So I’m a senior right now, pretty strong academically with a 4.0 unweighted and 4.3ish weighted GPA(8 APs), I have a 1480 on the SAT with a perfect score on math, I’m taking 2 subject tests(math 2 and chem), I’ve got 4 years of varsity tennis(2x doubles section champion), Fresh and JV basketball, awarded a chemistry paid internship at a university, got some strong letters of rec, tons of music ecs, tennis team captain this year, I am applying to UCLA, UCB, UCSB, UCD, MIT, U of Michigan, USC, Cal Poly, an other schools. My questions are does the colleges you put affect your chances at the scholarship? If I get the scholarship and don’t get into any of my schools what happens? I think my chances at cal Poly and UC Davis as my safety schools will avoid that hopefully. Also since I want to do Chemical engineering and that isn’t a major for AFROTC but it is for NROTC, I’m going to get into some schools for ChemE and others for EnvironmentalE, so I can’t have the same major for both ROTC’s which is a pain in the ass, so anyway I’m really confused rn and any knowledge I can get would be great appreciated
Questions about NROTC and AFROTC
- Thread starter Ew3081
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College admissions and ROTC scholarships, as you know, are decided by two different bodies. So one has nothing to do with each other. (Though there’ve been a couple threads recently in which some state that a few ROTC detachments have sway with the admissions team. But that’s not something I’d count on.)
The challenge, as you allude, is in matching up the scholarship assignment with the school you get into. Say you get into Notre Dame, which many consider to have the nation’s best NROTC unit. By the time you’re accepted, the NROTC slots may all be taken. But the story may be different for AFROTC, which might not be as heavily sought after at Notre Dame.
The other issue — of getting a scholarship but not getting into any of your schools — can be minimized. Build your ROTC school list the same way you’d build a regular school list: a couple reaches, a couple safeties, and then the others in between.
If, by the time you submit your ROTC application, you’ve already been accepted to some schools, then put one or two of those at the top of your ROTC list. That maximizes the chances that your scholarship will be assigned to a school you’re already in.
The challenge, as you allude, is in matching up the scholarship assignment with the school you get into. Say you get into Notre Dame, which many consider to have the nation’s best NROTC unit. By the time you’re accepted, the NROTC slots may all be taken. But the story may be different for AFROTC, which might not be as heavily sought after at Notre Dame.
The other issue — of getting a scholarship but not getting into any of your schools — can be minimized. Build your ROTC school list the same way you’d build a regular school list: a couple reaches, a couple safeties, and then the others in between.
If, by the time you submit your ROTC application, you’ve already been accepted to some schools, then put one or two of those at the top of your ROTC list. That maximizes the chances that your scholarship will be assigned to a school you’re already in.
AFROTC scholarships are independent from the school you select. You can use your scholarship at any school you are accepted at, provided they have a detachment associated with the school. Also AF ROTC scholarships are divided between tech and non tech with the vast majority awarded to tech majors. I'm pretty sure chem engineering is considered a tech major, but check with the detachment at the school you want to attend to be sure. The list of tech majors on the Afrotc website is not all inclusive.
eljay60
AFROTC parent, former ANC in USAR
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No clue as to the NROTC, but AFROTC is given to you and is not connected with any school. You can use it at a college you listed on your application or at a cross-town community college in Hawaii. I'm surprised ChemE isn't considered a Tech scholarship in AFROTC - contact the recruiting officer at the schools you are applying to and confirm that, if you haven't already.
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CHeck with the unit at the colleges you want to attend. They'll know which majors are tech and which are not as far as AFROTC is concerned.
ProudDad17
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For NROTC, the schools you list do not have any affect on whether you are awarded a scholarship. One board reviews your application package and decides whether to award a scholarship. If you are awarded one, another board looks at your list of schools and assigns it to your highest listed school that has an opening. Around 85% of NROTC 4 year scholarships are awarded to tier 1 and tier 2 majors. Chemical engineering is a tier 1 major. If your scholarship is assigned to a school that you did not get admitted to, you have to request that the scholarship be transferred to a school that you did get into. It does not have to be one of the 5 schools you list on your application. You can transfer your scholarship to any school with an NROTC unit, as long as that unit has an opening for a scholarship recipient. The past couple years, it sounds like most units have not filled all their slots for scholarship recipients. I am assuming you are from California, because of the heavy representation of California schools on your list. One thing to keep in mind is that UCD is not a host unit UCB is the host unit, meaning you would have to travel there probably at least a couple times a week. The traffic on the commute can be a nightmare. Just something to keep in mind as you consider your options.
Seconding ProudDad's comment regarding the importance of focusing on host units.
I see lots of California schools on your list, so presumably you live in California and are familiar with both the long distances and nightmarish commutes involved in driving from a crosstown such as UC Davis or UC Santa Barbara to their respective host units.
Frankly, I'm not sure it's even feasible to do ROTC at UCSB. Check the commute time to UCLA: probably 2+ hours on a good day, which means you'd need to rise at about 4am each Friday just to make it to Westwood in time for training. Same goes for Cal Poly, which is about 3 hours away from the nearest host unit.
UC Davis & the Sacramento State host unit is more feasible, but it's still a drag.
Ditto for UC San Diego to SDSU.
If you're looking out of state, there are plenty of outstanding Chem Eng. programs at schools that host AFROTC and NROTC. Most of the Big 10 schools (except Northwestern) meet this condition, as do the big state schools in the oil patch, esp UT-Austin.
Minnesota has world-class Chemistry and Chem Engineering, as do Wisconsin, Illinois and Purdue. Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute (RPI) is also excellent. No need to commute 2 hours to the host unit from any of the above schools.
Good luck!
I see lots of California schools on your list, so presumably you live in California and are familiar with both the long distances and nightmarish commutes involved in driving from a crosstown such as UC Davis or UC Santa Barbara to their respective host units.
Frankly, I'm not sure it's even feasible to do ROTC at UCSB. Check the commute time to UCLA: probably 2+ hours on a good day, which means you'd need to rise at about 4am each Friday just to make it to Westwood in time for training. Same goes for Cal Poly, which is about 3 hours away from the nearest host unit.
UC Davis & the Sacramento State host unit is more feasible, but it's still a drag.
Ditto for UC San Diego to SDSU.
If you're looking out of state, there are plenty of outstanding Chem Eng. programs at schools that host AFROTC and NROTC. Most of the Big 10 schools (except Northwestern) meet this condition, as do the big state schools in the oil patch, esp UT-Austin.
Minnesota has world-class Chemistry and Chem Engineering, as do Wisconsin, Illinois and Purdue. Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute (RPI) is also excellent. No need to commute 2 hours to the host unit from any of the above schools.
Good luck!