What's my best pathway for the army?

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Gabriel

5-Year Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2016
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36
Hi everyone,

At the moment, I am an 18 year old HS student student looking to join ROTC once I go to college. Since my family is low-income and their estimated financial contribution is virtually $0, the military for me is pretty much my best way to fund college. Academically, I'm a pretty strong student with a 3.7 GPA with APs classes/leadership positions/Extracurriculars, but my ACT/ SAT scores are struggling since math isn't my strong point; usually nuking my scores. So I'll most likely be going going to a test optional college like GWU or AU and pursue an undergrad for law.

Furthermore, I am also aware of the 4 year scholarship, but since its fairly competitive and my ACT/SAT scores are low for the moment, I'm probably not going to be getting a 4 year scholarship this year, which tempts me to shoot for the SMP program or the national guard minuteman scholarship... which also means I would have to enlist with the army and compete for an rotc contact to prevent being deployed while in college.

Given the circumstances, I'm very frustrated with only local recruiters who hammer "SMP program" as a solution. at this point , im half tempted to enlist for 8 years and just go for the GI bill.

What should I do? I really dont want to sign on the dotted line before I know what I'm doing.
 
Gabriel; please talk with the financial aid folks at GWU. They will be able to help you Need based financial aid can be quite generous, and you may be able to follow your desired ROTC path even without the scholarship. Best of luck to you. Don't sign anything for enlistment until you have looked at all your options
 
You are absolutely right Do Not sign on the dotted line before you know what you are doing!

Why do you want to do ROTC. Do you want it for the scholarship or do you want it because you want to serve or both? Many schools are committed to meeting 100% of the financial need. So if your family is "low-income" (as defined by the financial aid calculator) you should be able to get a very generous financial aid package. Typically the better the school, the larger the endowment, the more financial aid is available. "Duke pledges to meet 100% of a student’s financial need by providing funding for the cost not covered by the calculated family contribution." I saw old stats for Duke that if your family's income was less than $60k you got financial aid to cover tuition and room and board. Income less than $120k and they covered tuition. I know Duke is not a test optional school, but I just use that as an example. Like @xyz321 said, contact GWU, you may be surprised at what they can offer. That would allow you to participate in AROTC as a college programmer or with a 3 year scholarship and still be able to afford school. As you know going guard will mean you will be going guard after graduation and not active duty.

It looks like you are more than qualified academically to make it through college. Why would you want to enlist when you have the potential to get a college degree and commission as an officer? IMHO you should exhaust every possible way to find the financial aid and not have to go SMP or GI bill.

BTW here is a list of test optional schools http://www.fairtest.org/sites/default/files/Optional-Schools-in-U.S.News-Top-Tiers.pdf
 
If your motivation is to fund college you may want to keep that to yourself.
The active duty Army is looking for people who want to serve as officers and use the scholarships to get the best people.
It is not a social program.
The guard program might be a good compromise.
As far as enlisting first you need to ask yourself if it is realistic that at 24-26 you will be able to go to college GI bill or not. Life tends to intrude.
Also consider you will be out of sync with your contemporaries, graduating college at 30 years old vs Having a degree and 4 years experience as an Army Officer.
 
5Day said:
You are absolutely right Do Not sign on the dotted line before you know what you are doing!

Why do you want to do ROTC. Do you want it for the scholarship or do you want it because you want to serve or both? Many schools are committed to meeting 100% of the financial need. So if your family is "low-income" (as defined by the financial aid calculator) you should be able to get a very generous financial aid package. Typically the better the school, the larger the endowment, the more financial aid is available. "Duke pledges to meet 100% of a student’s financial need by providing funding for the cost not covered by the calculated family contribution." I saw old stats for Duke that if your family's income was less than $60k you got financial aid to cover tuition and room and board. Income less than $120k and they covered tuition. I know Duke is not a test optional school, but I just use that as an example. Like @xyz321 said, contact GWU, you may be surprised at what they can offer. That would allow you to participate in AROTC as a college programmer or with a 3 year scholarship and still be able to afford school. As you know going guard will mean you will be going guard after graduation and not active duty.

It looks like you are more than qualified academically to make it through college. Why would you want to enlist when you have the potential to get a college degree and commission as an officer? IMHO you should exhaust every possible way to find the financial aid and not have to go SMP or GI bill.

BTW here is a list of test optional schools http://www.fairtest.org/sites/default/files/Optional-Schools-in-U.S.News-Top-Tiers.pdf
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Thanks for this gem of information, I wasn't aware that institutions give out significant amounts of financial aid to need-based students. It really relieves quite a bit of stress. Hopefully I can answer a few questions to further where I'm headed in life

• "Why do you want to do ROTC?"/ "Do you want it for the scholarship or do you want it because you want to serve or both?" - As you said, it's really a combination of a desired career aspect and the bonus of financial aid that the military has available. I've always wanted to be a leader in some aspect or another; and in high school I believe I achieved that by being elected president of our school's debate team.

