Will I Have to Accept an AROTC scholarship without knowing if I'm gonna be accepted to that college?

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class_of_2020

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My top (non-SA) schools are UCLA, Berkeley, and University of Michigan. I feel like I have a decent shot at each, but obviously the UCs especially are difficult to get into and I can't be sure of anything until I see the acceptance/rejection letter in front of me. However, I don't want to simply give up on them, which leaves me with a dilemma. If I get a 4-year AROTC scholarship and haven't received my college decisions yet, what do I do? I know there's a 30-day period before the deadline to accept/reject the scholarship, but that likely won't be long enough for me to find out the college decisions.

Should I accept the scholarship and go with my top pick (UCLA)? Or should I give up on UCLA and pick something more certain (U of M)? Like I said, I feel like I do have the ability to get into UCLA or Berkeley, but I am a cautious person and nothing is certain with schools like those.

I am also applying to West Point, but obviously that's not an issue with ROTC. I haven't applied to any schools yet as I am about to become a high school junior, but my scholarship application starts next summer and I would like to have a clear picture in my mind of what I should do.
 
You always accept the scholarship. It is non-binding. They will give you a list of schools (usually from your list) that you can choose to attend with the scholarship. You may only pick one.

If you do not get accepted at the college your scholarship was awarded for, then you can try to transfer the scholarship to a college you have been accepted to. This is why it's always wise to apply to some school(s) you are absolutely certain to get into, that you would be willing to attend (if needed), and has an AROTC program. There are no guarantees on transfers but they will work with you if at all possible. Do not make it more difficult by not including and not applying to safety schools.
 
kinnem said:
You always accept the scholarship. It is non-binding. They will give you a list of schools (usually from your list) that you can choose to attend with the scholarship. You may only pick one.

If you do not get accepted at the college your scholarship was awarded for, then you can try to transfer the scholarship to a college you have been accepted to. This is why it's always wise to apply to some school(s) you are absolutely certain to get into, that you would be willing to attend (if needed), and has an AROTC program. There are no guarantees on transfers but they will work with you if at all possible. Do not make it more difficult by not including and not applying to safety schools.
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So you're saying I should originally accept the scholarship for my #1 school, but make sure to include safety schools in my scholarship application so that I have the option to transfer if I'm rejected from UCLA? Thank you for your help!
 
That's one approach. Some folks follow a different strategy but you should do whatever you feel comfortable with. What you suggest is the one commonly used. If you're out of state many colleges become more difficult to get into, some become easier, so investigate that aspect to make intelligent decisions. Some state university systems limit the number of out of state students that might attend. UC schools are always hard to get accepted to.

For my own money its great to have some out of state schools on your list. DS was accepted to #1 choice college but did not get an NROTC scholarship. However, that college offered scholarships to out of state students that bring rates down to in-state or near in-state levels. DS was awarded such a scholarship and was therefore able to attend his #1 choice school. No brainer since it cost almost the same. He enrolled in NROTC without the scholarship and managed to win his NROTC scholarship in the middle of his sophomore year.

One must always be thinking of backup plans if not accepted at college A, B, or C. One must also keep in mind how they might afford a college without the scholarship while still participating in a ROTC program. (Of course if you're just in it for the money, which is the wrong reason and almost guarantees failure, then it really doesn't matter)

Some folks will also say that you should attend a college you could afford without the scholarship. That way should you decide a ROTC program is not for you, or you are dropped from the program for some reason (some if not all have some sort of cutoff/drop/advanced standing application/ after two years). That way you can remain at the same college regardless of future outcomes. Again, that was the path DS took and it all worked out for him. He also had many friends (2 roomates in fact) who dropped out of, or were dropped from, NROTC after their freshman year (or later) but still remained at the college. Worked out for them too. YMMV.
 
Treat the ROTC application as you would college applications. That is, list 1-2 “reach” schools, 1-2 “safety” schools, and the rest “target” schools. (Easier for Navy, where you can list 7. Army lets you list 5, but same principle applies.)

If, by the time you submit your ROTC application, you’ve already been accepted by a school, then list that school in the top 1-2. That maximizes the chances of matching the scholarship to a school that’s already accepted you.
 
