NROTC Alternate Status

[Raven930]

My son's application just went through the first board review and was placed in alternate status, the waiting is tough !! While we wait I have a few questions I'm not sure can even be answered. We were told by the Naval Academy, West Point, and Coast Guard Academies that they are very familiar with the rigor of DS high school and take that into account when it comes to his application, does that also apply to the NROTC process ? My second question will they take into account that he is a first generation college student as well ? He does have a solid plan B if he does not get the NROTC Scholarship, but we're obviously hoping he makes the cut !! Thank you !

 

[Ihavenoidea]

My son's application just went through the first board review and was placed in alternate status, the waiting is tough !! While we wait I have a few questions I'm not sure can even be answered. We were told by the Naval Academy, West Point, and Coast Guard Academies that they are very familiar with the rigor of DS high school and take that into account when it comes to his application, does that also apply to the NROTC process ? My second question will they take into account that he is a first generation college student as well ? He does have a solid plan B if he does not get the NROTC Scholarship, but we're obviously hoping he makes the cut !! Thank you !

I don't believe that what high school a applicant went to is considered in the evaluation for scholarship. I suspect the SAT/ACT scores are used more to compare applicants nationally against other applicants. Where the applicant is compared to the rest of their class is likely considered. The NROTC scholarship is national and a different animal than the academies, so they have a different way of looking for candidates from all over the country rather than in different districts.

Not sure about the 1st generation college student being considered. My guess would be no because I don't think it is even a question on the application, but I'm not sure.

 

[GWU PNS (emeritus)]

We were told by the Naval Academy, West Point, and Coast Guard Academies that they are very familiar with the rigor of DS high school and take that into account when it comes to his application, does that also apply to the NROTC process?

In terms of high school items viewed by the board, the GPA (whether weighted or unweighted), the evaluations by the Math Teacher and one other teacher, along with the guidance counselor's recommendation are what get considered. There simply is no objective method for determining which high schools have more or less rigor than another one. As a brief side note on that, when I review the essay questions written by applicants, if they are very well written, I take a look back to see what grade they received in english writing/composition. And if they aren't that well written, I STILL look back to see what grade they received. Basically, how well does the grade received match what I see on the essay questions?

My second question will they take into account that he is a first generation college student as well ?

The best way to answer this is to turn it back to the applicant. There is a question about overcoming adversity, as well as why serving in the Naval service is important. Did the applicant bring this up in the essay responses? And when I say that, I mean did the applicant explain the personal importance of being the first to get into college, and what specific obstacles he/she overcame to make that happen? Our challenge is simply that if we give some preferential treatment based on a person being a first-generation college student, then you can imagine the following years, we will see a sharp increase in the number of students stating they are first-generation. We just don't have a way to determine the truth of those claims.

Lastly, based on the numbers I am seeing with remaining packages, folks that are sitting on the alternate list who are Tier 3's will be a bit more challenged than last year. Not impossible by any means, but I think due to post COVID academic fatigue, we are seeing more Tier 3 applications in the closing weeks of this season.

 

[Gnarlygoat27]

In terms of high school items viewed by the board, the GPA (whether weighted or unweighted), the evaluations by the Math Teacher and one other teacher, along with the guidance counselor's recommendation are what get considered. There simply is no objective method for determining which high schools have more or less rigor than another one.

Captain Meyers you always have such great insight, I'm always quoting what you say to DH and DS as we wait it all out . Similar to the applicant using the essay prompts to explain their personal circumstances, do you see teacher and counselor evaluations explaining the rigor of the school? I'm assuming the focus is on the student's performance but in regards to the rigors of the class. For example my son's current AP Calc AB class is taught by a PhD who used to teach math to astronauts at NASA. I have no idea how this stacks up to any other AP Calc AB, but it sounds intimidating!

 

[Raven930]

In terms of high school items viewed by the board, the GPA (whether weighted or unweighted), the evaluations by the Math Teacher and one other teacher, along with the guidance counselor's recommendation are what get considered. There simply is no objective method for determining which high schools have more or less rigor than another one. As a brief side note on that, when I review the essay questions written by applicants, if they are very well written, I take a look back to see what grade they received in english writing/composition. And if they aren't that well written, I STILL look back to see what grade they received. Basically, how well does the grade received match what I see on the essay questions?


