University of North Georgia Experience

CoachBart

5-Year Member
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Jun 30, 2011
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190
Hi, I thought I would take the time to share about what I have observed and learned from afar about my son's experience at UNG. DS graduates and commissions on Dec. 17th from the U of N. Georgia. When my son was a HS senior in Maryland while searching for potential colleges to attend we found this school after searching on the web.

Neither of us had ever heard of U of N. Georgia. DS had taken college visits to other SMC's and was accepted to The Citadel, Norwich U, & VMI, along with several other colleges. DS loved each school and a couple were really generous with scholarship opportunities but were still pretty expensive for my income. The Citadel was probably his second choice as the wrestling coach at that time had recruited my son and even called us at the last minute to see if DS would commit as he had to finalize his roster. However, my son explained to me that wrestling would not be the most important factor in deciding where to attend college. Sometimes we dad's make assumptions and I had done just that. DS had also been invited to fly out to Oklahoma to visit OU by Coach Mark Cody but told me that OU was not an option because they would not offer the military experience and setting he was looking for.

So our last college visit was to Dahlonega, Ga. It was beautiful. The way that the university rolls right up to the town square gave it an old time college town feel. But when you toured the campus you learned that everything there was new, modern, and state of the art. UNG also came through with financial assistance and made the cost less expensive than if he had attended college in state at the University of Maryland. Since UNG was not a quick trip DS did not visit home often. DS joined a few activities on campus and was pretty busy with the extracurriculars combined with his studies. DS attended BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministries) every Monday evening, and through that was involved in a small group bible study which enabled him to have a peer support group from his early days on campus. DS also was a member of the UNG Chaplain Corp which is an official organization at the university. He then joined the NCWA Club Wrestling team, participated with the BJJ club, and even joined the Swing Dance Club! yes, I said swing dance, which really surprised me.

DS worked hard and will graduate Cum Laude. There are many things that have occurred at UNG that I don't know about. Some of these things are: When did my son learn to study with such depth and diligence so that most of his grades are A's? When did my son make having his room and clothing appear in perfection a priority? These things even carried over when he was home. DS then surprised me when he advised us his freshman year that he was going to take a semester off to join the Army National Guard. This was huge. I was so proud of him when he graduated Basic Training at Ft. Benning. From there my son was a part of the SMP program. The extra cash that he made has been so helpful. DS made up for his semester off by attending the Summer Language Institute at UNG and earned 9 credits in Arabic.

Now that 4 years have gone by DS is so excited about the next part of his life that is getting ready to get started. He was notified that he will be active duty and on branching night he was notified he will be assigned to the Adjutant General Corp. I did not really know what that was until I looked it up and watched a couple of You tube vids. After watching I see how this branch fits my son perfectly as he is very people oriented with a desire to serve others. I can honestly say that the University of North Georgia Corp of Cadets has been an amazing experience for my son. It has helped him grow into a man who is confident in his abilities, decisions, and choices. I believe his experience at UNG will help him as he continues on his career path as an officer as it has laid a solid foundation for him. All of the SMC's are different. All are great as far as I am concerned but with that said I highly recommend the University of North Georgia to parents and future cadets looking for an SMC to attend. It will surpass all of your expectations. DS said those exact words to me. Thanks for listening.
 
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Wow, what a tremendous story. Thank you so much for sharing it. Please extend my deepest congratulations to your son, and to your entire family as ya'll have gone on this journey. Outstanding, just simply outstanding.
 
What a great and detailed description of UNG and a terrific testimonial.
Congratulations to your DS who I am sure will be a fantastic Army officer!
 
What a timely post! We, too, are from Maryland and just yesterday my son received his acceptance letter from UNG. Congratulations to your son and I hope my son has just as good an experience.
 
Hi,

I'm somewhat new to the idea of SMCs. I have recently been trying to decide whether or not I could apply to an SA as a transfer student but unfortunately that won't be possible. I have begun looking into SMCs and I had a few questions about UNG that maybe someone could answer. First, could I even get into the Corps of Cadets as a transfer student? I've heard that the acceptance rate to the Corps is about 50%. Would it be lower coming in as a transfer student, and how does admission to the corps work at UNG, or any SMC for that matter? Also, are cadets really charged the in-state tuition fee regardless of state of residence? Sorry for all the questions.

Best of luck to your DS.
 
Hi,

I'm somewhat new to the idea of SMCs. I have recently been trying to decide whether or not I could apply to an SA as a transfer student but unfortunately that won't be possible. I have begun looking into SMCs and I had a few questions about UNG that maybe someone could answer. First, could I even get into the Corps of Cadets as a transfer student? I've heard that the acceptance rate to the Corps is about 50%. Would it be lower coming in as a transfer student, and how does admission to the corps work at UNG, or any SMC for that matter? Also, are cadets really charged the in-state tuition fee regardless of state of residence? Sorry for all the questions.

Best of luck to your DS.

Hi, I will try and answer your questions. Yes, you can transfer into the Corp of Cadets as a transfer student. WHen you apply to UNG you will be applying to UNG to be in the Corp of Cadets. Its competitive just like any other but don't worry-just apply. Once you are accepted you will be notified about everything else you need to do in ref to being a member of the Corp of Cadets. Yes, you get In State Tuition. We lived in Maryland and paid Georgia in state tuition. Its a great deal. I recommend calling up UNG Admissions and letting them know your plans and go from there.
 
