Non-Military Scholarships

[baes]

Hello all,
I am an incoming HS senior and I’m pretty dedicated to doing NROTC or the Naval Academy but realized I don‘t have a proper ”Plan B” if those two options goes awry. I’ve been looking for other ways to pay for college, but I was wondering if anyone here knows of any scholarships at any school that would be able to pay for my college without having to do any service in the military. Any response will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!!

 

[Herman_Snerd]

Applying Early action in some schools admits you for eligibility for additional merit scholarships (Purdue et al.). Apply for FAFSA. Explore in-state universities and work with your guidance counselors to confirm which schools typically offer the greatest scholarships for a student with your GPA/ honors/AP/dual credit courseload, ranking, etc. Work with each college's admission and financial aid teams, and search the internet for scholarship opportunities - there are a lot of them, many take a bit of work with essays but after a while you can re-use the essays with a bit of lather/rinse/repeat use.

My DD that just graduated HS was phenomenal at this and will attend college for less than 10K per year while others are paying 45+. Of course, being a rock star academically with strong service/ leadership/ community leadership doesn't hurt either.

You can also research community colleges that have cross-town affiliations with ROTC units (like PIMA CC) so that if you don't get a scholarship you could join a very affordable college and compete for a ROTC scholarship as a college programmer.

Good luck to you.

 

[Capt MJ]

Hello all,
I am an incoming HS senior and I’m pretty dedicated to doing NROTC or the Naval Academy but realized I don‘t have a proper ”Plan B” if those two options goes awry. I’ve been looking for other ways to pay for college, but I was wondering if anyone here knows of any scholarships at any school that would be able to pay for my college without having to do any service in the military. Any response will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!!

You can figure this out yourself by doing the legwork.

Tactic 1. Use a couple of different search strings in Google to produce all kinds of college scholarship sites, lists, sources.

Tactic 2. Colleges generally list scholarships they offer, along with their financial aid information. Start researching individual colleges for this info, which you are likely already doing for ROTC purposes. You can join an ROTC unit without a scholarship as a “college programmer.” Research the unit’s website hosted on the school website.

Here’s an example of my own alma mater’s scholarships:

Scholarships | Student Financial Aid | Wake Forest University

Wake Forest offers merit-based scholarships to fewer than 3% of first-year applicants. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions selects all merit-based scholarship recipients.

financialaid.wfu.edu

Tactic 3. Consult your guidance counselor for additional sources.

Tactic 4. Research government service scholarships. An example is below. Use a google search string with “student programs and scholarships federal department or agency,” where you sub in DHS, NSA, NASA, FBI, State Department, etc.

DoD STEM Scholarships & Grants - SMART Scholarship

The SMART Scholarship Program provides STEM students with full tuition, annual stipends, & employment with the Department of Defense (DoD) after graduation.

www.smartscholarship.org

 

[baes]

You can figure this out yourself by doing the legwork.

Tactic 1. Use a couple of different search strings in Google to produce all kinds of college scholarship sites, lists, sources.

Tactic 2. Colleges generally list scholarships they offer, along with their financial aid information. Start researching individual colleges for this info, which you are likely already doing for ROTC purposes. You can join an ROTC unit without a scholarship as a “college programmer.” Research the unit’s website hosted on the school website.

Here’s an example of my own alma mater’s scholarships:

Scholarships | Student Financial Aid | Wake Forest University

Wake Forest offers merit-based scholarships to fewer than 3% of first-year applicants. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions selects all merit-based scholarship recipients.

financialaid.wfu.edu

Tactic 3. Consult your guidance counselor for additional sources.

Tactic 4. Research government service scholarships. An example is below. Use a google search string with “student programs and scholarships federal department or agency,” where you sub in DHS, NSA, NASA, FBI, State Department, etc.

DoD STEM Scholarships & Grants - SMART Scholarship

The SMART Scholarship Program provides STEM students with full tuition, annual stipends, & employment with the Department of Defense (DoD) after graduation.

www.smartscholarship.org

Thank you!! And I will definitely look into Government Service Scholarships.

 

[Small Team Bacsi]

If serving in the military and serving your country at some point is your goal. And if you want significant help paying for college or getting a degree. And possibly a commission at some point.

Many people, clearly not nearly enough, but many people do enlist in the military as opposed to doing the officer route directly.