Hello all fans of NROTC,
I am not from a military family, but have spent the past 2 years trolling this awesome forum, as well as doing research elsewhere to learn all I can.
I am a proud mother of a son from upstate New York who was appointed to USNA this past March. The entire application process, including every interaction with DODMERB and academy staff my son reported to me, was incredible. It was challenging for my son, tested his commitment, but the goals were always clear and he knew when he needed to wait vs. when he needed to take action. We are all very excited about what his next 9 years hold.
Unfortunately, his experience applying for the NROTC scholarship was much less stellar. Like his app for USNA, my son did the majority of the paperwork (essays, getting teacher recs, filling out apps, cfa) this past summer and had apps "in" by September.
Unlike USNA, he did not receive one point person with whom to communicate through NROTC. He had to contact 4 different personnel and establish relationships with all 4 to get updates on his application since his portal read pending for a very long time (through September, October, November and into December). He recognized that the scholarship is competitive and figured that he just had very stiff competition for those boards until he received a call in December from one of the four (a recruiter from the station who was witness for his signing some forms), called and told him he had yet to turn in the forms because they were being updated this year. My son met him at his high school and signed the updated forms. My son, worried that this would impact his app, called his "regional coordinator", who then told him that the app was on hold until the interview was conducted. But....he had his interview at the recruiting station in September! That had not been filed. The coordinator hustled to get my son the name of the NROTC interviewer at Cornell and my son called every other day for 2 weeks until he got an interview (after all....the deadline was approaching!)
The coordinator also told him that he had one of the most competitive files and should push on (not that my son had any other intention, although he was beginning to feel very irritated by the relaxed attitude and lack of organization of others).
His interview at Cornell was an amazing opportunity. The highlight of the process because the interviewer was a knowledgeable and valuable resource with whom my son experienced an easy rapport. The interviewer reported that the interview had been the best of the season.
App complete and in, no portal change.
Son emails all 4 point people all January, told that portal lags behind...no worries.
February, portal doesn't change. Son calls coordinator. Told his app is complete and getting ready for boards.
March comes and goes. No change.
Son calls every contact and finally, ironically, hears from the recruiter who had sat on that paperwork in the fall. He tells my son that the list is in front of him of scholarship recipients and my son's name is not on it. My son asks why he has not heard anything: no email, no letter, no portal change and the recruiter responds that the system is just lagging behind. NO KIDDING!!!!
This may sound like sour grapes, but truly we feel so blessed! As parents we believe that learning how to handle disappointment gracefully is an important skill but the whole process just felt so unsupportive and disorganized!
My son has a bright future at his first choice: USNA!
However, it was a concerning experience to apply for the NROTC scholarship. We hope it is not reflective of how the Navy at large does business.
Should we contact someone in particular to report this story?
I am not from a military family, but have spent the past 2 years trolling this awesome forum, as well as doing research elsewhere to learn all I can.
I am a proud mother of a son from upstate New York who was appointed to USNA this past March. The entire application process, including every interaction with DODMERB and academy staff my son reported to me, was incredible. It was challenging for my son, tested his commitment, but the goals were always clear and he knew when he needed to wait vs. when he needed to take action. We are all very excited about what his next 9 years hold.
Unfortunately, his experience applying for the NROTC scholarship was much less stellar. Like his app for USNA, my son did the majority of the paperwork (essays, getting teacher recs, filling out apps, cfa) this past summer and had apps "in" by September.
Unlike USNA, he did not receive one point person with whom to communicate through NROTC. He had to contact 4 different personnel and establish relationships with all 4 to get updates on his application since his portal read pending for a very long time (through September, October, November and into December). He recognized that the scholarship is competitive and figured that he just had very stiff competition for those boards until he received a call in December from one of the four (a recruiter from the station who was witness for his signing some forms), called and told him he had yet to turn in the forms because they were being updated this year. My son met him at his high school and signed the updated forms. My son, worried that this would impact his app, called his "regional coordinator", who then told him that the app was on hold until the interview was conducted. But....he had his interview at the recruiting station in September! That had not been filed. The coordinator hustled to get my son the name of the NROTC interviewer at Cornell and my son called every other day for 2 weeks until he got an interview (after all....the deadline was approaching!)
The coordinator also told him that he had one of the most competitive files and should push on (not that my son had any other intention, although he was beginning to feel very irritated by the relaxed attitude and lack of organization of others).
His interview at Cornell was an amazing opportunity. The highlight of the process because the interviewer was a knowledgeable and valuable resource with whom my son experienced an easy rapport. The interviewer reported that the interview had been the best of the season.
App complete and in, no portal change.
Son emails all 4 point people all January, told that portal lags behind...no worries.
February, portal doesn't change. Son calls coordinator. Told his app is complete and getting ready for boards.
March comes and goes. No change.
Son calls every contact and finally, ironically, hears from the recruiter who had sat on that paperwork in the fall. He tells my son that the list is in front of him of scholarship recipients and my son's name is not on it. My son asks why he has not heard anything: no email, no letter, no portal change and the recruiter responds that the system is just lagging behind. NO KIDDING!!!!
This may sound like sour grapes, but truly we feel so blessed! As parents we believe that learning how to handle disappointment gracefully is an important skill but the whole process just felt so unsupportive and disorganized!
My son has a bright future at his first choice: USNA!
However, it was a concerning experience to apply for the NROTC scholarship. We hope it is not reflective of how the Navy at large does business.
Should we contact someone in particular to report this story?