NROTC to USNA

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Santie50322

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Mar 21, 2022
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Hello SA forums, just wanted to get some informed opinions on some things and my current situation. I would like to attend the Naval Academy, but I am nowhere near a competitive applicant. The next best thing is NROTC. In the area I live in, there is only one school (School A) that has NROTC. Through that School A there are only two other schools (School B and C) that participate in School A's NROTC program. I'm not sure which school I want to go to in order to be apart of this program, but that is not the crux of this post. School B has a college program for NROTC that is meant for students who did not receive a scholarship and if you are unsure about a career in the military and want to check it out, which would fit my case nicely and that would be the route I would take.

However, my main concern is going about going from NROTC to USNA, how that works, and anyone's own personal experience going through that. I don't want it to seem like my only care is going to the academy because it is not. It is to serve and be an officer in the navy. If that is through NROTC, then it is and that is totally fine. So, if anyone has any insight about their own personal experience or know how that works in general would be great. I put my questions in bullet points so that there are more clear questions you are answering. Thank you! I will try my best to answer any questions you have for me!

- Did you apply to the academy and get rejected or are you a first time applicant ?
- Did you apply for the NROTC scholarship ? Received or not ?
- Share your experience about your time in NROTC and what it was like.
- Share your experience about how you went about informing people of your intent on attending the academy.
- If you are a first time applicant, how did you make yourself a more competitive applicant with NROTC?


(P.S. the names of the schools are hidden because they have my home state in their name)
 
I've had three student who followed this route to an SA. Each applied and were not accepted as graduating seniors. They all applied to different ROTC scholarships in high school. One of the won an AFROTC scholarship. I advised each of them to ingrate into the unit and to perform at their best. I cannot provide first-hand details, but each succeeded as college students and as ROTC cadets. They all received appointments as college freshmen. I'm sure others will provide some first-hand information, but I wanted to assure you that the 'strategy' works if you put in the effort and the time as a college freshman and ROTC member. Note that some 25 - 30% of all midshipmen did not arrive at USNA directly from high school. Many attend a year or two of college or a prep school. I hope this information helps. Best of luck with your 'next try'!
 
Santie50322 said:
Hello SA forums, just wanted to get some informed opinions on some things and my current situation. I would like to attend the Naval Academy, but I am nowhere near a competitive applicant. The next best thing is NROTC. In the area I live in, there is only one school (School A) that has NROTC. Through that School A there are only two other schools (School B and C) that participate in School A's NROTC program. I'm not sure which school I want to go to in order to be apart of this program, but that is not the crux of this post. School B has a college program for NROTC that is meant for students who did not receive a scholarship and if you are unsure about a career in the military and want to check it out, which would fit my case nicely and that would be the route I would take.

However, my main concern is going about going from NROTC to USNA, how that works, and anyone's own personal experience going through that. I don't want it to seem like my only care is going to the academy because it is not. It is to serve and be an officer in the navy. If that is through NROTC, then it is and that is totally fine. So, if anyone has any insight about their own personal experience or know how that works in general would be great. I put my questions in bullet points so that there are more clear questions you are answering. Thank you! I will try my best to answer any questions you have for me!

- Did you apply to the academy and get rejected or are you a first time applicant ?
- Did you apply for the NROTC scholarship ? Received or not ?
- Share your experience about your time in NROTC and what it was like.
- Share your experience about how you went about informing people of your intent on attending the academy.
- If you are a first time applicant, how did you make yourself a more competitive applicant with NROTC?


(P.S. the names of the schools are hidden because they have my home state in their name)
Click to expand...


This is discussed a lot here on the forums. While you wait for responses, search around using the search function. Or check out ROTC/USNA threads.

General advice is always to be a good mate, find ways to lead, and be someone your CO wants to endorse when the time comes. All while taking a plebe like academic schedule, and rocking those classes.

Good luck!!
 
Santie50322 said:
- Share your experience about how you went about informing people of your intent on attending the academy.
Click to expand...
Suggest you be discreet about this. Wait a few weeks before politely and respectfully informing your officer leadership of your plans. Meanwhile, become a model NROTC mid whom they’ll want to support and endorse for USNA.

