Scholarships & Deposits

BulldogMom

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My son has received Regular Decision appointments to VMI & The Citadel. He has interviewed for the academic Scholars program at both schools. Very high academic stats, six year athlete (not D1 competitive level), military family, out of state. Financially, we will need the academic scholarship in order for him to matriculate at either school. He would be thrilled to attend either school, just concerned about costs.

I think I read that VMI will notify Scholars by 4/1 and Citadel by 4/30. Any input on timing?

Should I go ahead and pay the deposit at both schools? Will they look at that as a sign of commitment from him (or lack thereof if not yet paid) when they decide who gets the academic scholarship? I can swing it if I need to, I do understand it is refundable to a point, but we are on a budget. Thanks for any advice!
 
ROTC scholarship is not an option.
Ok. The Citadel sets aside $2m/year for incoming freshman scholarships. Has your DS been contacted regarding The Citadel Scholar program? Also, when you say ROTC is not an option, does your DS want to commission? Last question, is there an in- state school that would be less of a financial burden?
 
Yes, he will complete the on-site Scholar Program interview at both Citadel and VMI (one done, one scheduled).

The boy may choose to commission. Would not be surprised if he pursued ROTC Scholarship, if possible, after freshman year. Dad & Pop are combat vets enthusiastically supporting his choice of a military college, enthusiastically against their boy committing to commission today. He has career goals in the federal intelligence community or defense contractor engineering.

Yes, he is admitted to our two big state schools with the usual good-enough engineering programs, but he doesn't want to do ordinary. We have budgeted to fund some college costs, just not $50K/yr level costs.

Lastly, he is awaiting admission decisions from two ivy league schools. But he has no "diversity" factor, other than his rural zip code, so we think admission is a long shot and scholarship there even more unlikely. All of this shakes down end of March thru end of April.
 
Yes, he will complete the on-site Scholar Program interview at both Citadel and VMI (one done, one scheduled).

The boy may choose to commission. Would not be surprised if he pursued ROTC Scholarship, if possible, after freshman year. Dad & Pop are combat vets enthusiastically supporting his choice of a military college, enthusiastically against their boy committing to commission today. He has career goals in the federal intelligence community or defense contractor engineering.

Yes, he is admitted to our two big state schools with the usual good-enough engineering programs, but he doesn't want to do ordinary. We have budgeted to fund some college costs, just not $50K/yr level costs.

Lastly, he is awaiting admission decisions from two ivy league schools. But he has no "diversity" factor, other than his rural zip code, so we think admission is a long shot and scholarship there even more unlikely. All of this shakes down end of March thru end of April.
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Yes, he will complete the on-site Scholar Program interview at both Citadel and VMI (one done, one scheduled).

The boy may choose to commission. Would not be surprised if he pursued ROTC Scholarship, if possible, after freshman year. Dad & Pop are combat vets enthusiastically supporting his choice of a military college, enthusiastically against their boy committing to commission today. He has career goals in the federal intelligence community or defense contractor engineering.

Yes, he is admitted to our two big state schools with the usual good-enough engineering programs, but he doesn't want to do ordinary. We have budgeted to fund some college costs, just not $50K/yr level costs.

Lastly, he is awaiting admission decisions from two ivy league schools. But he has no "diversity" factor, other than his rural zip code, so we think admission is a long shot and scholarship there even more unlikely. All of this shakes down end of March thru end of April.
Great options. You can't go wrong with either VMI or The Citadel Scholar programs. The 2 schools are VERY different. Has your DS visited both?
 
Yes, attended open house weekend for both. He is very zen about the whole process: whatever is meant to be will be. I am the worrier.

Any input on timing of paying the deposit?
 
May 1 is the deadline (I think) at both schools. I am not sure on when the deposits are non refundable. @BulldogMom - are you a GA resident (Bulldog)
 
No, we are not from Georgia. Thanks for taking the time to advise!
Ok. Was thinking North GA (SMC) would be an option. I think The Citadel has awarded the majority of their Scholar scholarships. Give a call to Col. Fuller ( Scholarship Coordinator at El Cid) to determine where your DS is regarding the scholarship.
 
UNG provides in state tuition waivers for members of the Corps of Cadets
 
Accepting admissions at two colleges and making deposits is a no-no. If the schools were to find out you have done this, they can both revoke their admissions offers. I would not do that.
 
I agree to an extent with @USMAROTCFamily - in the perfect world I would advise not accepting multiple admissions. As has been displayed on a daily basis in this forum, you always have to have plan B, C, D.... in place. DoDMERB is one of the main reasons why people would accept admissions at multiple schools. There may be a school (SMC) that a cadet wants to attend. If he/she is not DodMERB qualified, they may want to attend a traditional school. It could be after the May 1 decision date until you get a final from DoDMERB. As as we have seen, DoDMERB qualification can be a long road for some. At the end of the day, you need to leave all of your options open and have backup plans in place.
 
contact the VMI Financial Aid office. We were out of state. My son had a 3 year Army ROTC Scholarship. The first year was fully on us. They provided aid bringing tuition in line with in state tuition. Still expensive but much more doable.
 
Significant need-based aid showed up on the VMI financial aid web portal this week, thank you Jesus & VMI! 😁
Confirmed that academic scholarships will be announced in April (VMI early April, Citadel late April).
Still getting requests for an enrollment deposit... still sweating bullets over here. 🙏
 
Significant need-based aid showed up on the VMI financial aid web portal this week, thank you Jesus & VMI! 😁
Confirmed that academic scholarships will be announced in April (VMI early April, Citadel late April).
Still getting requests for an enrollment deposit... still sweating bullets over here. 🙏
Congrats. I think the Citadel should announce their scholarships in the coming weeks. I think I remember the 1st of April. Good luck.
 
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