AROTC Scholarship January Boards - Post if your status has changed

[1luckydad]

One option would be to trade in the 3 yr AD to a private college for a 4 yr scholarship to a public college. This is a viable option if there is an appealing public school within the same battalion.

Thanks for that response Marist ! In this case we have dependable info that his letter will include a 3yr to both his #1 school choice ($20,000 yr) and his #2 choice ($28,000). Both are in state public schools. Can we accept #2 and trade for #1 though it's on the list already? You're right though, 3yrs at #2 is equal in cost to 4yrs at #1 choice. Can our ROO make that case for us? I guess we accept #2 and then see if it can be traded later for #1 for 4yrs. ?!?!?

 

[ArmyRetired]

This 3yr year scholarship leaves us confused. Older son got 4yr and is doing fine. He told me today that SMP cadets in his battalion get more mo. $$$ assistance. Has all of us scratching our heads as to why younger son shouldn't go SMP route and forego the 3yr scholarship route. This "missing" yr. will cost $20,000. Why not the SMP route ? Wish someone could tell me.

The PMS and ROO at one of the schools we visited pushed the SMP route as the most favorable financially. He threw out a statistic on how many actually decided after getting a scholarship at his school to opt for the SMP instead but I don't recall what the number was. My son's Plan B is SMP. We know he was awarded a scholarship this go around, but not sure yet if it was a 3 year or 4 year. We are also not sure yet if there is more than one school. He has been fortunate in getting out of state tuition waived at one school and getting two additional scholarships at the university where he was selected for the ROTC Scholarship. He has a lot of decisions to make in the next 30 days.

 

[kinnem]

Not sure about agreeing or disagreeing on this. My son just received one of these 3 yr. scholarships. My older son received a 4 yr. and now is in his 2nd year of his scholarship. Have never heard anyone purposely using a 4yr year as a free-ride program. Cadets do wash out of the program generally for academic reasons.
This 3 yr award has us scrambling. It's too late now to apply for Fall scholarships, aid, etc.
The older son and other friends connected with the military are indicating the SMP program thru the National Guard may be better than the 3yr. In the process now of
investigating this route. Older son cadet says these SMP guys have no different ROTC status than those like him that have the 3 & 4 yr scholarships and they have secured much better financial help thru college.
I think these 3yr offers throws a big wrench into younger son's plan to become an Army Officer. Why wouldn't he want to go the SMP route as opposed to a 3yr scholarship? Saves us about $20,000 and younger son would prefer to do 9 wk basic training this next
summer anyway. Seems like a good deal to have ALL of 4 yrs of college AND more mo. money and be commissioned a 2nd Lt. just like the scholarship guys. Confused !!!

1. It's not too late to apply for aid. People are just filling out the FAFSA now. In fact you cannot complete the FAFSA without completing your 2012 tax return, so it virtually cannot be done any earlier than now.

2. Some school scholarships use the college application as the scholarship application. Is this the case in your situation? Is it possible that further scholarship funds which could be used freshman year might become available?

3. Research SMP thoroughly. Not saying its a bad idea but some of the money available can lock your son into the Guard, with Active Duty not being an option. If he's OK with that then it's possible it might be the better route depending on how much is available to cover tuition etc. Also, if he goes SMP but withdraws from ROTC his freshman year he is still obligated to fulfill his obligations. Finally, I don't think he can contract as an SMP until his sophomore year.

4, If your son shows up at ROTC prepared, knocks the PFA out of the park, and does well, it's possible that the unit might convert his scholarship to a 3.5 year. I've heard of plenty of folks who have done that in the past. Of course because of budget woes that might not be true this year.

I sympathize with your plight. Just be sure to do thorough research and look under every rock for money. If he is your second son in college there might be more federal aid available than you think. Also, there is no rush to decide. You can accept the scholarship now and decline it later. There is plenty of time to make an informed decision. Good luck!

 

[1luckydad]

The PMS and ROO at one of the schools we visited pushed the SMP route as the most favorable financially. He threw out a statistic on how many actually decided after getting a scholarship at his school to opt for the SMP instead but I don't recall what the number was. My son's Plan B is SMP. We know he was awarded a scholarship this go around, but not sure yet if it was a 3 year or 4 year. We are also not sure yet if there is more than one school. He has been fortunate in getting out of state tuition waived at one school and getting two additional scholarships at the university where he was selected for the ROTC Scholarship. He has a lot of decisions to make in the next 30 days.