Also be discreet with your shipmates. Beware of acting like you’re better than they are or are seeking to go to a “better place.” Don’t be the mid who has one foot out the door. That can breed resentment. Who knows — you may prefer to stay with NROTC or not win offer of appointment.

Finally, show USNA that you’re capable of succeeding there. By plebe-like schedule, we mean focusing on college-level courses in STEM and English, and excelling at them; undertaking a leadership role, in NROTC or another organization; and remaining active physically and athletically.
 
All good advice in the above posts ^^.

My kid went that route. Received a LOA (letter of assurance) in his first cycle, but never got a nomination, so no appointment. Opted to go to his plan B local university, and passed on an NIH scholarship to walk on to the NROTC program (not on scholarship - that is called being a "college programmer" in the unit). Took full Plebe-like course load including the requisite NROTC classes for a Midn. 4/C, and was part of the unit.

Applied again to the Academy as well as the 4-year NROTC national scholarship, which you were allowed to do as a college Freshman at the time. NOTE ...... that is not the case now! College students cannot apply for the 4-year one anymore. They must compete for the "sideload" scholarship opportunities that the Navy offers through their unit. These will be for a 3 or 2 year scholarship at the unit you are with and have differing service obligation commitments depending on the length of the scholarship. There are less applicants for these, and you get direct support/feedback from your unit to compete for them. They are also at the discretion of the Navy, so the amount of those that are offered varies with the current officer corps needs that the Navy may have for that specific year.

My kid won the national scholarship in January, so his remaining three years at school would be covered except room and board (they do not retroactively award your Freshman year, so that came out of our pocket). His Professor of Naval Science (PNS), which is an active duty O-6 (Captain), also gave him a letter of recommendation to the Academy, which is basically an NROTC nomination. My kid did not get any MoC nominations again for the application cycle, so his only nom source was his PNS letter. He was pulled off the waitlist about this time last year for his appointment. So, he declined his scholarship, said goodbye to his shipmates, and reported for I-Day in June.

He still goes back to visit his NROTC shipmates, and actually went to their "Dining Out" with the unit while in his Academy uniform.

There is another mid who visits here, @fullspeedahead who was in his unit the year before, and had completed two years at the school while in the NROTC program on scholarship who is now c/o '25, and will be entering his Junior year in the Fall.

Lots of success stories on the board!
 
Santie50322 said:
Hello SA forums, just wanted to get some informed opinions on some things and my current situation. I would like to attend the Naval Academy, but I am nowhere near a competitive applicant. The next best thing is NROTC. In the area I live in, there is only one school (School A) that has NROTC. Through that School A there are only two other schools (School B and C) that participate in School A's NROTC program. I'm not sure which school I want to go to in order to be apart of this program, but that is not the crux of this post. School B has a college program for NROTC that is meant for students who did not receive a scholarship and if you are unsure about a career in the military and want to check it out, which would fit my case nicely and that would be the route I would take.

However, my main concern is going about going from NROTC to USNA, how that works, and anyone's own personal experience going through that. I don't want it to seem like my only care is going to the academy because it is not. It is to serve and be an officer in the navy. If that is through NROTC, then it is and that is totally fine. So, if anyone has any insight about their own personal experience or know how that works in general would be great. I put my questions in bullet points so that there are more clear questions you are answering. Thank you! I will try my best to answer any questions you have for me!

- Did you apply to the academy and get rejected or are you a first time applicant ?
- Did you apply for the NROTC scholarship ? Received or not ?
- Share your experience about your time in NROTC and what it was like.
- Share your experience about how you went about informing people of your intent on attending the academy.
- If you are a first time applicant, how did you make yourself a more competitive applicant with NROTC?


(P.S. the names of the schools are hidden because they have my home state in their name)
Click to expand...
Also, to add a thought that came to mind recently, will doing any other branch's ROTC hinder my chances of a nomination/ appointment to USNA? A lot of smaller schools in my area have Army ROTC, but since I am leaning more towards Navy I didn't really look at them too deeply. So, I was wondering if doing Army ROTC would show admissions/ whoever is nominating me that I have more exposure towards Army instead of Navy or something of that nature? Or should I apply to School C (Since I missed the deadline to apply to School B) that has a cross town NROTC program with School A My apologies if this was worded oddly. I was unsure on how to clearly state this question. Thanks again.
 
