Questions regarding the AFROTC Express Scholarship requirements

[forclosers]

Here is the information given by the AFROTC website about the Express Scholarship. I bolded some relevant points, and my questions are at the bottom of this post.

The Express Scholarship is designed to meet Air Force ROTC officer production requirements in specific fields and year groups. Contact the detachmentdetachmentThe Air Force ROTC unit at a host university. nearest you for the most up-to-date information on this program.

This program awards Type 1Type 1Pays full college tuition, most fees and $900 per year for books. scholarships. In many cases, these scholarships can activate during the same term as nomination.

The Express Scholarship program is operated on a fully qualified basis – those who meet the qualifications are awarded the scholarship and do not meet a scholarship selection board. The processing of the scholarship award is completed at the local detachment.

Be sure to read our foreign language page or nursing page for additional information.
Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible to apply for an Express Scholarship you must:

* Be a United States Citizen
* Pass the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test » (AFOQT) or have your failing scores waived after two failures
* Pass the Air Force ROTC Physical Fitness Test »
* Have at least a 2.5 cumulative college grade point average
* Pass a physical examination and be certified as commissioncommissionBestowed upon an AFROTC graduate by the President of the United States recognizing them as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. -qualified by the Department of Defense Medical Examination Review Board
* Not already be a contracted scholarship recipient
* Meet the age, moral and other scholarship eligibility requirements » for Air Force ROTC
* Major in one of the fields listed below for your commissioning year group

Eligible Majors

Contact the detachment nearest you for the most up-to-date information on this program.

* Computer Engineering
* Electrical Engineering

How to Apply

Applications for the Express Scholarship are processed and approved at the detachment level. Contact the detachment serving the school you attend or desire to attend, and they will work to nominate you for the appropriate scholarship program.

-My first question is about the GPA requirement. Do I need to be enrolled in an eligible major and in the ROTC program when I acquire the 2.5 or higher GPA? If so, how long do I need to be enrolled before I can apply for the Express Scholarship?

--If the answer to the above question is no, then let's say I acquire a 2.5 or higher GPA at a community college, and then I transfer to a school with an ROTC program. Could I immediately apply for the Express Scholarship?

-My next question is just a clarification. As long as I meet all the requirements for being eligible to apply for the scholarship, am I guaranteed to receive it?

-Finally I'm interested in experiences for how long it took for the scholarship to activate. Can I expect it to activate in the same term as when I apply for it?

Thank you very much in advance for your responses.

 

[Pima]

First off, the 2.5 maybe the min., but it is highly unlikely that anyone with a 2.5 will receive a scholarship...3.0 in these days of competition would still be an IFFY one, depending on the school.

It is important to understand that AFROTC has cut contracted cadets with a gpa of 3.0, thus, to give a scholarship out with the same gpa makes no sense. I believe the min for contracted cadets is 2.8. The AF is going through force shape re-structuring, those gpas are meaning more with every day.

Next, getting nominated, passing the PFA, and getting a physical is not something that happens in a week. It takes much longer time than a few days to accomplish for the scholarship to be activated if you put all of those factors in the equation. They send you to their doc., you don't just get to go to any old doc. Additionally, DodMerb is known to be very cautious on giving out qualified...people who never thought taking Accutane would mean anything can quickly learn that it does for the AF. Asthma and you could have issues. In other words things that nobody expected to impact them, may impact them.

Third, most of the EA's that I know of who apply for this scholarship are in ROTC (not contracted) and in majors that are acceptable by the AFROTC terms. The reason why is they didn't get the hs scholarship, so now they are trying again.

Fourth, as you can start to see, there is no guarantee you will receive one. There is not enough money in the budget to give everyone that asks for a scholarship, a scholarship.

I can't answer the activation, because this is a case by case det. related issue. It will depend on how fast the det can activate it.

