Awarded AFROTC HSSP Scholarships Statistics?

[mtnwing]

For those of you that suggest I am trolling you have something wrong with you and clearly don't have a child that was treated like mine after 18 years of trying very hard to do the the right thing every single day for 18 years. Thanks. As a parent that needed help to get him to a top university and we did what we could at every turn for 18 years. I am shattered. And he already has a job and has been saving. Everyone seems to have an opinion why the AF was right here. Thank god it wasn't your child. But it was mine. Thank you to those that have offered support, ideas and perspective. We have a back up plan but it's very hard to do that when you know how hard he worked to be great and the AF kicked him to the curb.

 

[airborne1030]

Where is he going to school; or better yet, where has he been accepted? I ask because one of the things we never know -- and they never say -- is how they evaluate use of their own resources. People like to believe that prospective tuition doesn't come into play, but I can't help but think that can be erroneous. Now if he had a state school on his list and they didn't offer a Type 7, that would undercut my thinking in this case. Nevertheless, a while back there was a HS student who started a thread about being passed over by NROTC for a scholarship despite his admission to Stanford. Well, if I were the Navy, and I was considering one candidate going to Stanford vs, what, three or four going to Berkeley or UCLA? You get my drift.

Bottom line, this doesn't have to be crushing. It's a disappointing setback for sure; and it's hard to understand given the facts you've written (at least IMO), but your son seems like he should have little problem earning a campus-based scholarship.

Very good points that you make. I have to add that there are many ways in which a someone can be commissioned. As a former Army officer, I enlisted and then went to college on my GI Bill and commissioned through AROTC. I had several officers that I served with on active duty that were commissioned through OCS. If there is a will to serve, there is always a way. In fact my DD’s AFJROTC instructor commissioned through OTS after he served as an enlisted Airman.

 

[franknd]

For those of you that suggest I am trolling you have something wrong with you and clearly don't have a child that was treated like mine after 18 years of trying very hard to do the the right thing every single day for 18 years. Thanks. As a parent that needed help to get him to a top university and we did what we could at every turn for 18 years. I am shattered. And he already has a job and has been saving. Everyone seems to have an opinion why the AF was right here. Thank god it wasn't your child. But it was mine. Thank you to those that have offered support, ideas and perspective. We have a back up plan but it's very hard to do that when you know how hard he worked to be great and the AF kicked him to the curb.

Well, many -- including me -- have offered ideas and virtual encouragement. But some of your posts deserved pushback. The "Walmart" comment was completely out of line, out of touch, elitist, and petulant. To the extent that the implication -- and I don't see any other reasonable interpretation -- was that going to an in-state or other low(er)-cost alternative was being "kicked to the curb" or somehow beneath your son, for his sake I genuinely hope he has not internalized that opinion. If he has, he will have a short, unsuccessful career as a military officer if he were to be fortunate enough to make it that far.

And one more thing while I'm at it. It certainly comes across as though you put all of your son's eggs in this one basket. If so, that was an unforced error, not least because the AFROTC HSSP Type 1 scholarship is probably the single most difficult thing to obtain among all ROTC scholarships AND SA appointments.

 

[Jdjuli]

For those of you that suggest I am trolling you have something wrong with you and clearly don't have a child that was treated like mine after 18 years of trying very hard to do the the right thing every single day for 18 years. Thanks. As a parent that needed help to get him to a top university and we did what we could at every turn for 18 years. I am shattered. And he already has a job and has been saving. Everyone seems to have an opinion why the AF was right here. Thank god it wasn't your child. But it was mine. Thank you to those that have offered support, ideas and perspective. We have a back up plan but it's very hard to do that when you know how hard he worked to be great and the AF kicked him to the curb.

