fortyfivetwelve
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2020
- Messages
- 2
Hi all,
I'm applying for an AROTC scholarship with a bit of an unusual background.
I'm 25 years old and set to submit my thesis for a B.S. in October (thanks, Covid). I study at a university overseas in a foreign language. Before this degree, I had studied IR in Switzerland until a family crisis forced me to abandon that path. I re-evaluated, found a passion for cooking while working in a kitchen, and then pursued a degree in that field.
That being said, I feel like I truly belong doing work of greater urgency and that is more intellectually demanding. Life is more than natural wine and tablecloths, and it feels selfish to forget that when I know I am capable of doing important work for my country.
I feel I can serve my country well as an officer, with training, and I would like to get a specific bachelor's at a senior military college to prepare me for a career in MI. I want to fully absorb the Army's values and culture before earning a commission.
It may sound illogical to get a second Bachelor's instead of doing OCS or getting a Master's, but I have strong reasons for choosing this path.
The scholarship application is based primarily on my HS stats, which were good. What is not on the record is a physical issue causing chronic pain that hounded me for the first 3 years, keeping me from playing high-level hockey and baseball as I had since I was 5 and impacting my life on every level. It was a severe and formative experience. Eventually, the situation was resolved, and in my Senior year I busted hump training for what became a starting role on the varsity rugby team. I do not expect this to be a DODmerb issue given that it's better and was never classified as anything disqualifying.
I went to a good school (good academics, athletics, and values),
2090 SAT (around 1450-1490 on the new scale),
3.3/3.9 GPA,
NHS, some community service work.
No real brand-name leadership roles to speak of in HS.
I have a concern that the fact I achieved these things despite the quality of life issues I was facing won't be fully appreciated by the scholarship committee, especially compared to the monstrous list of achievements many applicants have compiled. At the same time, I don't want to sound like I may be physically unfit to serve.
I've been on here for a few months reading all of the posts like this one, struggling to compare my situation as an applicant against those of rising seniors. I believe that maturity and life-experience provide me with a leg up on being an excellent cadet, but the strangeness of it all and the explanations my story merits make me wonder how it will be perceived by the decision-makers. I'm getting my ducks in a row for the first board.
The two moments for this kind of explanation are in the 3rd scholarship essay Q and during the interview. I've heard no one really reads the essays, which was disappointing as it is truly where I'll stand out in a positive light.
Any wisdom or insight? Advice on presenting my story?
Thank you all in advance
I'm applying for an AROTC scholarship with a bit of an unusual background.
I'm 25 years old and set to submit my thesis for a B.S. in October (thanks, Covid). I study at a university overseas in a foreign language. Before this degree, I had studied IR in Switzerland until a family crisis forced me to abandon that path. I re-evaluated, found a passion for cooking while working in a kitchen, and then pursued a degree in that field.
That being said, I feel like I truly belong doing work of greater urgency and that is more intellectually demanding. Life is more than natural wine and tablecloths, and it feels selfish to forget that when I know I am capable of doing important work for my country.
I feel I can serve my country well as an officer, with training, and I would like to get a specific bachelor's at a senior military college to prepare me for a career in MI. I want to fully absorb the Army's values and culture before earning a commission.
It may sound illogical to get a second Bachelor's instead of doing OCS or getting a Master's, but I have strong reasons for choosing this path.
The scholarship application is based primarily on my HS stats, which were good. What is not on the record is a physical issue causing chronic pain that hounded me for the first 3 years, keeping me from playing high-level hockey and baseball as I had since I was 5 and impacting my life on every level. It was a severe and formative experience. Eventually, the situation was resolved, and in my Senior year I busted hump training for what became a starting role on the varsity rugby team. I do not expect this to be a DODmerb issue given that it's better and was never classified as anything disqualifying.
I went to a good school (good academics, athletics, and values),
2090 SAT (around 1450-1490 on the new scale),
3.3/3.9 GPA,
NHS, some community service work.
No real brand-name leadership roles to speak of in HS.
I have a concern that the fact I achieved these things despite the quality of life issues I was facing won't be fully appreciated by the scholarship committee, especially compared to the monstrous list of achievements many applicants have compiled. At the same time, I don't want to sound like I may be physically unfit to serve.
I've been on here for a few months reading all of the posts like this one, struggling to compare my situation as an applicant against those of rising seniors. I believe that maturity and life-experience provide me with a leg up on being an excellent cadet, but the strangeness of it all and the explanations my story merits make me wonder how it will be perceived by the decision-makers. I'm getting my ducks in a row for the first board.
The two moments for this kind of explanation are in the 3rd scholarship essay Q and during the interview. I've heard no one really reads the essays, which was disappointing as it is truly where I'll stand out in a positive light.
Any wisdom or insight? Advice on presenting my story?
Thank you all in advance
