CSPI - I Just Heard About It

NJROTC-CC

NJROTC-CC

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DS is a Junior in High School and has recently expressed an interest in the Coast Guard, but wants to go to college. (I doubt he will have the SAT scores for USCGA.) I realize he can just enlist after he gets his degree and shoot for a OCS slot. But I just read about CSPI. It sounds perfect but aparantly it has to be at a MSI (minority serving institute.) My DS is not a minority student. His great-grandther served in the Coast Guard. Can he still apply for CSPI? or is it limited to minority students?
 
I can’t help but feel that it is decidedly discriminatory that the USCG’s only college commissioning program is available only at “Minority Serving Institutions.” And, I kinda think that the current SCOTUS would agree.
 
My daughter's plan B and C schools were ones where she would be eligible to apply for CSPI. She is not a minority. She chatted with a recruiter and they told her that she did not have to be a minority student to apply.
 
ProudMom7 said:
My daughter's plan B and C schools were ones where she would be eligible to apply for CSPI. She is not a minority. She chatted with a recruiter and they told her that she did not have to be a minority student to apply.
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True, but the schools to which my DS prefers to apply happen not to be MSI’s even though a couple are like 40% “minority.” He is not going to attend a MSI just to be eligible for CSPI. He would rather go to his college of choice, get his bachelors degree, enlist and then try for OCS.
 
NJROTC-CC said:
I can’t help but feel that it is decidedly discriminatory that the USCG’s only college commissioning program is available only at “Minority Serving Institutions.” And, I kinda think that the current SCOTUS would agree.
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I couldn’t agree more. The applicants evaluation package should be based on Merit alone and not what Minority Institution they must attend to qualify. The MSI policy is flat out reverse discrimination and limiting

My apology in advance if my comment offends anyone, not trying to rock the boat. This MSI school policy should be changed
flmom2024 said:
Just has to be a MSI college. There's a full list of qualifying schools on the MSI web pages
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Jjrrugg said:
Ensuring diversity at the officer ranks in the worlds greatest Coast Guard is far from discriminatory.
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Diversity is, of course, a worthy goal. But to have the ONLY Coast Guard undergraduate officers program (outside the USCGA) only at MSI’s is ridiculous IMHO. ALL state universities serve minorities along with EVERYONE. The school my DS wants to attend is 40% minority, but that is not quite enough to be considered a MSI. This just doesn’t feel right to me. What if NROTC was only available at MSI’s. Really?
 
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NJROTC-CC said:
Diversity is, of course, a worthy goal. But to have the ONLY Coast Guard undergraduate officers program (outside the USCGA) only at MSI’s is ridiculous IMHO. ALL state universities serve minorities along with EVERYONE. The school my DS wants to attend is 40% minority, but that is not quite enough to be considered a MSI. This just doesn’t feel right to me. What if NROTC was only available at MSI’s. Really?
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There are 700 minority serving institutions. That's over 10 times the number of NROTC units there are in the country. Have you even read the list? Admittedly, lots are small time schools or community colleges that might not have a wide array of programs, but lots of mainstream schools are on there too (e.g. Rutgers, UCONN, U Washington, Texas A&M). MSI List

Commission is also accessible through the MARGRAD Program, which opens up an additional 7 schools that one can pursue the Coast Guard through. MARGRAD

Additionally, through the Direct Commission Selected Schools, another 8 schools plus literally any school with an ROTC program (on a case by case basis for others than those 8) are opened up for commissioning in the Coast Guard. DCSS

Additionally, through the Direct Commission Engineer program, literally any school that offers engineering is opened up. DCE

I hope these links are helpful in providing other options, and I hope you explore them and see that CSPI isn't reverse racism. It's not even close to reverse racism, and to claim that it is just not true. It's about getting a more diverse workforce, and people of all races who understand and are comfortable in diverse environments, into the Coast Guard. And it's incentivized greater, because that's worth a great deal to the Coast Guard right now, but there are PLENTY of other options. If going to his school of choice is more important to him then being in the Coast Guard, then fine. I totally understand that, and you're right that there's always OCS, but that's his choice, when there's plenty of others. It's not like people who want to be Navy officers can expect to just have an NROTC program pop up because they will it to be so at the school of their choosing.

Don't take this the wrong way, but get over yourself on this one.
 
ekb1398 said:
There are 700 minority serving institutions. That's over 10 times the number of NROTC units there are in the country. Have you even read the list? Admittedly, lots are small time schools or community colleges that might not have a wide array of programs, but lots of mainstream schools are on there too (e.g. Rutgers, UCONN, U Washington, Texas A&M). MSI List

Commission is also accessible through the MARGRAD Program, which opens up an additional 7 schools that one can pursue the Coast Guard through. MARGRAD

Additionally, through the Direct Commission Selected Schools, another 8 schools plus literally any school with an ROTC program (on a case by case basis for others than those 8) are opened up for commissioning in the Coast Guard. DCSS

Additionally, through the Direct Commission Engineer program, literally any school that offers engineering is opened up. DCE

I hope these links are helpful in providing other options, and I hope you explore them and see that CSPI isn't reverse racism. It's not even close to reverse racism, and to claim that it is just not true. It's about getting a more diverse workforce, and people of all races who understand and are comfortable in diverse environments, into the Coast Guard. And it's incentivized greater, because that's worth a great deal to the Coast Guard right now, but there are PLENTY of other options. If going to his school of choice is more important to him then being in the Coast Guard, then fine. I totally understand that, and you're right that there's always OCS, but that's his choice, when there's plenty of others. It's not like people who want to be Navy officers can expect to just have an NROTC program pop up because they will it to be so at the school of their choosing.

