Immediate Selection Review NROTC Scholarship

Joined
Jan 22, 2019
Messages
23
Good morning.

We were told in November that our DS had been selected for the 4-yr NROTC scholarship by "Immediate Selection Review" from the chief petty officer and the Captain who interviewed him in our area. I can't find anything about Immediate Selection Review on this portal or even in the NROTC information. His portal has not been updated with that information since November and when he called, they said that it had been sent to Pensacola for further review (which the captain basically told him was just a formality because they have 2 of these types to give per region). I'm new to this, so here are my questions:

It is my understanding that based on the list that my DS made in his application, they will "assign" his scholarship to a university. He has applied and been accepted 3/5 on his list (we are still waiting on choices 3-4, but he has a few "back-ups" just in case). We thought maybe the hold up was that his first choice was Embry Riddle University, but then we found out that they fill up those slots rather quickly and they were waiting to see if he had been accepted to his second choice (Texas A&M), which he has (as of last week).
1. Should we contact someone to let them know he's been accepted to TAMU or do we just wait patiently for his portal to be updated (I know it's the military, and we need to get used to waiting.)?
2. Are we supposed to find out which college he's assigned to when they update the portal with the scholarship information?
3. I understand that it could be up to April when final scholarships are awarded, so do those kids not know where they are going until April? I'm just wondering if his portal won't be updated until then and he will have to wait to select his housing and send in a housing deposit and sign up to attend a new student orientation.

I'm sorry for so many questions. Thank you for any advice or answers you can give me.
 
My personal experience on being in the military and the due process is when you have a question call them. They are people and since they gave him that high of a scholarship (since they only have 2), they are obviously interested in him. I would call the Captain and ask if he is assigned a university or the actual question that you have. Only they truly know the process, but it doesn't hurt to ask them! Dont worry about bothering them. That's what they are there for!
 
I would call the Captain and ask your questions regarding college assignment directly. The Captain was right that it still needs to go through the scholarship selection board and that it is pretty much a formality. Some scholarships limit the schools you can attend but I have no idea if this one does. The Captain or perhaps even the CPO will know.

There was a recent post on another thread that limits on the number of NROTC scholarships has been removed, so he should pretty much get his first choice, if a choice is allowed.
 
Immediate Scholarship Reservation (ISR). The 'they' that assign the school for your DS are the folks based in Pensacola who review the ISR packages from the recruiting commands. As stated, this process is a final set of eyes on the application to ensure minimum program entrance standards are met. If so, scholarship offer is made. Scholarship 'slots' will no longer fill up. That's a change this year. If your DS has a scholarship and gets into first choice school, that's where he can go. In fact, that's where the scholarship will be assigned unless your DS has a change of heart.

Your DS is sitting in a very good position. Yes, be patient, but you are certainly free to call the recruiter and ask for an update on whether his ISR package has been validated by the national board yet.
 
Immediate Scholarship Reservation (ISR). The 'they' that assign the school for your DS are the folks based in Pensacola who review the ISR packages from the recruiting commands. As stated, this process is a final set of eyes on the application to ensure minimum program entrance standards are met. If so, scholarship offer is made. Scholarship 'slots' will no longer fill up. That's a change this year. If your DS has a scholarship and gets into first choice school, that's where he can go. In fact, that's where the scholarship will be assigned unless your DS has a change of heart.

Your DS is sitting in a very good position. Yes, be patient, but you are certainly free to call the recruiter and ask for an update on whether his ISR package has been validated by the national board yet.

If he has had a change of heart and would prefer to attend TAMU instead of Embry Riddle, do you know who should he let know? His recruiter wasn't sure. He just knew it wasn't in his scholarship package that has already been sent.
 
Yes. DS would send an email to this address: pnsc_nrotc.placement@navy.mil letting requesting that his scholarship be places at TAMU.

I would defer that action until notification that scholarship has been received - which is simply a matter of time if the national board has his ISR package.
 
The program you are referring to is the Immediate Scholarship reservation. This is how my DS was awarded his scholarship a couple years ago. I'd probably wait a bit before reaching out to anyone about this. I know the wait is probably killing everyone; it did us until we received the official notification. The wheels of government may turn slowly, but they do turn. In my DS case, he was told in September he was being awarded this scholarship and I believe he received the official notification in December. A lot of it is just a matter of timing. Once the Commander of the regional recruiting district (the Captain you referred to) awards the scholarship, the package is sent to Pensacola for review, processing and school assignment. This is done during the regular boards, which at this time of year are held about once a month. If your DS' packet wasn't ready in time to be reviewed during a board in November, it would roll over to the next board. Throw in the holidays and it's really not surprising that you haven't heard just yet. His school assignment will come with the award notification. I'd say, if you haven't heard anything by late February, maybe make some inquiries, but sit tight until then. It will get done. For now it's hurry up and wait, as the old saying goes. I'd also suggest waiting until you receive the official word on the scholarship and school placement to request any change of schools. Others who have posted about this have said the process was quick and easy.

Congratulations and good luck to your DS.
 
OK, so my DS was nominated for an Immediate Selection Review as well, but we never heard back either way. I believe that if they are not awarded a scholarship by ISR, they are then added to the National Boards. I am curious if it is noted anywhere that they were nominated for the ISR? I would think it would be a "positive" that they were even selected to be reviewed in this way, although, not being selected could be seen as a negative? Has anyone had experience that could shed any light on this?
 
I can't say for sure, but it doesn't seem that being considered for an ISR in and of itself would be a positive or negative for an applicant, beyond the mere fact that if they were considered, it would indicate that they have a strong application to begin with. You are correct that if the applicant is not selected for the ISR, it is forwarded for review through the regular process. What we learned as my DS went through the process was that different recruiting districts handled the ISR awards differently. In some districts, the commander decides who they plan to award the ISRs to based on the application and the interview is more of a formality to confirm the candidate's qualifications and interest and that they plan to use the ISR if it is awarded. In other districts, it is a more competitive process where the commander interviews several candidates, then decides who to award the ISRs to. Not sure when he interviewed, but if it has been at least a few weeks and your DS has not heard yet one way or the other, he may want to contact the recruiting district office to follow up on the status. I would think he would be notified one way or the other.
 
Great, thank you! I never even considered having him contact the recruiting district office. He interviewed over the holiday break, so it's been a bit, but will probably give it one more week. This forum has been so helpful to both of us!
 
Great, thank you! I never even considered having him contact the recruiting district office. He interviewed over the holiday break, so it's been a bit, but will probably give it one more week. This forum has been so helpful to both of us!
That's where I would start, since the district commander is the one who makes the decision of who to award the ISR scholarships to. They would know whether one was awarded to your DS or not. Even if he is awarded and ISR it will likely take a couple months to process and show up on his portal, due to the processing. My in 2016, my DS was awarded his in September, but it didn't show up in his portal until December.
 
Back
Top