NROTC - Yale, Princeton, Harvard...which is the best unit?

TexasCali

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Hello Everyone,

Daughter has her interview next week relating to her NROTC scholarship application. She has done a tremendous amount of research regarding the units at Yale, Princeton, and Harvard. It seems that Yale has put a tremendous amount of support and resources into the growth of NROTC .Since the unit it based at Yale, it seems the experience would be far above the best at Yale vs. Princeton or Harvard. She recently read a white paper regarding the Harvard ROTC programs, which was very informative. Does anyone have any 1st hand knowledge regarding the Princeton or Harvard NROTC units? She knows Princeton cadets commute to Rutgers and Harvard to MIT.

Her background, DD is the complete package, leader (coach made her asst coach vs. captain) on her high school team, all league & all region, all-time school record holder for her sport, 500+ volunteer hours in community, involved in many clubs, president, etc.. Academic 4.6 gpa (4.0 scale) and 35 ACT, so she fits the academic profile of the schools she is interested in. She already has full scholarships at other Universities but wants to be Naval Officer and is interested in HYP. Any thoughts or guidance would be appreciated about any of these programs
 
Thanks Kinnem...Yes, she has reviewed all those links. She told me the Yale FAQ and their website is one the best ROTC web sites she has reviewed.
 
If it were me I would rank them based on the distance you would have to travel for NROTC. Yale. - Harvard. - Princeton. Harvard to MUT is not that bad. But Princeton to Rutgers is a haul. See how much you will have to travel for PT and classes.
 
Honestly the best program is the school and unit she likes the most. Right fit is where she will succeed the most. Visit the school and unit. Remember leadership does turnover. Talk to the Mids as much as possible about the majors she is interested in, campus life, balance of rotc and college life, cross town time commitments, camaraderie, attrition numbers, etc. Everyone goes active duty on the Navy side so that isn't an issue. Cross town can be issue, she needs for explore that heavily. Visit the school and do that drive at the hour she would be commuting for lab or PT. Some Mids comment on camaraderie lacking sometimes with cross town units, so explore that. Bottom line, pick the one that is the right fit and visiting is the best way to do this. Good luck!
 
Hello Everyone,

Daughter has her interview next week relating to her NROTC scholarship application. She has done a tremendous amount of research regarding the units at Yale, Princeton, and Harvard. It seems that Yale has put a tremendous amount of support and resources into the growth of NROTC .Since the unit it based at Yale, it seems the experience would be far above the best at Yale vs. Princeton or Harvard. She recently read a white paper regarding the Harvard ROTC programs, which was very informative. Does anyone have any 1st hand knowledge regarding the Princeton or Harvard NROTC units? She knows Princeton cadets commute to Rutgers and Harvard to MIT.

Her background, DD is the complete package, leader (coach made her asst coach vs. captain) on her high school team, all league & all region, all-time school record holder for her sport, 500+ volunteer hours in community, involved in many clubs, president, etc.. Academic 4.6 gpa (4.0 scale) and 35 ACT, so she fits the academic profile of the schools she is interested in. She already has full scholarships at other Universities but wants to be Naval Officer and is interested in HYP. Any thoughts or guidance would be appreciated about any of these programs

As has been discussed in other threads, a good strategy is to have a safety school as the top NROTC choice. HYP are long shots for everyone, and while she has great quantitative measurements, a lot of the admission process depends on the essays, properly written letters of recommendations and alumni interviews. So don't take it for granted that an acceptance will come from HYP. If you put a safety school as top choice, it is easy to switch to HYP once you do find out she has been admitted.

As for best unit, your daughter should also consider the school campuses and locations. Has she visited HYP? If not, she should. They are totally different type of towns/cities. Princeton is a beautiful, upper class quaint town. Boston is an urban environment. And as 5day mentioned, NROTC at Princeton means commuting to Rutgers - that could be tough in winters. Harvard to MIT is easy, and Yale obviously is on campus.

Good luck with the NROTC interview!
 
Thank you Navy Hoops, unknow1961, and 5day. Yes, she visited all the campuses and has a good feeling for each one. As pointed out the Princeton commute looks to be the most difficult. Each campus appeals to her in different ways, but she will focus on the commutes and the camaraderie aspect of all the schools. She had me read 3 different articles over the weekend about Harvard ROTC, regarding how the President wants to grow the program, but over the last couple years there has been very little growth and very small classes (improvements ..small admin office on campus and school provides Zip cars to MIT). Their was also a huge article written about the Harvard program that was very informative but contradicts the Harvard Presidents words, regarding support and growth. Princeton, almost nothing available on the web, except for covering ceremony when NROTC was brought back to campus. Yale, based on everything, facebook postings, admissions cooperation, being on campus, web page, etc, just seems to be the leader on the ivies.

Yes the ivies are a big crapshoot. Her recommendations should be stellar (have not read but know the teachers, one was a Navy Officer and is very excited for her) and her essays are very well written but it all depends who is reading them. Princeton just reached out to her for alumni interview, but nothing from Harvard or Yale regarding interviews yet. She has several Plan's B's already, so that is not an issue.

Well, her interview with the Navy officer is later this week and she is excited. Big assumption, but if she is awarded a scholarship, then will show up in a Navy recruiting database that allow the school commanders to see her information? If so will they reach out to her, or should she run with it and call the commanders asap?
 
