NROTC Scholarship Reflection

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.
 
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.
Your sailors wil be fortunate to be led by you.
 
No doubt the work ethic you learned at such a young age served you well and led to your recent success. I imagine your PNS was ecstatic to write you a glowing recommendation. A great example of the adage that it is not how you start, but how you finish. Congratulations on your accomplishments!
 
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