ROTC? What are my chances?

When exactly do i need to start filling out the application and everything? I am a junior right now in HS.
 
We may live near each other. I live on the coast in Southern California.

It's alright even if you don't want to attend their particular programs to talk to their PMS's. You can also call and talk over the phone with the ROTC directors of the programs you are interested in, even if you can't meet them in person.
 
Cadetmom is 100% correct, contact the det commanders at the universities you are interested in because they are in charge of ROTC. Recruiters have a goal to meet for enlistment purposes, they do not have anything to do with ROTC. Their job is to get you to enlist. Many times they do land up swaying that ROTC cadet because they tell them up the GI Bill, and Tuition Assistance for AD members. Telling an 18 yo, you can get 75% of your college education while being AD and getting paid. They then tell them they can go OCS and graduate from there at the same time as their counterparts, but will be paid more because of their AD yrs.

That sounds great in theory, but when reality comes around, it is hard to work full time and go to school full time. Additionally, they would need their commanders support and the Wing Commanders support to COMPETE for the OCS slot. Worse yet, they may find themselves in the position that they can't apply for OCS because that branch canceled it for a yr or so (AF this yr canceled OCS), thus, all along they worked to become an officer and now that can't happen.

You don't start applying until next spring. Currently what I would suggest you do is take your SAT and ACT. Take the hardest course curriculum available and get strong grades. Make sure you are a well rounded student, i.e. ECs. If you know of a medical issue start working on get those files together in case you need a waiver. If your school has a JROTC talk to that commander about the ROTC path. You do not need to be in JROTC to get an ROTC scholarship, conversely being in JROTC will not guarantee you a scholarship either.
 
If you want more information about Navy ROTC programs, I suggest you visit the NROTC Facebook page following this link. http://www.facebook.com/nrotc
I do advertising work for the US Navy and this Facebook site is a great place to talk to and ask questions with real Navy personnel and others just like you. It's definitely a great source.
 
facebook is a great social networking site, but honestly it does not hold a candle to this site. On this site, you have a director for Dodmerb, multiple BGO/ALO/MALO's, posters that are cadets, officers and retired to answer all of your questions. You do not have that on that site. I looked at the link, and it appeared that most questions go un-answered. Even when answered it appears that just a few are actually Navy people with experience.

Not trying to slam facebook, just saying that when it comes down to ROTC scholarship research and the process, it is not worth the time. You'd probably be better off going to www.collegeconfidential.com and post the question on the actual college thread regarding ROTC, especially for large universities like VA Tech, UMDCP, Texas A & M, ERAU, etc. where they have a larger cadet corp than facebook.

JMHO as a parent who went through the search the net process for answers with our DS 3 yrs ago.

Plus, since NROTC scholarships are tied to the school, you can get chanced on CC by alumni, students and parents to see if it is even worth the $50-75 application fee.
 
Coldharbour...My daughter was in the same situation. She definitely wanted to go to college outside of California but still dealt with the local batallion at SDSU for the application/interview process. Even though she was honest about having no desire to attend SDSU, she was given the highest interview score possible.

I'm not 100% sure but I'd say have all your ducks in a row to apply during the 2nd semester of your senior year for sure. My daughter didn't have everything done until late September (1st month of senior year) so her package wasn't even reviewed during teh 1st (2) boards. Better to have it done so your application gets reviewed by the 1st board....usually in August I think.
 
k2rider said:
Coldharbour...My daughter was in the same situation. She definitely wanted to go to college outside of California but still dealt with the local batallion at SDSU for the application/interview process. Even though she was honest about having no desire to attend SDSU, she was given the highest interview score possible.

I'm not 100% sure but I'd say have all your ducks in a row to apply during the 2nd semester of your senior year for sure. My daughter didn't have everything done until late September (1st month of senior year) so her package wasn't even reviewed during teh 1st (2) boards. Better to have it done so your application gets reviewed by the 1st board....usually in August I think.
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Right on, I all find out the nearest school with an AFROTC program and contact the coordinator. I wan't to have my thing reviewed and my applications in on time, and as early as possible.

I am in Northern CA
 
I'm not 100% sure but I'd say have all your ducks in a row to apply during the 2nd semester of your senior year for sure.
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I think you meant JUNIOR!

