ROTC and applying to school question

[jketron]

My son is looking into the ROTC option as a backup to applying to the service academy (if he is not accepted).

I see that you apply to the Army and Navy ROTC scholarships directly at the respective websites.

My question is: how to do apply to the schools using the scholarship (if awarded)

Do you apply to the school (as long as its on the list and it is) and then if awarded ROTC scholarship, you tell financial Aid?

How do we apply to the school of choice and it be considered under ROTC?

 

[Capt MJ]

My son is looking into the ROTC option as a backup to applying to the service academy (if he is not accepted).

I see that you apply to the Army and Navy ROTC scholarships directly at the respective websites.

My question is: how to do apply to the schools using the scholarship (if awarded)

Do you apply to the school (as long as its on the list and it is) and then if awarded ROTC scholarship, you tell financial Aid?

How do we apply to the school of choice and it be considered under ROTC?

If your DS has not read every page, link and drop down menu items at the home NROTC and AROTC sites, he should.

Then, he should go to each unit’s website hosted on his chosen colleges website, and do the same.

He will find info like this:

How to Apply

APPLICATION You may start the application process during the second semester of your junior year of high school. Follow these steps. Or download a comprehensive application information checklist at http://www.nrotc.navy.mil/index.html. STEP 1 – COLLEGE BOARD SCORE RELEASE Authorize the testing...

navalscience.umbc.edu

Your DS will follow the colleges’ application procedures. No special “applying under NROTC or AROTC.” Now, if he earns a scholarship, you definitely share that with the unit and the school. It may or may not help. But a college can’t help but like a scholarship that pays full price, so hope for the best.

Another bit of standard advice often found here. The cadet or midshipman has to meet academic standards, physical fitness standards, military performance standards - scholarships can be suspended or lost. Once that first year is over, the cadet or midshipman will be on the hook for fat recoupment if they are dismissed from the program for reasons they can control. DS will want to balance desirability of school vs affordability of school with/without an ROTC scholarship.

 

[Ihavenoidea]

Above is great advice. The applying for the scholarships and school admissions is seperate. Just because you get a scholarship to X school does not mean automatic admission to the X school. Being awarded might help, but it also might not.

The scholarship is awarded at a specific school from the list you provide in the scholarship application. If you are awarded a scholarship at a different school then the one you actually want to go to (and have been accepted into that school). You can request the scholarship be transferred. It is often allowed, but no always a guaranteed. Some different factors in this situation.

Best advice is to apply for AROTC & NROTC...pick schools you want.... and then see what happens. After you have done all the recommendations that Capt MJ made.

 

[clarksonarmy]

On the Army side, one of your best resources can be the ROO (recruiting operations officer) at your school of choice. I say can, because each ROO is different. Some are more helpful and accessible than others.

For example. I have been hosting 1/2 hour individual zoom sessions to review Army ROTC scholarship applications with the applicants on my radar. They are applicants who have listed one of my schools or have contacted me for help with the process.

Reach out to the ROOs at the schools you are interested in and if they offer, take full advantage of their expertise.

That ROO is also going to help you with the enrollment process, since even if you get a scholarship and get accepted to a school you will still need to sign up for the class. Each school and program is a little different, so again, that ROO can help. ROOs are also sometimes refered to as the enrollment officer.

 

[smokey%]

On the Army side, one of your best resources can be the ROO (recruiting operations officer) at your school of choice. I say can, because each ROO is different. Some are more helpful and accessible than others.

For example. I have been hosting 1/2 hour individual zoom sessions to review Army ROTC scholarship applications with the applicants on my radar. They are applicants who have listed one of my schools or have contacted me for help with the process.

Reach out to the ROOs at the schools you are interested in and if they offer, take full advantage of their expertise.

That ROO is also going to help you with the enrollment process, since even if you get a scholarship and get accepted to a school you will still need to sign up for the class. Each school and program is a little different, so again, that ROO can help. ROOs are also sometimes refered to as the enrollment officer.

What exactly do you mean by look over? Do you read over their essays and give them feedback on those or do you give them advice on things they can improve (like SAT/ACT, GPA, ECs, leadership, etc.)?

 

[MA Homeschool Dad]

scholarships can be suspended or lost. Once that first year is over, the cadet or midshipman will be on the hook for fat recoupment if they are dismissed from the program for reasons they can control. DS will want to balance desirability of school vs affordability of school with/without an ROTC scholarship.

Agreed.... except for that last sentence. I'd tweak it to say -- just know what you would do if you lost the scholarship in the "normal" way.

In our case, we have a full scholarship to an 80k school. In AFROTC, if you're not selected for field training summer after sophomore year, you are out as of Sept Jr year... but you don't have to pay back the scholarship as it was the AF decision.

