Chances for Army ROTC Scholarship

smd400

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Joined
Jan 23, 2017
Messages
21
Hello!

I am anxiously awaiting the results of the second board. This is the first time anyone in my family has applied for a ROTC scholarship so I am interested in getting some input from those who have "been there & done that."

  • CBEF: Answered it as honestly as I could. I have strong leadership skills, but I could not honestly say I am 100% sure I will stay in all 20 years. (I am sure I could successfully complete my obligation, but I don't know what I want to do when I'm 42. I could see myself being in the military, but people changes and circumstances change.)
  • PMS Interview: Interviewed via Skype with my first choice. The recruitment officer told me the PMS said it was the best interview he's ever done.
  • PT Test: 6:11 mile, 34 push-ups, 58 curl-ups. (I'm a girl-- and on a demographic note, white female with WP grad father. He got to WP kind of unconventionally, so he knows some about the ROTC scholarship process, but not a lot.)
  • Student: 1480 SAT; 4.23 weighted, 4.0 unweighted; 7/320 weighted, 1/320 unweighted; 15 AP & Honors classes; AP Scholar Award; Judith Resnik Math & Science Award; Jill Biden Science Ambassador (got to fly with Dr. Biden to NASA and greet Scott Kelly as he came back to Earth)
  • Activities: track, XC, NHS, choir, new student welcome committee, NHS, Mu Alpha Theta, church, Glamour Gals
  • Leadership: XC/track captain, NHS public relations officer, choir section leader, church youth group president, started Glamour Gals club (focuses on ending elder isolation)-- treasurer and VP
  • Volunteer Activities: volunteer snowboard instructor, volunteer summer camp counselor, volunteer Sunday School teacher
  • Employment: published article in magazine, newspaper delivery, cashier at baseball stadium, babysitter
  • Board Member Scores: Obviously, I have no control over this. I think my essays were pretty good and I got really great letters of recommendation.
  • First choice college is Wheaton College, where I have already been accepted.
Thanks so much for your feedback! If you have any questions or if there is anything I forgot, please let me know!
 
Based off of what you say, I think your chances at a scholarship are pretty decent. A big thing that they look for also is what your intended major is. I got my 3 year AROTC scholarship with a 3.56 GPA 1070 SAT. What really helps you out is your extra curricular activities and by the looks of things you're pretty well set!

Best of luck!
 
I can't imagine you NOT getting an scholarship on this board....you're stats look very accomplished (Scholar very strong, Athlete very strong, Leadership/ECs very strong). Your PMS interview is usually weighed very strongly by the Board, so if it went really as well as the ROO said (they've been known to exaggerate!) that speaks very well. In all honesty, your background looks much strong than my DS, and he received a 1st Board scholarship a couple of months ago. The only real issue I can think of is that Wheaton College may by "full" after the 1st Board, and you may only be offered other schools on your list. Probably not likely, but always a possibility. Good luck!!
 
I can't imagine you NOT getting an scholarship on this board....you're stats look very accomplished (Scholar very strong, Athlete very strong, Leadership/ECs very strong). Your PMS interview is usually weighed very strongly by the Board, so if it went really as well as the ROO said (they've been known to exaggerate!) that speaks very well. In all honesty, your background looks much strong than my DS, and he received a 1st Board scholarship a couple of months ago. The only real issue I can think of is that Wheaton College may by "full" after the 1st Board, and you may only be offered other schools on your list. Probably not likely, but always a possibility. Good luck!!

Did your DS get a 3 or 4 yr? I'm really hoping for a 4 yr, but I'll take what I can get. XD
 
My DS received a 4 year offer from Board #1 this year....we were all shocked and humbled! He'll be attending Pacific Lutheran University (Tacoma, Wa).
 
My DS received a 4 year offer from Board #1 this year....we were all shocked and humbled! He'll be attending Pacific Lutheran University (Tacoma, Wa).

AggieWill, if you don't mind, would you share your son's credentials & types of activities. Huge congrats to your son, I heard they gave out very few on first board.
 
You have a really strong package. My DS received a 4 yr on 1st board last year with similar ECs but lower SAT/ACT. He ultimately received WP appt. but was thrilled with the ROTC opportunity.
 
Hi SMD400, here's the rundown. Again, a word of caution: it's not really a good idea to compare specific points. As you know AROTC uses the Whole Person Score, and it's often difficult for us our here in parent/candidate land to figure out how every little thing is scored. Having said that, here's my DS's stats:

Scholar: 3.85 UW, 4 AP classes, 1170 SAT, NHS 2 years, a national academic award from Fresh year

Athlete: 3 year varsity football (QB), 3 year varsity baseball, PFT: 53 pu, 58 SU, 6:38 1 mile run

Leader: Varsity football Captain 2 years, Baseball team captain 1 year; NHS VP, Special Needs camp senior staff selectee, Boy Scouts (multiple leadership roles), Middle School football coach, school paper editor

Service: 600+ hours documented service hours, including: Special Needs camp counselor, Special Olympics sports coach, Dominican Republic mission trip, church youth work projects, etc. On the Online App, accounted for about 25 EC activities.

As we've looked at this (and talked with him future PMS), we really think his Service work was what really set him over the hump (and/or maximized his WPS points). It's easy to calculate the points you receive for certain items (PFT, PMS Interview, SAT Score, etc), but one of the big mysteries is how many points you receive from the Board. I suspect that my DS's focus on service, plus his leadership, really went over well with the Board, and he got close to maxing out the 350 available points. Even though he was well below average with his SAT, the rest of the "whole person" apparently was enough to overcome it.
 
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