NROTC Scholarship Failure

[Garett-Walls]

I just got my rejection letter in the mail. At the time of applying I was valedictorian of my highschool class with a 3.98/4.0 GPA, 1280 SAT, 30 ACT. I am in Varsity sports for two years and am in many clubs with many leadership positions. I thought my interview went well and my PT is slightly above normal standards. I am majoring in engineering, which is a T1 position. I can't help but feel downtrodden. I don't want any sympathy, merely advice on what to do differently when I apply for the 3 year scholarship in the summer before starting at TAMU. And advice on when and how I go about applying for the 3 year scholarship.

 

[justdoit19]

I just got my rejection letter in the mail. At the time of applying I was valedictorian of my highschool class with a 3.98/4.0 GPA, 1280 SAT, 30 ACT. I am in Varsity sports for two years and am in many clubs with many leadership positions. I thought my interview went well and my PT is slightly above normal standards. I am majoring in engineering, which is a T1 position. I can't help but feel downtrodden. I don't want any sympathy, merely advice on what to do differently when I apply for the 3 year scholarship in the summer before starting at TAMU. And advice on when and how I go about applying for the 3 year scholarship.

Could it be a timing issue? Did you hit all the boards? If you didn’t, you could be a result of there simply not being a lot left at the end...competing for fewer spots.

 

[AROTC-dad]

Don't give up!

Enroll as an NROTC college programmer and strive to earn a side-load scholarship while at college....or at least advanced standing after two years.

Four years ago, my DS was turned down by USMA, USNA, NROTC/MO, and ended up earning an Army campus based scholarship as a walk-on at his local State University.

He commissions active duty Armor next month.

 

[jcobbdawg]

I just got my rejection letter in the mail. At the time of applying I was valedictorian of my highschool class with a 3.98/4.0 GPA, 1280 SAT, 30 ACT. I am in Varsity sports for two years and am in many clubs with many leadership positions. I thought my interview went well and my PT is slightly above normal standards. I am majoring in engineering, which is a T1 position. I can't help but feel downtrodden. I don't want any sympathy, merely advice on what to do differently when I apply for the 3 year scholarship in the summer before starting at TAMU. And advice on when and how I go about applying for the 3 year scholarship.

My DS started before he even went to high school. His goal was to be an officer. He read many leadership books, took part in as many military ran leadership programs, 4 year letter in sports, and 4 years NROTC which he is currently the Batallion XO. He applied for USNA and USMMA and didn't get in. Simply being part of clubs and high grades along with a good interview aren't the only thing they look for. You have to show you are dedicated to the program and have great credentials to back that up. Don't give up!

 

[Freedom1776]

Looks like we'll be starting our fish year at TAMU together. The good news is that the Corps is great at getting cadets 3 and 2 year scholarships. Have you joined the class of 23 group chat? It'll be a great place to meet the other fish and get some questions answered.

 

[kinnem]

+1 to AROTC-dad. I would also suggest waiting until you report to a unit (assuming you do that as a college programmer) as the officers there may give you valuable input. My son did not win a 4 year high school scholarship but enrolled in NROTC MO anyway. He was awarded a scholarship during his sophomore year. Work hard. Do your best. Always give 110% and you can get there.

 

[rocatlin]

My son went through the same thing. He is now a 2nd Lt. He graduates TBS next week and reports to Pensacola in May.

First of all, if you have less than 30 hours of college credit built up, you can reapply for the 4 year scholarship. You'll only get 3 years of it, but it's an additional avenue.

Second, as has been mentioned, start the paperwork to enter as a college programmer. This will set you up for the "sideload" / 3 year scholarship if you do well.

My son reapplied for the 4 year scholarship as soon as he found out he was turned down. He also reported as a college programmer. He was awarded the 4 year scholarship on the early Marine Option board. He was also in line to get the sideload.

Basic advice is: Move on past this setback and explore all avenues if you want to get a commission.

