Scholarship during waiver process

[rotcmom3]

Hi everyone, I have searched the board and have not seen this issue posted before, so apologies if this is a repeat question. My son is applying for a AROTC scholarship. I fully expect that he will get dinged on a DODMERB issue, and then we will apply for a waiver. I have researched this a lot, and I believe that he will successfully get a waiver. My question is, if he is on scholarship, is the scholarship honored during the waiver process? I am afraid to have him get accepted and start attending a school that he cannot afford without the scholarship money. If he gets boarded early, we would have time. But what happens if his DODMERB exam is late and he is starting school? Thanks.

 

[EDelahanty]

Hi everyone, I have searched the board and have not seen this issue posted before, so apologies if this is a repeat question. My son is applying for a AROTC scholarship. I fully expect that he will get dinged on a DODMERB issue, and then we will apply for a waiver. I have researched this a lot, and I believe that he will successfully get a waiver. My question is, if he is on scholarship, is the scholarship honored during the waiver process? I am afraid to have him get accepted and start attending a school that he cannot afford without the scholarship money. If he gets boarded early, we would have time. But what happens if his DODMERB exam is late and he is starting school? Thanks.

Great question. The battalion/brigade will hold the tuition funds in reserve, pending the cadet's actual contracting. Many schools, particularly high-priced private schools, understand that the tuition payment from AROTC can be delayed and will allow the cadet to matriculate without tacking on interest charges. Some state schools on the other hand do not wait. You may want to verify this with the battalion and accounts receivable office at the respective schools. In any case, if your son does not contract, whether for DODMERB reasons or failing to pass the APFT, you (or he) will be on the hook for tuition. For this reason, if your son is awarded a scholarship which would be nullified by the AROTC scholarship (some schools don't allow a double dip), you do not want to cancel it until the AROTC scholarship becomes effective.

 

[kinnem]

I am afraid to have him get accepted and start attending a school that he cannot afford without the scholarship money.

Agree with Edelahanty. I would add (IMHO) you should be concerned about attending a school he cannot afford without the scholarship regardless of the waiver. Kids decide ROTC and/or the military is not for them. Kids screw up and get caught drinking underage, or worse with a DUI. I even know of a kid who came to morning PT drunk. He was gone by the end of the day. Now I know it won't happen to your kid. Wasn't going to happen to mine either, but he came pretty damned close to getting kicked out once or twice. Fortunately, had worse come to worse, we had him at a school we could afford without the scholarship, and would have been able to stay there, but unable to sit on his chewed out ass! You might want to consider that when determining schools.

 

[rotcmom3]

Thanks for the advice. Trying to use this information to help him rank his school choices on his application so we know where to put our energies. Any info on how long the waiver process takes, on average? I sure it depends on the nature of the waiver. If he gets a DQ, how long does the Army take to turn these waivers around? He will NOT change his mind, but certainly is mortal enough to screw up, so the advice about affordability of the school is very appreciated.

 

[Falcon A]

We went through this last year. Son was selected for a 4 year Army ROTC scholarship and was notified at the end of Jan 2015. His medical waiver came through from Cadet Command on 12 Mar 2015. His DoDMERB exam and all remedials had previously been completed back in the Fall of 2014 as part of the Service Academy application process. As you have heard, each case and timeline can be very different.

 

[USMAROTCFamily]

Our DD was awarded her scholarship in October. She had a very extensive remedial process that took us all the way out to the last day of April. We were done to the wire waiting on the DODMERB decision. We did not feel comfortable with her committing to a college that we could not afford without knowing if she was going to get through the medical process to get the scholarship. We were unwilling to have her go to the school without having it cleared up, as we knew if it went to a waiver process and it was later denied, that we would be on the hook for the full-tuition that first semester/year. Once she was approved, she committed to the school on the final date allowable. I know that many folks here will tell you to have your kid choose a school that you could afford without the scholarship. We looked at this a little bit differently, as the NROTC scholarship gave her the ability to go to a dream private school that we otherwise couldn't afford. If she screws up and loses the scholarship, she knows she would have to finish up at the local state university, as we won't pay for her to stay there. If she were to get kicked out and have to pay it back, she knows ultimately she will be the one responsible for it. The good news is that at her school, there has been a very low attrition rate of NROTC Midshipman. We were willing to risk it

 

[BigBillNY]

ROTCMom- I'm not looking to scare you, but my son won a 3 year AROTC scholarship this year to a rather expensive school. The official price tag was $66k. Apart from the waiver, you need to be prepared to come up with the first year's tuition.

In addition, my DS selected a a roommate who was a AFROTC 4 year winner. Well, 4 days before the semester started, he called my son to report that he did not get the waiver for a nut allergy and would not be attending the school because his parents could not afford it.

 

[k2rider]

My DD was notified on April 7th that she had been DQ'd and the waiver was granted on June 10th

Her boyfriend at the time had been an AFROTC cadet in 2010 but had to bow out in the first semester due to a medical issue. He took the year off of school and then re-applied for the AROTC scholarship in 2011. He was granted the scholarship but had to go through the waiver process. His process took almost the entire school year. I know he was scraping by and paying as he went but to be honest, I don't know if the Army "back paid" the entire year or just part of it.

 

[clarksonarmy]

Just had one of my scholarship winners get his waiver 1 week into the school year. You may have to take risks if your son really wants to be an Officer.