Won NROTC 4 year... need advice

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uefhwuhf3[3[[

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Hey everyone, pumped to say that I just won the NROTC national scholarship, but there's a little uncertainty with my situation. I got accepted into University of Rochester and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, but waitlisted at my dream school, University of Virginia.

Can I use the NROTC scholarship to try to get off the UVA waitlist? Is it probable? How is UVA's relationship with NROTC in this regard? Has anyone done this?

Is there a risk in doing this? If I switched my NROTC unit placement to UVA, would I lose my shot at going to Rochester or WPI with the NROTC?

Extremely grateful. I don't want to waste an opportunity or come off as ungrateful, I just want to feel out my options

Thanks!
 
I agree contacting the NROTC unit at University of Virginia is a good idea. They may or may not have pull with Admissions. I would also sent an email to your Admissions Officer for the university, advising them of the scholarship and commitment to using it there if admitted.

My advice would be to leave your scholarship where it is until you receive an admissions decision from U of VA. Per @Go Dores! (a former PNS) very few units actually fill their allotment of scholarship midshipmen. This is especially true of highly selective universities. If you are admitted to U of VA, you can contact the NROTC unit there and inquire whether they have filled their cap of scholarship mids at that time.
 
UVA is pretty damn picky and there is a legal limit to how many it can accept out-of-state. Worth a call but leave scholarship where it is at present.

A plus for NROTC at U of R.. it's near enough to Lake Ontario to offer some on the water training (if they do). Charlottesville probably not so much, unless a large reservoir is nearby.
 
Sean17 said:
If I switched my NROTC unit placement to UVA, would I lose my shot at going to Rochester or WPI with the NROTC?
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Process change happened a year or two ago. They will not fulfill placement change requests unless it is accompanied by an acceptance letter from the school. You can't move it to UVA...yet.
 
My DS was awarded a 4 year NROTC scholarship to his first choice school, and they didn’t offer to help with getting him accepted off of the waitlist. He contacted another school he applied to which is on his top 5, and the Detachment is going above and beyond to help his application go through. They even had the Commander reach out to admissions formally in a letter for help with his acceptance. In addition, he reached out to another school not on his list, and they are welcoming him with open arms. We are actually thankful that his 1st choice school didn’t pan out. We feel fortunate that he will end up where he is meant to be. Reach out to your desired schools/Detachments, and their reply (or lack their of) will help you in the direction that best fits your goals. My suggestion to anyone interested in applying for any ROTC Scholarship is to do your homework ahead of time. Apply to as many schools as possible early so you have more choices when you do receive a scholarship. Yes, it does cost money to apply to multiple colleges, but the investment is worth it.
 
Looking UP said:
My DS was awarded a 4 year NROTC scholarship to his first choice school, and they didn’t offer to help with getting him accepted off of the waitlist. He contacted another school he applied to which is on his top 5, and the Detachment is going above and beyond to help his application go through. They even had the Commander reach out to admissions formally in a letter for help with his acceptance. In addition, he reached out to another school not on his list, and they are welcoming him with open arms. We are actually thankful that his 1st choice school didn’t pan out. We feel fortunate that he will end up where he is meant to be. Reach out to your desired schools/Detachments, and their reply (or lack their of) will help you in the direction that best fits your goals. My suggestion to anyone interested in applying for any ROTC Scholarship is to do your homework ahead of time. Apply to as many schools as possible early so you have more choices when you do receive a scholarship. Yes, it does cost money to apply to multiple colleges, but the investment is worth it.
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Just understand that a unit's lack of help in assisting with admission is not necessarily an indication of the quality of the unit or of the unit's interest in having a person as a part of the unit. The amount of influence an ROTC unit has with admissions varies from school to school; from no influence at all to great sway with Admissions. It doesn't hurt to reach out and ask a unit if they have any influence with Admissions, but just be aware that sometimes the answer is no.
 
Sean17 said:
Hey everyone, pumped to say that I just won the NROTC national scholarship, but there's a little uncertainty with my situation. I got accepted into University of Rochester and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, but waitlisted at my dream school, University of Virginia.

Can I use the NROTC scholarship to try to get off the UVA waitlist? Is it probable? How is UVA's relationship with NROTC in this regard? Has anyone done this?

Is there a risk in doing this? If I switched my NROTC unit placement to UVA, would I lose my shot at going to Rochester or WPI with the NROTC?

Extremely grateful. I don't want to waste an opportunity or come off as ungrateful, I just want to feel out my options

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Can I ask when you submitted your application? We're still waiting for word for my son. Do they just let you know on the portal or an email? And do they still let you know in writing in portal that you did NOT get the scholarship?
 
ProudDad17 said:
I agree contacting the NROTC unit at University of Virginia is a good idea. They may or may not have pull with Admissions. I would also sent an email to your Admissions Officer for the university, advising them of the scholarship and commitment to using it there if admitted.

