Start enlistment process, or wait for USNA?

maskry said:
EOD/SEAL Mom,
Your original thread just changed my DD's future as well, and for that, I thank you! It turns out our daughters do indeed know each other, and my DD has certainly bumped up her intensity since meeting other like minded, strong young women. I am working with DD to formulate a strong plan B, which includes applying for the NROTC scholarship when the process opens on 4/1/16. She is a junior this year. I was aware of the military colleges from speaking with other parents at the USNA CVW last fall, but I nixed nayed them because I didn't feel the academics were as strong as the schools in the scholarship program. Fee free to chime in with any disagreements you may have on that point. DD expressed interest in VMI, but the thought of having my DD called a 'rat' was more than I could bare to tolerate and Norwich is in the middle of nowhere and didn't get very good reviews from students online. My DD is interested in Mechanical Engineering, so I had DD focus on NROTC schools that had a good engineering program AND also offered a housing scholarship, which I learned about through this forum. The 5 schools that DD is focusing on are the University of San Diego, Illinois Tech, Rensselaer, Drexel, and Notre Dame. Notre Dame doesn't offer the housing scholarship, but DD might be eligible for other financial aid that would cover the cost of housing and having her close by is worth the housing cost if she doesn't get any additional scholarships. When DD brought up the whole Marine enlistment thing last night, it was the first I had heard of her interest in the Marines and I didn't take the news well. After the shock settled, we reviewed the list and Drexel doesn't have a Marine option, so DD might substitute Texas A&M or Villanova for Drexel. Neither school offers the housing scholarship, but I'll cross that bridge/argument at a later date. Unfortunately, DD will not be able to visit all the schools on the list prior to submitting the NROTC scholarship application due to her sports schedule, NASS, and summer Cadet training. USD is beautiful and close to the Marine base, so that is her top choice with ND a very, very close second.


Congratulations to your DD for getting into VMI.

I will contact you directly with all the million and one questions I have as I work through the process with my DD, if that is acceptable to you! To all the other readers of this thread, I am interested in your thoughts and opinions, as well. This forum has been an invaluable resource in helping guide my DD on the path that is right for her.
Click to expand...

Good luck in yours and your daughters journey. I cannot speak for all SMC's but VMI academics is very demanding and top notch. If you search through here or Google there are several articles regarding VMI's academics. My son is a Civil Engineering major at VMI and loves it.

Don't be fooled by the term Rat. You will instantly love Rats and find yourself thinking of them all as one of your own.

Please feel free to PM me with any questions about VMI.

Also, I believe if she were to enlist she would be disqualified from applying for ROTC scholarship, but I could be wrong.
 
Last edited:
maskry said:
AJC, how do I PM you? Naturally, I do not wish to offend any alumni, and it's good to talk to a variety of people to get their opinions. Excellent point about the use of teaching assistants.

Navy Hoops, you are correct about Marquette offering the housing scholarship.

VT is an excellent school, without a doubt, but it does not offer a housing scholarship. Since most schools charge $12-15,000 for room and board per year, and a lot of engineering programs are now 5 years instead of 4, I am mindful of the $60,000-$75,000 cost savings choosing a school that offers a housing scholarship brings to the table. I'm not willing to cash in my retirement account or allow my DD to get buried in student loan debt if there are alternatives available.

Which leads me to the question, for all those activating plan "B", what criteria did you use to select your alternatives?
Click to expand...

My son's plan B was a local school where he had a partial scholarship and could live at home. He ended up with a 3 yr AROTC scholarship and decided on VMI. We were able to cover the first year with financial aid. He understood that he would have to take out loans for room and board for the last 3 years vs living at home and not incurring the debt. His heart was with VMI and I have to say it is where he belongs.
 
turtlerunnernc said:
Good luck in yours and your daughters journey. I cannot speak for all SMC's but VMI academics is very demanding and top notch. If you search through here or Google there are several articles regarding VMI's academics. My son is a Civil Engineering major at VMI and loves it.

Don't be fooled by the term Rat. You will instantly love Rats and find yourself thinking off them all as one of your own.

Please feel free to PM me with any questions about VMI.

Also, I believe if she were to enlist she would be disqualified from applying for ROTC scholarship, but I could be wrong.
Click to expand...
JUST FYI: The first animal on the Chinese zodiac is a Rat and it's a heckuva sign to be! Rats are viewed as clever, resourceful and brave, and make great leaders, given their ability to quickly grasp a situation and size up what is going on from everybody's point of view. Just sayin'!
 
Update: Thank you to everyone for sharing their thoughts and opinions with me as I picked up this thread again after EOD/SEAL Mom first posed the question last fall. A special thank you to those forum members who took the time to PM me with suggestions and to FirstinhisHS for sharing his experience.

As it turns out, EOD/SEAL Mom's DD and my DD not only know each other, they're like twin sisters of different mothers so having that personal connection made convincing DD to WAIT rather than signing up for DEP much easier. I doubt Seal Mom and I would have connected if it hadn't been for this forum, so it's been a kizmit blessing all the way around.

Secondly, since Marquette is less than 2 hours from home and DD didn't have any commitments until later in the day, DH, DD, and I battled the snow, sleet, hail, rain, and blowing winds (followed by intermittent periods of sunshine) to check out the school this morning. And guess what? She liked it! I wouldn't say she fell in love with it as she did with USNA or Notre Dame, but she said she felt comfortable with the school and she could see herself attending Marquette as part of a plan B option. A BIG THANK YOU to USMC Grunt for suggesting Marquette as a viable option. The two students who acted as our tour guide were both members of the NROTC program on the scholarship and one of the guides was an Engineering student, so DD was able to ask a lot of questions. (And me too!) Marquette met my qualifications of having strong academics and offering a housing scholarship, and DD's qualifications of being a relatively small school (as compared to the Big 10 state schools), and having a strong NROTC program. As an added bonus, it's less than three hours from our summer place in Door County and literally right on the way off the highway. Win, win, all the way around!

DD started her application for the NROTC scholarship, and the five schools she has selected are USD, ND, U of I, Marquette, and IIT. The scholarship requires U of I to be in the top three, so DD had to include it on her list. Due to the budget fiasco with the State of Illinois and no end in sight to the statemate, DD would not shed a tear to get a denial letter from U of I. For those of you not familiar with the crisis, the State of Illinois has not passed a budget for fiscal year 2015/16 and the state universities have received NO state funding since 7/1/15. MAJOR tuition hikes and/or a collapse of the educational system are very real possibilities.

Now that DD has selected five schools for the NROTC scholarship, she will continue to investigate other schools and scholarship opportunities for plan C. Academically, DD's GPA and ACT test scores are very strong, so there are many possibilities.

Options, options, options. It's good to have as many options to choose from as possible!

Again, thank you all for your input, advice, and support.

Falcon A, Jan 20, 2016
#19
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top