Ultimately, I think you've convinced me to avoid the SMP/GI Bill route. With that being said, what should be my next step? Obviously, I'll need to get accepted to college and contact the financial aid office, and of course sign up for the ROTC program, but is there anything else I should consider? I know that both debt and committing to the military are serious matters, and all information that can be benifical in guiding me in the right direction would be absolutely a gift. Apologies if I seem a little bit uninformed on these matters, I'm the first to go college in my immediate family and don't really have many people helping me along this process other than recruiters and counselors. So, I'm sort of on my own on finding this information.
 
5day is spot on as far as what we have heard. We were able to tour Stanford and several Ivy League schools, and they are committed to meeting 100 percent of need. These schools and many others are also committed to helping first generation college students. I would target several schools, not all have to be test optional, and reach out to their admission officers with an email explaining your circumstances. I'm positive they will be willing to speak with you. Gather your information then consider ROTC separately. Pursue it if your goal is to be an officer. Best Wishes
 
VERY important for you to complete your FAFSA as soon as possible. This year they began accepting the FAFSA on October 1, of 2016 for the 2017/2018 academic year.
This will open up the opportunity for both grants, need based aid including federal loans.

If you indeed want to serve in Army ROTC, I suggest the following:

NOW (Fall of your senior year)
  • Complete the FAFSA. (most important thing you need to do NOW). https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa
  • Make of list of AROTC colleges in your area http://www.goarmy.com/rotc/find-schools.html
  • Apply to a number of colleges. Choose some safety schools and some reach schools (don't discount private colleges). ASK FOR APPLICATION FEE WAIVERS BASED ON INCOME
  • Apply for AROTC scholarship. Even if you don't receive one, this will at least get you on the radar. (Who knows? You might be surprised).
  • VISIT or contact the a local 4 year college that offers AROTC and meet the ROO (Recruting Operations Officer).
  • TAKE the SAT or ACT several more times. The fee is waived for low income students. Practice before each exam.
  • Apply for scholarships on FASTWEB. This data base will match you up for other scholarships and grants for free. http://www.fastweb.com/
LATER (Winter/Spring of senior year)
  • If you don't receive a 4 year AROTC scholarship, enroll in the 4 year college that offers you the best financial package. (loans and grants).
  • Enroll in AROTC as a non-contract cadet.
  • Get excellent grades in college and do everything that the cadre suggests.
If you do the above, you have a reasonable chance to be awarded a 3 or 3.5 year scholarship and possibly free room and board depending on the battalion. (research which schools offer this).

My DS was a walk-on non-contract cadet. Three months into his freshman semester he earned a 3 AROTC year scholarship (later extended to 3 and a half) by being fit, showing leadership and getting good grades. You can do this too.
 
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Hey Gabriel, just curious, what is your current SAT (or ACT)? I'd like to understand that before offering observations (other than my observation that students often refer to their "low" scores, only to find they are average. Average is very workable for numerous options).
 
Excellent post by @AROTC-dad, follow his advice. There are online financial aid calculators that will tell you how much they expect your family to contribute towards your college education. My personal definition of "low income" is much different than the institutions definition. But, if you are good student and meet the definition of "low income" there are GREAT scholarship opportunities.

Here is GWU's net price calculator. https://financialaid.gwu.edu/net-price-calculator
 
Since some of you were wondering, I figured I'd go ahead and post a summary of my high school achievements throughout Junior Year and senior year. Since this is senior year, my senior transcript is still ongoing.

ACT: N/A (Just took this test for the first time the other day, not sure what I got. Remember getting a 19 on a pre-test though two years ago.)

SAT: N/A

GPA: 3.7

Rank: 89 of 264

AP Student (10 Total) - AP US, AP Human Geo, AP Psych, AP European, AP SEMINAR, AP Environmental Science, AP Government & Politics, AP Statistics, AP Research, AP Literature,

Foreign Language: 5 Years of Spanish & Multilingual household

Background: Hispanic (Nicaraguan & Spaniard Ancestry)

Desired college major: Law school, undergrad in philosophy.

School Clubs:

Model United Nations (Member)

Chess & Wargaming Society (Member)

Debate Team (President) - Elected presidency Junior & Senior Year

Quiz Bowl/Academic Bowl (A Team) - Received Top Contributor award during junior year.

Youth in Government (Legislature) - Passed a bill 39-2 on senate floor, awarded YLA leadership certificate

Extracurricular Background:

Interned with WV State Delegate (2015-2016)

Shadowed with WV Legislative Director (2016)

Currently volunteering at Mon General Hospital (2016)


Awards:

Quiz Bowl Top Contributor

AP Scholar Award

Youth in Government - YLA Award
 
Consider taking the SAT. Some find that they do much better on one test or the other. Also, you may have to take each several times to get the scores you want (like someone said earlier, you should be able to get waivers for the fees due to household being low income).
 
