Coordinating Back Up Plans After Appointment

Mamalama

Mamalama

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Oct 29, 2016
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My DD is in the fortunate position of having already accepted an appointment to her top choice-USAFA. Since USAFA was her first choice, she couldn't stand to wait more than a couple of days to click that "accept" button!

As we understand, there really is no reason to leave applications to other academies open, so we had planned to notify her USNA admissions officer, and withdraw her application. Any advice to the contrary?

She was in the middle of her USAF ROTC scholarship application, and she had already been awarded a 4-yr NROTC scholarship to her top choice--Purdue. What is the advice regarding these? Is there any reason to "hold on" to a ROTC scholarship. Again, our guts tell us the conscientious thing to do would be to relinquish these as anything that might disqualify our DD from USAFA on I day would likely disqualify her from ROTC, and holding on to them prevents them from awarding the scholarship to another worthy candidate. Is there a reason not to relinquish the scholarship at this point?

We do understand that we should have back up plans for something unforeseen, like an injury that medically disqualifies her. Could anyone give us some guidance regarding back up plans AFTER accepting appointments but BEFORE I day? Do these typically look like reserved spots at your choice university, and seeking ROTC (without scholarship) as possible?

Thanks in advance for any advice!
 
This is my opinion. Withdraw the applications to the other SA. Keep the NROTC scholarship for now and apply to Purdue. I may then consider another school one that also has a NROTC battalion yhat school would be a safe school that you can afford without scholarship.

I would hold onto Purdue as long as possible. Even paying the initial $500 deposit. But, after acceptance I would let the school know that you were holding the spot just I case.
 
Agree with 5 Day. If USAFA is 100% #1 then accept the appointment and withdraw the other SA applications. I would accept her ROTC scholarship of choice. If she applied for multiple she can accept them all within the timeline and then pick the top one after she has all her options available and the decline the rest. Apply to her back up school or schools of choice. The reasons many keep the ROTC scholarships is it allows your DD to attend school in the fall for the rare 'just in case.' What if she backs out of USAFA? What is the breaks her wrist 2 weeks out for I Day? Since I Day at SAs are late June-early July they and traditional schools start in Aug/Sept this would allow something like this to heal, go to school and then go to USAFA next year.
 
Hey mamalama,

Our DD's sounds like they are in similar circumstances...although yours may be a bit further down the road. My DD just received an USAFA LOA last weekend, and her admittance to Purdue Engineering about two weeks ago. She was in the process of setting up her ROTC appointment with Rose Hulman. That's one of the few ROTC programs that cover tuition AND room/board. She's now going to switch her ROTC to Purdue.

If it were us, and I hope it soon will be, we will keep Purdue & ROTC in play as long as we can...not to make it difficult for others, but to protect the options that she's earned. We hope our DD and yours get what they want and others will play out as well.

Best wishes to you and your DD...Aim High & Boiler Up!
 
Thanks all for the thoughts and advice! Our daughter has already applied and been admitted to Purdue, so we had planned to keep that route open. However, since Purdue is out of state, it would be significantly more costly than our state schools or some other engineering programs that have accepted her and offered scholarships (not ROTC). Reserving her place in these universities--as you all know-- is costly, especially when you consider reserving housing. The ROTC Scholarship would very likely impact that decision. Good to hear that is is generally considered acceptable to reserve the scholarship.
 
Brave said:
Hey mamalama,

Our DD's sounds like they are in similar circumstances...although yours may be a bit further down the road. My DD just received an USAFA LOA last weekend, and her admittance to Purdue Engineering about two weeks ago. She was in the process of setting up her ROTC appointment with Rose Hulman. That's one of the few ROTC programs that cover tuition AND room/board. She's now going to switch her ROTC to Purdue.
Click to expand...

Congratulation, Brave, to your DD and to you!
 
FWIW: If you ACCEPT an appointment to the USAFA, you don't have to do anything for the other academies. Normally, you're automatically no longer considered. But that's not important. What is important, is that you keep the options for ROTC and the Civilian Schools open. While a cadet has up to 2 years to change their mind and quit the academy; MOST KNOW within a couple weeks if it's for them. And TRUST ME, I have seen many kids, who "WANTED THE ACADEMY THEIR WHOLE LIFE" who QUIT after a couple of weeks. By keeping your ROTC and Civilian University options open, you keep that available. Basic Training is over by the first week of August. That still leaves time if your son/daughter has a change of heart; they can still start civilian school on time.

Of course, some schools require deposits. Most will refund if you cancel. Check with your plan B/C schools to know your options.
 
Also, if you are up front with the school, letting them know that they are a back up plan to a SA, if you ever need to go back to that school, in the future, for undergraduate or graduate study, you have not burnt that bridge.
 
Our DS selected a backup school that had a mid-September start date so we waited until he graduated from BCT and were still within the time frame of requesting a refund of both the school and housing deposit.
 
There are a number of other threads with spirited debate on the ethics of maintaining a deposit at a plan B college past the May 1st deadline. There seems to be consensus that it is fine if you contact the backup school and they agree to the arrangement. On the issue of hiding the backup status from the Plan B school, most are staunchly on one side or the other.

My advice is to be upfront with the Plan B school, but if you do use a "stealth" backup plan, make sure you can actually go undetected. When you dump the backup, do not give a reason; just say your plans have changed.