I'd like to add that you can only help yourself by applying early action (non-binding) to every school on your list that offers it. Then you might be fortunate enough to have admissions offers in hand before being offered a scholarship.
 
brob said:
I'd like to add that you can only help yourself by applying early action (non-binding) to every school on your list that offers it. Then you might be fortunate enough to have admissions offers in hand before being offered a scholarship.
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Great advice. It’s what DD did. So when it came time to submit the ROTC app, she put two schools that had accepted her (early action) at the top, then the required in-state school (safety), then two reach schools (awaiting decision, since no early-action option available).
 
Be careful when using the Early Action approach. To conserve energy, after getting a favorable EA my son did not bother to apply to any other colleges. Many months later, he was awarded a scholarship to a school he had not applied to.

It's a good idea to stay on friendly terms with your school guidance counselor.
 
If you get your scholarship early in the cycle, there is a very good chance that you will not have the admissions decisions, yet. That happened to both of my kids, even having applied early action. They both accepted the scholarships to their #1 choice, while they waited. However, read some of the old threads about strategies when you are applying to top tier schools, where you may or may not get in. Talk with Cadre there to find out if they usually fill their scholarship quotas, or not. If they do not, you may consider selecting another school as your top choice that you know you can get into (and that you would like to go to) as your #1 scholarship college (especially if they usually fill up their scholarships slot allotment) to secure the scholarship there. Then, if you find out that you get accepted to the top tier school, you can ask for a scholarship transfer to that school. The dilemma is if your top choice school (reach school) is known to fill up early and so is your backup school, then you have to make the choice. Our DD's top choice for NROTC was Notre Dame, which is known to fill their scholarship quota early. She knew if she did not list it first, that she might not get the opportunity to go there, so she kept that as her#1 choice, accepted the scholarship there when she won it and prayed she would get in under Early Action, which she did. Had she not, she probably would have ended up having to use the scholarship at her #3 or #4 choice, since her #2 college fills their allotment early, too.
 
My DD had an interesting course of events. She picked her 7 schools for the ROTC application and was selected first round for her top 3. However she is an athlete and wants to run XC and track in addition to ROTC and academics. In talking to ROTC and coaches at her top 3 schools, she found that Division I athletics and ROTC didn't mesh very well at her schools of choice. So, she reevaluated and chose a D3 school where one of the assistant coaches is a friend of the family and she also met with the team and of course the ROTC leadership and felt good about everything she was seeing. Because this school wasn't even on her radar initially, she had not yet applied. She put in her application but the deadline to accept her ROTC scholarship was approaching so she had to choose a school that she knew she would not likely attend.

On top of all this, she was DQd by DODMERB so she was left with that hanging, her chosen school acceptance and a ROTC transfer request. All these thing would have to clear for her to do ROTC and attend her new school of choice. The first thing off the list was that she did get admission to her college so with that in hand she could begin the transfer process. Prior to the transfer going through, the college deadline for making a deposit came so she had to start paying not knowing if the ROTC scholarship would transfer or if the Army would grant her a medical waiver. About a week or two following the payment deadline, the scholarship transfer came through. She had to do an additional stress test for DODMERB and indications were that she did very well but to date, we are still waiting on the waiver. The good news is that late last week after a couple calls to Cadet Command, she got a verbal response that she was being recommended for the medical waiver and that it will just take a couple more weeks to show up as such in DODMERB's system.

So, it has been a bit of a storm to weather but everything is getting worked out, albeit rather slowly. I know this goes way beyond the initial question but this situation shows that you can have a lot of conditions arise any one of which could derail a scholarship but it is possible to get everything worked out for the better.
 
EDelahanty said:
Be careful when using the Early Action approach. To conserve energy, after getting a favorable EA my son did not bother to apply to any other colleges. Many months later, he was awarded a scholarship to a school he had not applied to.

It's a good idea to stay on friendly terms with your school guidance counselor.
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It definitely makes sense to apply to all the schools listed on your scholarship application. ;)
 
class_of_2020 said:
My top (non-SA) schools are UCLA, Berkeley, and University of Michigan. I feel like I have a decent shot at each, but obviously the UCs especially are difficult to get into and I can't be sure of anything until I see the acceptance/rejection letter in front of me. However, I don't want to simply give up on them, which leaves me with a dilemma. If I get a 4-year AROTC scholarship and haven't received my college decisions yet, what do I do? I know there's a 30-day period before the deadline to accept/reject the scholarship, but that likely won't be long enough for me to find out the college decisions.

