Questions for PMS Interview

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xyzabc123

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Hello.

I have my PMS interview tomorrow at the University of Southern California, and I created a list of questions to ask the PMS. I was wondering which ones (all, none, or some) are appropriate to ask.

Scholarship - Logistics


  • When will I be notified about whether or not I received the scholarship?

  • How does my profile and schools of intent factor into receiving the scholarship?

  • Out of the seven schools of intent, how many schools can I be offered a scholarship?

  • If I am not admitted to one or more of the schools for which I am offered a scholarship, will it apply to the schools lower on the list?

  • Is being underweight an issues even if my APFT scores are sufficient (43 PU / 44 SU / 6:39 mile)?

Scholarship - College


  • I am applying to different colleges with different majors, but the scholarship portal offers only one option for discipline and one option for major. Will this be problematic if I am applying for different majors at different colleges (ie, accounting for USC and law/history/society for Vanderbilt)?

  • How difficult is it to change majors whilst receiving the scholarship (scholarship page says depends on PMS, but wanted to get a picture)?

  • What does the average week of an ROTC cadet look like at the University of Southern California in terms of activities and time commitment? Do most ROTC adhere to this pattern?

Military Service


  • While educational delays are possible (ROTC to law school, then service), is ROTC, admission to law school, serve, then go to law school possible?

  • If I am to be found medically disqualified from the scholarship (I am a long distance runner, so I am 5’10 and 123 lbs, mild asthma), are there any other careers in the military that I can pursue with less stringent physical requirements?
 
It is always good to have questions for the PMS going into the interview, but that is an overwhelming volume of questions. I would say pair it down to one or two questions per category and pick the ones that you could truly only get answered by a PMS. I lot of these questions could be answered via google or this forum.
 
Stats:

UW GPA: 3.92
SAT: 1540 (740E/800M)
PT (P/C/R): 43, 44, 6:39

Activities:

Track and Field
Scholastic Honors & Awards - National or State
Scholastic Honors & Awards - Other
Athletic Honors & Awards - Other
Leadership Honors & Awards - National or State
Master/Mistress of Ceremonies
Band - Member
Church - Group Member
Paid Work - < 9 Hours per week
Boy Scouts - Eagle Scout
Boy Scouts - Member
Boy Scouts - Troop Leader/Officer
Boy Scouts - Patrol Officer
Volunteer - 5-10 Hours per month
Service Organization - Member
Service Organization - Leadership Position

Schools (in order of preference):

University of Southern California
Vanderbilt University
Duke University
Cornell University
University of Virginia
University of Michigan
UCLA
 
you can ask questions after you are awarded the scholarship.
While it is good to know the answers to your questions you can find them elsewhere.
Your interview will most likely be short.
Do ask your questions specific to USC.
 
Agree with future soldier and AJC. Focus on a couple of questions involving the Trojan Battalion.

Also don't bring up anything to do with the Bruins beating the Trojans 34 to 27 this past weekend. :cool:
 
JOHNKIM1883 said:
When will I be notified about whether or not I received the scholarship?
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If you receive a scholarship you will be notified in a couple weeks after the board that awards it. If you are not awarded a scholarship by a board, you are automatically rolled over to the next board for consideration at that time. When the final board has met they will notify everyone who has, or hasn't, received a scholarship. So, you may not hear a positive or negative reply until early April, or even mid-April. Have backup plans ready to execute.

How does my profile and schools of intent factor into receiving the scholarship?
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I don't think it factors in at all, but I could be wrong on that. They certainly are not going to try to match yo to schools they think you might get accepted to... that's your responsibility.

Out of the seven schools of intent, how many schools can I be offered a scholarship?
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Depends. Some folks are awarded the scholarship to any one of three schools... some are only offered a scholarship to one school.

If I am not admitted to one or more of the schools for which I am offered a scholarship, will it apply to the schools lower on the list?
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No. You may TRY to transfer the the scholarship to a school lower on your list. The transfer process will be explained when you are offered a scholarship.

Is being underweight an issues even if my APFT scores are sufficient (43 PU / 44 SU / 6:39 mile)?
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Yes. It's a DQ. It might be waived. Start eating PB&J. Lots of them.

How difficult is it to change majors whilst receiving the scholarship (scholarship page says depends on PMS, but wanted to get a picture)?
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You need permission to change your major. Basically you will need to show you can still graduate on time after the major change. I don't know if there is a limit to how many times you can change your major but I expect this is something you only want to do once.

While educational delays are possible (ROTC to law school, then service), is ROTC, admission to law school, serve, then go to law school possible?
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This can be done in extremely rare circumstances if you can walk on water and perform miracles of healing. As a practical matter the answer is really no.

If I am to be found medically disqualified from the scholarship (I am a long distance runner, so I am 5’10 and 123 lbs, mild asthma), are there any other careers in the military that I can pursue with less stringent physical requirements?
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No. Every member of the military needs to be qualified to serve on the front line regardless of what their job in the military is. It someimtes happens that cooks, logistics personnel, etc. are pressed into service because of a critical need or even a dire situation. Also, it may not be possible to get you r meds, if any, while in the field. They don't want you to become a casualty due to your own health because that consumes personnel and resources, probably at the worst possible time.

Hope these answers help. Keep in mind the PMS' primary responsibility is to train new leaders of soldiers... they may or may not understand all the intricacies of the ROTC scholarship process, education delays, etc. They can get those answers, but perhaps not while your there speaking to them. Some things one does when they are needed, and not before.
 
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