Amen to that! Son was invited two weeks back to come to the college and shadow a cadet and attend that days ROTC class. Since the e-mail of scholarship award (and subsequent confusion) a friend who is an active Army
Col. (on injured leave from arm surgery) has offered to go with son to this and wade through son's options with the Cadre. Talk about luck. Certainly took him up on it as soon as he offered!

 

[dunninla]

T his #1 school choice ($20,000 yr) and his #2 choice ($28,000). Both are in state public schools. :

That is exhorbitant tuition for an in state student! Or are you including room and board, travel cost, misc. cost and books? ROTC only pays for tuition, or Room/Board, but not both. ROtC also gives a cadet $1,200 per year to cover books... the cadet doesn't have to spend it all... the cadet can keep the surplus.

 

[goaliedad]

Not sure about agreeing or disagreeing on this. My son just received one of these 3 yr. scholarships. My older son received a 4 yr. and now is in his 2nd year of his scholarship. Have never heard anyone purposely using a 4yr year as a free-ride program. Cadets do wash out of the program generally for academic reasons.
This 3 yr award has us scrambling. It's too late now to apply for Fall scholarships, aid, etc.
The older son and other friends connected with the military are indicating the SMP program thru the National Guard may be better than the 3yr. In the process now of
investigating this route. Older son cadet says these SMP guys have no different ROTC status than those like him that have the 3 & 4 yr scholarships and they have secured much better financial help thru college.
I think these 3yr offers throws a big wrench into younger son's plan to become an Army Officer. Why wouldn't he want to go the SMP route as opposed to a 3yr scholarship? Saves us about $20,000 and younger son would prefer to do 9 wk basic training this next
summer anyway. Seems like a good deal to have ALL of 4 yrs of college AND more mo. money and be commissioned a 2nd Lt. just like the scholarship guys. Confused !!!

You might want to double check you school FA deadline. FAFSA can still be filed. With 2 in college, you will likely qualify for Federal loans (if nothing else). Go over to a board called College Confidential and start doing a lot of reading.

One other reason that 3 year scholarships are a good idea is that often the ROTC scholarship is the only way a kid can afford X private college. The problem lies when the kid loves the school, but discovers ROTC is not necessarily what s/he thought it would be. This leaves a less than 100% committed cadet on the rolls. Not good for the cadet or the Army. And if s/he then can't stand it after 3 years and gets dis-enrolled, it gets worse.

You might want to ask the cadre at the school of choice how many of their cadets with 3-year scholarships are upgraded during their freshman year. I believe Marist likes to brag about how many of his cadets end up on scholarship. This tells me that even the privates have some money to throw at cadets who are really doing well.

 

[kinnem]

Amen to that! Son was invited two weeks back to come to the college and shadow a cadet and attend that days ROTC class. Since the e-mail of scholarship award (and subsequent confusion) a friend who is an active Army
Col. (on injured leave from arm surgery) has offered to go with son to this and wade through son's options with the Cadre. Talk about luck. Certainly took him up on it as soon as he offered!

If I were kicking money in on this I'd be going as well. YMMV.

 

[1luckydad]

If I were kicking money in on this I'd be going as well. YMMV.

This Col. went through the SMP program himself 26 yrs ago. and intrigued to get answers purely out of professional curiosity. He has a daughter he thinks will be going through this process in two years as well. Can't wait to get his feedback.
Even understanding son has a good chance of getting an additional 1/2 yr (a semester) scholarship from this, still leaves a $8000-$10000 tab for that 1st semester.

Just seems the 3yr. ought to be for the 1st 3 yrs. rather than the last 3. Cadet could save up stipend, summer job $$ etc to have enough for last yr. by then.

 

[1luckydad]

You might want to double check you school FA deadline. FAFSA can still be filed. With 2 in college, you will likely qualify for Federal loans (if nothing else). Go over to a board called College Confidential and start doing a lot of reading.

One other reason that 3 year scholarships are a good idea is that often the ROTC scholarship is the only way a kid can afford X private college. The problem lies when the kid loves the school, but discovers ROTC is not necessarily what s/he thought it would be. This leaves a less than 100% committed cadet on the rolls. Not good for the cadet or the Army. And if s/he then can't stand it after 3 years and gets dis-enrolled, it gets worse.

You might want to ask the cadre at the school of choice how many of their cadets with 3-year scholarships are upgraded during their freshman year. I believe Marist likes to brag about how many of his cadets end up on scholarship. This tells me that even the privates have some money to throw at cadets who are really doing well.