Don't take this the wrong way, but get over yourself on this one.
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Thank you.
 
ekb1398 said:
There are 700 minority serving institutions. That's over 10 times the number of NROTC units there are in the country. Have you even read the list?
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I have read the list and there are not a lot of good options in my state. Please let me explain. We may be limited to sending DS to a state university as a part of a pre-paid tuition plan that we have, which would be the only way we can afford to send DS to college without taking out massive loans. In our state, most of all the big State Universities (other than the traditionally black colleges, which exist here in this state because we are in the South and have a racist past) are NOT on the list of MSI schools. Really, only one big state school IS on the list, and it is not where DS would prefer to go. We don't have the equivalent of a Rutgers or a U. Conn. here.

But, thank you for pointing out other commissioning options. DS will likely do at least two years of NROTC (on top of his four years of NJROTC.) That may qualify him for one of the other options. He already knows the local Coast Guard recruiter and has visited the local Coast Guard Station. He will speak to the recruiter to learn more about different options. But frankly, his desire to serve is so strong that I don't think he cares whether he goes in as enlisted, or as an officer. He has what it takes to get get selected for OCS down the road.
 
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ekb1398 said:
There are 700 minority serving institutions. That's over 10 times the number of NROTC units there are in the country. Have you even read the list? Admittedly, lots are small time schools or community colleges that might not have a wide array of programs, but lots of mainstream schools are on there too (e.g. Rutgers, UCONN, U Washington, Texas A&M). MSI List

Commission is also accessible through the MARGRAD Program, which opens up an additional 7 schools that one can pursue the Coast Guard through. MARGRAD

Additionally, through the Direct Commission Selected Schools, another 8 schools plus literally any school with an ROTC program (on a case by case basis for others than those 8) are opened up for commissioning in the Coast Guard. DCSS

Additionally, through the Direct Commission Engineer program, literally any school that offers engineering is opened up. DCE

I hope these links are helpful in providing other options, and I hope you explore them and see that CSPI isn't reverse racism. It's not even close to reverse racism, and to claim that it is just not true. It's about getting a more diverse workforce, and people of all races who understand and are comfortable in diverse environments, into the Coast Guard. And it's incentivized greater, because that's worth a great deal to the Coast Guard right now, but there are PLENTY of other options. If going to his school of choice is more important to him then being in the Coast Guard, then fine. I totally understand that, and you're right that there's always OCS, but that's his choice, when there's plenty of others. It's not like people who want to be Navy officers can expect to just have an NROTC program pop up because they will it to be so at the school of their choosing.

Don't take this the wrong way, but get over yourself on this one.
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If an applicant is interested in the CSPI program, that applicant should not have to be forced to transfer to a different school.

Lastly, my opinion is the program has limited mainstream options not every kid wants to go to Juco. Apologies if I offended you not my desire or intent
 
ekb1398 said:
There are 700 minority serving institutions. That's over 10 times the number of NROTC units there are in the country. Have you even read the list? Admittedly, lots are small time schools or community colleges that might not have a wide array of programs, but lots of mainstream schools are on there too (e.g. Rutgers, UCONN, U Washington, Texas A&M). MSI List

Commission is also accessible through the MARGRAD Program, which opens up an additional 7 schools that one can pursue the Coast Guard through. MARGRAD

Additionally, through the Direct Commission Selected Schools, another 8 schools plus literally any school with an ROTC program (on a case by case basis for others than those 8) are opened up for commissioning in the Coast Guard. DCSS

Additionally, through the Direct Commission Engineer program, literally any school that offers engineering is opened up. DCE

I hope these links are helpful in providing other options, and I hope you explore them and see that CSPI isn't reverse racism. It's not even close to reverse racism, and to claim that it is just not true. It's about getting a more diverse workforce, and people of all races who understand and are comfortable in diverse environments, into the Coast Guard. And it's incentivized greater, because that's worth a great deal to the Coast Guard right now, but there are PLENTY of other options. If going to his school of choice is more important to him then being in the Coast Guard, then fine. I totally understand that, and you're right that there's always OCS, but that's his choice, when there's plenty of others. It's not like people who want to be Navy officers can expect to just have an NROTC program pop up because they will it to be so at the school of their choosing.

