Looking for more info about the NROTC OTSSN scholarship

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wnsham96

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My son is a freshman at Norwich and is currently a college programmer in the NROTC unit. He received an email a few days ago from his Naval Science instructor. This is what it said:

The Commanding Officer of Norwich University NROTC can nominate up to three Freshman students for an "on-the-spot side load nomination" (OTSSN) scholarship. You are eligible and can compete for this nomination based on your performance (PRT scores/cumulative GPA) and participation in the NROTC BN. The NROTC Staff will interview applicants [...] and you'll have 5-10 minutes to explain why you're the best candidate.

Does anyone have any insight on how this is different than the regular side load application process? Up to 3 freshman can be nominated, but who are they competing with and how many are actually given the scholarship? Is this for a 3-year scholarship or will this also cover part of his freshman year?

I Googled OTSSN and came up with nothing.
 
Based on your description one is only competing with college programmers at Norwich. The regular side load involves an application that goes before a national board where your competing against all college programmers nationwide. I would assume if one doesn't receive the OTSSN, that one can still apply for the normal side-liad.
 
wnsham96 said:
My son is a freshman at Norwich and is currently a college programmer in the NROTC unit. He received an email a few days ago from his Naval Science instructor. This is what it said:

The Commanding Officer of Norwich University NROTC can nominate up to three Freshman students for an "on-the-spot side load nomination" (OTSSN) scholarship. You are eligible and can compete for this nomination based on your performance (PRT scores/cumulative GPA) and participation in the NROTC BN. The NROTC Staff will interview applicants [...] and you'll have 5-10 minutes to explain why you're the best candidate.

Does anyone have any insight on how this is different than the regular side load application process? Up to 3 freshman can be nominated, but who are they competing with and how many are actually given the scholarship? Is this for a 3-year scholarship or will this also cover part of his freshman year?

I Googled OTSSN and came up with nothing.
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I would query our esteemed member GWU PNS. He was the PNS at a major university and he can probably speak directly to this.
 
kinnem said:
Based on your description one is only competing with college programmers at Norwich. The regular side load involves an application that goes before a national board where your competing against all college programmers nationwide. I would assume if one doesn't receive the OTSSN, that one can still apply for the normal side-liad.
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Yes, this is what I initially thought as well, until I realized that they are competing for a nomination and not the scholarship itself. I was just wondering where the process goes after the nominated are selected.

@flieger83 Yes I was hoping @GWU PNS (emeritus) would give his insight so I'll tag him here!
 
Greetings to all from my lofty perch as former PNS and now pseudo-retired old guy now working as a government contractor :)

For starters, my basic reference for my answer is the Naval Service Training Command document NSTC M-1533.2E which has the nomenclature of the Regulations for Officer Development (ROD). It was last updated in April of 2023 by Rear Admiral Jennifer Couture. If there is an updated version, I have not seen it.

Chapter 2 of the ROD has all of the requirements and descriptions of the paths to a scholarship. And, if you use some GOOGLE-FU, and search NROTC ROD this instruction is downloadable in pdf format. It is a fantastic read for parents or children.

I do not see any mention of this OTSSN, and so this could be something generated internally by Norwich. It could be the way by which the PNS intends to rank his eligible College Programmers to send nominations forward to NSTC for selection. If there has been a decision made that an individual PNS can select someone for an immediate scholarship, that would have been very recent news, and it will be difficult to measure how each PNS will accomplish this. If each unit gets to choose 3 for example, then it would seem unfair to me to compare a unit such as Iowa State and their battalion of 40 with let's say TAMU and a Corps of Cadets that numbers in the hundreds. There is also the requirement that Tier 3 majors cannot exceed 15% of a freshman class and cannot exceed 35% of the graduating class. That is a statutory requirement from Congress.

At the end of the day, NSTC must review and approve every scholarship offered through NROTC for Navy Options, and Marine Corps Recruiting Command has to approve all of the Marine Option scholarships.

If your son wanted, he could ask his Lieutenant for the specific chapter in the ROD in order to further his professional development. I suspect the Lieutenant would have to tell him this is just a local Norwich program. Again, there may be a new version of the ROD since I left last year.

Bottom line is that it sounds like your son is doing very well if someone has recommended him for a meritorious nomination. I wish you all the best, As a side note, even if people type @GWU PNS it doesn't really ping my account. Not sure if that is a technical issue, or I am just too old to figure out how to make that work :)
 
As always @GWU PNS (emeritus) your input is helpful and appreciated!

I imagine if this is something new (or maybe for just this year - I have heard that NROTC side load scholarships are more plentiful now than in recent years past), then we may hear from others here on the forum that have the same questions. If I'm the only one ... well, sounds like it's a Norwich thing. Either way, we're thankful for this opportunity that he's been given. As a tier 3 major, he is already a little stressed that he won't get the scholarship and will have to take another route - either Advanced Standing or OCS. It would be nice if he could get that in his pocket and no longer have it as a concern.
 