Some of those ducks would be:
1. Teacher recs
2. More than 1 SAT score
3. Transcript issue...if the school is closed during the summer make sure you can get a sealed transcript prior to them closing.
4. Talk to your GC re: the process for recs. Most hs gc's know the process because students not only apply ROTC, but to the SA's.

Review what is needed to submit a package, and then do a check list. Our DS was late to the game, and we spent the summer scrambling to get things done. He still met the earliest board for AFROTC, (Oct), but it was hectic, especially since he also had to spend hours writing essays for college admissions and meeting with the ALO (BGO for Navy/MALO for Army).

Right on, I all find out the nearest school with an AFROTC program and contact the coordinator. I wan't to have my thing reviewed and my applications in on time, and as early as possible.
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Don't call the det if you are not a match to the school...i.e. Stanford is the closest school, but it is not a match. Call the det you want to attend. I say this for multiple reasons.

1. Talk to them about the det itself...how many cadets, how many got summer training (%), how many got their 1st choice assignment(%), military fraternities, etc.

College is only one aspect, ROTC is the other. You can love the academic program, BUT, if the det doesn't jig with you, than your career for several yrs is on the line.

Ex: ERAU AFROTC det loves to tell people that they give out the 2nd highest amount of UPT slots. Sounds great, right? They fail to tell you that the % of cadets with UPT slots is lower than many other colleges, thus, you actually hurt your career chances by going to ERAU over VaTech.
Good luck

2. Dets are very busy with their own corp. Calling a det to ask for a review when you don't match is wasting their time, and probably giving you answers that are not appropriate for you...go back to #1. Calling a det that matches your college desires will also spend more time with you since you are a potential cadet

EX:
Hi, my name is XYZ, I was hoping you could help me out. I want to go AFROTC, and I wanted to see how I stand and what I need to do?
Det: Okay, so you will be an incoming Freshman?
You: No, I intend to apply to ABC, but you are the closest college, so I decided to contact you.
Det: Well, I'll try, but I don't think I will be much help since you won't be attending here.

Now, play that role play game where you say Yes...the conversation will go much differently.

ROTC dets are just starting up, and right now this is the spin time. They are busy doing reviews for cadets that completed FT over the summer. They are busy writing recs for C300 cadets that will meet their career boards in the next few months. They are busy processing scholarships and book reimbursement. They are busy getting the det on line for the AFOQT that occurs in Sept. In other words, they are busy, busy, busy. Call in October, especially since you are only a jr. Even as a SR., you would probably not get enough attention in Sept. It is important that you get that quality time.
 
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Pima said:
I think you meant JUNIOR!

Some of those ducks would be:
1. Teacher recs
2. More than 1 SAT score
3. Transcript issue...if the school is closed during the summer make sure you can get a sealed transcript prior to them closing.
4. Talk to your GC re: the process for recs. Most hs gc's know the process because students not only apply ROTC, but to the SA's.

Review what is needed to submit a package, and then do a check list. Our DS was late to the game, and we spent the summer scrambling to get things done. He still met the earliest board for AFROTC, (Oct), but it was hectic, especially since he also had to spend hours writing essays for college admissions and meeting with the ALO (BGO for Navy/MALO for Army).



Don't call the det if you are not a match to the school...i.e. Stanford is the closest school, but it is not a match. Call the det you want to attend. I say this for multiple reasons.

1. Talk to them about the det itself...how many cadets, how many got summer training (%), how many got their 1st choice assignment(%), military fraternities, etc.

College is only one aspect, ROTC is the other. You can love the academic program, BUT, if the det doesn't jig with you, than your career for several yrs is on the line.

Ex: ERAU AFROTC det loves to tell people that they give out the 2nd highest amount of UPT slots. Sounds great, right? They fail to tell you that the % of cadets with UPT slots is lower than many other colleges, thus, you actually hurt your career chances by going to ERAU over VaTech.
Good luck

2. Dets are very busy with their own corp. Calling a det to ask for a review when you don't match is wasting their time, and probably giving you answers that are not appropriate for you...go back to #1. Calling a det that matches your college desires will also spend more time with you since you are a potential cadet

EX:
Hi, my name is XYZ, I was hoping you could help me out. I want to go AFROTC, and I wanted to see how I stand and what I need to do?
Det: Okay, so you will be an incoming Freshman?
You: No, I intend to apply to ABC, but you are the closest college, so I decided to contact you.
Det: Well, I'll try, but I don't think I will be much help since you won't be attending here.