Thank you so much for your reply. It was very helpful. I've heard that UNG can be more competitive for branching as well compared to normal unis with ROTC programs, but it seems like a great experience, and with in state tuition will be cheaper than the state uni I would attend here in California too. Great to hear how well it worked for your DS as well.

Once again, thanks for your help.
 
My son is a freshman at UNG. Dahlonega, GA is beautiful, the campus is awesome, and the Corps of Cadets and Army ROTC are all that he hoped they would be. Out of state cadets receive in state tuition and it is extremely affordable. I believe is the only Senior Military College of the six that is only Army ROTC, rather than all branches of the military. UNG is also one of only a couple schools in the country where a student can become a certified peace offer after four years in the Criminal Justice program. I highly recommend this school to anyone interested in Army ROTC.
 
My DS is a freshman in the Corps of Cadets at UNG. He is a 4 year Army ROTC scholarship receipent and in the honors program. UNG has been terrific. When he began researching military academies, ROTC options and traditional civilian universities he/we were not familiar with UNG or its Corps of Cadets. He more or less stumbled across the university and the Corps. Fast forward to his senior year in high school which included multiple college visits to both traditional universities and SMC's, ROTC scholarship applications and the nomination process for SA's. When decision time came he selected UNG over the large state university and a SA. When I asked him why he said it had everything he wanted - an outstanding Corps of Cadets, a strong academic program for his major of International Studies and Chinese, a history of producing outstanding civilian and military leaders, numerous opportunities for speciality training and its focus on cadets leading the Corps. As a parent I can say this - everyone from the ROO, faculty, staff - university and military -, to the PMS have been outstanding. We are proud that our son choose to attend UNG and is a cadet in the Boars Head Brigade.
 
My son also has visited many SMC's. He is currently deciding between Norwich, Citadel, and UNG. UNG really surprised us on our campus visit. It's going to be a tough decision for him. He really liked different aspects of all 3, but UNG is by far the lowest cost because of the in state tuition. He is still waiting on the actual Citadel cost for an out of state cadet.
 
DS checked his status today and found out he was accepted to UNG and Corp of Cadets. He has already printed the immunization form to take to his doctor's office tomorrow. He looked over the housing form to accept the offer of admission, but it is dated for this school year. Should he wait for the BFE, or complete the form that is available on-line?
 
I second the words of many on this thread. Very well said and a great account of a fine school. Although my DS chose a different SMC, UNG was a close "runner-up" and every interaction with staff, parents, cadets, graduates, etc. has been exemplary. The school was so gracious to my DS and if your DD/DS is laser-focused on securing a commission in the US Army, you can't go wrong with North Georgia.
 
My son also has visited many SMC's. He is currently deciding between Norwich, Citadel, and UNG. UNG really surprised us on our campus visit. It's going to be a tough decision for him. He really liked different aspects of all 3, but UNG is by far the lowest cost because of the in state tuition. He is still waiting on the actual Citadel cost for an out of state cadet.
Just my 2 cents - Had a fair amount of experience trying to "figure-out" a way to make the Citadel out of state tuition more feasible as my DS did not secure a national scholarship. My DS was admitted to all SMC's and liked each for different reasons. He had a fond-spot for El Cid and I made several calls to admissions and even had a visit from a regional rep. who said "with your son's abilities, there's no doubt he'll get a contract/scholarship his second semester or at the latest, his sophomore year". While I appreciated the optimism, that was a $48K per year "gamble" if things didn't go as well as expected. My response to the representative was "if he doesn't, will you write the check for the out of state portion his last three years?"....LOL. In the end my DS chose a different SMC that did in fact award him in-state tuition and boy....does it make a difference. I can visit more often, pay for special trips, have a buffer for those "additional expenses" they do not list on the university website, etc. Feel free to PM me if you'd like any further insights and again, my DS will always have a fond spot for the Citadel but my bank account didn't...
 
UNG was my son's plan B when he didn't get into West Point on his first attempt. He loved UNG and was very involved in all aspects of cadet life...but West Point was his dream and the leadership there was great as he went through the reapplication process. Had he not been accepted, he would have gladly stayed and graduated (and commissioned) from this great school (which is 45 miles from my house as opposed to 845).
 
UNG was my son's plan B when he didn't get into West Point on his first attempt. He loved UNG and was very involved in all aspects of cadet life...but West Point was his dream and the leadership there was great as he went through the reapplication process. Had he not been accepted, he would have gladly stayed and graduated (and commissioned) from this great school (which is 45 miles from my house as opposed to 845).
Outstanding perspective from many on this thread. Not the most widely-known of the SMCs, but seems this school is quite special and impressive. Thanks for the info!
 
Question - if you graduate from UNG can you be given a commission as an officer in a military branch other than the Army? My son has been accepted to UNG for Fall 2019, honors college. He has also applied to the Citadel and Texas A&M, and should be accepted. We are from Georgia, and loved the tour of UNG, and the in-state tuition. However, he would like to be in the AirForce instead of Army. Is this an option if he attends UNG?
 
Question - if you graduate from UNG can you be given a commission as an officer in a military branch other than the Army? My son has been accepted to UNG for Fall 2019, honors college. He has also applied to the Citadel and Texas A&M, and should be accepted. We are from Georgia, and loved the tour of UNG, and the in-state tuition. However, he would like to be in the AirForce instead of Army. Is this an option if he attends UNG?


Short answer is not through ROTC. UNG only has Army ROTC on campus. I think to pursue Air Force his only option would be to seek an OTS commission after graduation which is never a sure thing. The other SMCs all offer AFROTC.
 
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