Deferring a 3year AROTC scholarship?

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Creativefrau

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My DD received a 3 year AROTC scholarship and has been at JMU for a week and a half now. Only one of her classes meets in person, however that hasn’t actually happened yet. I’m seriously considering bringing her home and trying again next year when things are not so miserable. I am wondering if she would be able to defer her scholarship. Is that possible and if so, how do we do it?
 
Creativefrau said:
My DD received a 3 year AROTC scholarship and has been at JMU for a week and a half now. Only one of her classes meets in person, however that hasn’t actually happened yet. I’m seriously considering bringing her home and trying again next year when things are not so miserable. I am wondering if she would be able to defer her scholarship. Is that possible and if so, how do we do it?
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Her first steps would be to discuss with her chain of command and see what options are available.

These are common challenges right now, with plenty of misery to go around. There is no playbook for this, so things that may not have been approved in the past might be dealt with differently right now. Her cadre will appreciate those cadets who do their best to embrace the suck and forge on, over and through the bumps and stick it out. In an odd way, this experience helps them to understand the uncertainty, the frustration and many challenges she will face in military life. Let her make this adult decision after she determines the facts with her chain of command and weighs her options.
 
Creativefrau said:
My DD received a 3 year AROTC scholarship and has been at JMU for a week and a half now. Only one of her classes meets in person, however that hasn’t actually happened yet. I’m seriously considering bringing her home and trying again next year when things are not so miserable. I am wondering if she would be able to defer her scholarship. Is that possible and if so, how do we do it?
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Agree with @Capt MJ - There are approximately 2000+ cadets (AROTC 3-YR) that are in the same boat. There are also 7000+/- high school seniors that are vying for a AROTC scholarship. I also have a DS that is in his 1st year. I would definitely have your DD discuss with her chain of command. The advice I gave my DS was - This year will be defined by those that figure out a way to make things happen. If she comes home, she is going to be sitting in her room, why not let things play out?
 
Creativefrau said:
My DD received a 3 year AROTC scholarship and has been at JMU for a week and a half now. Only one of her classes meets in person, however that hasn’t actually happened yet. I’m seriously considering bringing her home and trying again next year when things are not so miserable. I am wondering if she would be able to defer her scholarship. Is that possible and if so, how do we do it?
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Good advice above. DS is a 3 year also and all of his classes are online except AROTC. PT is in person as are the outdoor labs. They conducted their combat water survival training last week. ROTC is one of the highlights of his experience so far. See if she can find ways to connect with other students. Also, give it time. Even if things are different this year, perseverance and resilience in the face of adversity are good lessons. And staying on track means she doesn’t lose an entire year to the boredom of being at home.
 
Just adding that the scholarships are awarded annually and you may not be able to defer it to start one year later - may have to reapply to compete against those starting rotc next year. Also that may mean staying in undergrad 5 years. IDK about the waiting to get started vs grinding it out/ moving forward. Thinking positively our young adults will commission and have a service commitment/ opportunity - so commissioning on-time is appealing. The 3 year is contingent that the cadet participate their first year and take a full course load for 2 semesters, then the scholarship kicks in. Agree with all above comments for your DD to discuss with her chain of command. Unprecedented times may yield some flexibility but then again maybe not. Good luck.

On an unsolicited note, this year as a parent has brought more "life is 90% how you react vs the 10% what happens" teachable moments/ opportunities for my family. My DS is at school and he and his friends are hosting outdoor family style dinners with a few friends, having outdoor movie nights while projecting movies against a building, and his fellow ROTC participants and him seem to be self-organizing PT runs, workout schedules with a less structured ROTC program this fall - yes a lot of the normal routine and activities are gone, but he is thriving. I'm seeing him care for those now in his junior command, and how a positive attitude can help. They are making the best of it. Sharing as this took some time but now is in a good groove. Hope your DD and all these young people make the best of it - but it's gotta be tough. In our case no cavalry arrived to help when covid first hit and for weeks they were not moving forward except academics and work, but just their attitudes and scrappiness are making a world of difference. And you may wish to see if her school rents LCD projectors or like items for a movie night. See if her dorm has a kitchenette for food adventures. and then there are some virtual tour/ traveling that maybe her friends and her can do together. IDK if that will help - but again good luck.
 
Creativefrau said:
My DD received a 3 year AROTC scholarship and has been at JMU for a week and a half now. Only one of her classes meets in person, however that hasn’t actually happened yet. I’m seriously considering bringing her home and trying again next year when things are not so miserable. I am wondering if she would be able to defer her scholarship. Is that possible and if so, how do we do it?
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I’m currently a senior eyeing for an AROTC scholarship to JMU. This year has been interesting even from a HS stand point, but not impossible. I’d ride it out because right now many others like me haven’t gotten lucky enough to get a test date for the SAT or ACT and are stuck with no scores. Being creative and persistent, in my mind, will show worthiness and dedication.
 
