USMC ROTC Competitveness

[bman2907]

I feel like there are a lot of these threads, but from what I've been researching, things change every year so I figured I'd ask. I have been in contact with my recruiter for a while now too, but I still have some questions to put out there. My profile looks like:
1190 new sat- 560 math and 630 english
my school has weighted GPA's, but it's listed as a 95.7(no 4.0 scale)
class rank is 87/288
Eagle Scout, NHS, and statesman (NJ boy's state)
I volunteer around 50-60 hours every year
I am a class officer(student government), 3 year club vice president, and my troops junior assistant scoutmaster (highest level of youth leadership)
Sports:
ran varsity XC freshman, sophomore, junior, and this year (senior year)
jv wrestling freshman year
varsity swim sophomore and junior year (will swim varsity this year too)
Jv lacrosse freshman- junior year- i was JV captain junior year and will play varsity senior year

I am NOT in DEP
for the pft I can hit the 20 pullups, 100 crunches and can run a 18 minute mile as well which i believe makes it a perfect 300
I've never been in trouble with the law- I've never even got a detention. Also, all my teachers love me. I am a very good speaker and I believe I can ace the interview
I am VERY committed to becoming an officer in the marines
I am also a very strong writer so my essays should be good on the application

Does it matter which schools I apply to? I am applying to Rutgers since it is my only state school (NJ) and I picked other schools around the country like USC( south carolina one), Citadel, VA tech, but also some private ones like Tulane
I want to study business, but if they prefer engineering I would study electrical engineering or really whatever they like most and/or whatever would land me a combat officer role
I think that is all I have. My recruiter says I have the smarts hands down, but i think my academics are lacking, but then again I am not sure.

 

[NavyHoops]

Marines don't care about major. Practice the PFT in exact order and with strict standards. Doing it in order as opposed to just knocking out pull-ups as a part of a workout is totally different. As you have seen in other threads, for USMC ROTC those selected have great resumes and no two resumes are the same. There are those all over with their applications. PFT, leadership and interview do play a big role. Put together your best package and see what happens. Research the college programmer option also. That will help. I believe there was a thread posted by NOLA a month or so ago discussing stats for last year's scholarship winners. Compare yourself to it. Work on your SAT scores too.

 

[kinnem]

+1 to NavyHoops. I would add that IMO your SAT score needs a fair amount of improvement. While qualifying, I don't think it's competitive. I've seen plenty of kids with 1300+ SATs not get the scholarship, but then they were perhaps lacking in other areas. You never know.

Also agree about researching and being prepared to go the college programmer route. My DS did this and won a scholarship (at South Carolina) during his sophomore year. It takes hard work, good grades, and commitment but it can be done if necessary.

Finally, also check out the Platoon Leaders Course if that becomes necessary. 2 six week sessions over a couple summers while in college.

Good luck. Nothing better than being a Marine leader.

 

[rocatlin]

Relative stats may change somewhat every year, but the one constant is being well balanced.

http://www.thesandgram.com/2011/01/18/nrotc-marine-option-scholarships/ is a thread I keep in my blog pocket. It's written by someone I know that used to sit on the board. Again the constant is being balanced.

Don't get too hung up on the stats. Some have made it with "lesser" stats. Some with awesome stats haven't made it. It is a pretty deep process. One of the big factors are the interviews.

Control what you can control. Tweak where you can. Do well on the essay -- and make sure the "essay you" matches the "real you" in the interview. Be real.

As kinnem said, it's worth the effort.

 

[USMCGrunt]

Great responses from good and knowledgeable folks. One thing to add: you ask about School choices. The choice of school doesn't play into earning a scholarship. But you need to be realistic and apply where you can get in. You wouldn't want to earn a scholarship and then fail to get into the school they select for you.

Also, your choice of major will not have any impact on your eventual job (MOS) in the Marines. That selection is a whole other process that you don't need to think about at this point. The Marines don't care what your major is. They want you to get an undergraduate degree in four years. That's it.