If you want the Army to invest in you, then you should invest in the process. We traveled over 1,000 miles each way three times this year to visit campus and the ROTC program. The last time was for the PMS interview. By then, the cadre knew my son pretty well as they stayed in contact with him via email from March until his interview on September 29, and then since then, too. My son first visited with the PMS in March, attended classes with one of their 4-yr scholarship winners in the same major my son wants to pursue, and he attended and participated in a morning PT session. This summer we visited again when we picked up my son from the University football camp. Then in September, Duncan went to a football game and participated in the game work the battalion does and even fired the cannon at a touchdown. We had the interview on a Monday and flew back home that night. All in all we put at least a few thousand dollars into these trips, but it paid off with a 4-year scholarship and a strong relationship to get him off on the right foot. We are in a tight financial condition, as are many families, but we knew this was important to do. You must make yourself a memorable applicant. What can you highlight about you that will make you stand out from the crowd? What are you willing to sacrifice in order to make this happen?