graduating HS early--affect ROTC scholarship?

L

libbywag

Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2020
Messages
43
Hi,
I've been lurking for months and found the forums very educational.
My DS is a rising senior in HS, working on his ROTC scholarship apps for Navy and AF. He has enough credits to graduate HS in January. With all the COVID stuff, it seems like a logical plan with the schools altering just about everything.
I spoke with his first-choice college ROTC contact and he didn't see a reason why graduating early would affect him negatively but he admitted he did not do any board reviews so could not speak to it.
Anybody have an opinion on this?
Obviously the grades, activities, sports, leadership etc are biggies and he is competitive (hopefully). Just don't want to hurt chances by doing this.
Thanks in advance.
 
Step 1: Have your DS talk to the school. As they say in the scouts, "Never do a for a boy what he can do for himself."

Having reviewed my son's NROTC app, I don't think there is even a spot where the review board would know this is the plan or happening.

Step 2: Have DS review the application for spots where this might be apparent or inferred. Then have a talk with him and do your own analysis.
 
As for Air Force, I once asked the same question to an AFROTC unit a while back. This was the reply:

"Yes, as long as you have completed all requirements for your high school graduation, it does not matter if you finish early and you are still eligible to apply for the 4-yr scholarship. Since you are a junior in high school, the application window for the 4-yr scholarship is not open for you until next summer, 1 Jun 2020. If you complete the application and are selected for the scholarship, it would begin your freshman semester as a college student (Fall 2021). Please follow this link for the scholarship information: www.afrotc.com/scholarships. If you are not selected for that scholarship, you can still join AFROTC when you begin college. There will be other opportunities for scholarships as a freshman and sophomore in the program."

The dates are correct as far as I can still see.
 
Agree with above... no reason it will impact the scholarship itself. They will probably know he's graduating early when school transcripts are sent, but that would only apply to later boards. My guess is that's a plus if anything.

After he graduates he should be able to explain how he continued to grow and develop himself between graduation and the start of fall semester of college. ie. I didnt spend 6 months playing video games. It may not come up for his application, but one never knows and it may be needed as part of a backup plan and also for college applications. Be prepared.

If you were thinking of starting college in Jan then there will be other hurdles to overcome, all involved with starting prior to a normal start in the autumn, both from ROTC and academic perspective.
 
Thanks to all who responded. He would be starting college in the fall, per normal. In the meantime, as a follow up question, anyone have any good 'half-gap year' opportunities? With this annoying virus, I'm left wondering what kind of growing opportunities are available. One idea is the plastic clean up boats organizations as a volunteer but hoping others may have heard of other ideas. I agree-- video games for 6 months is NOT the plan.
 
What about some community college classes? Foreign language, budgeting 101, insurance or other life skill type things. Cooking? I think these life skills are as important as anything. Even an introductory business or accounting class. Something that will do him well in being an independent adult. Practical, cheap, interesting and good for adulting.
 
Community College could be a good idea. Even something as simple as finding employment and working to save money for college would demonstrate responsibility. Spending a number of hours at a food bank could help turn the trick. If there is some way to demonstrate leadership skills in the process its even better
 
justdoit19 said:
budgeting 101, insurance or other life skill type things
Click to expand...

I totally agree with that suggestion. One of the best things our high school senior did that I see making an impact now was go through Dave Ramsey's Foundations of Personal Finance course. That set his course for how to handle his finances once independent and now two years later I see him making wise decisions that will serve him well later on. For example: because he learned about the power of compounding interest, he started an IRA with money he'd saved in high school and also enrolled in the Thrift Savings Plan as soon as he could so he could get the maximum match. He also learned about how debt affects a budget, so decided to forego a car until he could pay mostly cash - even though that meant hitching a ride with friends. He's making way better decisions with his life than I did at his age.

A semester of learning adult life skills would have a great payoff if he hasn't already had those in his previous schooling.
 
Thanks for the ideas. Community college courses after HS graduation officially makes him a transfer student so that messes with his chance to go straight into the university; transfer students are required to have 30 hours. He has started his savings in an IRA and tries to save and works part-time. Maybe a full time job is the way to go if we can't swing some type of foreign language excursion or other mind-opening experience.
 
+1 to BreakerBreaker. There are high school oriented classes/materials available for home-school kids on Amazon and I'm sure other places. This program is often taught at churches. Never been through it myself but often listen to Dave Ramsey. It couldn't possibly hurt to do this as a portion of the interregnum. Assuming he only lands a paret-time job, which is still a move in the right direction then this might be a candidate for additional activities. Just one man's 2 cents.
 
libbywag said:
Thanks for the ideas. Community college courses after HS graduation officially makes him a transfer student

Not sure this is true. Many students use dual enrollment - both in classroom at CC and simply getting credit via a program like Unitrack. They just forward their transcripts from CC prior to enrollment and those count or not (plan ahead!) as the rules of the individual university they will attend. It's similar to AP credits.

Both my DS went in with 23 to 28 credits from AP and CC enrollment.

You may encounter a problem with reapplying to national NROTC scholarship if you break the 30 unit barrier as that is a limit. But this reapplication is prohibited on the MO side and always seemed a low percentage play. If you did not make in the prior year and you are applying with another semester or two under the belt. You are betting the pool is less robust. Might help on the bubble but...
Click to expand...
 
libbywag said:
Thanks for the ideas. Community college courses after HS graduation officially makes him a transfer student so that messes with his chance to go straight into the university; transfer students are required to have 30 hours. He has started his savings in an IRA and tries to save and works part-time. Maybe a full time job is the way to go if we can't swing some type of foreign language excursion or other mind-opening experience.
Click to expand...
There are non-credit enrichment courses at most community colleges. Some courses can be taken in non-credit mode. Things to keep the brain engaged and expand critical thinking and knowledge.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top