 

[Garett-Walls]

I just got my rejection letter in the mail. At the time of applying I was valedictorian of my highschool class with a 3.98/4.0 GPA, 1280 SAT, 30 ACT. I am in Varsity sports for two years and am in many clubs with many leadership positions. I thought my interview went well and my PT is slightly above normal standards. I am majoring in engineering, which is a T1 position. I can't help but feel downtrodden. I don't want any sympathy, merely advice on what to do differently when I apply for the 3 year scholarship in the summer before starting at TAMU. And advice on when and how I go about applying for the 3 year scholarship.

Could it be a timing issue? Did you hit all the boards? If you didn’t, you could be a result of there simply not being a lot left at the end...competing for fewer spots.

Potentially yes, I didn't know there was many boards, I blame my scholarship/recruitment advisor however; he didn't tell me about a small issue with my application until the final day, I had it turned in months in advance.

 

[Garett-Walls]

Looks like we'll be starting our fish year at TAMU together. The good news is that the Corps is great at getting cadets 3 and 2 year scholarships. Have you joined the class of 23 group chat? It'll be a great place to meet the other fish and get some questions answered.

No I have not, what platform is it on?

 

[justdoit19]

Potentially yes, I didn't know there was many boards, I blame my scholarship/recruitment advisor however; he didn't tell me about a small issue with my application until the final day, I had it turned in months in advance.

The NROTC scholarship process, in some ways, was more difficult for DS than the USNA one. And the recruiters were the main challenge. DS changed recruiters three times. Each time, we didn’t know, they just seemed to drop off the face of the earth! No communication about leaving. He would just stop hearing from them. And then a month later get a “hey I’m your new scholarship recruiter” email. And ALMOST start over as the previous one hadn’t put in things the counselor, math teacher had sent via the online link (literally math and counselor did it three different times...).

Ultimately he got one that rushed it all through at the last minute in time for the first board. Even though DS had it all done on his end months ago.

I’m not bashing the program. Just pointing out to readers that this process is very different than USNA. Similar information required but a whole different way of awarding scholarships. IMO, it requires even more hands on follow through on the candidates part. The recruiters change. Get moved to new positions. VS working in admissions at USNA. At least that was our situation.

DS was reviewed on the first board and awarded. It certainly is helpful to get all the looks you can, as they put you in the next board pile if you aren’t looked at during the current board. More opportunities for receiving an award I believe.

You can certainly work towards obtaining a scholarship while in the NROTC program! Best wishes to you.

 

[learningNavymom]

Don't give up. A lot of midshipmen in my son's unit (including my son) came to college without a scholarship. They reapplied and were awarded the national scholarship during their first year.
I've even heard that this may be an increasing trend.
Also, check out the threads about the summer indoc program at Great Lakes so that you possibly participate in that.

 

[Freedom1776]

Looks like we'll be starting our fish year at TAMU together. The good news is that the Corps is great at getting cadets 3 and 2 year scholarships. Have you joined the class of 23 group chat? It'll be a great place to meet the other fish and get some questions answered.

No I have not, what platform is it on?

It’s on GroupMe, the link to join is in the Facebook group for admitted freshmen

 

[ScreamingEagle2023]

Any idea the number of scholarships awarded annually ? (4yr, 3yr, 2yr)

 

[navyfamilyof4]

I just got my rejection letter in the mail. At the time of applying I was valedictorian of my highschool class with a 3.98/4.0 GPA, 1280 SAT, 30 ACT. I am in Varsity sports for two years and am in many clubs with many leadership positions. I thought my interview went well and my PT is slightly above normal standards. I am majoring in engineering, which is a T1 position. I can't help but feel downtrodden. I don't want any sympathy, merely advice on what to do differently when I apply for the 3 year scholarship in the summer before starting at TAMU. And advice on when and how I go about applying for the 3 year scholarship.

Could it be a timing issue? Did you hit all the boards? If you didn’t, you could be a result of there simply not being a lot left at the end...competing for fewer spots.

