ROTC and college selection

[QUOTE="808STATEMOM, post: 474210, member: 28288"If he doesn't receive a scholarship this round, I would say the selection is VERY flawed. [/QUOTE]

Hum-how about the "questionnaire" or the interview or the personal statements? The stats from all these sharp kids look very, very similar at the end of the day. The challenge is to differentiate yourself amongst all the terrific applicants.
 
My son had already been accepted into his first choice school by the time the first board met. It's too late now for hindsight, but for future applicants that are reading this, remember that a scholarship offer to a school for which you don't get admitted is worth zero, unless you can transfer the scholarship later. That's an if. We only listed 3 schools on his app because honestly, although he could have listed more, he didn't either 1) easily qualify for admission, or 2) didn't really want to go there.
 
My son had already been accepted into his first choice school by the time the first board met. It's too late now for hindsight, but for future applicants that are reading this, remember that a scholarship offer to a school for which you don't get admitted is worth zero, unless you can transfer the scholarship later. That's an if. We only listed 3 schools on his app because honestly, although he could have listed more, he didn't either 1) easily qualify for admission, or 2) didn't really want to go there.

Very few schools that I am aware of give results prior to the first board meeting. The first board met Oct. 19th this year. It is my opinion that Cadet Command wants to help scholarship winners with transfers. Anecdotally, on this forum over the past few years a lot of scholarship transfers have been granted. My advice would be to apply to a school that you want to attend and is a good fit for you.
 
How accurate is ROTC in matching scholarships to schools at which the candidate has a decent chance at being accepted ? DS son was awarded 4yr scholarships at 3 very competitive schools. He's been turned down at 1; waiting for April to hear from other 2. He also applied to less competitive schools. I'm curious as to why they wouldn't give one scholarship to a more likely school ? I understand they are not admissions officers and have no control, but how often does it happen that someone doesn't get into ANY of the schools where a scholarship has been awarded? I know you can petition to have scholarship transferred, but wouldn't it save a lot of headache for everyone if a likely school were included?
I talked directly with NROTC office in Pensacola and they said that even if our son was turned down at 4 of his schools and the 5th had no openings (even though he was accepted), they make sure that recipients get accepted somewhere, even if they have to get someone into a college, after the official application deadlines. They said they've never had someone not find a place to use it. My son listed Duke first and was turned down. He got into Auburn, but is on the wait list due to it being filled (since it was easier to get into and others listed it as their #1), he is waiting until April 1 for UVA and Vandy.... as well as still being in the running for USNA.
 
I think you have nothing to lose by your son calling the Director of Admissions at the school he did not get into and letting them know he won a 4 yr AROTC scholarship. I bet they do not know your son recieved a scholarship for their school and that's 4 years of tuition they do not need to worry about. It couldn't hurt.
We notified Auburn that he received the 4 year NROTC scholarship (in case it made a difference), knowing that the normal notification date was still a month away. The next day he received his acceptance notification and a few weeks later they sent him a letter saying they were awarding him and extra $24,000 in scholarship (which he can use for room and board).
 
Colleges like ROTC students because they are full pay (due to the scholarship). The person we spoke with at the ROTC office told us that if my son did not get accepted at the school he wanted, then he'd contact the school directly and see if they'd find a spot for him. He said that he'd done this before and generally the school was happy to revise their opinion and offer and acceptance.

We didn't need to do this in the end,but it was nice to know that it was an option.
 
We notified Auburn that he received the 4 year NROTC scholarship (in case it made a difference), knowing that the normal notification date was still a month away. The next day he received his acceptance notification and a few weeks later they sent him a letter saying they were awarding him and extra $24,000 in scholarship (which he can use for room and board).
 
Colleges like ROTC students because they are full pay (due to the scholarship). The person we spoke with at the ROTC office told us that if my son did not get accepted at the school he wanted, then he'd contact the school directly and see if they'd find a spot for him. He said that he'd done this before and generally the school was happy to revise their opinion and offer and acceptance.

We didn't need to do this in the end,but it was nice to know that it was an option.
Did you speak to main ROTC office( not sure what it's called) of ROTC at a specific school?
 
My guess is that @bookreader spoke with the school's ROTC Battalion. The Battalion advice was to contact admissions, let them know he had a ROTC scholarship and ask them to reconsider him for acceptance.

If you know you have an ROTC scholarship you should contact the school's battalion and let them know you have a scholarship. The battalion may have influence over admissions decisions. Some ROTC battalions have a seat on the admissions board. Some have zero influence. But, you have nothing to lose except the time it takes to send an email or make a phone call. It would be best to do this before the decision deadline if you can.
 
My guess is that @bookreader spoke with the school's ROTC Battalion. The Battalion advice was to contact admissions, let them know he had a ROTC scholarship and ask them to reconsider him for acceptance.

If you know you have an ROTC scholarship you should contact the school's battalion and let them know you have a scholarship. The battalion may have influence over admissions decisions. Some ROTC battalions have a seat on the admissions board. Some have zero influence. But, you have nothing to lose except the time it takes to send an email or make a phone call. It would be best to do this before the decision deadline if you can.
Thanks, yes, he has already spoken to both battalion and admissions office at 2 schools at which he was awarded a scholarship. Unfortunately the Battalion at either one doesn't seem to have much influence, and the admissions offices said ROTC doesn't have any bearing on their decision so we just have to wait it out.
 
Did you speak to main ROTC office( not sure what it's called) of ROTC at a specific school?
Sorry, there was a typo and I see why my question doesn't make sense. I was just wondering if you spoke to the Batillion officer at the school, or if you talked to the ROTC governing body, whatever the proper name is for that. But I think @5Day explained it.
 
Likely it is a 'your mileage may vary' kind of thing. I don't recall the specific title of the ROTC officer we spoke to. I have no military background, so to me they are all 'army guys'. Not too helpful, I know. :)

Perhaps the person we spoke with knew that he could reach out to the admissions offices at the specific schools that our son had applied to.
 
Likely it is a 'your mileage may vary' kind of thing. I don't recall the specific title of the ROTC officer we spoke to. I have no military background, so to me they are all 'army guys'. Not too helpful, I know. :)

Perhaps the person we spoke with knew that he could reach out to the admissions offices at the specific schools that our son had applied to.

Chances are good that you spoke to the ROO or Army ROTC Recruiting Operatons Officer.
 
My brother is the CO for NROTC Ga. Tech and has sat on two boards in Pensacola over the past 6 months. He said the influence of the CO's at each school will vary based upon how long they have been there and the school's admission criteria. I was also encourage by him to have my DS call and talk to the CO's at each school about their programs. Each of them were very direct on what influence if any they could have. As I mentioned, we notified choices 2-4, after #1 had turned my son down, that he had received the scholarship and one of them sent him an acceptance e-mail the next day. So it can work! The other two said they were noting the information in his package but that he would find out the same date as everyone else (non-ROTC), which is next Friday, April 1.
 
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