Was he just applying for the AFROTC scholarship to pay for college? If so, there are other ways to go about paying for college since he did not receive a scholarship this round like thousands of other worthy applicants. If he wants to serve, he can still join AFROTC or any other branches ROTC detachment at his college of choice. He could even commission some through some other route like OTC or the National Guard after college, or he could apply for a Service Academy next application cycle. I know many frustrated and upset applicants and parents vent on this site, but to expect people to agree with you that the Air Force threw your son to the curb or that something is fundamentally wrong with the system is naive. My advice (if you want to take it) is for him to get up, wipe the dirt off his knees, and do the best that he can at his plan b. If he wishes to he can reapply for an AFROTC scholarship in college; I hear they like to see the tenacity of those who better themselves and reapply.

On a side note... you seem to be very upset that he is going to his plan b. Make sure that you are supportive of him and not making him feel worse because he could not get his plan a. You keep referring to "we" and you both having to do his backup plan. I would advise you that when he goes to college, especially with ROTC or the military in general, there is no more "we". Mr. Mullen, the saint that he is, always emphases the importance of the parents stepping back and allowing their child to take the reins, and I must agree with him. Your child is an adult now and is ready to go off into the world. You have worked hard raising him and shaping him these past 18 years. Allow him to take those reins and leave the nest without the added pressure of feeling like he disappointed his parents.

 

[mtnwing]

For those of you that suggest I am trolling you have something wrong with you and clearly don't have a child that was treated like mine after 18 years of trying very hard to do the the right thing. Thanks. As a parent that needed help to get him to a top university and we did what we could I am shattered. I'll stop talking now.

I don't know about NROTC, but my recollection from AROTC when my son interviewed was that a considerable amount of the interview score, though, was just making sure that you got full "credit" for all of the boxes that you had checked along the way; things like varsity letters, NHS, and stuff like that. It wasn't the whole thing, but it was a decent amount.

In contrast, LTC (Ret.) Kirkland (whom I know doesn't post here anymore, but seems to know how these processes work from the inside and with whom many posters here have had good experiences from what I've read here) has publicly stated that he believes the AF gives inordinate weight to the interview. I simply offer that FWIW.

I spoke to the interviewer. he was recommended for a scholarship and can't explain what went wrong.

 

[mtnwing]

Was he just applying for the AFROTC scholarship to pay for college? If so, there are other ways to go about paying for college since he did not receive a scholarship this round like thousands of other worthy applicants. If he wants to serve, he can still join AFROTC or any other branches ROTC detachment at his college of choice. He could even commission some through some other route like OTC or the National Guard after college, or he could apply for a Service Academy next application cycle. I know many frustrated and upset applicants and parents vent on this site, but to expect people to agree with you that the Air Force threw your son to the curb or that something is fundamentally wrong with the system is naive. My advice (if you want to take it) is for him to get up, wipe the dirt off his knees, and do the best that he can at his plan b. If he wishes to he can reapply for an AFROTC scholarship in college; I hear they like to see the tenacity of those who better themselves and reapply.

On a side note... you seem to be very upset that he is going to his plan b. Make sure that you are supportive of him and not making him feel worse because he could not get his plan a. You keep referring to "we" and you both having to do his backup plan. I would advise you that when he goes to college, especially with ROTC or the military in general, there is no more "we". Mr. Mullen, the saint that he is, always emphases the importance of the parents stepping back and allowing their child to take the reins, and I must agree with him. Your child is an adult now and is ready to go off into the world. You have worked hard raising him and shaping him these past 18 years. Allow him to take those reins and leave the nest without the added pressure of feeling like he disappointed his parents.

thanks. good advice. I totally feel like I failed here. how do you get your kid to do everything right, have top 1% stats and he ends up at the community college. I have failed.

 

[franknd]

If he got a 1560 on the SAT second try, then was he also a National Merit Finalist? If he was, there are schools that offer full tution, and some offer completely full rides, for that, and I believe some of them are still accepting applications.