My advice would be to leave your scholarship where it is until you receive an admissions decision from U of VA. Per @Go Dores! (a former PNS) very few units actually fill their allotment of scholarship midshipmen. This is especially true of highly selective universities. If you are admitted to U of VA, you can contact the NROTC unit there and inquire whether they have filled their cap of scholarship mids at that time.
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+1 on sending the confirmation letter to the admissions counselor.

I would have suggested printing the screen from the Netfocus application page (because it does not identify the school to which the scholarship award is assigned), but that page has disappeared for 2021 applicants and now takes you through the 2022 application prompts. So perhaps log into https://netfocus.netc.navy.mil/nrotc/candidate_app/status_scholarship.aspx, which does include the assigned school, and print that to PDF (optionally redacting the school assignment).

DS was admitted to a Tier 1 school very comparable to UVA and did exactly this while his admissions decision was pending (although his letter was for that school) and sent it to admissions at the C/O's suggesting...but the C/O likewise said he would contact his admissions contact because NROTC has a lot of influence at the school. Somewhere between the letters, it worked despite his not enhancing student body diversity and having just-below average SAT/ACT combined scores (but very high math scores).

DS' school is very generous with scholarships (<$70K family income = free ride, 70-130K = free tuition/fees, 130-200K half-price tuition/fees, no help at all above 200K). A former NROTC cadre member advised every NROTC full-pop admission there pays for several need-based admissions, which the school appreciates.

I'd also reach out to the C/O and be fully prepared for an impromptu phone interview explaining why you want to serve, why Navy, why officer, your desired career path, and how you will contribute to and lead in the program based on your personal goals and demonstrated achievements.
 
Sean17 said:
Hey everyone, pumped to say that I just won the NROTC national scholarship, but there's a little uncertainty with my situation. I got accepted into University of Rochester and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, but waitlisted at my dream school, University of Virginia.

Can I use the NROTC scholarship to try to get off the UVA waitlist? Is it probable? How is UVA's relationship with NROTC in this regard? Has anyone done this?

Is there a risk in doing this? If I switched my NROTC unit placement to UVA, would I lose my shot at going to Rochester or WPI with the NROTC?

Extremely grateful. I don't want to waste an opportunity or come off as ungrateful, I just want to feel out my options

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Good luck! If you are willing can you please let us know the response from UVA? We actually just visited UVA with my current junior (his brother is a plebe at USNA) and it is his dream school as well. He will apply for the NROTC scholarship this summer and most likely list UVA as his top choice so I am interested in the extent to which the unit has pull with admissions in the event DS is awarded a scholarship. We went through this with my older son and as many have said, the NROTC interface with admissions differed greatly from school to school. Best of luck to you!
 
kyboymom said:
Good luck! If you are willing can you please let us know the response from UVA? We actually just visited UVA with my current junior (his brother is a plebe at USNA) and it is his dream school as well. He will apply for the NROTC scholarship this summer and most likely list UVA as his top choice so I am interested in the extent to which the unit has pull with admissions in the event DS is awarded a scholarship. We went through this with my older son and as many have said, the NROTC interface with admissions differed greatly from school to school. Best of luck to you!
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I reached out to the commander and he told me "the most important thing right now is to reach out to admissions with the news of the scholarship"... then said good luck and that was pretty much it. I told admissions and they said it's been adde to my file.

It didn't sound like there was a crazy amount of pull based on what the commander said, but he clearly thought it was important for admissions to know. I will come back to this thread when I get my decision.
 
Sean17 said:
I reached out to the commander and he told me "the most important thing right now is to reach out to admissions with the news of the scholarship"... then said good luck and that was pretty much it. I told admissions and they said it's been adde to my file.

It didn't sound like there was a crazy amount of pull based on what the commander said, but he clearly thought it was important for admissions to know. I will come back to this thread when I get my decision.
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A little conjecture here, but my guess would be that it is likely to help more -- be more of a plus if you will -- at private schools. This is because, of necessity, they give more financial aid, so every dollar that Uncle Sam will pay is a dollar of FA they don't have to give. Public schools don't have that same concern, at least not nearly to the degree that privates do. All that said, I hope it works out. UVA is obviously a great pick.
 
Sean17 said:
I reached out to the commander and he told me "the most important thing right now is to reach out to admissions with the news of the scholarship"... then said good luck and that was pretty much it. I told admissions and they said it's been adde to my file.

It didn't sound like there was a crazy amount of pull based on what the commander said, but he clearly thought it was important for admissions to know. I will come back to this thread when I get my decision.
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I'll also bet the C/O will be making a plug for you but chose to forego sharing that. They all want strong and full programs.
 
Sean17 said:
I reached out to the commander and he told me "the most important thing right now is to reach out to admissions with the news of the scholarship"... then said good luck and that was pretty much it. I told admissions and they said it's been adde to my file.

It didn't sound like there was a crazy amount of pull based on what the commander said, but he clearly thought it was important for admissions to know. I will come back to this thread when I get my decision.
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for the information. Best of luck- really hoping it all works out!!
 
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