Potentially yes, I didn't know there was many boards, I blame my scholarship/recruitment advisor however; he didn't tell me about a small issue with my application until the final day, I had it turned in months in advance.

this same thing happened to us. DS completed all the required items by jan 3 and was told by the recruiting office all was complete and when we never heard a result by March 1, DS got nervous so he called the recruit office and they apologized and said they made a mistake and the app was incomplete. "oops....sorry" they said!!! luckily DS's school admins called the recruiting office leader and they magically found all the missing items and sent them to the review board within 1 hour. fast forward to last Friday and he was awarded the 4year tier 1, thank goodness. but basically someone had to step in an intervene. im sure you will qualify for the 3 year as soon as you start and excel. good luck!!!!

 

[justdoit19]

this same thing happened to us. DS completed all the required items by jan 3 and was told by the recruiting office all was complete and when we never heard a result by March 1, DS got nervous so he called the recruit office and they apologized and said they made a mistake and the app was incomplete. "oops....sorry" they said!!! luckily DS's school admins called the recruiting office leader and they magically found all the missing items and sent them to the review board within 1 hour. fast forward to last Friday and he was awarded the 4year tier 1, thank goodness. but basically someone had to step in an intervene. im sure you will qualify for the 3 year as soon as you start and excel. good luck!!!!

I have actually read many similar stories. Readers applying for NROTC scholarship should be prudent in following up. Congrats to your DS!!!!

 

[kinnem]

I wanted to add this for lurkers. What little assistance DS needed with the application, he addressed through an officer, or sometimes a Sgt, at the Navy Recruiting District Headquarters. You are far better off working through an Officer Selection Officer (OSO) than the local mall recruiter. Just my 2 cents. YMMV.

 

[A6E Dad]

i'll add my DS experience, similar to others above

He was rejected for the national scholarship even though he had very good stats and application package. He joined NROTC as a College Programmer and re-applied for the 4 year national scholarship and was successful. There are some eligibility restrictions relative to number of college credits you can have etc, but generally, it's the same process and you are competing with HS seniors. It's not the same as the 3 yr side load scholarship. I think it's possible to have the 2nd semester freshman year covered by the new scholarship but not sure about the details.

The NROTC unit was very supportive and engaged in assisting the College Programmers with the application process, not sure if all units do that, but i would assume they would.

 

[justdoit19]

I wanted to add this for lurkers. What little assistance DS needed with the application, he addressed through an officer, or sometimes a Sgt, at the Navy Recruiting District Headquarters. You are far better off working through an Officer Selection Officer (OSO) than the local mall recruiter. Just my 2 cents. YMMV.

To clarify: we didn’t use a “regular recruiter”. DS researched and applied on his own, online. No recruiter. But the stuff that got ‘lost’ was the online stuff that the assigned ‘recruiter’ (through the scholarship application) is to gather and submit to the board. Never met any of them.

All good advice. Stay on top of stuff. It’s a good life skill!

 

[kinnem]

I wanted to add this for lurkers. What little assistance DS needed with the application, he addressed through an officer, or sometimes a Sgt, at the Navy Recruiting District Headquarters. You are far better off working through an Officer Selection Officer (OSO) than the local mall recruiter. Just my 2 cents. YMMV.

To clarify: we didn’t use a “regular recruiter”. DS researched and applied on his own, online. No recruiter. But the stuff that got ‘lost’ was the online stuff that the assigned ‘recruiter’ (through the scholarship application) is to gather and submit to the board. Never met any of them.

All good advice. Stay on top of stuff. It’s a good life skill!

Comment wasn't aimed specifically at you. There were a lot of posts here about things going wrong with recruiters and wanted to address that.

EDIT: Edited to change was to wasn't. Oops! Sorry @justdoit19

 

[Gingermom99]

So much good advice here; I will just add more encouragement. Being a college programmer will give you a chance to prove yourself in a new way, and your unit leadership will have lots of support to offer if you work hard. Best to you!