Therese_In_Denver
Member
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2019
- Messages
- 113
This morning, DS got a call from his NROTC recruiter saying that he must make his decision by Monday 1/6. Accept the "Immediate Scholarship Reservation" or decline the scholarship and "take his chances" waiting on USNA. This is not a case of an 18 year old misunderstanding... I was standing next to him and he held the phone a bit away from his ear so I could hear the recruiter. We did not even know what "ISR" was until we looked it up on the forum acronym list. DS was shell-shocked, but polite and professional. Upon hanging up, DS called his BGO who then reached out to his own network for NROTC-specific knowledge. Apparently, DS received an award specific to the regional command. His application was never submitted to the national NROTC board. It was pulled out of the pool in order to consider him for the command's 200K 4 yr NROTC scholarship. DS was never told that this additional layer of interviews would mean he has to choose between SAs and NROTC. He told everyone in the 4 interview NROTC process that he had applications in for USNA, USMA and USAFA and that USNA was his first choice. They know he has MOC nominations for USNA and USMA and our 2 senators' Nominations are still up in the air. The very first time DS learned that this ISR NROTC award was "take it or leave it" was this morning. If he does not accept the scholarship and commit 100% to becoming an NROTC midshipman, they will give this scholarship to the next in line. Recruiter made a point of saying that if DS does not accept this, the $200,000 will go to "a kid you already beat out".
When pressed, the recruiter admitted that DS could request for his NROTC application to be returned to the national NROTC pool. DS completed his NROTC application in the fall as BGO advised, so three boards have already come and gone. The NROTC recruiter said that he could be "back in the pool" by mid January and be looked at by the February NROTC board. The recruiter admitted that the pressure to accept the ISR by Monday is based on quotas and the command "looks bad" if they don't have the ISRs filled. I've been a physician recruiter for almost 30 years...if DS turns down the ISR scholarship in order to wait on USNA decision, my fear is that this recruiter will negatively tag this application as it goes back to the national pool. All it takes is a few words from a trusted insider to derail a candidate in any competitive process. So if DS follows his heart (as of this afternoon) and declines the ISR to wait on USNA appointment decision, he may end up with no Navy at all because he did too well on his Plan B Application and interviews? If he tells the recruiter on Monday that he accepts and is 100% committed to being an NROTC midshipman and then backs out if appointed to USNA, what does that mean for our family's values for honesty, integrity, and keeping your word?
My heart is breaking. What would you advise if this were your DS?
When pressed, the recruiter admitted that DS could request for his NROTC application to be returned to the national NROTC pool. DS completed his NROTC application in the fall as BGO advised, so three boards have already come and gone. The NROTC recruiter said that he could be "back in the pool" by mid January and be looked at by the February NROTC board. The recruiter admitted that the pressure to accept the ISR by Monday is based on quotas and the command "looks bad" if they don't have the ISRs filled. I've been a physician recruiter for almost 30 years...if DS turns down the ISR scholarship in order to wait on USNA decision, my fear is that this recruiter will negatively tag this application as it goes back to the national pool. All it takes is a few words from a trusted insider to derail a candidate in any competitive process. So if DS follows his heart (as of this afternoon) and declines the ISR to wait on USNA appointment decision, he may end up with no Navy at all because he did too well on his Plan B Application and interviews? If he tells the recruiter on Monday that he accepts and is 100% committed to being an NROTC midshipman and then backs out if appointed to USNA, what does that mean for our family's values for honesty, integrity, and keeping your word?
My heart is breaking. What would you advise if this were your DS?