So, I told my DD if that happens, not the end of the world. Can we afford 80k/yr for the next 2 years? Probably not, we'd have to switch schools. BUT, the AF just paid for the first 2 years then released you from your 4 year service commitment. Big bummer if all you wanted was an AF career, but life is complex. There are lots of ways to serve your country. AND in strictly financial terms? You could be better off with an 100% scholarship for 2 years and no service commitment (service commitment being at lower income than the private sector).

Cadets have to leave the Academies too, sometimes for medical reasons caused by (IMHO) Academies being unnecessarily rough, especially for women. But keep your positive attitude and know that the kind of person that was selected for the Academy in the first place will go super far in other fields.

 

[DTT!FSA!]

...Cadets have to leave the Academies too, sometimes for medical reasons caused by (IMHO) Academies being unnecessarily rough, especially for women...

Sorry, but do not concur. The academies are "necessarily" and, I would say, appropriately rough in terms of the physical, mental, emotional, and academic rigor imposed on mids/cadets.

 

[glen]

Sorry, but do not concur. The academies are "necessarily" and, I would say, appropriately rough in terms of the physical, mental, emotional, and academic rigor imposed on mids/cadets.

Yea, well that is not necessarily what the poster meant by being rough - you forgot to include the rest of the poster’s sentence “especially on women.” The military, service academies included, has not adequately dealt with sexual abuse and discrimination against women. Women who nevertheless are determined to apply should, and I believe most do, understand what they may have to deal with in the military. We have a long way to go to overcome decades of discrimination. My view.

 

[DTT!FSA!]

Agreed that the climb is not over. Disagree that the incidence of abuse is higher in SAs than in the private sector. It is just much more widely publicized.

 

[AA787DRIVER]

Once you get a ROTC offer, contact the school's ROTC Detachment for good info on admissions. Several top tier schools can give you a little boost if the ROTC Program wants you ( Cornell, MIT, GT).

 

[SchweatyYeti]

The applications to AROTC and to the colleges are really independent up to the point where AROTC asks for the list of 7 (i think) colleges you kid would like that AROTC scholarship applied to. My DS did everything in parallel. Applied and was accepted to all his schools well ahead of being awarded an AROTC scholarship (came 3rd round/March even though he was boarded 1st round/Oct.) In his case, AROTC selected three of the schools listed, and all was his top choice.

So by this time, my DS was accepted to 3 or 4 schools and boarded. He application to the Service academies was also in progress.

When the AROTC came in, and made his school choice (it came earlier), the ROTC cadre already was aware. We as parents called Financial Aid and they were also aware. They walked us through how the school applies the award.

For us, AROTC and the school had their acts together collectively and were outstanding. They were ahead of us.

 

[MA Homeschool Dad]

Agreed that the climb is not over. Disagree that the incidence of abuse is higher in SAs than in the private sector. It is just much more widely publicized.

I'd say the incidence of concussions or other medically disqualifying injuries is significantly higher in the SA.

You can be super gruelling physically without risking lifelong injuries for the cadets.

Save the high injury but indispensable tough guy tests for Seals or other special forces. When you break their arms, you lose the service of their brains forever, not good for the country.

 

[DTT!FSA!]

I would love to see the empirical data upon which you base your assertions. The 4 year graduation rate from the service academies is substantially higher than the 4 year graduation rate from civilian universities. The military training that the mids/cadets receive is not a significant cause of injury. But it is a significant factor in their personal growth as young adults and future officers.

 

[BJD16]

I can't speak for Service Academy treatment of cadets, but I never heard any complaints from the USMA women I worked with.

In my Army ROTC days, the women who were slight often were often good runners, but more prone to injury. The more strongly built women weren't as injury prone, but often had difficulty passing the run.

 

[99Gold]

Cadets have to leave the Academies too, sometimes for medical reasons caused by (IMHO) Academies being unnecessarily rough, especially for women. But keep your positive attitude and know that the kind of person that was selected for the Academy in the first place will go super far in other fields.

As a women who graduated from an SA with a lot of female friends who graduated from different SAs and experiencing it as a parent (to a son, not a daughter), I do not agree with the statement that medical dismissals are a result of a "rough envioronment" or that it is worse for women.

Now, back to your original point, yes, cadets do leave SAs for a myriad of reasons as do ROTC cadets leave ROTC programs. I think it is prudent to have a game-plan as to what will happen if the scholarship is lost. My ds#2 is applying to AROTC and AFROTC and looking at some affordable colleges and not-so-affordable colleges. If he goes to a college that he/we cannot afford in the even he loses his scholarship, he will go in knowing that we will not overextend ourselves to keep him there. Things happen in life and we must adjust. In the end, it will be his decision where to attend based on his options but we, the parents, will lay out our financial position and guidelines along with a heavy dose of facts (like the potential cost of transferring and upsides of attending different schools based on his goals).