Creativefrau said:
My DD received a 3 year AROTC scholarship and has been at JMU for a week and a half now. Only one of her classes meets in person, however that hasn’t actually happened yet. I’m seriously considering bringing her home and trying again next year when things are not so miserable. I am wondering if she would be able to defer her scholarship. Is that possible and if so, how do we do it?
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Do you happen to know if JMU offers any ROTC scholarships through the school?
 
VisionofConflux said:
I’m currently a senior eyeing for an AROTC scholarship to JMU. This year has been interesting even from a HS stand point, but not impossible. I’d ride it out because right now many others like me haven’t gotten lucky enough to get a test date for the SAT or ACT and are stuck with no scores. Being creative and persistent, in my mind, will show worthiness and dedication.
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Have you researched the closest testing center to your home to take the SAT - even if a few hour drive away? There are 79 test centers for the Sep 29th SAT in Virginia. Seventy-Nine. Are all aready full? Registration is not closed. How about other state test options?

Perhaps there is no way to drive to a test center within a 10 hour drive. OK - for those people who live in remote Alaska fishing village or in a pineapple under the sea, I understand. but I'm seeing a lot of victim cards played and simply if this is your dream them go get it. Instacart, Doordash over a weekend or couple of nights and you can cover the cost of gas. Mask up and share a ride with 3 others - improvise, adapt, overcome. *results, not excuses. https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register/find-test-centers https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register/dates-deadlines

Good luck.
 
Herman_Snerd said:
Have you researched the closest testing center to your home to take the SAT - even if a few hour drive away? There are 79 test centers for the Sep 29th SAT in Virginia. Seventy-Nine. Are all aready full? Registration is not closed. How about other state test options?

Perhaps there is no way to drive to a test center within a 10 hour drive. OK - for those people who live in remote Alaska fishing village or in a pineapple under the sea, I understand. but I'm seeing a lot of victim cards played and simply if this is your dream them go get it. Instacart, Doordash over a weekend or couple of nights and you can cover the cost of gas. Mask up and share a ride with 3 others - improvise, adapt, overcome. *results, not excuses. https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register/find-test-centers https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register/dates-deadlines

Good luck.
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If I’m not mistaken there is a restriction as to where someone can test now because of people driving far from their home town to other states for space reasons. I have signed up for testing centers in my home town, Charlottesville, and Lynchburg. I even registered for some next month and so far my home town and Lynchburg were cancelled or reduced in size. This would count the seventh time rescheduling. I’m not a victim, but I’m just stating that the original poster should be thankful that they already got through the process.
 
VisionofConflux said:
If I’m not mistaken there is a restriction as to where someone can test now because of people driving far from their home town to other states for space reasons. I have signed up for testing centers in my home town, Charlottesville, and Lynchburg. I even registered for some next month and so far my home town and Lynchburg were cancelled or reduced in size. This would count the seventh time rescheduling. I’m not a victim, but I’m just stating that the original poster should be thankful that they already got through the process.
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It's an uphill climb to get this scheduled, for sure. I have compassion for you - Here is the list of sites canceled/ closed - most *but not all, in Virginia. https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register/test-center-closings

Again not all are closed. The ones not closed like Liberty University in that area are now full for their September testing. I would cross reference the list of sites vs the list of closed sites to find the remaining test centers open, and exhaustively rule out if you can find a place to test. Should take less than 2 hours to complete this exercise.

If in your shoes I would definitely confirm the exact travel restrictions - there are people getting this test completed. Maybe there's a way to get this completed this fall. Good luck to you but if I can suggest take a very active position in figuring this out else you may be penalized avoidably. Again - good luck.
 
Thank you all for your replies. Just asking so we can understand all the options. As it turns out, JMU is going all virtual for now and DD is coming home this weekend. It’s tough all around.
 
Herman_Snerd said:
It's an uphill climb to get this scheduled, for sure. I have compassion for you - Here is the list of sites canceled/ closed - most *but not all, in Virginia. https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register/test-center-closings

Again not all are closed. The ones not closed like Liberty University in that area are now full for their September testing. I would cross reference the list of sites vs the list of closed sites to find the remaining test centers open, and exhaustively rule out if you can find a place to test. Should take less than 2 hours to complete this exercise.

If in your shoes I would definitely confirm the exact travel restrictions - there are people getting this test completed. Maybe there's a way to get this completed this fall. Good luck to you but if I can suggest take a very active position in figuring this out else you may be penalized avoidably. Again - good luck.
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Thank you, I will do my best to act on whatever I can control.....if I can’t control what’s going on then I guess I’ll have to work around it or, my least favorite option, ride it out.
 
Creativefrau said:
My DD received a 3 year AROTC scholarship and has been at JMU for a week and a half now. Only one of her classes meets in person, however that hasn’t actually happened yet. I’m seriously considering bringing her home and trying again next year when things are not so miserable. I am wondering if she would be able to defer her scholarship. Is that possible and if so, how do we do it?
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Here's a situation I know of at one west coast school.
If Cadet is at home or out of area, they allow cadet to contact local school which offers ROTC program and participate PT there.
 
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