Process & ROTC Scholarship

[GAROTC]

My son is in process of applying to the AFA and Westpoint. He will find out about his nomination in the next week. If no nomiation is awarded, should he continue to apply to the academies if wanting to still purse the prep path? Second, would the ROTC scholarship cover that year as well?

Thank you.

 

[Academician]

Yes, he should complete the applications fully, which will allow him to be considered for the Prep Schools. Also, I encourage all of my students to apply to ROTC scholarships. If the scholarship does not come through, then your son should attend college as a freshman and select a school with an ROTC unit. He can then join the ROTC unit, and perform well as a student and as an ROTC cadet. Reapply to the SAs as a college freshman demonstrating his ability to do college-level work and his commitment to this career path. Also, in ROTC, your son will be on a path that allows him to earn an 'on campus' ROTC scholarship and continue his path to becoming a military officer.

 

[Capt MJ]

My son is in process of applying to the AFA and Westpoint. He will find out about his nomination in the next week. If no nomiation is awarded, should he continue to apply to the academies if wanting to still purse the prep path? Second, would the ROTC scholarship cover that year as well?

Thank you.

Both USAFA and USMA encourage applicants to apply for all nominations for which they are eligible. At a minimum, that is 2 Senators, 1 Representative and VP. The VP applications are evaluated, controlled and chosen by the service academies, and often used for candidates they want who have not obtained a nom from any other source. The SAs also have a small handful of discretionary noms they manage.

As recommended by @Academician, the candidate should fully complete the application and not stop (unless they no longer want this path), as it puts them in consideration for the service prep school or scholarship sponsored civilian prep school. It also lays the groundwork for reapplication next year, if that becomes the new strategy. It’s much better to have a history of a complete application than an abandoned one.

 

[GAROTC]

Very much appreciate your responses @Academician and @Capt MJ. Extremely helpful as I was not aware of many points you both made. Not having such a background, this process quickly became overwhelming, and understandably so. We'll continue w the ALO interview and remaining application steps as you both advise.

Question - Will the academy notify you of not being accepted as well as if you're accepted to the prep program?