"Backup" schools

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NPFAM

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Joined
May 6, 2023
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54
Hi,
My son accepted an appointment to the academy's class of 2029. I'm just wondering what you have done for "backup" schools, in the case that something happens before they get to the academy or are recycled for what ever reason. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thank you!
 
NPFAM said:
Hi,
My son accepted an appointment to the academy's class of 2029. I'm just wondering what you have done for "backup" schools, in the case that something happens before they get to the academy or are recycled for what ever reason. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thank you!
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It is typically about $300-500 deposit to secure a spot at State U (or wherever). Some have reported negotiating it back for SA, but I would look at it as a fairly low cost insurance plan. Of course you can sign up for some universities and most community colleges just a few weeks before the fall semester starts and not worry about paying a deposit at all.
 
Paid the deposit to the school with the best ROTC option and then early-summer he (we) requested and received a year deferment (gap year) from the school. Not all schools will allow that for academy kids, but a few of the best state schools did. That provided plenty of alternatives in the back pocket, incase of injuries and other plans.
 
I small suggestion as this comes up every year. Use the search capability Plan B or Back up schools. Lots of opinions and thoughts that could help.
 
*Warbird46* said:
Paid the deposit to the school with the best ROTC option and then early-summer he (we) requested and received a year deferment (gap year) from the school. Not all schools will allow that for academy kids, but a few of the best state schools did. That provided plenty of alternatives in the back pocket, incase of injuries and other plans.
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Gap year sounds a good option. We might try that! Thank you!
 
It depends on the school. Best option is to have open and honest conversations with them about your intentions. Some schools are pretty strict on the May 1 national commit date, some won't give back deposit before or after that
 
I will add that Plan B school was Plan A- until USNA medical waiver finally came through in May. DS talked to their admissions and they gave him an extension to enroll until end of May. Luckily it wasn't needed. But, some/many schools will work with you in those types of cases.
 
Be sure to read the fine print when putting down any deposit. There was a horror story 5-10 years ago from a parent who made a deposit and either he or his kid ended up being on the hook for an entire year's tuition -- at the time tens of thousands of dollars. I no longer recall the details, but do recall it was a really miserable situation.
 
usna1985 said:
Be sure to read the fine print when putting down any deposit. There was a horror story 5-10 years ago from a parent who made a deposit and either he or his kid ended up being on the hook for an entire year's tuition -- at the time tens of thousands of dollars. I no longer recall the details, but do recall it was a really miserable situation.
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It was Me. Not a Service Academy issue, my daughter was accepted by two schools and we put deposits down on both. She decided between them and (she said) notified the school that she was not going to attend. We assumed that the deposit was forfeited and she went to her Plan A. Bills from Plan B came and ended up hounding her and then wrecking her credit rating for much of the following decade.
Edited to add: They attempted to bag her for Tuition plus room and meal plan for the entire year. For the record, it was a VERY well known university that is one of the largest in the nation.
 
NPFAM said:
Hi,
My son accepted an appointment to the academy's class of 2029. I'm just wondering what you have done for "backup" schools, in the case that something happens before they get to the academy or are recycled for what ever reason. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thank you!
Click to expand...
DS had NROTC scholarship for Rutgers, as the backup for his USNA appointment. We paid the $300 deposit for Rutgers (insurance policy) not expecting a refund. DS had great conversation with NROTC leadership at Rutgers and they scheduled him for a late summer NSI cycle 3 so if he were turned away from USNA due to injury before I-Day he would have his Rutgers NROTC parachute. The Monday after we dropped DS off at Annapolis, we called Rutgers & emailed his NROTC advisor. Both could not have been nicer.
 
OldRetSWO said:
It was Me. Not a Service Academy issue, my daughter was accepted by two schools and we put deposits down on both. She decided between them and (she said) notified the school that she was not going to attend. We assumed that the deposit was forfeited and she went to her Plan A. Bills from Plan B came and ended up hounding her and then wrecking her credit rating for much of the following decade.
Edited to add: They attempted to bag her for Tuition plus room and meal plan for the entire year. For the record, it was a VERY well known university that is one of the largest in the nation.
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I would love to know where! I mean that’s the kind of boycott that you pass down to multiple generations!
 
Our plan b was Norwich who gave my kid some very nice financial aids that would've made it more affordable than in state tuition. I sat in with my kid on a Zoom call with one of their financial aid reps who was super helpful and candid about everything. I plunked down the $500 deposit, and 4 days later, kid got a prep scholarship and offer. I'd read here that some people had luck asking for a refund so my kid emailed the financial aid rep, explained the situation, asked for a refund, but it was no go. We knew it was non refundable but it was worth a shot. Then sometime in early August, another rep from Norwich emailed and said, we haven't heard from you. We need to know if you plan on coming. It turns out the financial aid rep who said they'd take care of it on their end must not have communicated it to everyone who needed to know. Kid just replied back explaining everything again, and we never heard from Norwich again. Everyone was very kind and nice about it, but hiccups happen.
 
Upon learning that DD would attend a SA, two schools(Gettysburg and Macalaster ) said that her admission and scholarship were good for 2 years. As she had received her appointment in December, the deposit (never sent) wasn't an issue.
 
DS received prep scholarship. He was also notified of NROTC scholarship. NROTC site states that he has until May 15 to accept or decline. After reading about Plan A and B, do you recommend to wait until May 15 to respond to NROTC? What is gap year? Is the NROTC scholarship only valid until May 15?
 
Gogiberries said:
DS received prep scholarship. He was also notified of NROTC scholarship. NROTC site states that he has until May 15 to accept or decline. After reading about Plan A and B, do you recommend to wait until May 15 to respond to NROTC? What is gap year? Is the NROTC scholarship only valid until May 15?
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I've also wondered about this, as our DS has a NROTC scholarship. He has already accepted the scholarship while being hopeful that he still receives an appointment to a SA. Am I wrong to assume that he can then decline the scholarship all the way up until school begins (before he begins receiving money)? Is there another document that he will officially sign to join NROTC for the next four years? Or does just showing up for school imply your intentions?

On another side note: Is sharing with your NROTC commander that you may not be joining the unit if you receive a SA appointment poor form? I'm typically one that tends to err on the side of communicating, but DS has held off indicating this as he doesn't want to appear to the commander as though NROTC isn't where he wants to be, because he really is thankful if a SA doesn't come through. Thoughts?
 
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