New to ROTC w/ Qs

mom3boys

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DS was offered 3 year AROTC today. Had already planned to attend UNG, but as a part of a program called RETP...an engineering transfer program, where after 2 years students transfer to GA tech to complete engineering degree. While we wait to hear from ROTC, UNG, and tech w/ official info, can anyone here tell me are these scholarships transferable? If he transfers, does he get to finish the ROTC program w/ his scholarship? How does this generally work?
Thanks for any help...this is uncharted territory for us.
 
DS was offered 3 year AROTC today. Had already planned to attend UNG, but as a part of a program called RETP...an engineering transfer program, where after 2 years students transfer to GA tech to complete engineering degree. While we wait to hear from ROTC, UNG, and tech w/ official info, can anyone here tell me are these scholarships transferable? If he transfers, does he get to finish the ROTC program w/ his scholarship? How does this generally work?
Thanks for any help...this is uncharted territory for us.

I actually have met two people who were a part of this program that came from different universities, and know people in AROTC at Gatech, but no one doing both. Sounds like this is a question for Cadet Command to answer. Usually it's a stipulation for ROTC scholarships that a cadet graduate from the same university the scholarship is initially applied to, but there may be exceptions for such a program. I doubt though that anyone here will be able to help you with that one, the Army Cadre at Gatech probably don't know either, at least not off the top of their heads. If this is a well established program at UNG though, they should probably have a solid answer for you.
 
Our Expereince

Congratulations on DS Scholarship.

A few things from our experience that may be helpful.

First RTEP is Engineering to GT. Check if the scholarship is engineering. Engineering students get 5 years to complete the program and they will need it because ROTC classes do not count towards the degree requirements at GA Tech. There are an Extra 28 hours of ROTC and RTEP has one 3 hour required class that does not count either. So he will need the extra time.

Our Experience. My DS was awarded a 4 year AROTC scholarship in engineering to GA Tech. He did not get accepted out of high school to GA Tech. It was recommended that he transfer the scholarship to KSU in the same battalion and take the calculus and Physics requirements and then transfer to GA Tech. Although he had a 3.2 average and 3.0 in math and science (Calculus and above) he still was not accepted at GA Tech. The university of Georgia just started an engineering program and he was able to go there. He did work with the UGA cadre and his scholarship was transferred. So he was able to transfer twice. They were all in state GA schools. KSU and GA tech are same Battalion and UGA is same Brigade, so an easier and more reasonable possibility.

The RTEP program is very specific. It is actually GA tech's program and it has specific requirements. You are guranteed acceptance by GA tech if you complete the program with the grades required. The grading is 3.0 in all calculus and calc based science classes. They do not count humanities, English or ROTC grades in the GPA for math and science. So its not a shoe in that you go to Tech. A couple of C's can ruin that in Calculus or physics. And a couple of C's in those classes don't make you a sub standard student. If you don't qualify for RTEP you a not likely to get into GA tech. My son met the requirements at a Non-RTEP school and was still not accepted. GA Tech is HIGHLY selective. So I would have a back-up transfer plan. If he is engineering UNG will not help as they don't have an engineering program. UGA may be a back-up option or Clemson. Clemson does offer in state tuition to ROTC cadets. I also hear GA SOuthern has a new engineering program, but I am not familar with it.

As I said my son was able to transfer the scholarship last year. Things are tight now so there are no guarantees, I only can tell you it happened. A couple of things that worked in his favor. His GPA was good for and engineer 3.3. His PT scores were 270+ and I think the engineer major may have helped, but I don't know. In general his Cadre was supportive. He did have a difficult adjustment time transferring to a new unit as an MS3 but it worked out.

I would check out the scholarship for engineering. And I would definately track the required courses at GA Tech and a couple back-ups. They are likely similar but there are some subtle differences and you don't want to take too many classes that don't count. My DS will have taken 165 semester hours when he graduates. 130 for UGA , 7 classes that did not count at UGA and 28 hours of ROTC.