The one thing that stuck out to me from your post was: "I would like to attend the Naval Academy, but I am nowhere near a competitive applicant."
Why do you believe you are not competitive? It is a gut feeling? Are you lacking leadership activities? Are your testing scores low? Not doing well in high school courses (specifically, STEM subjects)? If it is an academic problem, then you need to hit a grand slam in college on plebe-like subjects, otherwise you are swimming up a mighty stream. For example, if you received a C in Calc/Chem/Phys in HS, better shoot for that A in college, otherwise, your odds for an appointment go down substantially. Don't necessarily need a response on what your "deficiencies" are, but if you are already starting out with "I am nowhere near competitive..." I think you should focus on those aspects -- otherwise everything else might be moot.

The fact that you acknowledge there is another path to become a Navy officer is good -- great officers come from all sources -- so if USNA weren't to work out, then all the doors aren't shut.
 
PM me. I am a college reapp with five nominations, but waitlisted. I can really help with the nom portion because that is where I found tremendous success. I ended up with a C+ in chem, so that is why I am not an appointee, but I can help you out.
 
Another NROTC College re-applicant on the waitlist here. Feel free to PM me.
 
Good morning SA Forums, I searched for the answer, so I'll ask here.
Question regarding 4-yr NROTC-Marine option scholarship. DS is currently on the USNA Prep school waitlist,
Plan B VMI- applying his 4-yr NROTC-Marine option scholarship which he was awarded in the fall. My question is; Can he re-apply to
USNA Class of 28 or is he committed to VMI for all 4 years?
 
rvrratt1 said:
Good morning SA Forums, I searched for the answer, so I'll ask here.
Question regarding 4-yr NROTC-Marine option scholarship. DS is currently on the USNA Prep school waitlist,
Plan B VMI- applying his 4-yr NROTC-Marine option scholarship which he was awarded in the fall. My question is; Can he re-apply to
USNA Class of 28 or is he committed to VMI for all 4 years?
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He absolutely can reapply to USNA class of 28 and will now potentially have the benefit of another nomination source.
 
Out of curiosity - is it possible that a nomination panel, BGO, or another interviewer might look down on an applicant who received an NROTC scholarship and is willing to give it away after a year to attend an Academy?

I've received mixed opinions on my reapplication from officers I've talked to about it. Some strongly encouraged reapplying, while others said I would be better off at an ROTC unit. (For clarification: my goal of attending an Academy isn't contingent on these interactions)

Has anyone had experiences with disgruntlement/ reapplication issues at the pursuit of leaving a full scholarship at a great college to attend a service academy?
 
Apollo 8 said:
Out of curiosity - is it possible that a nomination panel, BGO, or another interviewer might look down on an applicant who received an NROTC scholarship and is willing to give it away after a year to attend an Academy?

I've received mixed opinions on my reapplication from officers I've talked to about it. Some strongly encouraged reapplying, while others said I would be better off at an ROTC unit. (For clarification: my goal of attending an Academy isn't contingent on these interactions)

Has anyone had experiences with disgruntlement/ reapplication issues at the pursuit of leaving a full scholarship at a great college to attend a service academy?
Click to expand...
As a BGO and as a Congressional/Senatorial interviewer, I have never ever seen nor heard of an applicant being looked down
upon for seeking a spot at one of the SAs because they were already in NROTC.
 
Santie50322 said:
Also, to add a thought that came to mind recently, will doing any other branch's ROTC hinder my chances of a nomination/ appointment to USNA? A lot of smaller schools in my area have Army ROTC,
Click to expand...
It should not 'hinder' your application. Clearly, NROTC to USNA is 'more direct' and provides the best opportunity for an ROTC nomination. Honor units (as I understand) can provide nominations from other services to USNA as reflected in the USNA Form 1110/5. As I noted previously, three of my students followed this path. One, specifically, was an AFROTC member and won an appointment to USMA, which was her first choice. By the way, none of my students received the ROTC nomination, but simply reapplied to their Members of Congress.
 
