Re-Applying for NROTC scholarship After Gap Year

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ADC67

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Hello all! Last December, I was luck enough to learn that I had been awarded a tier 2 NROTC scholarship. After sometime on the waitlist, I also learned that I had been admitted to Princeton! Obviously all this is really great, but unfortunately, with COVID still ravaging the world, I have decided that I will take a gpa year.

For Princeton, this isn't a problem as I am just differing my enrollment, but with NROTC this isn't possible. I've heard some pretty conflicting stuff — some people told me I'm crazy to take a gap year because I will surely not be given another chance at the scholarship while others have said given that I got into Princeton, getting another scholarship should be a piece of cake. I tend to err on the side of caution, so I feel like I'm throwing my chances away at another scholarship.

I was hoping some of you guys and gals could have some insight regarding this. Have any of you had a child, or taken a gap year yourselves, where you had to forgo a scholarship and reapply (and got it again)? Given that I will be attending Princeton, do you guys think my chances at another scholarship are good? I just have a lot to consider!
 
Folks occasionally take gap years. You will need to reapply for the scholarship, starting from scratch. They will also want to know what useful way you spent your gap year so you could continue to grow and develop. There are no guarantees regardless of what school you were admitted to. Receiving another chance at a scholarship is in no way a sure thing.

I would also recommend you speak to the NROTC Officers at Princeton to see what insights they have and take an opportunity to confirm everything with the horses mouth.

BTW, I'm 67 and in poor health. I do not let COVID run my life, but I do take any necessary precautions when out and about. I'm fine so far. YMMV. Only you can make that assessment.
 
kinnem said:
Folks occasionally take gap years. You will need to reapply for the scholarship, starting from scratch. They will also want to know what useful way you spent your gap year so you could continue to grow and develop. There are no guarantees regardless of what school you were admitted to. Receiving another chance at a scholarship is in no way a sure thing.

I would also recommend you speak to the NROTC Officers at Princeton to see what insights they have and take an opportunity to confirm everything with the horses mouth.

BTW, I'm 67 and in poor health. I do not let COVID run my life, but I do take any necessary precautions when out and about. I'm fine so far. YMMV. Only you can make that assessment.
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Bless you sir. You are an asset to this group. Be safe.
 
kinnem said:
Folks occasionally take gap years. You will need to reapply for the scholarship, starting from scratch. They will also want to know what useful way you spent your gap year so you could continue to grow and develop. There are no guarantees regardless of what school you were admitted to. Receiving another chance at a scholarship is in no way a sure thing.

I would also recommend you speak to the NROTC Officers at Princeton to see what insights they have and take an opportunity to confirm everything with the horses mouth.

BTW, I'm 67 and in poor health. I do not let COVID run my life, but I do take any necessary precautions when out and about. I'm fine so far. YMMV. Only you can make that assessment.
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Thanks for the information. In your experience, do you believe I will be looked at by the board with a negative attitude towards my application. What I mean by that is that I feel like the board will be less inclined to offer a scholarship given I already turned it down the first time around. I have no issues starting from scratch again — what really has me worried is how I might be reprieved when my application is scrutinized again.
 
I'm a mom...and I would highly dissuade my own from doing this. A 'bird in hand" kind of thing. Of course, if a GAP year required for some reason? then the choice is obvious, but if it is for other reasons...I would advise no.

You will be competing again against a whole new crop of candidates. You cannot necessarily apply today's criteria to tomorrow's applicants. Add all the COVID stuff and how it is affecting things, and its a whole different ball game.

Taking a GAP year must be the new thing to do. Many of my son's friends have thrown that word around. DS also did one time. Generally, I don't hear it at all. Something to consider is that EVENTUALLY, things will get back to 'normal'. So suffering through this next semester amid COVID isn't the way things will be eventually. Every day we get closer!

There is no way anyone can convince me, absent a good reason to do so, that someone who 'quit' even for a year would be selected over someone who didn't, all things considered. It leaves an impression. I'm not saying that it WOULD happen. I'm saying it COULD happen. Then what? And honestly, no one can know for certain the outcome for you. Its a risk you have to consider, weigh, and make your own choice given your own circumstance.

There is my MOM advice :)
 
+1 to @justdoit19. Everyone is being impacted by CV-19 in some way, though some more drastically than others. People are having to make tough decisions about the value of education, time and presence amid all the unknown. And yes, the notion of a gap year is now in vogue (though many Aussies and Brits out there are wondering what the big deal is).

I’m no admissions officer, but as someone who’s been a hiring manager for more than 25 years — not a dissimilar dynamic — here’s how I would see it: I’d favor the candidate who could clearly articulate how their gap year was more productive than someone else’s “normal” year; the candidate who could explain how they accomplished something more worthy than attending online school; the candidate who could show me they ran to something positive rather than ran from something negative.