 

[Jdjuli]

well my first son has a type one and the second has even better grades. I certainly didn't realize this. I guess I am an idiot because I thought if you were exceptional you had a good chance for some kind of scholarship. We weren't counting on a Type 1 but we were hopeful that his record deserved something and if he got anything with an acceptance to Notre Dame, then he would have been fine. Instead AF pulled the rug out. I don't really know what I could have done different on any day over the last 18 years to change that. I have thought about that. Was there one more thing I could have done. I am floored. Keep defending the AF. I will keep defending my son who they made a bad mistake passing on. He is ready to serve and best in the nation and they DID kick him to the curb.

You keep talking about what you could have done. Yes, you can support and encourage your son. Help him study, drive him places, push him to be better, but your son is the one who applied. He is the one who is going to college. This is what he could have done not you. I would also like to point out that the admission process for elite schools like Notre Dame is not the same as the HSSP application review. They look for different things and are conducting in different ways. There was an earlier poster who was upset that her child who got into Stanford did not get an ROTC scholarship. Your son seems to be in the same situation. Just because your child gets into an elite college does not mean he automatically gets an rotc scholarship. Yes, it means that he is an exceptional kid who has a good chance of getting a scholarship, but nothing is 100%. At this point there is nothing any of us can do, especially you, to change this application cycle. I understand you are upset, confused, and frustrated. I understand that you blame the Air Force because they were unable to give your son the scholarship, but at this point you need to move on. Look towards the future and help your son plan for next year. Celebrate his accomplishments and don't dwell on this one disappointment. He can still serve. You have been told over and over by many people on this thread some of the options he has to get a commission in the future including some that can possibly help pay for college. Instead of complaining on this forum that the Air Force has done some great wrong to your son, show him the options he has to move forward and help him make his decisions for the upcoming year. He has a bright future ahead of him... do not let this one disappointment cast a shadow over it.

 

[mtnwing]

If he got a 1560 on the SAT second try, then was he also a National Merit Finalist? If he was, there are schools that offer full tution, and some offer completely full rides, for that, and I believe some of them are still accepting applications.

national merit finalist are based on PSAT. He didn't score as well on that. He made a massive jump on his SAT. Again we are floored that he can be top of the nation and AF doesn't care. We are trying to move on but it's so painful to be the parents that pushed a kid to be great and then he gets the minimum. If the AF doesn't want this kid where are we headed? And yes it is "we" For every day till I die it will be "we" in my family.

 

[Jdjuli]

national merit finalist are based on PSAT. He didn't score as well on that. He made a massive jump on his SAT. Again we are floored that he can be top of the nation and AF doesn't care. We are trying to move on but it's so painful to be the parents that pushed a kid to be great and then he gets the minimum. If the AF doesn't want this kid where are we headed?

Please for your son's sake, do not make him feel like his second choice is not "great". I am sure he is already extremely disappointed. He does not need the added weight of your disappointment of him not reaching his potential or being great in your eyes. The Air Force door is not closed. There are plenty of successful Air Force officers who did not receive an AFROTC HSSP scholarship. So many people in this world and in this community went to, what I assume you think of as second rate schools, and have been extremely successful. Do not underestimate what your son might achieve because he did not receive this one scholarship. That is doing him more of a disservice than not receiving a scholarship.

 

[tgtl]

For those of you that suggest I am trolling you have something wrong with you and clearly don't have a child that was treated like mine after 18 years of trying very hard to do the the right thing every single day for 18 years. Thanks. As a parent that needed help to get him to a top university and we did what we could at every turn for 18 years. I am shattered. And he already has a job and has been saving. Everyone seems to have an opinion why the AF was right here. Thank god it wasn't your child. But it was mine. Thank you to those that have offered support, ideas and perspective. We have a back up plan but it's very hard to do that when you know how hard he worked to be great and the AF kicked him to the curb.

Your son got a full ride to Rutgers, a highly regarded school, but that’s not good enough for you/him? That’s what you consider “sad” or Walmart?

 

[sparty77]

I spoke to the interviewer. he was recommended for a scholarship and can't explain what went wrong.