The primary method of discovering students with multiple commitments is through the high school college counselor. Some colleges send lists of committed students to the high school college counseling offices of all students that have made a deposit. If you go to a large public high school, you are probably safe; the college counselors are probably overwhelmed and unlikely to notice. A small private school is more likely to notice and care. They build relationships with college admissions officers and don't want the chances of future applicants hurt.
 
Mamalama said:
Thanks all for the thoughts and advice! Our daughter has already applied and been admitted to Purdue, so we had planned to keep that route open. However, since Purdue is out of state, it would be significantly more costly than our state schools or some other engineering programs that have accepted her and offered scholarships (not ROTC). Reserving her place in these universities--as you all know-- is costly, especially when you consider reserving housing. The ROTC Scholarship would very likely impact that decision. Good to hear that is is generally considered acceptable to reserve the scholarship.
Click to expand...

Keep in mind that if she reports for BCT, and then is hurt or leaves, the AFROTC is voided. So Purdue with the NROTC scholarship is a Plan B only until she reports for I Day. She may need a plan C school (one you can afford without the ROTC scholarship) if something happens at BCT.
 
NavyHoops is spot on (as usual) about keeping the ROTC option open. I fractured my cuboid bone about 2 months before I-Day here, and there was a lot up in the air about being medically qualified to attend USAFA. I had comfort knowing that my AFROTC scholarship was in my back pocket - if USAFA didn't think I had healed enough for BCT, I had a couple more months to heal before AFROTC started. Just the sense of security it provided made it worth holding onto the AFROTC scholarship.
 
Let other SAs know of the acceptance, but do not quit proceeding with your plan B. I would hold out as long as possible. My DS had a full ride that we held until after BCT. There are several reasons like injury that have been mentioned here, but also other reasons such as learning during BCT the SA is not for them. Do not let a free opportunity pass them by.

As a parent start preparing for the future. BCT may be as hard on parents as it is on the DS or DD. Congrats and good luck. We have loved the experience. Our DS comes home for the first time one week from today.
 
Agree with all the previous advice here. We kept TAMU as a Plan B until after BCT knowing that even without the AFROTC scholarship, we'd be okay paying tuition if need be. One piece of advice if you are going to pay any deposits is to take the latest new student conference offered. By the time we figured everything out in the spring, the August NSC was full. I booked a July one and then requested to push it out and explained why while DS was in BCT. They were reasonably cooperative. I think it cost me $150 and I never asked for my money back, though there are some reports of schools doing so. We figured it was a small price for insurance. It was all a bit nerve racking and is now a blur in the rear view mirror. Good luck!
Incidentally, DS is happy at USAFA and has no regrets. It was so great to see him for the long holiday weekend.
 
Mamalama said:
My DD is in the fortunate position of having already accepted an appointment to her top choice-USAFA. Since USAFA was her first choice, she couldn't stand to wait more than a couple of days to click that "accept" button!

As we understand, there really is no reason to leave applications to other academies open, so we had planned to notify her USNA admissions officer, and withdraw her application. Any advice to the contrary?

She was in the middle of her USAF ROTC scholarship application, and she had already been awarded a 4-yr NROTC scholarship to her top choice--Purdue. What is the advice regarding these? Is there any reason to "hold on" to a ROTC scholarship. Again, our guts tell us the conscientious thing to do would be to relinquish these as anything that might disqualify our DD from USAFA on I day would likely disqualify her from ROTC, and holding on to them prevents them from awarding the scholarship to another worthy candidate. Is there a reason not to relinquish the scholarship at this point?

We do understand that we should have back up plans for something unforeseen, like an injury that medically disqualifies her. Could anyone give us some guidance regarding back up plans AFTER accepting appointments but BEFORE I day? Do these typically look like reserved spots at your choice university, and seeking ROTC (without scholarship) as possible?

Thanks in advance for any advice!
Click to expand...

Our son hit the button and accepted his appointment about a week ago. He is currently a fre
Mamalama said:
My DD is in the fortunate position of having already accepted an appointment to her top choice-USAFA. Since USAFA was her first choice, she couldn't stand to wait more than a couple of days to click that "accept" button!

As we understand, there really is no reason to leave applications to other academies open, so we had planned to notify her USNA admissions officer, and withdraw her application. Any advice to the contrary?

She was in the middle of her USAF ROTC scholarship application, and she had already been awarded a 4-yr NROTC scholarship to her top choice--Purdue. What is the advice regarding these? Is there any reason to "hold on" to a ROTC scholarship. Again, our guts tell us the conscientious thing to do would be to relinquish these as anything that might disqualify our DD from USAFA on I day would likely disqualify her from ROTC, and holding on to them prevents them from awarding the scholarship to another worthy candidate. Is there a reason not to relinquish the scholarship at this point?

We do understand that we should have back up plans for something unforeseen, like an injury that medically disqualifies her. Could anyone give us some guidance regarding back up plans AFTER accepting appointments but BEFORE I day? Do these typically look like reserved spots at your choice university, and seeking ROTC (without scholarship) as possible?

Thanks in advance for any advice!
Click to expand...
.

Our son who is in his freshman year at college just accepted his appointment within the last week. We are however continuing down the college path. He will obviously attend the spring semester, taking a full schedule of classes. In addition, he will register for fall 2017 semester. Come mid-August, when tuition is due, if he is still at the USAFA (which we all fully expect), I will then go online and cancel out his fall semester. He attends a very large university and there is wait-lists for almost everything, so it is not like this approach is preventing another student from attending. The only thing we won't do is reserve any housing, as most housing requires signed leases (no holds at all). But finding housing is not a huge concern. It is nice having a firm plan B in place.
 
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