Net-net, you’d need to convince me that the gap year made you a better candidate and potential commissioned officer. Requires introspection and thought. Whether you choose to sew a million masks and distribute them to needy communities or surf all day in Thailand, make your best case.
 
I wouldn't do it. If you say no to the scholarship now, there is also the chance you won't pick up a side load in college itself.
 
First things first. Do you want to be a Navy or Marine Corps officer, and is a scholarship essential to that plan? Especially at Princeton? In the scenario where you have no NROTC scholarship of any kind, and participate as a college programmer, can you afford that? This is where you should focus your operational risk analysis. Whatever you do during a gap year must stack up qualitatively and quantitatively with the competition.

There is no way to predict how those who are in the scholarship evaluation group will evaluate a re-application. There might be biases and perspectives that range from “short-sighted slacker” to “gap years are cool.” Some may see your desire to do a gap year as being all about what you want, with the desire to get on with college and progress toward a commission clearly not your first priority.

Military people, though disparate in many ways, tend to “lean in” and get on with it. Unfairly or not, a gap year (the term “gap” doesn’t help) will not sit well with some.

COVID is a factor affecting everyone and everything this year and likely next, so it is a constant in everyone’s equation. Those who lean in toward the challenge of figuring out how to accomplish NROTC requirements along with the staff will, in the right leadership setting, be part of history, be able to share sea stories of that time, experience a unique esprit de corps, as compared to the person who sat out the opportunity.
 
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I'll give you the experience of my DS with a couple of caveats: This information is dated and would not necessarily apply even if there were no pandemic.

He was allowed to defer his 4 yr AROTC scholarship for a gap year. This was his situation:

-Excellent stats

-Major was engineering

-Had full support of the school

-Spent gap year on Rotary Exchange Scholarship, which he earned, in Taiwan, living in a Chinese only environment--Family and school. When he returned, he tested out of all Chinese language classes at his Big 10 U.

-At the end of the day, the Army got something out of it--a blonde-haired blue-eyed Chinese speaker that cost them zero to language train.

-Proved he could live without Mommy and Daddy, friends, home cooking etc.

Before even considering what the Navy thinks about it or what strangers on the internet think about it, you need to think about why it would be right/wrong for you. A year of seasoning and maturing can be very worthwhile. I am a huge supporter of the gap year under two conditions:

-There is a hard, fixed plan in place to execute at the end of it.

-There should be a reason and purpose behind the gap year which makes one, in some quantifiable way, a smarter, more mature, more experienced college freshman and first year Cadet/Mid and as @MidCakePa said, be able to articulate that. Taking a break until the dust clears, finding yourself, "doing something interesting", working a minimum wage job, paying to do good works are not compelling reasons or purposes.

Having said all that, Covid-19 and the prospect of online classes changes the calculus immensely. Maybe the bar doesn't need to be set so high in justifying the gap year. I can see why it makes sense in a year like this and I sympathize with what you are facing. Unfortunately, what makes heading off to college so difficult in the current lockdown is what limits the number of worthwhile alternatives.

How will the Boards look at it? I haven't a clue. If what other posters say is true, that gap years are becoming popular, one must assume that more candidates will be asking for deferrals which would change the flow of candidates into the pipeline, which in turn would have a number of knock on effects for the next academic year--like maybe increasing the number of applicants for the same number of scholarships.:(

ADC67 said:
I tend to err on the side of caution, so I feel like I'm throwing my chances away at another scholarship.
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This is the most telling comment in your post. First instincts are often the best. Maybe you answered your own question.

Remain positive and best of luck!
 
Setting aside the pros/cons of a gap year...

Coming to it after you have received your acceptance has always struct me as a big negative. You went through the process, got an answer, and then decided you did not like the answer.

Way better position to be in if you commit to the gap and then apply later. After all, the gap is really important to you, right? You have a plan, right? If it is so important and beneficial why was it not your first choice?

Winning the Ivy/ROTC lottery and then trying to defer seems obnoxious.

Also, if your reason is COVID to defer; exactly what is it you intend to do for a year? Travel is mostly verboten both domestically and internationally. American's are pretty much imprisoned for the duration.
 
ADC67 said:
Thanks for the information. In your experience, do you believe I will be looked at by the board with a negative attitude towards my application. What I mean by that is that I feel like the board will be less inclined to offer a scholarship given I already turned it down the first time around. I have no issues starting from scratch again — what really has me worried is how I might be reprieved when my application is scrutinized again.
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As others have said, the probability of that is not 0 and will depend greatly on the, unknown at present, board members. BTW, you've gotten great advice from others above, especially about risk analysis.

I'm assuming your big concern is actually physically attending college and catching COVID while doing a ROTC program (of any type). My own analysis would be that I'm young, and if I do get it it's likely not going to be a serious impact to me. Of course your mileage may always vary. If your concern is about doing college courses online, whether physically at the college or not, then you'll be no different than anyone else in your class year and I cannot understand why you would wrestle with it (which isn't to say there isn't a good reason).

