Where to do your ROTC Scholarship interview

[Bigtommygunsouth]

Does it help to interview at the school that you wanna attend ? My DS wants to attend ROTC at a college out of state, so should he travel to that school to interview instead of interviewing at his local in state college ROTC where he has no intention of going.

 

[Allectus]

DS reached out to the ROO at the Army ROTC at the out of state college he was interested in attending and asked if he could do his interview there. This was during COVID, and the interview was by zoom. DS sent his resume ahead of time to the ROO. This worked well. That said I think the program is set up to interview locally. I don’t think it would hurt to ask the out of state ROTC to do the interview.

 

[SOG-SA]

My kid scheduled his interview, locally. After two emails to arrange details (date/time/etc), he wasn't getting a good vibe from the ROO.

He canceled, and instead completed his interview via Zoom...with a school 600 miles away.

Once he got his scholarship, we went out-of-state...150 miles away, to a 3rd school.

Where you interview isn't nearly as important as how well you interview.

Good luck to your child!

 

[banjoppd]

My kid scheduled his interview, locally. After two emails to arrange details (date/time/etc), he wasn't getting a good vibe from the ROO.

He canceled, and instead completed his interview via Zoom...with a school 600 miles away.

Once he got his scholarship, we went out-of-state...150 miles away, to a 3rd school.

Where you interview isn't nearly as important as how well you interview.

Good luck to your child!

My son interviewed with a PMS at a school via ZOOM out of state during the 2020 lockdown. The local AROTC was not returning calls or email for any help. My son ended up at Norwich.

 

[jaglvr]

Does it help to interview at the school that you wanna attend ? My DS wants to attend ROTC at a college out of state, so should he travel to that school to interview instead of interviewing at his local in state college ROTC where he has no intention of going.

Which branch? Because AF ROTC schedules it for you, usually at the school closest to you, even if you're not planning on applying there. Don't know about AROTC. But for my DS, he scheduled it at the closest NROTC because the closest one he applied to with NROTC was over 6 hours away.

 

[MidCakePa]

DD had no intention of attending our flagship state university (though it’s well regarded and has solid ROTC units). But she still interviewed with the local cadre leaders because it was much more convenient than traveling elsewhere. Plus, we all make a much better impression when interviewing in person.

Don’t make it more difficult than it has to be. As someone else said above, how well matters far more than where.

 

[emcconnell]

Does it help to interview at the school that you wanna attend ? My DS wants to attend ROTC at a college out of state, so should he travel to that school to interview instead of interviewing at his local in state college ROTC where he has no intention of going.

My DS interviewed at the school he planned to attend and recieved both ROTC and AFROTC full 4 year scholarship offers. I think it definitely helps to build those relationships. Plus, if your kiddo does well, they will want him or her and will definitely speak highly of your child.

 

[Bigtommygunsouth]

Which branch? Because AF ROTC schedules it for you, usually at the school closest to you, even if you're not planning on applying there. Don't know about AROTC. But for my DS, he scheduled it at the closest NROTC because the closest one he applied to with NROTC was over 6 hours away.

DS plans on applying for AF ROTC and AROTC

 

[almondqqq]

Which branch? Because AF ROTC schedules it for you, usually at the school closest to you, even if you're not planning on applying there. Don't know about AROTC. But for my DS, he scheduled it at the closest NROTC because the closest one he applied to with NROTC was over 6 hours away.

For AROTC, you have to schedule it yourself. I interviewed at a school where I had not much interest in attending, and I still got a scholarship. As for the OP, I think you should do it as a local school as I don't think there would have any incentives to do it at the out of state school. In person is always better. A whole trip to just do the interview seems too much unless you're already planning to tour the school or vacation there. Good Luck!

 

[LacrosseDad]

Does it help to interview at the school that you wanna attend ? My DS wants to attend ROTC at a college out of state, so should he travel to that school to interview instead of interviewing at his local in state college ROTC where he has no intention of going.

I don't necessarily believe it's a bad thing to interview at the school your DS prefers to attend. However neither of my DS's interviewed at the schools they ultimately chose to attend. Both received scholarships (NROTC & AROTC respectively). In fact they both attended their interviews via Zoom. That being said the interview process really is make or break. I cannot stress the importance of not only making a good appearance but being articulate and genuine. Best of luck with the process.

 

[unkown1961]

DS plans on applying for AF ROTC and AROTC

My kids did AFROTC and AROTC at local colleges. AROTC was at a school not applied to. Maybe that's why the interviewer was kind of a jerk. He hassled my son on a B grade in AP History - so would he hassle him on an A in regular History? haha
NROTC was done with a local retired officer.
He got scholarships from all three services though.
Maybe others could answer whether interviewing at a desired college might lead to the detachment trying to pull strings for him if the interview went really well?

 

[jaglvr]

My kids did AFROTC and AROTC at local colleges. AROTC was at a school not applied to. Maybe that's why the interviewer was kind of a jerk. He hassled my son on a B grade in AP History - so would he hassle him on an A in regular History? haha
NROTC was done with a local retired officer.
He got scholarships from all three services though.
Maybe others could answer whether interviewing at a desired college might lead to the detachment trying to pull strings for him if the interview went really well?

my DD did her AF one at a school she didn’t apply to. She did after the interview and was offered the Commander’s scholarship. So they can pull strings if they rock the interview.

 

[gooseblitz]

Does it help to interview at the school that you wanna attend ? My DS wants to attend ROTC at a college out of state, so should he travel to that school to interview instead of interviewing at his local in state college ROTC where he has no intention of going.

My DS interviewed at his school that was a top 3 choice...and ended up being the school he selected. It is in CA and we are in PA. He did it via zoom.

 

[Bigtommygunsouth]

Which branch? Because AF ROTC schedules it for you, usually at the school closest to you, even if you're not planning on applying there. Don't know about AROTC. But for my DS, he scheduled it at the closest NROTC because the closest one he applied to with NROTC was over 6 hours away.

My DS plans on applying for Army an Air Force ROTC Scholarships.

 

[HHS22]

I interviewed with the PMS at my first choice, out of state school by Zoom last Fall. I was in constant communication with the ROO at the school months before and afterward. The ROO was my go to when I had questions about the scholarship process or scheduling a visit to the school. I was awarded a 3 yr on the 2nd board scholarship and later upgraded to 4yr after the 3rd board. I was also accepted ED 1 at my first choice school. I do not know if where you interview makes a difference or not, but for me, because I have open communication with the Army ROTC at the school, I am 100% certain that is where I belong in the Fall.

 

[Maertyn]

For NROTC I had a Zoom interview with my first choice school. I think I could choose any school I listed and happened to pick my first one. For AROTC they gave me a list of local phone numbers to set up an interview, and I had the interview in person. I think I was on a time crunch so it just came down to who could fit me in by the deadline.

 

[GLeopard]

My DS interviewed with the CO of the local recruiting office. The recruiter reached out to him for the interview because DS was under the impression he was required to interview with the NROTC staff at a college where he wanted to attend. Since these were far away, they hadn't been scheduled. I recommend asking your local recruiting office if this is a possibility. My son was awarded the scholarship, so it worked!