Did you ever consider that this might be a problem? I can't imagine a parent going up to someone effectively interviewing their kid for a 4 year job and speaking to them afterwards to ask how it went. Also, recommended for a scholarship just means the interviewer doesn't think your son shouldn't get one. It doesn't mean he nailed the interview or anything.

 

[airborne1030]

national merit finalist are based on PSAT. He didn't score as well on that. He made a massive jump on his SAT. Again we are floored that he can be top of the nation and AF doesn't care. We are trying to move on but it's so painful to be the parents that pushed a kid to be great and then he gets the minimum. If the AF doesn't want this kid where are we headed? And yes it is "we" For every day till I die it will be "we" in my family.

I shared this in an earlier post, there are many paths to a commission. As a former Army officer, I enlisted right out of high school and then went to college on my GI Bill, where I joined AROTC. I had options out of high school. I was admitted into every college to which I applied. I had a good score on my ACT. Instead, I decided that I would enlist in order to save my family money. Plus, he can take a gap year and work. Then, he can always apply to the Service Academies for the class of 2026.

 

[FezR]

national merit finalist are based on PSAT. He didn't score as well on that. He made a massive jump on his SAT. Again we are floored that he can be top of the nation and AF doesn't care. We are trying to move on but it's so painful to be the parents that pushed a kid to be great and then he gets the minimum. If the AF doesn't want this kid where are we headed? And yes it is "we" For every day till I die it will be "we" in my family.

I feel as if you are so focused on the achievements on your kid that you are losing sight of weaknesses. I say that as someone who was offered a scholarship that had to work my butt off, and in no means am I saying your son didn't. I was weak on my SAT so I worked on it as an example and increased from a 1370 to a 1420, where I was strong was my speaking skills. Have you had a discussion with your son prior to see what he should work on going into the application cycle? I mean I'll admit I had pretty average scores and I got a scholarship but that's probably because I have good interviewing skills as I have done nearly 10 this year for SAs alone. Did you consider maybe your interviewer said your son was "recommended" to ease the stress? Because as far as I know, it is a numerical score. The only way I found out if I did "well" was because they told me I was in consideration from a commander's scholarship, other than that I had no indicator on my interview performance.

Your son seems like an extremely intelligent individual, but nobody is perfect, there is always something to work on. If you spend more time feeling sorry or frustrated than improving and reflecting, I do not think there will be a better outcome. Rutgers is an amazing school with a great AFROTC program, he will excel there.

 

[mtnwing]

I feel as if you are so focused on the achievements on your kid that you are losing sight of weaknesses. I say that as someone who was offered a scholarship that had to work my butt off, and in no means am I saying your son didn't. I was weak on my SAT so I worked on it as an example and increased from a 1370 to a 1420, where I was strong was my speaking skills. Have you had a discussion with your son prior to see what he should work on going into the application cycle? I mean I'll admit I had pretty average scores and I got a scholarship but that's probably because I have good interviewing skills as I have done nearly 10 this year for SAs alone. Did you consider maybe your interviewer said your son was "recommended" to ease the stress? Because as far as I know, it is a numerical score.


Also you said your son got a full ride to Rutgers, does he live in NJ? And if so did he get his interview from NJIT? I only ask because the only way I found out if I did "well" was because they told me I was in consideration from a commander's scholarship, other than that I had no indicator on my interview performance.

Your son seems like an extremely intelligent individual, but nobody is perfect, there is always something to work on. If you spend more time feeling sorry or frustrated than improving and reflecting, I do not think there will be a better outcome. Rutgers is an amazing school with a great AFROTC program, he will excel there.

why don't a few of you interview my son and help me find weakness. I asked for that already. I am still not clear how this went wrong and the interviewer told me he was highly recommended.

 

[mtnwing]

Did you ever consider that this might be a problem? I can't imagine a parent going up to someone effectively interviewing their kid for a 4 year job and speaking to them afterwards to ask how it went. Also, recommended for a scholarship just means the interviewer doesn't think your son shouldn't get one. It doesn't mean he nailed the interview or anything.

you are so wrong. For the record this AF professional as very nice and open with me. He also helped with some other finance options for college. I have so much respect for this person that was honest with me. As a parent you let the kids do their thing but you have to be an advocate for them as 18 is an adult but they still need advice.