Hope this helps
 
Thank you for a very helpful reply. UNG is one of the RTEP schools, so if he has the RTEP GPA, he will go to tech...that is why DS is doing UNG, instead of GGC, which is around the corner. If you try to go from non RTEP to GA tech, you have to have the transfer GPA of 3.7. The classes necessary for RTEP are pre-selected. They tell you exactly what to take and when. Obviously there are no guarantees, but since he wants to study engineering, RTEP is a great way to go in GA. I emailed the ROTC coordinator at tech and he said they take cadets from UNG quite often, and didn't anticipate a problem. UNG likes cadets to stay 3 years and do the final 2 at tech, but tech prefers he transfer at the end of two years.

Incidently, my other son graduated from UGA in their engineering department...he was their first grad w/ a degree in computer systems engineering...he is very happily employed.
 
Sounds like you have already talked to the right people. The third ROTC year is a big one. In all honesty it will likely take more than two years to complete RTEP with ROTC added in although a couple summer courses can help and you can even start this summer. Just go to GA Tech registrars site and there is a transfer equivalency app to make sure the class will be accepted at tech. I'd stay in touch with both Cadre's and a back-up. Also for budgeting keep in mind that the Hope scholarship only pays for the first 127 hours of undergraduate work. Unfortunately the ROTC classes eat into that so you will likely will have the hope scholarship expired by year 5. You may want to check the ROTC scholarship wording. Ours seemed to indicate that engineering got an additional year of scholarship payment, but I may have been mistaken. I'll know for sure in about 16 months.

Good Luck
 
The contact at tech said w/ engineering majors, you ask to have your benefits extended...I said "so your 3 year turns to a 4?" He says, "yep." Because UNG is part of RTEP, they tell you exactly what to take so that it is accepted by tech...they take the students down to tour tech and decide on engineering field as part of the program. Great idea to start classes this summer...he can do those at the Gainesville campus pretty inexpensively.
 
Excellent. We live on the northwest side and there is not an RTEP program since Southern Poly went off on its own.
Not to belabor the point about the back-up plan. The good news most engineering programs are very similar and the GA schools had just a couple minor differences. Here was our experience with aiming for Tech and going to UGA. All the calculus, Physics and Chemistry transferred fine to both schools. Tech teaches Calc 2 differently so even in RTEP he will have to take a two hour linear algebra class. My advice don't take it until you know you are going to tech for sure. Nobody else requires it. Also when choosing Humanity and social science electives. Tech requires Econ and an Ethics classes, UGA does not specifically require them but does require a public speaking class. So my advice is to hold a couple of the Social Science/ humanities off until you know where your going. The one difference in the core is also Biology. Oddly enough, the Biology class that Tech requires will not fulfill the requirement at UGA. SO I recommend doing biology after physics and Chem. If you are going to have a grade hiccup it is likely those classes. SO if you do end up at a back-up like UGA you didn't waste 4 credit hours on the the wrong Biology class.
 
The info in this thread is so wonderfully detailed.

I am thrilled to know I'm not the only parent who obsesses over the specific details of classes and credits required for graduation. I look into it way more than DS does, feeling a little bit like a creeper for doing it, but my intentions are to save him and me money by helping ensure he gets the right classes at the right time and doesn't waste money on ones he doesn't need. There is nobody else on the planet who cares about this as much as I do. DS will only start caring as much as I do when the bills come in that HE has to pay.

Anyway, thanks for the validation that I'm not the only pseudo-advisor who picks apart the advisement form and scours the bulletin every semester.
 
I'm right there with you payitforward! My older son goes to Miami University in Ohio, and he doesn't care nearly as much as I do!
 
Lol! In two weeks my DS will be a Senior...Looking to adopt a new freshman with a different major so I can start scouring class catalogs and schedule matrix's all over again!
 
The info in this thread is so wonderfully detailed.

I am thrilled to know I'm not the only parent who obsesses over the specific details of classes and credits required for graduation. I look into it way more than DS does, feeling a little bit like a creeper for doing it, but my intentions are to save him and me money by helping ensure he gets the right classes at the right time and doesn't waste money on ones he doesn't need. There is nobody else on the planet who cares about this as much as I do. DS will only start caring as much as I do when the bills come in that HE has to pay.