Should I accept the scholarship and go with my top pick (UCLA)? Or should I give up on UCLA and pick something more certain (U of M)? Like I said, I feel like I do have the ability to get into UCLA or Berkeley, but I am a cautious person and nothing is certain with schools like those.

I am also applying to West Point, but obviously that's not an issue with ROTC. I haven't applied to any schools yet as I am about to become a high school junior, but my scholarship application starts next summer and I would like to have a clear picture in my mind of what I should do.
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This is confusing in that DS got a scholarship during the Nov cycle and has not yet received any college notifications. I'm not sure where the "30-day period before the deadline to accept/reject the scholarship" comes from. DS's congratulation email says "FAILURE TO RESPOND BY 31 MAY 2020 WILL RESULT IN LOSS OF YOUR SCHOLARSHIP OFFER."

It's been right at 30 days so hopefully he has not jeopardized his ROTC scholarship since he hasn't responded to the Accept/Decline button.
 
He submitted a list of 10 colleges with his ROTC scholarship application, but hasn't been officially admitted to any of them yet. He is confident that he doesn't have to formally accept the scholarship until he knows which school he will be attending. I'm not so confident.
 
You need to pick one of the schools and accept the scholarship. Hopefully, he will be accepted. If not, you have to attempt to transfer the scholarship to the institution he eventually gets into. Last year the 1st board results were released in October. Nearly everyone took a leap of faith.
 
Nanosour said:
He submitted a list of 10 colleges with his ROTC scholarship application, but hasn't been officially admitted to any of them yet. He is confident that he doesn't have to formally accept the scholarship until he knows which school he will be attending. I'm not so confident.
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My DS is in a similar situation. He has been accepted to his top choice, but waiting on 2 & 3. You may want to call the admissions department and advise them of your situation. They may be able to expedite an admissions decision. If not, as stated above, accept the scholarship to a school and if not accepted - petition to change to a school that your DS has been accepted to. Not a perfect system - but a good problem to have!
 
Below is verbatim from his notification email. It supports his case that he doesn't have to formally accept the scholarship until 31 May 2020.

Congratulations! We have conditionally selected you to receive a 4-Year, Type 2, Technical Major, Air Force ROTC college scholarship. Your selection is a significant first step on your journey to success and was based on your scholarship selection board ranking, academic major choice and the number of scholarships available in each academic category. Your offer will cover up to $18,000 towards annual tuition and fees, a textbook allowance and at least a $300 monthly stipend during the school year.

Please respond to this offer by logging into your online account (https://wings.holmcenter.com). Once you are logged in click on the link labeled Accept/Decline Scholarship. There is also additional information on the scholarship offer in that area on the Scholarship Checklist Packages. FAILURE TO RESPOND BY 31 MAY 2020 WILL RESULT IN LOSS OF YOUR SCHOLARSHIP OFFER.
 
Nanosour said:
Below is verbatim from his notification email. It supports his case that he doesn't have to formally accept the scholarship until 31 May 2020.

Congratulations! We have conditionally selected you to receive a 4-Year, Type 2, Technical Major, Air Force ROTC college scholarship. Your selection is a significant first step on your journey to success and was based on your scholarship selection board ranking, academic major choice and the number of scholarships available in each academic category. Your offer will cover up to $18,000 towards annual tuition and fees, a textbook allowance and at least a $300 monthly stipend during the school year.

Please respond to this offer by logging into your online account (https://wings.holmcenter.com). Once you are logged in click on the link labeled Accept/Decline Scholarship. There is also additional information on the scholarship offer in that area on the Scholarship Checklist Packages. FAILURE TO RESPOND BY 31 MAY 2020 WILL RESULT IN LOSS OF YOUR SCHOLARSHIP OFFER.
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That says Air Force. Perhaps it is different for Army? I thought the Army ones were indeed 30 days.
 
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