Now, play that role play game where you say Yes...the conversation will go much differently.

ROTC dets are just starting up, and right now this is the spin time. They are busy doing reviews for cadets that completed FT over the summer. They are busy writing recs for C300 cadets that will meet their career boards in the next few months. They are busy processing scholarships and book reimbursement. They are busy getting the det on line for the AFOQT that occurs in Sept. In other words, they are busy, busy, busy. Call in October, especially since you are only a jr. Even as a SR., you would probably not get enough attention in Sept. It is important that you get that quality time.
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Sounds great, Thanks for all the help.
 
Thanks for all the help so far! I am wondering if there are any room for other recommendations. Like I said before, I work at a Postgraduate school for the Navy doing DOD research. I have accumulated quite a few officer contacts with in each branch and several of them have offered to write me letters of rec when I app for ROTC. I am just wondering how ROTC boards would take this into consideration, and how they would act upon it.
 
Thanks for all the help so far! I am wondering if there are any room for other recommendations. Like I said before, I work at a Postgraduate school for the Navy doing DOD research. I have accumulated quite a few officer contacts with in each branch and several of them have offered to write me letters of rec when I app for ROTC. I am just wondering how ROTC boards would take this into consideration, and how they would act upon it.
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Its been a few years since I went through the scholarship process, but they didnt accept letters of rec. The only time contacts like that helped was when I was applying for congressional nominations for USAFA. Maybe someone who's gone through the process more recently can tell you if they take LOCs now.
 
I've heard both sides to the letters of recommendation from people. The officer who was in charge of my material last year told me I should get a few so the superintendent of my school district wrote me one, he was a family friend and a retired Navy captain, one of my sports coaches, a teacher, and an enlisted Marine because I was in DEP at the time. I'm not certain how much, if at all, they helped. But I've also heard many times not to include letters of recommendation. I'd talk to the officer in charge of your scholarship material and see what s/he thinks is best.
 
I plan on calling around the different DETs that I am interested in around October. I would like to visit some of these schools over spring break. Turning in my AFROTC application in spring of JR year isn't too early is it?
 
AFROTC boards don't meet until Sept./Oct time frame. I would wait until you get your final grades before submitting the package. Also don't submit if you still feel you have large room for improving your SAT/ACT. They do superscore. Your PAR (academic record) will be the biggest chunk of points, so it is best to have them shine.

Nobody knows if next yrs board will be competitive or not because, the class of 16 will be charged to the FY of 2012. Thus, in May the ROTC board will not even know the budget for the scholarships.

Early spring and summer is when they start tieing up the scholarships for 2015. It is a very busy time for them and you don't want to get your package lost in the mix. Sending in April/May is not going to do anything faster for you than if you sent it in August. You also don't want to send it in too early because you will need a Dodmerb physical. If you take the Dodmerb in May, and get a 3 yrs scholarship, you will need to re-take it again before you contract. The reason why is a Dodmerb is only good for 2 yrs, and no college is going to have you start in May. Taking it in Aug, allows you to contract with your original Dodmerb in place since schools traditionally start in Aug.

Also, no package can be submitted without an ALO interview. So your packet will also depend on meeting the ALO too. The ALO will write a rec for you, and some may not submit their recs until they have met a majority of the candidates. In the AF there is a difference when you write my Top Pick and 1 of my Top Candidates in the rec.

You have some control over everything, but little control over somethings...i.e. Dodmerb physical if you need a waiver, and hooking up with your assigned ALO.

Best of luck. For now just get great grades and keep taking the SAT/ACT or both. You really want those numbers to be @700 each or over the 30 marker to be very competitive, anything lower will make yo a strong competitor, but not the top competitor.

For every candidate only applying for ROTC it is really important to understand that every SA candidate will be applying for ROTC as their back up plan, if you look up their stats that is where you want to be around. The reason why is the ROTC board does not confer with the SA board, thus, they do not know if this candidate is also applying for the SA. All they are looking at is good faith if we give them a scholarship the chances are they will take it.

For AFA the last stats I knew was from a couple of yrs ago. The Median SAT score was 680 M and 650 V. 32 ACT. The avg gpa was @3.8 uwgpa.
I think it was @50% that were in the top 10% of their class, 85% of them had some form of sports, and the same % for NHS. Hope that helps in to give you a ballpark for racking and stacking purposes.
 
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