 

[Jdjuli]

why don't a few of you interview my son and help me find weakness. I asked for that already. I am still not clear how this went wrong and the interviewer told me he was highly recommended.

It is too late to help your son with interview skills for this year. This is something that should have happened before the interview happened. You keep going around in a circle with your argument. There is nothing that you can do now. You should be extremely proud of your son for getting a full ride to Rutgers. It is an amazing school, and I am sure he will excel there. Yes, you can be disappointed that he did not receive an AFROTC scholarship, but you need to look past that and revel in his achievements. His senior year is coming to an end. Celebrate his accomplishments. A full ride at Rutgers is not something to scoff at.

 

[mtnwing]

It is too late to help your son with interview skills for this year. This is something that should have happened before the interview happened. You keep going around in a circle with your argument. There is nothing that you can do now. You should be extremely proud of your son for getting a full ride to Rutgers. It is an amazing school, and I am sure he will excel there. Yes, you can be disappointed that he did not receive an AFROTC scholarship, but you need to look past that and revel in his achievements. His senior year is coming to an end. Celebrate his accomplishments. A full ride at Rutgers is not something to scoff at.

he wants to go to Notre Dame. Let's leave it there and let's improve the process at the AF for scholarships. Can we talk about the elephant. No we can't. Also really annoying that you suggest his interview was bad when the interviewer confirmed he was recommended. This was a board decision that went wrong. But everyone can be better including me. If you want to speak with him and help him for the future let's get on a call.

 

[franknd]

he wants to go to Notre Dame. Let's leave it there and let's improve the process at the AF for scholarships. Can we talk about the elephant. No we can't. Also really annoying that you suggest his interview was bad when the interviewer confirmed he was recommended. This was a board decision that went wrong. But everyone can be better including me. If you want to speak with him and help him for the future let's get on a call.

I tried to PM you this, but it wouldn't let me. Anyway, here are my thoughts in response to your message:

Are you NJ residents? I assume he did not receive a Type 7 either? Either way, first, there is absolutely nothing at all wrong with a full-ride from Rutgers. I suspect you don't appreciate the value of that regardless of anything else. That is plenty to work with going forward and does not include, if he doesn't want it to, the added requirement of military service. If he does, though, so much the better. The point is he doesn't NEED an AFROTC scholarship with a full-ride to Rutgers.

Second, I happen to be a (two-time) Notre Dame grad (3-year AROTC winner from way, way back). I take it your son was accepted to ND? If he was, I would encourage him to get in touch with someone at ND's AFROTC unit to basically make his case that he desperately wants ND but can't afford it without the ROTC scholarship. There's no telling what they might be able to do. Maybe nothing, but I wouldn't go down without going the extra mile with ND. The ROTC units there all have an excellent working relationship within the university. Perhaps with the right word from AFROTC, the university might be able to give your son some extra help for freshman year with the idea that he'd be a virtual shoo-in for an on-campus scholarship once he gets there. I'd make them tell me no before he gives up on that.

 

[Jdjuli]

he wants to go to Notre Dame. Let's leave it there and let's improve the process at the AF for scholarships. Can we talk about the elephant. No we can't

Great he wants to go to Notre Dame. What scholarships he can still apply for? Can y'all pay for the first year and hope to get a 3 year AFROTC scholarship in college? Also, every high school senior has a first choice, and unfortunately not every senior finds themselves at that school in the fall of next year. It is the unfortunate truth that you now know. For now talk to the financial aid office at Notre Dame, have him not you reach out to the AFROTC squadron at ND and explain the situation, have your son apply for some more scholarships, have a serious discussion about finances, and see if there is some way you might be able to make this happen for your son. I can tell you one way not to help your son: complaining about the HSSP scholarship process!