 
Dckc88 said:
One thing I did that helped a lot was I got in touch with the financial aid officer, my DD gave me permission in her portal, and I talked through things with him. He handled all ROTC kiddos, Army and AF, so he was able to tell me "this is how it works" and then my normal anxieties were put to rest. This might be your first rodeo but it isn't theirs, so getting all the info will help put those fears to rest.
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Agreed. BLUF: Get to know one of the senior FA staff as soon as you can, and keep going back to that source for all things financial.

The Financial Aid people are your best friend. They know how everything works, they're in touch with all the relevant parties, and they're in my experience patient, courteous and unfailingly helpful.
 
Dckc88 said:
I remember this all too well, your feelings are normal, but rest assured, what you are witnessing is totally normal! I realize every university is different, however, my DD ROTC scholarship did not show up until she passed her PFT. She was a 3 year, so we knew the tuition was on us and her academic scholarships, however, her university covers room and board for all scholarship recipients, even 3 year AD. It showed as a charge, until she passed the PFT then they covered it. Her ROTC did not inform Financial Aid of who was in ROTC until after they arrived, did their paperwork and passed the PFT, this coincided with school starting so she had already moved on campus prior to anything showing up in her financial aid package.

One thing I did that helped a lot was I got in touch with the financial aid officer, my DD gave me permission in her portal, and I talked through things with him. He handled all ROTC kiddos, Army and AF, so he was able to tell me "this is how it works" and then my normal anxieties were put to rest. This might be your first rodeo but it isn't theirs, so getting all the info will help put those fears to rest. I want to clarify, other than the financial aid counselor, my DD did all other communications, especially with her cadre and academically, that was the only place that had direct involvement in her 4 years in college. It sounds like you might already have talked to them, rest in what they told you. They can fix it retroactively, and it is pretty standard if it is ROTC related they will reverse any late fees that are incurred. We had the hurry up and wait every semester. Once she activated her scholarship she had to enter info into a portal to get payment, that had to get approved by the AROTC and then set for payment. Sometimes this didn't happen until more than a month after the semester started. Financial aid department never blinked, they expected it and it was always no problem. However by that time, FA knew she was ROTC and had the estimate in her portal, just pending. It was just that first semester that nothing showed up until after she showed up.
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Thank you so much for this. I am a worrier and like to have everything in black and white and upfront. I am going to have to learn how to hurry up and wait! I will talk to the FA office in more detail soon! Thanks!
 
FrauTeufelshund said:
Thank you so much for this. I am a worrier and like to have everything in black and white and upfront. I am going to have to learn how to hurry up and wait! I will talk to the FA office in more detail soon! Thanks!
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If you are a mom (I'm a dad) I told my boys. Your Mom will worry until her last breathe on this earth about you. Its OK!

If you didn't worry they should be worried. ;-)
 
TBVADAD said:
If you are a mom (I'm a dad) I told my boys. Your Mom will worry until her last breathe on this earth about you. Its OK!

If you didn't worry they should be worried. ;-)
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My son is currently 5 hours away buying a rust bucket truck and I am micromanaging from afar texting him Kelly Blue Book estimates so he doesn't get ripped off. (And he still got kind of ripped off, but now owns a truck). Not only do I have to learn to hurry up and wait but I have to cut the cord. And refrain from calling the seller and telling him off!
 
We called the school bursars office and they were very helpful and very familiar with the AROTC program. They put a note in the account saying that my son had received a scholarship (so we didn’t get any late fees) and told us to have him register for housing and meal plan and don’t worry about paying the bill. I received additional billing after that with a large balance due, but didn’t pay and it was all eventually resolved without any further action by us.
 
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