The best way to answer this is to turn it back to the applicant. There is a question about overcoming adversity, as well as why serving in the Naval service is important. Did the applicant bring this up in the essay responses? And when I say that, I mean did the applicant explain the personal importance of being the first to get into college, and what specific obstacles he/she overcame to make that happen? Our challenge is simply that if we give some preferential treatment based on a person being a first-generation college student, then you can imagine the following years, we will see a sharp increase in the number of students stating they are first-generation. We just don't have a way to determine the truth of those claims.

Lastly, based on the numbers I am seeing with remaining packages, folks that are sitting on the alternate list who are Tier 3's will be a bit more challenged than last year. Not impossible by any means, but I think due to post COVID academic fatigue, we are seeing more Tier 3 applications in the closing weeks of this season.

 

[Raven930]

Captain Meyers you always have such great insight, I'm always quoting what you say to DH and DS as we wait it all out . Similar to the applicant using the essay prompts to explain their personal circumstances, do you see teacher and counselor evaluations explaining the rigor of the school? I'm assuming the focus is on the student's performance but in regards to the rigors of the class. For example my son's current AP Calc AB class is taught by a PhD who used to teach math to astronauts at NASA. I have no idea how this stacks up to any other AP Calc AB, but it sounds intimidating!

In terms of high school items viewed by the board, the GPA (whether weighted or unweighted), the evaluations by the Math Teacher and one other teacher, along with the guidance counselor's recommendation are what get considered. There simply is no objective method for determining which high schools have more or less rigor than another one. As a brief side note on that, when I review the essay questions written by applicants, if they are very well written, I take a look back to see what grade they received in english writing/composition. And if they aren't that well written, I STILL look back to see what grade they received. Basically, how well does the grade received match what I see on the essay questions?


The best way to answer this is to turn it back to the applicant. There is a question about overcoming adversity, as well as why serving in the Naval service is important. Did the applicant bring this up in the essay responses? And when I say that, I mean did the applicant explain the personal importance of being the first to get into college, and what specific obstacles he/she overcame to make that happen? Our challenge is simply that if we give some preferential treatment based on a person being a first-generation college student, then you can imagine the following years, we will see a sharp increase in the number of students stating they are first-generation. We just don't have a way to determine the truth of those claims.

Lastly, based on the numbers I am seeing with remaining packages, folks that are sitting on the alternate list who are Tier 3's will be a bit more challenged than last year. Not impossible by any means, but I think due to post COVID academic fatigue, we are seeing more Tier 3 applications in the closing weeks of this season.

Captain Meyers thank you for this information, it definitely gives us some insight on the NROTC selection process ! I believe he falls under a Tier 2 so we're hoping he has a chance

 

[GWU PNS (emeritus)]

Captain Meyers you always have such great insight, I'm always quoting what you say to DH and DS as we wait it all out . Similar to the applicant using the essay prompts to explain their personal circumstances, do you see teacher and counselor evaluations explaining the rigor of the school? I'm assuming the focus is on the student's performance but in regards to the rigors of the class. For example my son's current AP Calc AB class is taught by a PhD who used to teach math to astronauts at NASA. I have no idea how this stacks up to any other AP Calc AB, but it sounds intimidating!

Some teachers are better at this than others. Some will say something like......."Having taught John Glenn when he worked at NASA, I can assure you that Gnarlygoat27 is much smarter than he ever was." Then we all sit there and think WOAHHH, that's a great statement. But we really just need the teachers to tell us if the person works well in groups, studies hard, would do well in math/calc/physics, etc. And then we have teachers who say something like......"I really didn't know this person until he approached me for this recommendation." As you may think, those don't exactly sell well on a board.

 

[Gnarlygoat27]

Some teachers are better at this than others. Some will say something like......."Having taught John Glenn when he worked at NASA, I can assure you that Gnarlygoat27 is much smarter than he ever was." Then we all sit there and think WOAHHH, that's a great statement. But we really just need the teachers to tell us if the person works well in groups, studies hard, would do well in math/calc/physics, etc. And then we have teachers who say something like......"I really didn't know this person until he approached me for this recommendation." As you may think, those don't exactly sell well on a board.

makes perfect sense! thank you