Anyway, thanks for the validation that I'm not the only pseudo-advisor who picks apart the advisement form and scours the bulletin every semester.

You are far from alone. I used to pour through the bulletin and his graduation requirements just prior to when he would be signing up for the next semester's classes and then would grill him on what he was planning on taking. Fortunately he was on top of things but nevertheless he did, sometimes, take some courses I would rather he hadn't taken. But as long as he's graduating on time I don't care.

I would add that 40 years after graduating college I still have nightmares that I didn't really complete all the credits I needed to (which was not the case) and that people found out and I had to go back to finish my degree. Not sure if I was worried about something or just wanted an excuse to go back to college! :biggrin:
 
NewCollegeParent: do you know of anyone who did RTEP and didn't get into tech? RTEP GPA is 3.3 (I think)...anyone else is a straight transfer and must have a 3.7, per tech website. If DS has 3.3, he should be in great shape...as the program is designed to ease right into tech...the classes are totally pre-selected for the next 4 semesters.
 
I do not know of anyone who did qualify and not make it. The RTEP requirements are the same as their minimum standards for a Transfer Student. My understanding is if you go to a RTEP school and complete the entire program and have the required GPA you are automatically accepted to GA Tech before any other transfer applicants. In fact the transfer application asks if you are RTEP which leads me to believe these people go first. So I definitely think its the right way to go if Tech is the goal. He can apply as a regular transfer after one an two years even if he has not completed RTEP. He will need to have met the GPA requirements as well as have completed CALC 1 and 2 and Physics ! and Chem 1 at a minimum. If he doesn't get in then reapply after the RTEP is completed.

To complete RTEP in two years plus ROTC sounds tough to me.


I can tell you from our experience that minimum GPA for transfer admissions at GA Tech is just that, am minimum. If you don't hit it you are very unlikely to get in, and the cadre doesn't have any pull, or at least they didn't. In reality I think you need to be about 0.3 points higher for regular transfer. Minimum is fine for RTEP.

Also note that grade point average is just for the calculus and calc based science classes. So the "A" you get in History and ROTC does not help meet the RTEP requirement or the Minimum transfer GPA .

I wish we would have had the ability to do RTEP over on our side of town. But UGA is working out fine for DS.

Actually what YOU, I and others on this web site are doing is: "guidance" for their education and potential careers. So long as we guide and allow them to experience and learn, I say it falls under the category of "Good parenting"
 
The info in this thread is so wonderfully detailed.

I am thrilled to know I'm not the only parent who obsesses over the specific details of classes and credits required for graduation. I look into it way more than DS does, feeling a little bit like a creeper for doing it, but my intentions are to save him and me money by helping ensure he gets the right classes at the right time and doesn't waste money on ones he doesn't need. There is nobody else on the planet who cares about this as much as I do. DS will only start caring as much as I do when the bills come in that HE has to pay.

Anyway, thanks for the validation that I'm not the only pseudo-advisor who picks apart the advisement form and scours the bulletin every semester.

Believe me , you are far from obsessed. DS's first week in college, he got out done with all of my questions and actually told me that it was time to cut the apron strings. I said "no problem.. I'll be there in an hour to pick up my truck, cell phone, credit card and all other things that belong to me and that he could pay his own bills from then on.." He quickly changed his tune. As long as I'm still responsible for his education and my wallet is still open for him, I will be a part of those decisions. I will help him with the tools he needs to succeed, ie eduction. Then I will be there for advice and suggestions.

Just the other day he sent his fall registration schedule for me to review. :shake: There is nothing wrong with confirming that they are on track. Keep it up!
 
Thanks NewCollegeParent. DS will likely be taking 18 hours first semester...but that's what we did in the olden days, so he should be fine. If he can't handle that, how can he ever handle tech? (or flight school for that matter??)...so it will be an interesting time ahead for us!
 
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