NROTC Scholarship "limbo"

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Bugn3boys

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The past two weeks have been quite a roller coaster ride! First S found out that he did not receive appointment to USNA. Three days later he was notified that he was selected for a 4 Year NROTC Scholarship. Last night he received an email stating that he had not been placed in a unit because all five of his schools had "reached their quota." He was asked to submit a list of any schools to which he has been accepted that also have NROTC units, ranked in order of his preference, and these were all on his original list.

He met this morning with the Cmdr. of the unit at the college that is now his first choice and is convinced that this is where he needs to be. We had already paid the deposit at this school as a backup in case it was ever needed. Everyone he has spoken with seems confident that he will ultimately get assigned to this unit, but I worry. Should we begin looking for other colleges that have rolling admissions that also have open units?

This is more stressful than waiting for an answer from USNA!:eek:
 
usnahopefulmom2012 said:
Should we begin looking for other colleges that have rolling admissions that also have open units?
Click to expand...

if i were your son, i'd want to have at least one backup school which i can definitely use my scholarship.

there are a bunch of colleges still with NROTC units and rolling admissions.

i just called Mr. Presley in Pensacola myself to check on waiting lists and found that many schools now have waiting lists for NROTC scholarship slots. some waiting lists are really long. so be sure to work quickly on getting a backup lined up.
 
usnahopefulmom2012 - Wow, your story sounds like my story exactly. A week ago, we were told by Pensacola that there were no NROTC seats at any of the colleges son applied to. They said there were about 60 kids with scholarship and no school. There were about 30 on each list waiting for the same schools my son was accepted to, except his first choice only had five waiting. Was told to call back this week as they would have more idea of what they had open. Called yesterday and was told a seat opened at his first choice and he was in (if I didn't call, they may have taken any of those five and put them into that spot). If I were you, I would call and find out how many are on the waiting list at the college you want, and then call every other day to see if a seat opened. As academy appointees (most applied to ROTC's as backup) notify the colleges that they will not be coming, seats will open up. If the waiting list at your college seems very long, Pensacola can provide a list of colleges with rolling admission and open seats, they know what they have available. My heart goes out to you as I know exactly how you feel.
 
Now that May 1 has come and gone, spots are opening up on unit rosters. Some kids on rosters were not accepted to the colleges; so, the recruiters are getting them removed from lists.

I know that the recruiter from the unit that my son was assigned to was contacting USNA candidates to see if they got appointments. I guess he was looking for slots for scholarship nominees on waitlists. Hopefully, those who have made decisions to do other than ROTC will notify ROTC so that kids waiting can have their "limbo" ended.

Good luck to all!
 
Last we heard, my daughter was "less than 4" on the wait list for Penn State-her first choice. She is assigned ot UNC so there will be a slot there when (hopefully) Penn state opens up.
 
Has your daughter spoken directly with the first year advisor/recruiter at Penn State? He/she may have names on his/her list of students who were not accepted at Penn State. That's how a spot opened for my son when he asked for a transfer of his scholarship to another school on his list. The recruiter may also check with people on the list who have been appointed to academies and ask if they would give up their ROTC slot.
 
as I am applying for an NROTC scholarship and had totally not considered what would happen if I did not get a slot of those schools...
is there any way to avoid/head off this problem? How can we know/find out what units fill up and which don't? Are the schools (units) selected on merit, rolling acceptance, or something of the two?
 
i think they fill it up based on spaces in units since each school must commission a certain amount, i think? really there is no easy way to get around using u r schol. at a different place if they have already put it at a place. just be sure you would be happy at any of the places, and make sure the schools are in reach academically, b/c that would suck if they gave you a rotc schol to a school you didn't get accepted to. i also think there is some sort of waiver where you can request your top choice school, but remember this is only a request.
 
ROTC scholarship

The advice my son got from several sources is to get the application done early. Work hard on those essays. Prepare well for your interview. As far as your college list is concerned, put a school or two at the top of the list that you believe you can get into. If possible, do "early action" (not early decision).

My son put two schools at the top of his list that he felt he could get into. He did, and was assigned to his #1 choice, which he felt he would be happy to attend. He put a "reach" school, which turned out to be his top preference, lower on the list. When he got accepted, he asked to have the scholarship transferred. It was a little nervewracking; but, it helped by contacting the recruiter at the school he wanted to transfer to. There were scholarship nominees on that list; but, they didn't get accepted. So, slots opened up. Anyway, that's the way it worked for the Navy ROTC program.

Just make sure that all the schools on your list are ones you would be happy attending in case your favorite school does not have slots or you are not accepted.

You could also visit or contact the ROTC recruiters at the schools you are considering. They may be able to give you a handle on how quickly their units fill up. They may also tell you if the school picks up the room and board tab for ROTC scholarship students.

Read past posts on completing the ROTC application. Good luck!
 
"Limbo" update

After submitting his revised list to Pensacola, S was assigned to the last school on his list (Norwich). He immediately requested to be placed on the waiting list for his top choice. It has now been over three months, and he is still waiting.

Ultimately he decided to attend his first choice school and he secured financial aid, loans and scholarships to use "just in case." He kept in constant contact with the unit CO and he was put into the unit as a college programmer. He is attending Orientation Week as I write this and his scholarship is still in "Limbo."

What I find interesting in all this is that at the Parent's briefing at the beginning of Orientation Week, the CO told us that all of the college programmers would eventaully receive scholarships...several would get 3 1/2 year, most would get 3 year and a small percentage would get a 2 year (and they would likely be those majoring in liberal arts areas).

He did all the "right" things. His application was in early. His essays were stellar and his interviews went very well.

And we're still keeping our fingers crossed
 
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