Apollo 8 said:
Has anyone had experiences with disgruntlement/ reapplication issues at the pursuit of leaving a full scholarship at a great college to attend a service academy?
Click to expand...
In my experience, ROTC staff will support you in your goals to attend an SA, and at worst they will be indifferent. They will probably appreciate your drive to serve either way and if you leave their unit for some other route, it doesn't affect them personally.
 
Apollo 8 said:
is it possible that a nomination panel, BGO, or another interviewer might look down on an applicant who received an NROTC scholarship and is willing to give it away after a year to attend an Academy?
Click to expand...
It it is certainly possible that someone might be upset or take offense that a candidate is snubbing NROTC for USNA. Candidate should be prepared for the question why USNA over NROTC, and the answer is never "because USNA creates better officers" or "better career opportunities."
Both are wrong ...many, many very successful officers come through NROTC and OCS. Instead, be prepared to focus on the opportunities at USNA that are not available at NROTC, including the full time immersion approach. Bottom line, avoid any appearance that you you think one commissioning source is better than others, and you should be fine,
 
MidCakePa said:
Suggest you be discreet about this. Wait a few weeks before politely and respectfully informing your officer leadership of your plans. Meanwhile, become a model NROTC mid whom they’ll want to support and endorse for USNA.

Also be discreet with your shipmates. Beware of acting like you’re better than they are or are seeking to go to a “better place.” Don’t be the mid who has one foot out the door. That can breed resentment. Who knows — you may prefer to stay with NROTC or not win offer of appointment.

Finally, show USNA that you’re capable of succeeding there. By plebe-like schedule, we mean focusing on college-level courses in STEM and English, and excelling at them; undertaking a leadership role, in NROTC or another organization; and remaining active physically and athletically.
Click to expand...
@OldNavyBGO is correct. Personally, I would keep a low profile on your future plans until you have established yourself within the organization.
 
My kid's experience with earning the scholarship as a college programmer in his Freshman year. It almost went south by having told he had to make a choice. It could have ended up with him having NO path to a commission.

Luckily, things were sorted out, and he was given both options.

(Just one more part of his epic tale of getting into the Academy).

Quandary for my son's NROTC decision .....

For those that followed, my son was offered a 4-year national for NROTC over the weekend. After the dangling carrot of a LOA to the USNA last year, only to not get a nomination, this is a great alternative. He was highly motivated and excited. Until the award notification, he was a Freshman...
www.serviceacademyforums.com
 
- I applied to the academy out of high school and as a freshman, but got rejected both times. I received my appointment when I was a sophomore in college.
- I did not apply for the NROTC scholarship out of high school, but I did have a chance to attend NSI and then I eventually received a sideload scholarship as a freshman.
- NROTC was an awesome experience and it truly is a hidden gem if you are looking to become an officer in the Navy. I was able to balance being with my closest friends from high school with meeting new people at my university and in my unit. The best parts about ROTC were being able to have a normal life while also having some great opportunities with the military.
- I was honest and upfront about my intentions. However, I did not inform anyone in my unit about my intentions to reapply, I only told one of the officers so that they were informed. While I was in ROTC my focus was 100% on the unit and how I can make the program better while also developing myself. When I told everyone I received an appointment I received nothing but support and I am still amazing friends with all the people I met in the program.
- Don't think of NROTC as a way to make yourself more competitive for an appointment. Think of it as an opportunity to better yourself as a person that perhaps may lead to an appointment if you do pursue that path.

Good luck! You'll find that ROTC is an incredible opportunity and one day when you get that appointment it will be difficult to make that decision.
 
My son was turned down in mid April as a hs senior. He went the college programmer route NROTC and the captain of the unit was dismayed that he didn't have the scholarship, but he didn’t. He worked hard and loved his unit and school all first semester and also completed the reapplication to USNA. He didn't broadcast it to anyone but ultimately had to inform the Captain of his intentions to seek the unit nomination which he received. The unit also offered him a 4 year retroactive scholarship. In the spring, he was awarded top 4/c midshipman as a college programmer and then left for USNA. He is still best of friends with members of his unit and now they are all friends with the USNA gang. My son will commission at the end of the month!
I have posted a lot about the path and steps to take so go back and look at those posts. Best of luck.
 
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