Very Petty
Member
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2021
- Messages
- 29
Hello all,
I am a current 4/C MIDN at Virginia Tech. I was in the college program until yesterday, I was just awarded a 4 year National Scholarship (thankfully). Paying for college out of pocket was getting very old. As I search through these forums, I see a lot of stress about GPA and SAT Scores during the application process. I just want to give some insight on my application process. If you heard my high school stats, you would not believe that I was able to get a scholarship.
Starting from the beginning. Freshman and sophomore year, I was pulling a hearty 2.8 GPA weighted on a 4.0 Scale. Yes, it was bad. The main reason for this was I was basically living on my own during high school. I worked 50+ hours a week to keep me and my family above water, my income was about 3/4 of the income coming into the household. I will admit that I did not try as hard as I should've. I skipped a few classes here and there, but most of my time was spent cooking at a restaurant after school until midnight. At the end of my sophomore year, I had a 3.0 GPA weighted, improvement.
I took some time to reflect on my failures. I needed to step it up if I wanted a decent chance of getting into a good school. My mom got a new job with better income; because of this, I was able to scale down my hours to about 30 hours a week. I knew starting my junior year that I needed to bring my GPA up. I took 4 AP classes and got A's in all of them (AP Psychology, AP Chemistry, AP Computer Science, and AP US History). I did this all while working 30 hours a week. This raised my GPA up to 3.604. More improvement.
During the summer, a rising senior, I took an interest to NROTC, I wanted to fly. I immediately started looking at schools in my area that offer NROTC. None of the were appealing to me, until, I came across Virginia Tech. I knew that going to an SMC would be difficult, and expensive. I needed a scholarship. I started putting a package together.
At the beginning of my senior year I had a 3.604 GPA weighted, not enough for a Scholarship. I had to take the SAT (back when Covid wasn't a thing). I took it the first time, didn't study at all. I got an 1190 on my first SAT, which did not meet the 1200 minimum for the Navy scholarship. I rescheduled another SAT, which I could not afford, and took an advance on my paycheck to pay for it. When I took the SAT again, I got a 1210. My super score was 1230, just enough. Classes started back up. I took 3 more AP classes to boost my GPA. Since I had to apply for the scholarship during my senior year, the application would not reflect the current classes, only my junior year classes. At the end of my senior year, I had a 3.9971 GPA. That's more like it.
The first time I applied for the scholarship, here were my stats:
-3.604 GPA
-1230 SAT (Super score)
-Held 4 different Jobs
-not much time for volunteering due to work
-NOT in NHS
-Many AP Classes
-Okayish Officer Interview
Things were not looking good. On February 12, 2020, I was rejected from the scholarship. Huge hit. The disappointment was immeasurable.
Here I was, rejected from the scholarship, while 4 of my friends got the same scholarship. One of them even got into USNA. I was not jealous, but motivated.
I knew that they had it easier, their parents were not divorced, none of them had jobs, everything was handed to them. I did not want to victimize myself, I used this as motivation. There was a turning point.
I got accepted into the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets. I was amazed that I was able to get in, and I knew that I had to get started planning on payment. I started working 2 jobs full time. Saved up just enough money to pay for 1 year, with financial aid. I went to the Corps of Cadets and started getting to work. I chose Chemistry as my major, I loved Chemistry in high school so I thought it would be fun. I began applying for the 4-Year National Scholarship again ( If you have under 30ish college credits, you are eligible for reapplication). Here were my stats.
-1230 SAT
-3.9971 Weighted GPA
-Amazing Officer Interview with the CO of VPI NROTC
-30 hours of volunteering with the NROTC Unit
-In the VTCC
-Great essays
-3.31 College GPA Fall 2020
I had a new school, a fresh start, and a ton of motivation. I grinded 18 credits in my first semester as a rat. I was able to manage a 3.31 GPA..
I finalized my package in late January. I waited for a couple months, waiting and waiting, only hoping that they would give me a scholarship.
I got it.
I got a scholarship, after all the hard work and countless hours of cooking in a kitchen.
Looking Back...
I just want to encourage all of the people on this forum that even if you don't have the best GPA and SAT. It is still possible to get a 4-year scholarship. I believe that NSTC has done a fabulous job of looking at individuals holistically rather than looking at their GPA and SAT, there is much more to the decision.
I would not change a thing, in the end, hard work and determination is what is going to measure your success. If you got denied from the 4 Year, join the college program, get a solid GPA first semester, and reapply. It is going to be alright.