Again, it is up to the det to hand this out. Usually there will be more than 1 in a decent size det that will try for this option. Do not aim your sights on the mins., because it will most likely hurt you re: your chances.

Also, as for being enrolled, I don't think you have to be. One poster on here has been offered this type of scholarship already, and they are in HS, it was for HSSP. You could find that come fall that scholarship for FY 11-12 is already gone, thus, you would have to wait for FY12-13 to compete for it.

Right now get the best grades you can, practice the PFT. Remember the only 100% guarantee anyone can ever give you is that you will have 0% chance of getting one if you don't apply.

Good luck

 

[forclosers]

Thank you for the reply.

Am I understanding correctly that one does not need to be enrolled in college to receive this type of scholarship? Is this true even for high school graduates?

I understand now that it's not guaranteed even if you meet the requirements and that it is highly competitive. Is it safe to assume that a high school graduate has a better chance of receiving the scholarship if he is currently enrolled in college? Further, does he have even more of a shot if he is in an ROTC program?

Basically here are my three options:
A) Apply for the scholarship now, as a high school graduate not currently enrolled in college, with plans to enroll in a university that offers ROTC
B) Enroll in a community college that does not have an ROTC program and apply for the scholarship after a semester or two, with plans to transfer to a university that offers ROTC
C) Enroll in a university that offers ROTC, sign up for ROTC and apply for the scholarship then

For financial reasons, I would prefer option A the most and option C the least. However, knowing that PFT scores and GPA are also big factors, am I correct that option C would have the best chance of receiving the scholarship, and option A would have the least chance?

Thanks again.

 

[Pima]

A) Apply for the scholarship now, as a high school graduate not currently enrolled in college, with plans to enroll in a university that offers ROTC
B) Enroll in a community college that does not have an ROTC program and apply for the scholarship after a semester or two, with plans to transfer to a university that offers ROTC
C) Enroll in a university that offers ROTC, sign up for ROTC and apply for the scholarship then

I think the best answer here is to contact the university you want to enroll in for direct answers. I would also contact Flieger on this site. He is an ALO that works with AFA candidates, but ALO's also work with ROTC. He is someone that can give you better direction.

Here is my problem with what you are posting.

For financial reasons,

You have yet to discuss how you want to serve in the AF.

AFROTC should never be seen as "free money". The devil will collect their due. 4 yrs AD at least. Stinks to be in IRAQ or Korea for 12-18 months, because of free money.

You have not discussed wanting to serve at all.

What is your career path?
What do you want to experience in the AF?
Why ROTC over enlistment or OTS?
CC's are going to ask this.

ALO's and CC's can quickly read into why a candidate is applying during the interview.

It is important to explain why this route, why now?

So here's the question why AFROTC and why now? Would you enroll in AFROTC without a scholarship?

 

[forclosers]

Thanks for taking the time to help me out.

What is your career path?

I plan to major in computer engineering, join the AFROTC, and serve in the USAF in a career in the computer engineering field.

What do you want to experience in the AF?

I want to design the newest and most advanced computers. I think the USAF is a leader when it comes to cutting edge technology and I'd like to be a part of that. I'd also like the opportunity to serve my country.

Why ROTC over enlistment or OTS?

In order to do the things I mentioned above I'll need a computer engineering degree, so I would consider ROTC or OTS. I'd prefer ROTC because I'd like to get some military experience as soon as possible to get accustomed to it. I'll also be paying tuition entirely with loans, so I'm hoping for an AFROTC scholarship to cover tuition.

So here's the question why AFROTC and why now? Would you enroll in AFROTC without a scholarship?

I would enroll without a scholarship. I think I covered why I'm choosing AFROTC above. As for why I want to enroll now, well I just turned 23 and I've wasted too much time working at part time jobs. I know what I want to do now, so now's the time.

Thanks again. These questions helped me prepare for future interviews.

 

[Pima]

Good luck it sounds as if you have a well thought out plan and will be an excellent addition to the AF.