Look at the SMP program with the Army National Guard and Reserves. Can pay a good amount of college without a scholarship and you can become an Officer. Definitely worth talking to a recruiter about.
 
army2021 said:
Look at the SMP program with the Army National Guard and Reserves. Can pay a good amount of college without a scholarship and you can become an Officer. Definitely worth talking to a recruiter about.
Click to expand...

Focus on speaking with the ROO before speaking with a local recruiter. While mileage can vary, the ROO is the best source for commissioning officers through ROTC and SMP as well. A recruiter's number one job is signing up enlisted personnel.
 
AROTC-dad said:
Focus on speaking with the ROO before speaking with a local recruiter. While mileage can vary, the ROO is the best source for commissioning officers through ROTC and SMP as well. A recruiter's number one job is signing up enlisted personnel.
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Yeah, if im not mistaken (correct me if in wrong) but SMPs are enlisted soldiers until they contract under the rotc program, which means if the cadet doesnt get contracted for whatever the reaslon and the unit gets mobilised, you're getting deployed. If this is the case, is it best to avoid SMP/Guard?
 
Gabriel - Will you be a 1st generation college student meaning your parents are not 4 yr college graduates? If so, make sure you answer that question accurately on every university and scholarship application. Additionally, ROTC allocates scholarships to Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) among other types of colleges and universities to assist with diversity in the officer ranks. Here is a link to the HSI schools. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/idues/hsi-eligibles-2016.pdf

Here is a link to the Hispanic Association of Colleges and University with a number of scholarships listed. http://www.hacu.net/hacu/Scholarship_Resource_List.asp
 
Gabriel said:
Yeah, if im not mistaken (correct me if in wrong) but SMPs are enlisted soldiers until they contract under the rotc program, which means if the cadet doesnt get contracted for whatever the reaslon and the unit gets mobilised, you're getting deployed. If this is the case, is it best to avoid SMP/Guard?
Click to expand...

There are definitely pros and cons about SMP/NG.

My DS is regular AROTC, but there are numerous other threads on this forum about SMP vs AROTC. Here are a couple:
http://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php?threads/arotc-scholarship-vs-smp.34409/
http://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php?threads/smp-pros-and-cons.17877/

Also @clarksonarmy, who is an Army ROTC ROO posts the following blog on the topic:
https://goldenknightbattalion.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/smp-another-option/
 
Gabriel said:
I'll most likely be going going to a test optional college like GWU or AU
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I recommend looking into Wake Forest as well. It's a top university that is test-optional. I'm just a high schooler like you, but I've met with the WFU AROTC cadre and toured the school and I was very impressed.
 
bfhsj said:
I recommend looking into Wake Forest as well. It's a top university that is test-optional. I'm just a high schooler like you, but I've met with the WFU AROTC cadre and toured the school and I was very impressed.
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My alma mater! I can't say enough good stuff about it. It's about the same size as the three larger SAs. The AROTC building is a very nice newer building, built after I was there. They used to be in an old gym, fairly common. Small class sizes are the norm. I never had a class taught by other than a full prof.

Back in the 20th C., I was blessed to receive a scholarship there. There are several scholarships and generous aid packages.

http://financialaid.wfu.edu/merit-based-scholarships/guy-t-carswell-scholarships/
 
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Wow, I can't begin to express how thankful I am that folks here are still posting and looking to help a fellow aspiring ROTC cadet in the works. Really, thank you all. Literally been glued to this thread throughout the day looking to find helpful steps in this path I have chosen to walk, a path that I'll be in the first in my family to do for both ROTC and college. Nonetheless, I'm no man to turn away helpful advice, so by all means don't stop lol.

AROTC Parent said:
Gabriel - Will you be a 1st generation college student meaning your parents are not 4 yr college graduates?
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Indeed, I will be the first in my family to attend college as my parents both lack college educations (and to my knowledge, at least 1 lacking a HS degree). I'll definitely be sure to double check and note this in my commonapp that I'm currently constructing for my January submissions.

bfhsj said:
I recommend looking into Wake Forest as well. It's a top university that is test-optional. I'm just a high schooler like you, but I've met with the WFU AROTC cadre and toured the school and I was very impressed.
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After you posted that and Capt MJ recommended this school, I went ahead and googled this school. Can't say that the campus doesn't look beautiful. My only concern though is that since I'm a student seeking to go to law school, is the potential lack of internships in this location. My main intention for D.C. is the vast amount of law firms and political organizations that are located in the area so, it'll certainly be interesting to see what WFU has around it internship-wise to offer.

AROTC-dad said:
Also @clarksonarmy, who is an Army ROTC ROO posts the following blog on the topic:
https://goldenknightbattalion.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/smp-another-option/
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting this. Read through a few pages of this bio and can already say that I'm relieved that someone out there on the web is providing concise details about the SMP cadet program. As he mentioned in his SMP page, my main concern is getting out of sync with my peers and running the risk of possibly be deployed. Definitely something I'll have to contemplate upon.
 
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