Requirement to apply to public/in-state schools for ROTC

krotz

krotz

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I am very grateful to the many answers I received on this forum regarding the AROTC application process! There is only one area I am still a little confused - the requirement to include public or in-state schools.

Is someone able to explain (a) what this requirement is, and (b) why it exists?

My daughter has already prepared a great list of colleges, with a good mix of reach, possible, and safety/likely schools. None are public, nor are any in our home state (NH).

Thanks in advance!
 
I found the requirement:
  • "When selecting school choices, the application process requires that 3 of your 7 choices are public colleges or universities. If you select fewer than 6 schools, then 2 of the 5 choices must be public colleges or universities. 3 or fewer choices, 1 must be a public college or university."
  • "When selecting school choices, the application process requires that at least one of your choices is a college in your home state of residence."
But I would still like to know why they have this. Also, could my daughter apply to a state school in our state to meet this, but not ever intend to go there?
 
You did not mention which service?

For Army it is listed on the page for school choices. She will have to have one on her list in her state (my daughters was a private school that was in state and it still let her proceed) then a certain amount of schools will need to be public but can be out of state. Again, look at the school selection page and it gives you a number, I think 1-3 schools, 1 has to be public, 4 or 5, then 2 are public, etc. she can have up to 7 schools, but the more schools she has the more public choices she needs. She can list the ones she is really not that interested in at the end, with the possibility the ones at the end could get chosen. For Army, if she is selected they will start at the top of her list, and if a slot is open award number 1, if there are no slots available at that school, they will go to number two. This will continue until there are three schools to choose from or there are no more schools on the list. My daughter received a scholarship to her 1st, 2nd, and 4th choices. The other services handle that differently.

As to why it exists? I have no idea, nor do I think the reason matters.
 
krotz said:
Army. Thanks!
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Good luck to your daughter! My daughter put her in state choice (private) as her fourth and last choice, she honestly had zero interest in going there, and ironically it was the toughest academic school she applied to. She was wait listed at that school and later accepted. Since she did her interview at the school in state because the others were too far away, she got exposed to the school and also to the ROO and cadre. Long story not so short, fast forward four months later when she received her three choices to choose from, that last listed school was one of the choices. It ended up being where she decided to go! A lot can change in 4 months when you are 18! So unless she has 7 dream schools, it doesn't hurt to throw a few more on the end to satisfy her in state and her public requirements. It sounds like she has a good balance of schools that are realistic, she should be fine.
 
krotz said:
I found the requirement:
  • "When selecting school choices, the application process requires that 3 of your 7 choices are public colleges or universities. If you select fewer than 6 schools, then 2 of the 5 choices must be public colleges or universities. 3 or fewer choices, 1 must be a public college or university."
  • "When selecting school choices, the application process requires that at least one of your choices is a college in your home state of residence."
But I would still like to know why they have this. Also, could my daughter apply to a state school in our state to meet this, but not ever intend to go there?
Click to expand...
My guess is it's all about the $, it's a cost thing. The Army can send 2-3 people to public schools for what it costs 1 to go to private. I would also like to think that the Army would like to pool their future officers from a wide variety of schools, public and private. There may also be a law that also stipulates funds for public/private something like 60/40 split. That being said ROTC scholarship was our dau PLAN B. She was going to do ROTC in school regardless of a scholarship. Her first 2 college choices, both private, both out of state were her choices before we started the process. We live in MD, she will go in PA. She added public, in state schools, to fulfill the requirement, she never intended to go there. We visited her choice universities bf she submitted her application and made an appointment with the ROO.
 
I would agree with @ENwifeArmyMom that the reason stems from budgetary issues. If unrestricted, then a lot more private schools (read: higher tution rates) would show up on applications. Remember, the majority of freshman cadets enroll in AROTC with no scholarship or contract, hoping to earn a campus based one later. Many of these cadets can only afford an in-state public college (that was my DS's situation). Without the requirement, there would be likely fewer scholarship winners at the public AROTC schools.

I would be cautious about placing any schools on the list that your DD has no interest in attending or has a very low chance of acceptance. If you have to do this, then place the no-interest school at the end of the list as @Dckc88 suggested.
 
My son included, as required, an in state choice but never intended to go even if it was his only scholarship option.
He was offered on the second board his first choice and his in state choice. so it worked out in the end.
 
Once again, thank you everyone for your feedback and help!
 
Nothing requires you to actually apply to the schools you list on your app. Can't tell you how many get offers to schools they didn't apply to, but it happens frequently. The transfer process helps usually in that situation. You definitely want a pretty well thought out list of schools on your app, and update it if it changes, but if you have that state school on the list you just put there to meet the requirement, don't lose sleep over it.
 
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