Older son is already in his 2nd year in the battalion and he told me today that this (the added semester of scholarship) is a common practice at his college.
But no Cadre is going to promise an added semester of college ....we all know that. So the Nat. Guard route vs the 3yr scholarship is the $20,000 question.

 

[Jcleppe]

Older son is already in his 2nd year in the battalion and he told me today that this (the added semester of scholarship) is a common practice at his college.
But no Cadre is going to promise an added semester of college ....we all know that. So the Nat. Guard route vs the 3yr scholarship is the $20,000 question.

You would need to find out if the NG in that state will pay that $20,000 Tuition. Some NG SMP programs have a limit for tuition.

I have to ask the same question Dunninla asked, is that 20K and 28K for instate tuition only for a public instate school. Those figures seem really high for instate publics, are you including Room and Board in those figures.

 

[Jcleppe]

Just seems the 3yr. ought to be for the 1st 3 yrs. rather than the last 3. Cadet could save up stipend, summer job $$ etc to have enough for last yr. by then.

Ask your older son about his battalion, but you might be surprised by how many cadets drop the first year, and how many 4 year scholarship cadets don't make it past the 1st year. The goal of CC is to cut down on the cost of tuition paid to those that drop after the first year.

 

[1luckydad]

Ask your older son about his battalion, but you might be surprised by how many cadets drop the first year, and how many 4 year scholarship cadets don't make it past the 1st year. The goal of CC is to cut down on the cost of tuition paid to those that drop after the first year.

Already have. He is the last one of three Engineering Majors left after 1 1/2 yrs!
4 of the original 15 didn't make it. I guess that's why I'm entertaining #2 son look at SMP. It appears that slots are readily available for them to become active Army 2nd Lt's

 

[1luckydad]

That is exhorbitant tuition for an in state student! Or are you including room and board, travel cost, misc. cost and books? ROTC only pays for tuition, or Room/Board, but not both. ROtC also gives a cadet $1,200 per year to cover books... the cadet doesn't have to spend it all... the cadet can keep the surplus.

Yes room and board (5 meals per week +200 food allowance) were included with tuition in older sons ROTC scholarship. Currently its $$9500 for tuition and $10,500 per year for dorm and "food plan".

 

[Jcleppe]

Already have. He is the last one of three Engineering Majors left after 1 1/2 yrs!
4 of the original 15 didn't make it. I guess that's why I'm entertaining #2 son look at SMP. It appears that slots are readily available for them to become active Army 2nd Lt's

Not sure what you mean about "slots readily available to become Active Duty 2LT's"

SMP does not give any advantage to make Active Duty, neither does being on scholarship. Getting AD depends on the cadets position on a National OML (Order of Merit List), getting a slot at the battalion level doesn't guarantee AD. The National OML include all cadets, Scholarship, Non Scholarship, and SMP. There is no distinction between them.

There are more cadets that want AD each year then there are AD slots available, it is getting competitive.

 

[Jcleppe]

Yes room and board (5 meals per week +200 food allowance) were included with tuition in older sons ROTC scholarship. Currently its $$9500 for tuition and $10,500 per year for dorm and "food plan".

You do realize that the scholarship only covers on or the other, not both tuition and room and board.

 

[1luckydad]

You would need to find out if the NG in that state will pay that $20,000 Tuition. Some NG SMP programs have a limit for tuition.

I have to ask the same question Dunninla asked, is that 20K and 28K for instate tuition only for a public instate school. Those figures seem really high for instate publics, are you including Room and Board in those figures.

Room (dorm) and "food plan" (5 meals per wk and $200 food debit card) is added to tuition to get these figures.

 

[1luckydad]

You do realize that the scholarship only covers on or the other, not both tuition and room and board.

Not true. Most ROTC tuition scholarships are matched by many colleges in our part of the country with room and limited board thrown in. You get an ROTC scholarship at any of the 4 on my son's list and you get room and board too.

 

[Bball23]

Portal indicated I have been awarded a scholarship to Boston College, waiting to learn the details.

 

[sandman45]

Portal showing scholarship to FSU. Like most have no accessto early insider information and waiting for letter for details.

 

[Pima]

1luckydad and other recipients.

At the top of this page there is a Room and Board forum. Starting around post 15 there is an alphabetical list, it is out dated where they give free or reduced R & B.

I would not say most colleges do, it may be for your area as you stated, but for our DS's when he went through with an AFROTC scholarship 0 gave even reduced, let alone full.

It is best to call the university.

Here's the link from here showing the colleges: http://www.serviceacademyforums.com/showthread.php?t=5429&page=2