Don't take this the wrong way, but get over yourself on this one.
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My daughter's desire to become a Coast Guard Officer meant that she and I went researched every single school on the list of schools eligible for CSPI. She wanted to compete in track (specifically in her events), she wanted her major, she wanted to be on the east coast, and she wanted a school with a good reputation and good stats. We actually found that a couple of schools that were already on her list were on the CSPI eligible list. Admittedly, we only found a few extra to add to her list, but it was worth looking through.
 
We are limited financially to state schools in our home state. There are a few, but they are not schools that DS previously considered. Keeping an open mind.
 
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There are direct commissioning programs that they can attend at any one of the Maritime Academies or Senior Military Colleges. The CSPI program was specifically established to create diversity in CG leadership. Though I don't know for sure, I would imagine the funding for CSPI comes from congressional funds earmarked specifically for that purpose. It is not an ROTC program and cannot be compared as such.

If your child is competitive for NROTC scholarships, they should be competitive for other school scholarships as well - including Maritime Scholarships for MARGRAD commissioning. When we were researching opportunities, CSPI or MARITIME was a major consideration. And, quite frankly, my DD would have attended one if that is what it took for her to get in.

When you mentioned that you felt CSPI was discriminatory but, then, also mentioned that there is a school that offers it in your state but your son doesn't want to go there; that may come off a little tone deaf on this forum. I mean absolutely no disrespect, however, I am being very honest.
Please understand that many (if not all) of the applicants have done whatever it has taken to be considered for an opportunity to be an Officer in the Coast Guard. After being turned down by USCGA, there are many who self prepped at Junior Colleges (on their own dime) simply for a chance at being considered the following year. That certainly wasn't their top choice but they did it, anyway. A few of those re-applicants are on the Appointment list this year. Some even attended the CG designated prep schools on their own dime, subjecting themselves to the same exhaustive rigor as those with Prep Appointments. Again, with no guarantee. The Prep attendees are literally doing an entire EXTRA year of college just for a chance at getting an appointment. If they are lucky enough to get picked up for the CGA this year, they will actually have to start over, academically, next year. Some are attending Maritime Academies - which, quite frankly, is it's own form of extreme hardship. You mentioned that your son "Has what it takes" to get into OCS but, again, you also may not be aware that many, many enlisted Coasties already have their Bachelors Degrees and/or Masters Degrees and STILL can't get an appointment to OCS. It's ultra competitive - regardless the path that one takes. All this to say that in the CG, with such limited Officer opportunities available, There is NO easy path. They ALL require some sort of major sacrifice. NOBODY is getting into an Officer program, regardless the path, that does not have a loaded resume, academically and otherwise - minority or not.

Again, not intending ANY disrespect but rather an attempt to explain the reality of being a CG officer. If your son has a chance to go to a CSPI school and have his last two years paid for, I wouldn't shut the door on that opportunity simply because it's not his first choice. Perhaps he would want to create an account on here and talk with those who are just a few years ahead of him and have already been through the process? He would get some amazing input from other applicants and/or cadets.
 
CGFAM said:
When you mentioned that you felt CSPI was discriminatory but, then, also mentioned that there is a school that offers it in your state but your son doesn't want to go there; that may come off a little tone deaf on this forum. I mean absolutely no disrespect, however, I am being very honest.
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What I meant is that to go to a school just because they have CSPI is not a good idea in my opinion. The following is what I mean:

The number of 4 year state universities with CSPI are limited in my state. From what I understand - - and correct me if I am wrong - - the CSPI is something that a student applies for during or at the end of Sophomore year and then the program starts in Junior year of college. If that is correct, then he or she would have a to pick a college while in high school that has CSPI, not knowing if he or she will even be accepted into the CSPI program two years down the road. The college he or she picks has to offer the degree program that he or she wants and really, should also be a place that he is she wants to attend anyway given that the CSPI is not guaranteed. To go to a school just because they have a CSPI program does not seem like the right thing to do. And the schools he had been considering are not MSI's. He may have to be open minded and consider additional schools that he did not originally think of, perhaps even the traditionally black universities in our state.

As you point out, the Coast Guard is very different. There are several paths to commissioning that frankly, are difficult to understand for me. I am going to let DS figure it out with advice from friends he has who are currently serving in the Coast Guard, his SNSI in high school and the Coast Guard recruiter. Again, he wants to serve, and he does not necessarily need to go into an officers' program. But I do not want him to enlist without a college degree because it gets more difficult to get that degree the older one gets. However, that will be his decision.

By the way, he is interested in the Maritime Enforcement Specialist rating. From what I understand, there is currently a four-year waiting list to even be considered for this enlisted rating, which means little chance until re-enlistment. So we know how competitive the Coast Guard is.
 
I understand that finances are tight; nonetheless, I wouldn't rule out any options yet, including the Academy, even if SAT scores are low. CGAS is there for just that. Who knows, maybe UCONN or someone really wants to have your son and is willing to offer a sweet financial package, a full ride, or in state tuition to make it happen.
 
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