Contact me if you have any questions about my application process.
I am a current 4/C MIDN at Virginia Tech. I was in the college program until yesterday, I was just awarded a 4 year National Scholarship (thankfully). Paying for college out of pocket was getting very old. As I search through these forums, I see a lot of stress about GPA and SAT Scores during the application process. I just want to give some insight on my application process. If you heard my high school stats, you would not believe that I was able to get a scholarship.
Starting from the beginning. Freshman and sophomore year, I was pulling a hearty 2.8 GPA weighted on a 4.0 Scale. Yes, it was bad. The main reason for this was I was basically living on my own during high school. I worked 50+ hours a week to keep me and my family above water, my income was about 3/4 of the income coming into the household. I will admit that I did not try as hard as I should've. I skipped a few classes here and there, but most of my time was spent cooking at a restaurant after school until midnight. At the end of my sophomore year, I had a 3.0 GPA weighted, improvement.
I took some time to reflect on my failures. I needed to step it up if I wanted a decent chance of getting into a good school. My mom got a new job with better income; because of this, I was able to scale down my hours to about 30 hours a week. I knew starting my junior year that I needed to bring my GPA up. I took 4 AP classes and got A's in all of them (AP Psychology, AP Chemistry, AP Computer Science, and AP US History). I did this all while working 30 hours a week. This raised my GPA up to 3.604. More improvement.
During the summer, a rising senior, I took an interest to NROTC, I wanted to fly. I immediately started looking at schools in my area that offer NROTC. None of the were appealing to me, until, I came across Virginia Tech. I knew that going to an SMC would be difficult, and expensive. I needed a scholarship. I started putting a package together.
At the beginning of my senior year I had a 3.604 GPA weighted, not enough for a Scholarship. I had to take the SAT (back when Covid wasn't a thing). I took it the first time, didn't study at all. I got an 1190 on my first SAT, which did not meet the 1200 minimum for the Navy scholarship. I rescheduled another SAT, which I could not afford, and took an advance on my paycheck to pay for it. When I took the SAT again, I got a 1210. My super score was 1230, just enough. Classes started back up. I took 3 more AP classes to boost my GPA. Since I had to apply for the scholarship during my senior year, the application would not reflect the current classes, only my junior year classes. At the end of my senior year, I had a 3.9971 GPA. That's more like it.
The first time I applied for the scholarship, here were my stats:
-3.604 GPA
-1230 SAT (Super score)
-Held 4 different Jobs
-not much time for volunteering due to work
-NOT in NHS
-Many AP Classes
-Okayish Officer Interview
Things were not looking good. On February 12, 2020, I was rejected from the scholarship. Huge hit. The disappointment was immeasurable.
Here I was, rejected from the scholarship, while 4 of my friends got the same scholarship. One of them even got into USNA. I was not jealous, but motivated.
I knew that they had it easier, their parents were not divorced, none of them had jobs, everything was handed to them. I did not want to victimize myself, I used this as motivation. There was a turning point.
I got accepted into the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets. I was amazed that I was able to get in, and I knew that I had to get started planning on payment. I started working 2 jobs full time. Saved up just enough money to pay for 1 year, with financial aid. I went to the Corps of Cadets and started getting to work. I chose Chemistry as my major, I loved Chemistry in high school so I thought it would be fun. I began applying for the 4-Year National Scholarship again ( If you have under 30ish college credits, you are eligible for reapplication). Here were my stats.
-1230 SAT
-3.9971 Weighted GPA
-Amazing Officer Interview with the CO of VPI NROTC
-30 hours of volunteering with the NROTC Unit
-In the VTCC
-Great essays
-3.31 College GPA Fall 2020
I had a new school, a fresh start, and a ton of motivation. I grinded 18 credits in my first semester as a rat. I was able to manage a 3.31 GPA..
I finalized my package in late January. I waited for a couple months, waiting and waiting, only hoping that they would give me a scholarship.
I got it.
I got a scholarship, after all the hard work and countless hours of cooking in a kitchen.
Looking Back...
I just want to encourage all of the people on this forum that even if you don't have the best GPA and SAT. It is still possible to get a 4-year scholarship. I believe that NSTC has done a fabulous job of looking at individuals holistically rather than looking at their GPA and SAT, there is much more to the decision.
I would not change a thing, in the end, hard work and determination is what is going to measure your success. If you got denied from the 4 Year, join the college program, get a solid GPA first semester, and reapply. It is going to be alright.
Contact me if you have any questions about my application process.
