NROTC question

4

4BoysMom

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Do you HAVE to apply to 5 schools for the NROTC scholarship? DS is applying to 3 service academies, but his solid plan B is our state flagship to which he will easily be admitted. Our state flagship has an excellent engineering program and a solid NROTC unit, so DS would be very happy there. We’re wondering if he needs to come up with 4 other NROTC schools to apply to (with accompanying application fees, essays, etc) or can he list just the one?
 
Never count on anything in life. Have multiple backup plans. It doesn't have to be 5 but I'd have at least 3. JMPO. Sometimes kids get accepted at the college but not into the engineering school. The stats for the school are generally available, but are those the stats for the engineering school? There must be other reach schools that he might be interested in. Why limit yourself to in-state? It can't possibly be about being too far from home as at least one of the academies has to be far away. JMPO.
 
Agree with Kinnem. I know a straight A student with an extremely high test score. EC's by the boatload. She made the ill-advised decision to apply to only two schools, USAFA and UCLA.

She got cold feet about the military and decided not to pursue the AFA application.

Then UCLA turned her down.

Don't assume anything!
 
Agree with the above, apply to those extra schools. What if your DS gets awarded a scholarship on a late board and there are no openings for scholarship midshipmen at your state flagship school? The Navy would not have another unit at which to assign the scholarship. That said, NROTC highly recommends actually applying to all the schools listed on your NROTC application, but they don't check that you have applied to them.
 
Thank you for everyone’s responses. For a little further background information, our state flagship has an admitted student GPA of a 3.6 and middle 50% ACT range of 22-29. My son has a 3.85 and a 35 on the ACT, which would qualify him for direct admissions to the college of engineering, according to an admissions counselor we met with last month.

His intent of our in-state flagship as a backup has nothing to do with staying close to home and everything to do with family finances. He is the third child of four who are very close in age, and we will have 3 in college next year, with his youngest sibling a rising high school junior. Additionally, my husband has a chronic disease that will continue to limit his income-earning potential so we are very much in the “need a significant scholarship to attend college” category. We can afford about $10k per child per year, which would cover room & board at our state schools if a ROTC scholarship would cover tuition and fees.

He will apply to several other in-state schools that offer ROTC programs for other services, but Navy is his first choice.
 
If that's the case, why not consider colleges that offer Room and Board for those who are on ROTC scholarship or even just participating in a ROTC program. Some offer the equivalent of in-state tuition for ROTC program students. Texas A&M is worth exploring especially if your DS is interested in attending an academy. There are many others. I think Renssalear Polutechnic Institute might be one as well (RPI is an excellent engineering school). There is a stickie at the top of the ROTC forum that discusses these schools but you should confirm any information you find there to make sure it's accurate. Things change sometimes.

I know from personal experience that University of South Carolina offers a Woodrow scholarship that is only available for out of state students. DS was awarded one and it enabled him to attend college there, as it was only a couple thousand more per semester than the in-state colleges. The deal was I would pay what it would cost to go in-state and he would make up the difference with student loans. The real point of the deal was only so he would have some skin in the game. He won an NROTC scholarship in the middle of his sophomore year there.

There are many ways to skin a cat. Read the financial aid pages of the colleges to look under the immediate cover.
 
@4BoysMom, you’ve received terrific advice above. I understand your situation and willingness to fall back on Big State U. But to build on @ProudDad17, here’s why you need a backup plan beyond that:

My DD was a shoo-in for Big State U. GPA and SAT so far above the average that you’d get a nosebleed. Credentials so good that she received offer of appointment to three SAs. But when ROTC scholarships were doled out, she did not get one for Big State U! She got scholarships for schools listed above and below, but not for Big State U. Don’t know why, but goes to show these things aren’t as logical as we’d expect.

Please have Plans C, D and E in place. Best wishes to your whole family.
 
#2 son only put Citadel on his NROTC scholarship application and he got it. I'm not sure that was the best plan but it worked
 
kinnem said:
If that's the case, why not consider colleges that offer Room and Board for those who are on ROTC scholarship or even just participating in a ROTC program. Some offer the equivalent of in-state tuition for ROTC program students. Texas A&M is worth exploring especially if your DS is interested in attending an academy. There are many others. I think Renssalear Polutechnic Institute might be one as well (RPI is an excellent engineering school). There is a stickie at the top of the ROTC forum that discusses these schools but you should confirm any information you find there to make sure it's accurate. Things change sometimes.

I know from personal experience that University of South Carolina offers a Woodrow scholarship that is only available for out of state students. DS was awarded one and it enabled him to attend college there, as it was only a couple thousand more per semester than the in-state colleges. The deal was I would pay what it would cost to go in-state and he would make up the difference with student loans. The real point of the deal was only so he would have some skin in the game. He won an NROTC scholarship in the middle of his sophomore year there.

There are many ways to skin a cat. Read the financial aid pages of the colleges to look under the immediate cover.
Click to expand...

I can certainly attest to the situation at RPI. A very generous situation that they have set up for their ROTC students. DS is scheduled to graduate and commission through NROTC in May.
 
A great way to look at this is: it won't hurt to pay a little more to apply to at least five schools, especially if they end up at an academy or getting a scholarship. The small application fee will be nothing compared to the $250,000+ you'll save over four years. Better safe than sorry. My current school is one I didn't necessarily think I'd be going to, but ended up being my top choice in the end!
 
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