My son is a freshman nrotc student (not yet on scholarship as a tier 3 major) in the Corps at Va Tech and is pursuing the same thing. They called it a "spot scholarship" but it was all initiated internally through his unit and the process began before Thanksgiving for him. He is now waiting on a decision from DoDMERB after submitting AMI. As the parents paying tuition in the mean time, super frustrated that we're waiting on their backlog. He was told there are 12 students applying for this, who have completed the requirements necessary, or perhaps were offered to compete with each other, for 3 spots. It sounds like it's a little different than a regular sideload but I'm overseas and leaving it all to him to figure out other than helping supply the AMI to him. He said the numbers vary per year based on what nrotc has open but maybe these spot options are available to the 6 SMCs? I really don't know.
 
@Gnarlygoat27 Thanks for sharing your experience. Have they told your son if the scholarship covers part or all of his freshman year, or is it strictly a 3-year sideload? I'm under the impression that this is a separate process than the regular sideload, so if he doesn't get this "OTSSN" scholarship he can still apply later in the spring. Best of luck to your son! Would love to know how it all pans out for him. How's he liking VT? Did he apply to USNA? Norwich was plan B, and it's definitely challenging.
 
My DD is a 4C, Tier 1 and started as a College Programmer. She was also notified that she could be nominated by her battalion’s Captain to receive a scholarship. We figured out she got the scholarship when the university mailed us a refund for her spring tuition payment! It was a lovely surprise 😊
 
wnsham96 said:
@Gnarlygoat27 Thanks for sharing your experience. Have they told your son if the scholarship covers part or all of his freshman year, or is it strictly a 3-year sideload? I'm under the impression that this is a separate process than the regular sideload, so if he doesn't get this "OTSSN" scholarship he can still apply later in the spring. Best of luck to your son! Would love to know how it all pans out for him. How's he liking VT? Did he apply to USNA? Norwich was plan B, and it's definitely challenging.
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I’m sorry! I must have missed the notification from you. Anyway, my understanding is yeah it will cover the second semester of freshman year and if he doesn’t get it, can still aim for the 3yr sideload. We actually found out today he received his dodmerb waiver! This feels huge after a massive setback from a car accident at the start of his senior year of hs and some broken bones, but he’s all healed to their satisfaction, yay. He hasn’t received any official notification about the actual scholarship, but I know there were a few other students that were also waiting on waivers. It sounds like it’s at the NROTC unit commanders discretion when to pass them out. Of course in the meantime we’ve made the first payment of spring tuition and I’m just not sure how that all works out but trying to stay out of it 😵‍💫.

He did apply to USNA, yeah. He was in that last bunch of turndowns up into April sometime. I think he’s really enjoying VT and trying to make it his own experience. He would’ve been the fifth member of our immediate family to go to Annapolis and so there has been some processing around that, but this has worked out to be good for him. No walk in the park at all, but after all the build up of what to expect from USNA, I think he was well prepared in a way.
 
My DS is a CPer at a big unit in VA, but he says he hasn't heard anything about it from the unit or scuttlebutt. That doesn't mean his unit isn't having this OTSSN or spot scholarship. I guess it just means it is not a big notice to the unit so far. His grades and PRT are high enough that I would think he would at least be considered and informed, but who knows. Maybe it is just at SMC?
 
@Gnarlygoat27 oh that's great to hear about the waiver! I know that can be a real source of stress and frustration for some, so I'm glad your DS has overcome that hurdle. The interview for the OTSSN was about a week ago. My DS and I had a couple practice interview sessions over the phone and reviewed the 5 questions he was told to expect (plus a few others ... it felt a little like the nomination interview all over again), and he felt pretty good going in. Then they flipped the script and first told him he had 2 minutes to sell himself, then they asked him questions about Navy history 😂 which he botched. The curveball + being Tier 3 has left him with little hope for this one ... but I'm still crossing my fingers.
 
wnsham96 said:
@Gnarlygoat27 oh that's great to hear about the waiver! I know that can be a real source of stress and frustration for some, so I'm glad your DS has overcome that hurdle. The interview for the OTSSN was about a week ago. My DS and I had a couple practice interview sessions over the phone and reviewed the 5 questions he was told to expect (plus a few others ... it felt a little like the nomination interview all over again), and he felt pretty good going in. Then they flipped the script and first told him he had 2 minutes to sell himself, then they asked him questions about Navy history 😂 which he botched. The curveball + being Tier 3 has left him with little hope for this one ... but I'm still crossing my fingers.
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Thank you! pulling for your DS as well! we're still waiting but mine was told they had to decide by March 1. Not sure who makes that rule or why. I don't even know if my son had an interview this time. @Ihavenoidea it is a bit of a mystery!
 
