I posted about this same dilemma about a year ago, and I have to start with a summary before I get down to the questions.
Attending any of the academies was the only thing that I wanted to do the entirety of high school. I had a very competitive application built up, but ended up moving high schools twice in the last three semesters of high school. I received principle nominations but wasn't accepted by any academy. I went to a junior college, began civil engineering studies, ran cross country, and drove 30 minutes one-way every day to be a part of an AROTC program. The AROTC program promised me a full 3-year scholarship if I transferred to a 4-year university, so I immediately transferred before my 2nd semester started.
My host-school does not have a college of engineering, so the university I attend is about 15 minutes away. The host-school is very adaptive for medical-field students that attend classes at that campus, but fail to recognize the demands of an engineering student. I am still fighting my cadre for an extra semester, which is automatically included for engineering students that need it according to the AROTC contract.
I contracted and began my scholarship during my sophomore year. At this time, I was taking 18 credit hours, working a 15 hour internship, working an additional job to make up expenses that aren't covered by a non-host-school scholarship, and commuting twice a day to the other campus for ROTC. Every day, I would wake up at 0430 for PT or other ROTC activities and stay up to finish homework until 0200 the next morning. I was completely exhausted, which caused my grades and fitness to decline. My scholarship was suspended, but I was able to push through the same circumstances during the spring semester to earn it back. This summer I am taking 10 credits while working full-time to make up for the engineering classes that I haven't been able to take yet (engineering is normally 18 credits per semester without ROTC). Looking forward to junior year, I am going to be taking critical engineering classes while preparing for Advanced Camp. The thing I am most concerned about is that my host-school prioritizes host-school students for MS3 battalion leadership positions. Therefore, I am afraid that I will not receive the training necessary for Advanced Camp and commissioning.
I have always regretted not pursuing another appointment to the service academies (my cadre refused to turn in the recommendations and fitness test. I was forced to choose between a scholarship or academy application). Would it be worth it to apply junior year of college, especially after my grades took such a hard hit during sophomore year? If so, how do I go about letters of recommendation and activities records without the help of ROTC or a high school? If I do continue with AROTC, what can I do to ensure that the cadre understands that engineering students require the same type of adaptive training (ie. PT passes for major tests, make-up lecture times, prioritized leadership training at FTX, etc.) as medical-field students?
Attending any of the academies was the only thing that I wanted to do the entirety of high school. I had a very competitive application built up, but ended up moving high schools twice in the last three semesters of high school. I received principle nominations but wasn't accepted by any academy. I went to a junior college, began civil engineering studies, ran cross country, and drove 30 minutes one-way every day to be a part of an AROTC program. The AROTC program promised me a full 3-year scholarship if I transferred to a 4-year university, so I immediately transferred before my 2nd semester started.
My host-school does not have a college of engineering, so the university I attend is about 15 minutes away. The host-school is very adaptive for medical-field students that attend classes at that campus, but fail to recognize the demands of an engineering student. I am still fighting my cadre for an extra semester, which is automatically included for engineering students that need it according to the AROTC contract.
I contracted and began my scholarship during my sophomore year. At this time, I was taking 18 credit hours, working a 15 hour internship, working an additional job to make up expenses that aren't covered by a non-host-school scholarship, and commuting twice a day to the other campus for ROTC. Every day, I would wake up at 0430 for PT or other ROTC activities and stay up to finish homework until 0200 the next morning. I was completely exhausted, which caused my grades and fitness to decline. My scholarship was suspended, but I was able to push through the same circumstances during the spring semester to earn it back. This summer I am taking 10 credits while working full-time to make up for the engineering classes that I haven't been able to take yet (engineering is normally 18 credits per semester without ROTC). Looking forward to junior year, I am going to be taking critical engineering classes while preparing for Advanced Camp. The thing I am most concerned about is that my host-school prioritizes host-school students for MS3 battalion leadership positions. Therefore, I am afraid that I will not receive the training necessary for Advanced Camp and commissioning.
I have always regretted not pursuing another appointment to the service academies (my cadre refused to turn in the recommendations and fitness test. I was forced to choose between a scholarship or academy application). Would it be worth it to apply junior year of college, especially after my grades took such a hard hit during sophomore year? If so, how do I go about letters of recommendation and activities records without the help of ROTC or a high school? If I do continue with AROTC, what can I do to ensure that the cadre understands that engineering students require the same type of adaptive training (ie. PT passes for major tests, make-up lecture times, prioritized leadership training at FTX, etc.) as medical-field students?
