ROTC - 1st year.

FatherOfFive · Mar 22, 2007

My son received a 4 year NROTC scholarship to his 1st choice of schools. The school has not yet accepted him, but according to the NROTC officer on campus, his test scores put him in well above the doubtful threshold. Since he didn't submit his application until the day before the deadline he will have to wait a little while longer to learn for sure. This school is ranked in the Top 20 schools nationally and is about as expensive as they come. I will of course pick up the expenses Uncle Sam does not.

The NROTC guy at the school told me something that sounded too good to be true. He said that my son can accept the scholarship and attend for 1 year then decide if he wants to commit to the Navy, if he doesn't commit, he can walk away from the school and away from the Navy and he doesn't have to pay the govt back for the year of tuition!???

Q: Is this true or did I just make up the part about not having to pay the govt. back for a year of tuition and stipend etc? Seems like a sucky deal for the govt especially with tuition at >$33k per year. What about the stipend, does he get to keep that too?

-Thanks

While we are on the topic of ROTC
If after a half year my son decided he wanted to re-apply again to the USNA, (while on NROTC scholarship) what is the attitude of most NROTC commanders regarding this sort of thing? I would assume he would have to have their blessing?

-FoF

justawife · Mar 22, 2007

To the first part, yes it is true and the same for AFROTC. That is why AFROTC only offers 5% full tuition anywhere 4 year, 15% up to 15K 4 year and the rest are 3 year or in state onlys. My son has a friend who had an AFROTC scholarship, took it to Virginia Tech (they have a core of cadets) he hated it. He left after his freshman year, no strings. He thinks that if they did not have the core he would have continued.

To the other, no clue how the feel about it.

2011's Mom · Mar 22, 2007

Maybe my AF ROTC info is a little old but my oldest had a full AF ROTC scholarship with the monthly stipend, full tuition anywhere etc. Basically a really really good scholarship. For many complicated reasons that I won't go into here (but valid), a week or so prior to 2nd semester finals of freshman year she calls to advise that she had just signed the papers to relinquish her scholarship and drop out of ROTC. By the way, she made the choice to leave and it was not dishonorable or anything like that. Not much later we got the request for reimb. from Uncle Sam for a year of tuition, room/board, ten months of stipend, books, uniforms etc. with limited time to reimburse the money. So, in our case, there were most certainly "strings" attached. D did not owe any time to the AF but Uncle Sam got his money back and the bank gleefully collects the interest on the 2nd so that we could pay it back timely too!

Maybe things have changed - but I would double check that one - believe me the shock when that bill arrived could have caused a coronary. Well, the first shock was the phone call from the kid! Don't worry, she wasn't disinherited or anything like that - almost though!!! She's still alive and graduated from college and is a real contributing member of society now so in the end it worked out - and imagine the "You Owe Me" we get to hold over her head! Have not cashed in on that one yet - waiting for just the right time (ha ha) Good thing I didn't know about this forum then!! Was there such a thing as a forum back then, I wonder?!

raimius · Mar 23, 2007

Usually, there is no committment until the 1st day of a student's junior year. (IIRC) That is the way it works at USAFA...I'm fairly sure that is how AFROTC does it too.

FatherOfFive · Mar 23, 2007

Thanks for the answer. I will definitely check it out.

justawife said:
He thinks that if they did not have the core he would have continued.

What a shame! The kid could have transferred to another ROTC school and kept his scholarship. Unlike most scholarships, ROTC scholarships follow the student, not the school. The kid could have applied to another ROTC school and continued on the path to a mostly free education and a career in the AF.

-FoF

DMeix · Mar 23, 2007

On the topic of reapplying from NROTC:

Being a sworn-in midshipman puts your kid in another nomination pool. COs are allowed one nomination per year from their unit. I was unaware of this until my freshman advisor in the unit called asking if I wanted the captain's nomination.

When I left, the officers gave me a lot of good-natured ribbin' for going to the academy, but they were glad I was doing what I wanted to do.

Just_A_Mom · Mar 23, 2007

FatherOfFive said:
While we are on the topic of ROTC
If after a half year my son decided he wanted to re-apply again to the USNA, (while on NROTC scholarship) what is the attitude of most NROTC commanders regarding this sort of thing? I would assume he would have to have their blessing?-FoF

IMO, anything less would be unprofessional. When my daughter was offered her Army ROTC scholarship - she told the LtCol she didn't think she could accept it yet (it was Oct) - that she applied to USMA, USNA and USCGA. He basically told her, accept the scholarship - if you got to any academy that is great (yep -even Navy). Even told her if she didnt get in the first year to accept ROTC and reapply. No way would he stand in front of her goals.

footballer · Mar 26, 2007

I was told by the AF Det. Commander that I interviewed with that I would have the option to pull out after my freshman year and I would not owe anything. He didn't specify whether it was to AF or Gov, but it does give me something to ask.

USNA69 · Mar 27, 2007

DMeix said:
On the topic of reapplying from NROTC:

Being a sworn-in midshipman puts your kid in another nomination pool. COs are allowed one nomination per year from their unit.

NROTC Commanders are allowed THREE nominations from their unit annually. Of course, it is at their discretion whether they want to nominate three.

CAnderson197 · Mar 27, 2007

Father of five,

I'm an Army ROTC Cadet, I received a 4 Year Scholarship, Room Scholarship and a Board Outweighing Scholarship of 2600/yr. I could walk away from all of that and not owe a dime back to the government, until you become involved in the advanced leadership courses there's no military obligation.

Hope that helps,
C. Anderson

FatherOfFive · Mar 27, 2007

USNA69 said:
NROTC Commanders are allowed THREE nominations from their unit annually. Of course, it is at their discretion whether they want to nominate three.

Gotcha. It's nice to know that if my son decides that he is not getting his fair share of abuse, the service academies are still an option.

Q: Once my son is in NROTC, his commander(s) becomes his sole nomination source for all of the academies not just USNA, correct?

Thanks

-FoF

Just_A_Mom · Mar 27, 2007

FatherOfFive said:
Q: Once my son is in NROTC, his commander(s) becomes his sole nomination source for all of the academies not just USNA, correct?

Not sure I understand completely what you mean but:
If he is NROTC and reapplied to USNA - he qualifies for a ROTC nom. He still should apply to his MOC's. Note: Apply to all nomination sources from which you qualify.

If he is NROTC and decided to apply to USAFA or USMA - I don't think he qualifies for a ROTC nom. Can someone clarify this?
In any case he would still again apply to his MOC's for nominations.

USNA69 · Mar 27, 2007

Just_A_Mom said:
If he is NROTC and decided to apply to USAFA or USMA - I don't think he qualifies for a ROTC nom. Can someone clarify this?
In any case he would still again apply to his MOC's for nominations.

Honors Junior ROTC units can nominate to any of the academies but USNA will only accept college nominations from NROTC Commanders. Don't know for sure about the other academies.