Again just one man's 2 cents. None of us know your situation like you do.
 
kinnem said:
As others have said, the probability of that is not 0 and will depend greatly on the, unknown at present, board members. BTW, you've gotten great advice from others above, especially about risk analysis.

I'm assuming your big concern is actually physically attending college and catching COVID while doing a ROTC program (of any type). My own analysis would be that I'm young, and if I do get it it's likely not going to be a serious impact to me. Of course your mileage may always vary. If your concern is about doing college courses online, whether physically at the college or not, then you'll be no different than anyone else in your class year and I cannot understand why you would wrestle with it (which isn't to say there isn't a good reason).

Again just one man's 2 cents. None of us know your situation like you do.
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Thanks for all the advice — I think you hit the nail on the head with your assessment. If anything, I'll be a much stronger candidate this time applying. My PT scores are way up, I raised my test score from a 33 ACT to 1570 SAT (took it again before Jan. 1, but I had already gotten a scholarship by that time), I have research internships at Princeton (w/ econ professors) secured for the remainder of the calendar year, I have been working as an intern at a small-mid sized private equity firm, and overall am a lot more confident in myself as an applicant that I was last year — my writing skills are vastly improved and I feel like I can articulate my intensions more clearly.

The biggest reason for a gap year is not my health, but more so the experience I will be loosing. Every current Pton student I've talked echoes the same thing. If they were an incoming freshman, than they would defiantly take a gap year knowing what they know now. Another massive reason is that a family member is currently going through some serious medical problems; it really is touch and go. Although classes would be at home, I would be fully decimated to school, and I want to spend the time I have left with them in full. Classes, even though they are online, would not let me do so. If I am able to clearly lay out my reason for taking the year off, would I be able to help myself come board selection time?

I know it's very dependent on what the landscape is like next year, so I don't expect a clear answer. I appreciate all the advice nonetheless.
 
These days it's rare to win a 4-year national NROTC scholarship (they have been awarding more of them to college programmers). It's lucky that you won one this year. I'm not sure that the things you mention make you a shoo-in for another one. For example, with a 33 ACT you've probably already maxed out the points your application can get for standardized test scores. Going higher than that doesn't add anything.
 
learningNavymom said:
These days it's rare to win a 4-year national NROTC scholarship (they have been awarding more of them to college programmers).
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What is your source for this? I only ask because the vast, vast majority of MIDN I know received a 4 year scholarship. If you look at the numbers from previous years, you can see that over 1,300 4 year scholarships are offered versus ~250 side-load scholarships:


If you do have evidence of there being a shift towards majority side-load, definitely share it! I'd be curious to see what the reasoning would be if that shift is actually taking place.
 
I wasn't talking about side-loads, I was talking about national scholarships awarded during the student's freshman year. This seemed to be a pattern for a couple of years recently. Perhaps the policy has shifted again. There may be a thread about this somewhere . . .
Anyway, I'm just saying it's a pretty good bird in the hand to win a national 4-year NROTC scholarship.
 
nrotcmid23 said:
What is your source for this? I only ask because the vast, vast majority of MIDN I know received a 4 year scholarship. If you look at the numbers from previous years, you can see that over 1,300 4 year scholarships are offered versus ~250 side-load scholarships:

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Your source does not differentiate between national scholarships awarded to high school seniors or to college freshmen.
 
learningNavymom said:
I wasn't talking about side-loads, I was talking about national scholarships awarded during the student's freshman year. This seemed to be a pattern for a couple of years recently. Perhaps the policy has shifted again. There may be a thread about this somewhere . . .
Anyway, I'm just saying it's a pretty good bird in the hand to win a national 4-year NROTC scholarship.
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Ah, I misunderstood. I'll ask around and see if I can find any information on the breakdown of 4 year scholarships.
 
I've sat on multiple NROTC 4-year national scholarship boards and I'd say ~90%, if not more, are awarded to HS seniors. The savvy NROTC units and College Programmers will re-apply for the national in the fall (which if they win is essentially a 3-year), then have the sideload opportunity if that doesn't pan out.

@learningNavymom - a few years back, we reduced the number of total 4-year national scholarships awarded and moved to higher numbers in the sideload process. This had everything to do with saving the government money. That didn't really change the proportion of scholarships awarded to HS vs college freshman.
 
kinnem said:
My own analysis would be that I'm young, and if I do get it it's likely not going to be a serious impact to me.
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I understand that @kinnem has been really valuable for this community and has been provided very informative feedback.
However, This is a completely ignorant comment, plain ill-advised. This is the reason why, we, US is experiencing the worst pandemic among the world.
Original poster should ignore this advise, and move forward with the greatest precaution you could take to protect yourself and others.
PERIOD.
NO EXCEPTIONS HERE REGARDLESS OF MILITARY PERSONAL OR NOT.
 
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