I can't say when it might show up in some Navy database. I do know that units will reach out no later than June (and perhaps earlier). If nothing else they will notify her when to report for NROTC freshman orientation (usually 1 week before regular students arrive), what to bring, etc. I don't think it ever hurts to reach out yourself, but doubt it's necessary either. If she does reach out, asking when she might get info on when to report, etc is a goof opening question.
 
Well, her interview with the Navy officer is later this week and she is excited. Big assumption, but if she is awarded a scholarship, then will show up in a Navy recruiting database that allow the school commanders to see her information? If so will they reach out to her, or should she run with it and call the commanders asap?

Her interview results will be forwarded to the board, and I don't know when the next NROTC board meets. She may be too late for the Jan board. Once the board meets they'll notify the accepted applicants. Then, they also notify the NROTC unit that is number 1 on her list. That person may or may not reach out to her. It varies from commander to commander. Your daughter is free to contact the NROTC unit, and as kinnem writes above, have a good question to open with. She can also email the unit. Also, maybe the NROTC unit can help with admissions. But that is a long shot. However, another poster who got into Yale early noted that the AFROTC commander contacted admissions on his behalf.
Harvard's NROTC meets at MIT, so I would Google the MIT unit and read about them as opposed to the Harvard article since that is where she'll be meeting.
Will this be her first NROTC interview?
Keep in mind that the NROTC award does not mean college acceptance. The next step is getting into the school.
 
Hello Kinnem, sorry but I stated my question incorrectly.

I meant to ask, in order to support her in the school's admissions department, the commanders need to know who she is, therefore will the commanders of the schools she choose for her "top five list" know who she due to being listed in a database indicating she has been selected to receive a scholarship? Should she contact the commanders asap or will the commanders who are on her "top five list" reach out to her because of the database listing?

On the topic of support in admissions, I have read that some people believe their is support in admissions for the NROTC which makes sense at an ivy league school. From the size and what I read in the Harvard white paper, it seems it is happening (admissions support) at Yale, but maybe not at Harvard or Princeton due to very small NROTC classes. From what I have read, NROTC is not like ivy league athletics where the coach gets the kids they want, if minimum academic standards are met, but it probably enhances the recruits chances to an extent. DD has the stats and all the other stuff, but having the support of the NROTC commander in admissions would add some "kick" to her application. Why would Harvard and Princeton bring back NROTC if only 1-3 kids per year make it through admissions. Are there that few academically qualified candidates that have the stats to get into Harvard or Princeton or did the universities just bring back the programs as "window dressing". I do not have military background, but since my DD wants this badly (wish she would have known about the ROTC option sooner), I am backing her and just trying to get as much intel as possible, because the window is small. I told her if you get the scholarship, then I would fly you to East Coast to met with each HYP commander so they could interview her personally.
 
Hello unknown1961...yes it is her 1st interview! Thank you for answering my questions unknown1961
 
Hello unknown1961...yes it is her 1st interview! Thank you for answering my questions unknown1961
Glad to help. My input is only based on what my son and daughter went through, and others may have different input. About the Top 5 schools, an NROTC commander at a west coast selective school told us that the NROTC units only receive info on students who selected them as a #1 choice. Units that are #s 2-5 would only know that your daughter selected them if she emails the units. Whether they would reach out to admissions is iffy because they may want to save that effort for their #1s. What my daughter did was reached out to a non #1 choice and explained that the school wasn't #1 because she used the strategy of putting a safety school first (a strategy told to us by Yale NROTC when my older son was doing college applications), but that the school was truly her #1 choice if she could get in. When she got into that school via early admission, she requested it be moved to #1 and that happened right away.
Good luck with the interview. Most likely, she won't know her scholarship status for a few weeks, based on when the next application board meets.
 
Interesting, how only the NROTC units only receive their #1 choice, good information. Since the Ivy's NROTC enrollments are so low it would seem the NROTC units would want to know of any kid who wants to attend their school that has a credible chance of getting acceptance on their own without the NROTC unit commander not advocating for them, since it is a "crapshoot/lottery" at each school....thanks unknown1961.
 
Best information she found regarding Yale NROTC advocating and working with admissions...straight from Dean of Undergraduate Admissions.... The article link is below with the except below the link...

http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2012/09/26/up-close-for-country-or-for-yale/


According to Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Jeffery Brenzel, an ROTC scholarship is taken into account when applications are reviewed.

“We do consider the award of an ROTC scholarship as a positive factor in our evaluations, but as with all applicants it is only one factor of many in a comprehensive and holistic review,” Brenzel said in an email to the News.

He added that the success the scholarship recipients have already shown in order to receive the award means they have “a high potential for success at a place like Yale.”

Midshipman Gabrielle Fong ’16 said the attention Yale gives to ROTC status during the admissions process is beneficial for the University.

“Just like we need athletes or musicians, we need ROTC kids,” she said.

Twenty-nine high school students received ROTC scholarships and indicated Yale as a desired placement, according to Crabbe. Out of those 29, only 13 or 14 were admitted to Yale, and only nine passed their physical tests and ultimately matriculated.
 
Who knows if they will find out via some database and reach out? I, personally, would never rely on someone reaching out to me for anything, anywhere. If you are interested in soliciting some help with admissions, whether they can do it or not, I'd reach out to the unit. Never hurts to reach out... in just about all areas of life.
 
DD has her interview today, any advice? We prepped her for a couple hours last night
 
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