Gnarlygoat27 said:
@Ihavenoidea it is a bit of a mystery!
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This is internet "news".
I've heard from different places and scuttlebutt from DS that there are alot of side load scholarships and 4 year scholarships this year. More than last year by a major amount. I've heard that is because of recent retention issues both in college Mids and fleet for officers. Fleet Officers it is more about increasing the pool for potential Department Heads, Executive Officers, ETC rather than need of more Junior Officers specifically. They need to increase the JO pool to try and increase the amount of officers interested in going DH and XO. Again, this is all rumor, so take it with a grain of salt.

I think NSTC saw a opportunity to give some quick side loads to some or all of the SMC's and let the PNS's decide for a few. I think its great and say good luck to anyone that has the opportunity.
 
Ihavenoidea said:
This is internet "news".
I've heard from different places and scuttlebutt from DS that there are alot of side load scholarships and 4 year scholarships this year. More than last year by a major amount. I've heard that is because of recent retention issues both in college Mids and fleet for officers. Fleet Officers it is more about increasing the pool for potential Department Heads, Executive Officers, ETC rather than need of more Junior Officers specifically. They need to increase the JO pool to try and increase the amount of officers interested in going DH and XO. Again, this is all rumor, so take it with a grain of salt.

I think NSTC saw a opportunity to give some quick side loads to some or all of the SMC's and let the PNS's decide for a few. I think its great and say good luck to anyone that has the opportunity.
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Oh that definitely all tracks with what I'm hearing too. Retention has always been an interesting ebb and flow over the course of my 20+ years married into this. My husband's command is undermanned big time, trying to stave off a war in the Red Sea and they are exhausted. People leave these billets and think more about retirement and the cycle expands. But you put in too many warm bodies and the competition gets icky too. Fortunately there have been more ups than downs so we keep at it. Sometimes I think our kids are crazy for wanting into this but God bless 'em. As the tuition paying parents with more kids in the pipeline, I'll take whatever comes his way!
 
Gnarlygoat27 said:
Oh that definitely all tracks with what I'm hearing too. Retention has always been an interesting ebb and flow over the course of my 20+ years married into this. My husband's command is undermanned big time, trying to stave off a war in the Red Sea and they are exhausted. People leave these billets and think more about retirement and the cycle expands. But you put in too many warm bodies and the competition gets icky too. Fortunately there have been more ups than downs so we keep at it. Sometimes I think our kids are crazy for wanting into this but God bless 'em. As the tuition paying parents with more kids in the pipeline, I'll take whatever comes his way!
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Thank you for your "inside the military" prospective, and I agree with you as it makes since. Older I get the more I see that everything seems to be a cycle. My DS is really the first to chose the military in my immediate family since my Grandfather, so we are experiencing all of this for the 1st time. I'm just glad he seems to be thriving as a CPer, and I will definitly be very happy if he is awarded a side load this summer. That is why I am hopeful for him this year with the talk of increases side load numbers. He had alittle bit of a chip on his shoulder not getting the 4 year last year, so he has be VERY motivated to get a side load this year. NSI last summer seemed to have solidified his decision to commision. That was a surprise!
 
Ihavenoidea said:
Thank you for your "inside the military" prospective, and I agree with you as it makes since. Older I get the more I see that everything seems to be a cycle. My DS is really the first to chose the military in my immediate family since my Grandfather, so we are experiencing all of this for the 1st time. I'm just glad he seems to be thriving as a CPer, and I will definitly be very happy if he is awarded a side load this summer. That is why I am hopeful for him this year with the talk of increases side load numbers. He had alittle bit of a chip on his shoulder not getting the 4 year last year, so he has be VERY motivated to get a side load this year. NSI last summer seemed to have solidified his decision to commision. That was a surprise!
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Totally understand that chip! It's a great motivator. And I'm glad they do these little samples of what's to come, so important the kids get a real chance to decide for themselves it's really what they want to pursue. Hopefully several of them who have been so close and worked hard already will be recognized with the opportunity soon! 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼
 
Gnarlygoat27 said:
Thank you! pulling for your DS as well! we're still waiting but mine was told they had to decide by March 1. Not sure who makes that rule or why. I don't even know if my son had an interview this time. @Ihavenoidea it is a bit of a mystery!
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Just wanted to revisit this thread to say he got the scholarship! 👏👏👏 Now just waiting to hear back from Project GO to see if he'll get to study overseas this summer.
 
wnsham96 said:
Just wanted to revisit this thread to say he got the scholarship! 👏👏👏 Now just waiting to hear back from Project GO to see if he'll get to study overseas this summer.
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Congratulations! Our DS (current 2/C) said it’s new this year. His CO gave out 3 as well at his school.
 
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