When To Submit NROTC Application

madgriff

madgriff

New Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2015
Messages
7
Hi,
I'm about to begin my junior year in high school, and I was wondering when it is best to apply for the NROTC scholarship Marine option. Should I apply late this year or early in my senior year? In my online research I've seen that it's better to apply early to show you have a strong interest, but I feel like I should wait until senior year so I can build up my resume a little more.

Currently I am enrolled in honors and AP courses with a 4.o GPA,
Model United Nations and am a participant in an annual conference with global participation,
Debate Club,
I have a lot of community service hours and I'm planning on getting involved in a local organization that helps underprivileged families in the community,
I'm training for my black belt in Krav Maga,
And I have a job but it's low level because I'm only 16 and legally could only start working this year.

This year I plan on joining Robotics club and starting an Astronomy club.
I'm also considering going to student council meetings but I'm not sure if I will have time.
I'm very confident that I can win the presidency in Model UN for my senior year and possibly a seat on student council as many of the positions run unopposed.
I'm also training to get my PFT score up which obviously will be higher the longer I have to work on it.
I am going to stage crew for the school play as well this year and next year
I will also be applying for week long programs next summer at West Point, the Naval Academy, and the Air Force Academy that give you an opportunity to live like a cadet at these academies and get a taste for military life while also teaching valuable life and leadership skills.

When should I apply for the NROTC scholarship and what else can I do to improve my chances of getting it so I can become a great officer in the United States Marines? Thank you for any help you can give.
 
You can't actually apply until your junior year is finished. I'm not sure when the portal opens, but it's during the summer between your junior and senior years.
 
Oh thank you. That's kind of a relief actually I was just confused because I saw another thread on this website when I was researching where the kid was a junior and almost all the replies were along the lines of: "YOU NEED TO APPLY RIGHT NOW".
 
I believe the portal actually opens in April and I recommend STARTING you application at that time. It gives you time to work on essays and fine tune them. You'll be able to work on getting the required teacher recommendations lined u before summer vacation. You'll also get exposed to the application and see what else you need. For a Marine Option scholarship I would recommend SUBMITTING your application by the end of Sept. This leaves some time for interviews and PFT after submission, but before the first board in November (there are only two MO boards - second is in Feb I believe). Do your best to knock the PFT out of the park. It's very important to do well for Marine Options.
 
That was very helpful thank you. I know relatively little about the application process and every thing helps.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top