DD considering SMP for the army.

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flyerernie

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Our DD has been waiting for a campus based scholarship since the start of her freshman year of college. She was informed that the college will not be getting any money this year for campus scholarship. She has been attending AROTC and has passed all requirements and has been dodmerb cleared. The ROO now is asking her to consider a SMP for army. Either reserve or national guard. Does this track differ greatly from her original plan to a career of being an active duty army officer ?
 
As long as when she sings up to do SMP she does not take the GRFD Scholarship and makes sure that any tuition assistance she receives from the Guard/Reserves requires her to fulfill her service obligation in the Guard/Reserves, then she should be able to compete for Active Duty. She really needs to have a good discussion with the ROO about the SMP program and ask a lot of questions regarding her wanting to be eligible for Active Duty before she signs anything.

Just a couple questions.

Does your daughter need extra funds to help pay for college?
Has the ROO discussed whether or not she would attend BCT and AIT?
Has she made sure to make clear to the ROO that she wants the opportunity to go Active Duty?
 
Would she still graduate from college as a 2nd LT ? If she accepts the GRFD scholarship would she still be a 2nd LT at completion regardless of active duty or reserve status. Being a parent it's difficult to find answers as we find the Roo and the AROTC at college prefers to speak to the student. This makes it hard to advise and help your son or daughter make the right choice.
 
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flyerernie said:
Would she still graduate from college as a 2nd LT ? If she accepts the GRFD scholarship would she still be a 2nd LT at completion regardless of active duty or reserve status. Being a parent it's difficult to find answers as we find the Roo and the AROTC at college prefers to speak to the student. This makes it hard to advise and help your son or daughter make the right choice.
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She will still be a 2nd Lt
 
flyerernie said:
Would she still graduate from college as a 2nd LT ? If she accepts the GRFD scholarship would she still be a 2nd LT at completion regardless of active duty or reserve status. Being a parent it's difficult to find answers as we find the Roo and the AROTC at college prefers to speak to the student. This makes it hard to advise and help your son or daughter make the right choice.
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This is because your DD or DS is an adult in an officer training program and needs to learn to ask questions, seek answers and advocate for themselves. It is fine to guide your child by talking things over and posing questions to them, but they are the ones who should be asking the questions of cadre, not you.
 
flyerernie said:
Would she still graduate from college as a 2nd LT ? If she accepts the GRFD scholarship would she still be a 2nd LT at completion regardless of active duty or reserve status. Being a parent it's difficult to find answers as we find the Roo and the AROTC at college prefers to speak to the student. This makes it hard to advise and help your son or daughter make the right choice.
Click to expand...

Yes, she would still graduate and commission as a 2LT in the Army.

The biggest issue with the GRFD is that she would not be allowed to commission into Active Duty. The GRFD Scholarship requires that she fulfill her service obligation in either the Reserves or National Guard for an Eight(8) year commitment.

I understand about the program wanting to speak directly with the cadet, just make sure you talk things over with her before she signs anything to make sure all the questions are asked and answered and the research is done. I agree that they are adults but even with adults a second pair of eyes never hurts.
 
At this point our DD is thinking of going SMP program and leaning to the DEDNG scholarship with the army national guard. In researching, It seems that this way is a bit more flexible to being able to transfer to another state and unit after graduation if needed. And as previous noted, as a parent, we would never contact the cadre. We do understand that's not the way to do things. As a parent we do think the second set of eyes never hurts. The info out there is confusing. Especially when it comes to the best route, DEDNG or GRFD. Any added info is greatly appreciated. Thanks to all.
 
Those two options are essentially the same. They require the Cadet to drill monthly, remove active duty as an option, and can help pay for college.
Another option to consider is contracting non scholarship at the start of sophomore year. May take the scholarship off the table, but locks the Cadet into contracting a year early, and starts the $420 a month stipend a year early. If the scholarship is not looking like it will be forthcoming, and the Cadet wants to compete for active duty, and the school is affordable, or the Cadet has other means, this isn’t a bad option.
 
Thank you for the all the information. This was our backup plan. Yes she needs the money for school. We have been told that the scholarship DEDNG may be more flexible to changing units after graduation if you move away to another state than the GRFD scholarship. Would anyone know if this is true ?
 
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