Decline Option B

J

JK Goes to College

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Would you say it's safe to decline college option B now?

Dropped my son off last week (Go Screamin' Demons Flight B)...or do you wait for the first day of school once they get through BCT?
 
JK Goes to College said:
Would you say it's safe to decline college option B now?

Dropped my son off last week (Go Screamin' Demons Flight B)...or do you wait for the first day of school once they get through BCT?
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unless it’s going to cost you money (for instance u lose a $500 housing deposit unless u cancel before a certain date), I’d wait til closer to the school year.
 
DS is in Guts Squadron and we're holding on to option B. He went through orientation 2 weeks before I-Day, meeting an advisor and picking classes. We lost the housing deposit as of May 1. We talked about it as a family and told him that the deposit was similar to insurance, a cost we'd gladly pay for the ability to hold on to the worst case option.
 
ThomasPolk said:
DS is in Guts Squadron and we're holding on to option B. He went through orientation 2 weeks before I-Day, meeting an advisor and picking classes. We lost the housing deposit as of May 1. We talked about it as a family and told him that the deposit was similar to insurance, a cost we'd gladly pay for the ability to hold on to the worst case option.
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Best Beast Squadron- GUTS !!!
 
Took awhile till I told mine that I didn't apply anywhere but USAFA.... Have a backup plan always even if plan A works out.
 
USMAGRAD1988 said:
Funny…my parents didn’t offer me a ‘Plan B’ when I entered West Point on July 1st, 1988. It was “do or die”. Not having a Plan B was probably a good thing as I wanted to get the heck out of dodge on R- Day, but I had no where else to go 🤣.
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My DS didn’t want a back-up plan for this reason! Our thought is if something happens and he can’t finish, he can either take the semester off or go to our local university while regrouping and coming up with a new plan.
 
My kid needed a big time waiver for his lost kidney from a hockey injury. Georgia Tech was awesome on keeping his options open till he was way on his way during his Doolie year in 2022. Housing was going to be a mess, but we never had to use the Plan B option.
 
No Plan B for us, as that would have entailed utilizing his AFROTC scholarship.

He already has his AA and private pilot’s license, so if something prevented him from continuing, we knew he could come home, continue working toward CFI, and take a gap semester with no set back. He could attend our local university starting spring semester and still graduate with his four-year earlier than he would complete his USAFA career!

I think he felt like with no Plan B, there was no choice but to give it every bit of what he had to stay and conquer basic. And I don’t know that my brain could have handled plans in two places!
 
So take this for what it was worth. Our son was medically disqualified AFTER getting there and a couple months in. They decided they weren't waiverable and he ultimately left USAFA on Labor Day Weekend of 2025. Not going into the whole story now but feel free to search my name for details. That's to say, ANYTHING can happen. I absolutely and completely recommend leaving Plan B open. Ours wasn't able to fully utilize but did pull a good turn and was able to get his prep school year at GMC and online classes at Cid between last summer and now to start The Citadel in August. He'll be three hours shy of an academic senior as a knob. So NEVER think nothing can happen. It absolutely can. And leaving the safety net in place is NOT a bad thing.
 
Cece1983 said:
No Plan B for us, as that would have entailed utilizing his AFROTC scholarship.

He already has his AA and private pilot’s license, so if something prevented him from continuing, we knew he could come home, continue working toward CFI, and take a gap semester with no set back. He could attend our local university starting spring semester and still graduate with his four-year earlier than he would complete his USAFA career!

I think he felt like with no Plan B, there was no choice but to give it every bit of what he had to stay and conquer basic. And I don’t know that my brain could have handled plans in two places!
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While I understand the sentiment, there are many things that can happen totally out of their control. I truly recommend leaving B open.
 
JKHDelta said:
While I understand the sentiment, there are many things that can happen totally out of their control. I truly recommend leaving B open.
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Totally understand! And if we financially were able to hold onto different options, plan B would look different. Unfortunately, every school he applied to was out of state, and giving up the AFROTC scholarship made them cost prohibitive for our family with the out of state tuition. We also felt like we couldn’t rightfully keep a slot in an honors program if he was likely not going and could give that spot to another deserving student.

We are luckily in a town with a state school option just two miles down the road. I know that isn’t every person’s situation! And having two years under his belt helped us feel safe that if he had to take a gap semester or year, he wouldn’t be too far behind. May not be the dream, but would give him time to regroup if needed.

I’m prone to worry and anxiety, so not having a Plan B would typically send me through the roof. Trusting that whatever is meant to be will be, and praying for health and safety for all the basics every step of the way.
 
JK Goes to College said:
Would you say it's safe to decline college option B now?

Dropped my son off last week (Go Screamin' Demons Flight B)...or do you wait for the first day of school once they get through BCT?
Click to expand...
That’s a big milestone—congrats to your son on getting through BCT! Honestly, most people wait until the "official" start date or once they are fully settled into their academic routine. Since it’s only been a week, it might be worth keeping option B as a safety net for just a little longer until he's past the initial adjustment phase. Has he mentioned how he's feeling about the workload so far, or is he still just trying to catch his breath after training?
 
Cece1983 said:
Totally understand! And if we financially were able to hold onto different options, plan B would look different. Unfortunately, every school he applied to was out of state, and giving up the AFROTC scholarship made them cost prohibitive for our family with the out of state tuition. We also felt like we couldn’t rightfully keep a slot in an honors program if he was likely not going and could give that spot to another deserving student.

We are luckily in a town with a state school option just two miles down the road. I know that isn’t every person’s situation! And having two years under his belt helped us feel safe that if he had to take a gap semester or year, he wouldn’t be too far behind. May not be the dream, but would give him time to regroup if needed.

I’m prone to worry and anxiety, so not having a Plan B would typically send me through the roof. Trusting that whatever is meant to be will be, and praying for health and safety for all the basics every step of the way.
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I’m curious why you you thought you needed to “give up” the AFROTC scholarship ahead of time. Other than uploading an acceptance letter there is nothing that needs to be with the scholarship. Declining it does not mean it goes to someone else. For future readers, you could have accepted the scholarship and admission to a plan B school - as long as you fully communicate to the school your intention.
One caveat - if are medically disqualified from a SA it is possible you would medically disqualified from AFROTC as well.
 
I have just skimmed this thread, and I apologize if this point has already been made.

It is my understanding from various posts on this common topic over the years, that someone who has offers for both a service academy and an ROTC scholarship, can accept both, as part of a risk mitigation plan during the run-up time to service academy induction day.

But. If the candidate reports into that service academy, the ROTC scholarship offer essentially expires that day, whether formally accepted or no action taken. Someone cannot be at a service academy in their new statutory status as a cadet or midshipman and be eligible to have an active ROTC scholarship offer at the same time.

This, of course, is different than taking steps to hold a place at a college. It will be important to factor in the affordability of that college without the ROTC scholarship - IF the person has taken the step of being inducted into the military.

I’ll page @GWU PNS (emeritus) for their more informed opinion.

And, this is something a candidate should discuss with their target ROTC unit, at what point the ROTC scholarship offer is no longer, should they not formally decline before entering a service academy.
 
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