Likelihood of scholarship without Varsity sports

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PRBWJB

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I know none of you can "chance me", but is anyone aware of a HS student earning a ROTC scholarship without participating in a Varsity sport? My ds is very involved in theater and literary events. He has won several State awards in both performing and visual arts. He's a good athlete, gets great scores on the cadet challenge (he's in JROTC) and has a lot of leadership (will likely be one of the top 5 in the Battalion next year).

He has a desire to serve as an officer in the military. He has no desire to pursue the arts (people always ask because he's really good at it). I know he can join ROTC without a scholarship, but he does plan to apply for AROTC when eligible next year.
 
I have no idea as far as rotc so wait for an informed answer on that

Sports are important for a couple of reasons.

Shows ability to work with others, fitness, how competitive someone might be ,

Id expound on how the events and activities he does do and does do quite well satisfies all those above .

id double down on what makes him unique.
 
My son earned a Type 1 AFROTC scholarship during the first board this year. Zero varsity sports. He trained for and passed the physical fitness test though. His strength is academics (35 composite ACT, GPA of 103) and he chose a STEM major which is really what ROTC wants to see. I will say, however, his lack of varsity athletics will probably be why he doesn't get a USAFA appointment. Irregardless, the lack of varsity sports did not hurt him with a ROTC scholarship. Best of luck to your son!
 
I'm certainly not an expert here, as my daughter (ROTC winner) and son (USCGA) are both athletes. But, at USCGA, the kids put on wonderful musicals, are in a cappella groups, and showcase their performing arts talents in a variety of ways. The academies need all kinds of kids and I agree with what one poster said, "double down on what makes him unique".
Just a thought, has your son considered doing a half marathon or triathlon? They are individual sports, but the skills definitely transfer to ROTC and academy life and I'm sure look good on an application. Good luck!
 
PRBWJB said:
I know none of you can "chance me", but is anyone aware of a HS student earning a ROTC scholarship without participating in a Varsity sport? My ds is very involved in theater and literary events. He has won several State awards in both performing and visual arts. He's a good athlete, gets great scores on the cadet challenge (he's in JROTC) and has a lot of leadership (will likely be one of the top 5 in the Battalion next year).

He has a desire to serve as an officer in the military. He has no desire to pursue the arts (people always ask because he's really good at it). I know he can join ROTC without a scholarship, but he does plan to apply for AROTC when eligible next year.
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I am not in any sports except for JROTC fitness teams, and I received a 3-year scholarship on the 2nd board for Army ROTC. So it is definitely possible if all of your other stats are good. Make sure he tries to be on staff in JROTC and do as many teams as he can in there as well. That is what I did because I didn't enjoy the atmosphere of high school sports at my school.
 
Lots of good advice thusfar. Jist to show how the opposite of sorts can be true.....

I have done interviews with candidates who speak in glowing terms of how much they want to be a naval officer. I ask them why they don't participate in their high school's NJROTC program or CAP, and they tell me they are too busy with sports. That doesn't sit well with me. But at the end of the day I think the thing that needs to be showcased is leadership in any and all activities that a candidate participates in.
 
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My youngest was a wrestler and volleyball player. He just stopped wrestling and plays Volleyball year round. But he also does Spartan Races and is a competitive sporting clays shooter as well as a skier. He is also in Civil Air Patrol. There are other sports. Being a scholar, leader and athlete takes many forms.
 
To reiterate what others have confirmed, it is certainly possible to receive an ROTC scholarship without varsity sports. I received an AROTC scholarship, despite having no varsity sports. I do participate actively in CAP, and I did quite well on my fitness test. Hopefully, after seeing these replies you can feel reassured knowing that the ROTC application process is very multifaceted.
 
Certainly the only way to have a chance is to apply - go for it. I like the notion of marathon training, a strong fitness score, and presenting in peak shape in your interview. There are those of us that think sports provide a breadth of valuable lessons including working well with others, performing as a team, facing and overcoming challenge, humility, etc. but nothing silences doubt like success - so show them you are fit, capable, and that fitness is central to your life.
 
Chilidog1000 said:
I am not in any sports except for JROTC fitness teams, and I received a 3-year scholarship on the 2nd board for Army ROTC. So it is definitely possible if all of your other stats are good. Make sure he tries to be on staff in JROTC and do as many teams as he can in there as well. That is what I did because I didn't enjoy the atmosphere of high school sports at my school.
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Me too!
 
4 year athlete is a key check box for competitive college admissions too, not just ROTC, at least according to the private counselor we worked with in HS that helped DS get into a top 30 CSCI program that was also the only school he was admitted to with an NROTC program (the others all had AROTC and AFROTC but no NROTC). Early on in high school the wife and I argued about this as she didn't want to push him to play if he didn't want to, but now she and he are both glad I pushed the issue.
 
PRBWJB said:
I know none of you can "chance me", but is anyone aware of a HS student earning a ROTC scholarship without participating in a Varsity sport? My ds is very involved in theater and literary events. He has won several State awards in both performing and visual arts. He's a good athlete, gets great scores on the cadet challenge (he's in JROTC) and has a lot of leadership (will likely be one of the top 5 in the Battalion next year).

He has a desire to serve as an officer in the military. He has no desire to pursue the arts (people always ask because he's really good at it). I know he can join ROTC without a scholarship, but he does plan to apply for AROTC when eligible next year.
Click to expand...
DS earned an early board MC NROTC scholarship WITHOUT a varsity sport. He had 4 years XC, with junior year as JV (our boys varsity usually goes to state). Also a black belt martial arts by sophomore year. ~260 USMC PFT score. It's definitely possible to do it without varsity sports. We also pushed both our kids to do some kind of sport - not necessarily for college, but just to keep in good physical condition and challenge themselves.
 
123456 said:
DS earned an early board MC NROTC scholarship WITHOUT a varsity sport. He had 4 years XC, with junior year as JV (our boys varsity usually goes to state). Also a black belt martial arts by sophomore year. ~260 USMC PFT score. It's definitely possible to do it without varsity sports. We also pushed both our kids to do some kind of sport - not necessarily for college, but just to keep in good physical condition and challenge themselves.
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Actually you son had a varsity sport——that black belt is considered one.
 
123456 said:
DS earned an early board MC NROTC scholarship WITHOUT a varsity sport. He had 4 years XC, with junior year as JV (our boys varsity usually goes to state). Also a black belt martial arts by sophomore year. ~260 USMC PFT score. It's definitely possible to do it without varsity sports. We also pushed both our kids to do some kind of sport - not necessarily for college, but just to keep in good physical condition and challenge themselves.
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Where I live and at the Service Academies, Cross Country is a Varsity Sport.
 
I know multiple students, myself included, who didn't do sports. We all got scholarships. While it might help, plenty of people who didn't play sports get it, as long as you do well on the PT test.
 
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