AROTC Scholarship and Gap Year
- Thread starter kps90
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I'm pretty sure he would lose the scholarship and need to re-apply for next year. I'm sure @Montana State Army ROTC or @clarksonarmy can give you a definitive answer. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of:
1. The expectation of the awardee reporting in the fall semester
2. How many new officers they need for the year he is expected to commission.
Since your son would not commission the year he is expected to, and will not be reporting in the fall, I think he would lose the scholarship on that basis.
However, all that being said, these are strange times; so perhaps there is a possibility of retaining the scholarship.
1. The expectation of the awardee reporting in the fall semester
2. How many new officers they need for the year he is expected to commission.
Since your son would not commission the year he is expected to, and will not be reporting in the fall, I think he would lose the scholarship on that basis.
However, all that being said, these are strange times; so perhaps there is a possibility of retaining the scholarship.
I'll give you the experience of my DS with a couple of caveats. This information is dated and would not necessarily apply even if there were no pandemic.
He was allowed to defer his scholarship for a gap year. This was his situation:
-Excellent stats
-Major was engineering
-Had full support of the school
-Spent gap year on Rotary Exchange Scholarship in Taiwan, living in a Chinese only environment. When he returned, he tested out of all Chinese language classes at his Big 10 U.
-At the end of the day, the Army got something out of it--a blonde-haired blue-eyed Chinese speaker that cost them zero to language train.
Before even considering what the Army thinks about it, you and your DS need to think about why it would be right/wrong for you. A year of seasoning and maturing can be very worthwhile. I am a huge supporter of the gap year under two conditions:
-There is a hard, fixed plan in place to execute at the end of it.
-There should be a reason and purpose behind the gap year which makes one, in some quantifiable way, a smarter, more mature, more experienced college freshman and first year Cadet/Mid. Taking a break, finding yourself, "doing something interesting", working a minimum wage job, paying to do good works in an African country are not compelling reasons or purposes.
Having said all that, Covid-19 and the prospect of online classes changes the calculus immensely. Maybe the bar doesn't need to be set so high in justifying the gap year. I can see why it makes sense in a year like this and I sympathize with what your DS is facing. Unfortunately, what makes heading off to college in the current lockdown is what limits the number of worthwhile alternatives.
As far as the likelihood of getting the deferral, I haven't a clue. It would be interesting to know how the powers that be are viewing this. One assumes that more candidates will be asking for deferrals which would change the flow of candidates into the pipeline, which in turn would have a number of knock on effects.
Remain positive and best of luck!
He was allowed to defer his scholarship for a gap year. This was his situation:
-Excellent stats
-Major was engineering
-Had full support of the school
-Spent gap year on Rotary Exchange Scholarship in Taiwan, living in a Chinese only environment. When he returned, he tested out of all Chinese language classes at his Big 10 U.
-At the end of the day, the Army got something out of it--a blonde-haired blue-eyed Chinese speaker that cost them zero to language train.
Before even considering what the Army thinks about it, you and your DS need to think about why it would be right/wrong for you. A year of seasoning and maturing can be very worthwhile. I am a huge supporter of the gap year under two conditions:
-There is a hard, fixed plan in place to execute at the end of it.
-There should be a reason and purpose behind the gap year which makes one, in some quantifiable way, a smarter, more mature, more experienced college freshman and first year Cadet/Mid. Taking a break, finding yourself, "doing something interesting", working a minimum wage job, paying to do good works in an African country are not compelling reasons or purposes.
Having said all that, Covid-19 and the prospect of online classes changes the calculus immensely. Maybe the bar doesn't need to be set so high in justifying the gap year. I can see why it makes sense in a year like this and I sympathize with what your DS is facing. Unfortunately, what makes heading off to college in the current lockdown is what limits the number of worthwhile alternatives.
As far as the likelihood of getting the deferral, I haven't a clue. It would be interesting to know how the powers that be are viewing this. One assumes that more candidates will be asking for deferrals which would change the flow of candidates into the pipeline, which in turn would have a number of knock on effects.
Remain positive and best of luck!
@kinnem posted while I was typing. He is spot on (as usual) about @Montana State Army ROTC and @clarksonarmy .
Montana State Army ROTC
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I don’t believe a gap year before arriving on campus will rise to the level of postponement of your scholarship. Money is allocated by Fiscal Year and this would move it around. Once in campus you can do a leave of absence But there are only a few reasons for it- medical, or some other thing requiring you to take off (Mormon mission type of thing). If
you are not contracted then you can do what you want. But if you have a scholarship pending its gotta start on time unless there is a good reason.
you are not contracted then you can do what you want. But if you have a scholarship pending its gotta start on time unless there is a good reason.