DS received a Falcon Foundation Scholarship offer today. He already had a solid Plan B in place with a Type 2 AFROTC scholarship at a great school. So the Falcon offer complicates things, in a positive way.
I have read the other threads and understand the Falcon offer is viewed as the “golden ticket” to USAFA the following year as long as the student completes the prep program, stays eligible with grades AND gets another nomination.
I have also read the many comments from many posters that once commissioned, people will only care about your job performance and not your commissioning source.
That said, in helping him evaluate the Falcon offer vs AFROTC, a few questions for the group:
- Given the many “golden ticket” references, is it relatively safe to assume that the Falcon offer has a distinct advantage over a College Reapplicant from ROTC? May sound like a dumb question if one is called “golden ticket,” but asking since both require the person to get another Congressional nomination. Perhaps the Falcon Scholars who get nominations are just in a more guaranteed pile of candidates versus the larger stack of overall College Reapplicants?
- Does the fact that an ROTC College Reapplicant has an additional nominating source (ROTC nomination) matter much - since the total number of ROTC nominations is small to begin with?
- Assuming success in their college courses, does a College Reapplicant from a major university have any advantage based on academic rigor over the Falcon scholar who has taken refresher-type courses in the prep school program?
- Any insight whether Congressional nominating sources are more likely to give nominations to Falcon scholars, understanding the nature of the program? This is probably the most concerning aspect because to risk taking the Falcon offer and have the possibility of not getting the nomination would be a disaster. Understanding nothing is guaranteed.
I have read the other threads and understand the Falcon offer is viewed as the “golden ticket” to USAFA the following year as long as the student completes the prep program, stays eligible with grades AND gets another nomination.
I have also read the many comments from many posters that once commissioned, people will only care about your job performance and not your commissioning source.
That said, in helping him evaluate the Falcon offer vs AFROTC, a few questions for the group:
- Given the many “golden ticket” references, is it relatively safe to assume that the Falcon offer has a distinct advantage over a College Reapplicant from ROTC? May sound like a dumb question if one is called “golden ticket,” but asking since both require the person to get another Congressional nomination. Perhaps the Falcon Scholars who get nominations are just in a more guaranteed pile of candidates versus the larger stack of overall College Reapplicants?
- Does the fact that an ROTC College Reapplicant has an additional nominating source (ROTC nomination) matter much - since the total number of ROTC nominations is small to begin with?
- Assuming success in their college courses, does a College Reapplicant from a major university have any advantage based on academic rigor over the Falcon scholar who has taken refresher-type courses in the prep school program?
- Any insight whether Congressional nominating sources are more likely to give nominations to Falcon scholars, understanding the nature of the program? This is probably the most concerning aspect because to risk taking the Falcon offer and have the possibility of not getting the nomination would be a disaster. Understanding nothing is guaranteed.
