GPA vs Applying early

Jarhead713

Jarhead713

Junior Mod
5-Year Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2019
Messages
728
Hey all,

I toured MSU (HAIL STATE) on Monday during their fall preview day. As I do with all my college tours, I stopped by and spoke with their ROTC Commander.

I asked him the customary questions, what's the schedule like, how many cadre, how many are on scholarship etc. etc.

But, one interesting tidbit he shared with me was: those who apply earlier tend to have higher chances of winning a scholarship. But, here's the thing

Right now, my unweighted GPA is 3.4. (It's normally 3.5 or 3.6, but I was dealing with personal issues last year and I got my first C) It appears as 3.42222 on my transcript


So, I want y'alls opinion. Should I wait to apply after my semester grades come out, and my unweighted GPA is back to its former glory, or apply early and take the "early bird advantage"

Thanks! Hail State!
 
My advice is would be to apply now, and update later. It’s a similar situation as getting a higher standardized test score and updating, imo. Perhaps your whole package is stellar and a “lower” GPA won’t matter. Perhaps you will get an opportunity to address your GPA in a way (ie: interview) during the process.

You WONT be awarded if you aren’t before the board. You MAY if you are.
 
The difference between a 3.4 and 3.5 with everything else being equal will have little impact on your competitiveness. Remember, it is a "Whole" candidate approach.
 
OK, so you had a less than ideal Junior year performance. I will offer my opinion which is that if you've aced your Q1 grades that's good and will show the disconnect is over/ that you are back on track. I might even address it in the interview/ essays. I agree though with the advice to apply and update the GPA/ and share your latest transcript as soon as it's available. Also agree it's not the GPA uptick that will matter as much as showing you are back in the saddle/ back on-point. Good luck.
 
You do not state which branch. AFROTC does not take into account your senior yr grades.

I am with the others do it now. The boards have already started to meet, and with any organization there is a budget. IOWS, a limited amount of money they have to use for the FY. Nobody until the end of this yr how many applicants will apply and how large that pot of gold will be. The sooner you apply the better imo.
 
Jarhead713 said:
Hey all,

I toured MSU (HAIL STATE) on Monday during their fall preview day. As I do with all my college tours, I stopped by and spoke with their ROTC Commander.

I asked him the customary questions, what's the schedule like, how many cadre, how many are on scholarship etc. etc.

But, one interesting tidbit he shared with me was: those who apply earlier tend to have higher chances of winning a scholarship. But, here's the thing

Right now, my unweighted GPA is 3.4. (It's normally 3.5 or 3.6, but I was dealing with personal issues last year and I got my first C) It appears as 3.42222 on my transcript


So, I want y'alls opinion. Should I wait to apply after my semester grades come out, and my unweighted GPA is back to its former glory, or apply early and take the "early bird advantage"

Thanks! Hail State!
Click to expand...
Respectfully suggest looking at it this way...
Assuming you are inquiring about NROTC, there is no "early bird special." It's called "rolling admissions." Which means that scholarships have already been, are being, and will continue to be offered to applicants as this is being written. In other words, it is in a candidate's best interest to apply early... because scholarships are literally walking out the door.
 
For Army, first board is the smallest, and most competitive, typically going to be those with top stats and most competitive schools. These are not exact numbers but typically 1st board is 300 ish and second and third boards have around a 1000 or more. Of course, other services are completely different. In our town grades don‘t come out until January which would miss the deadline for the second board, in that case it would not be worth it. Make sure you have the strongest packet you can, but don’t miss the second board, if that is the case then might as well get it in for the first also. Also for Army they round, and not up. My DD and a 3.57 GPA and for the scholarship she was a 3.50. Good luck and keep us posted.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top