Any ROTC Questions

<p>I'm currently in Navy ROTC (but I know about all three branches as they are all at the school I attend) and am offering to answer any questions anyone may have. I had many questions and concerns before I started and I would love to answer any of yours so you're not in the same situation as I was.</p>

<p>My son is a rising senior in a public math and science academy in Virginia. He missed the minimum score in his weakest subject (English) by 20 points and will be retaking SAT in October (ACT in September). He’s confident he can improve the test scores enough to be accepted. Assuming he is on track in all other areas, should he apply now or wait until after takes the next set of exams in Sep/Oct? Thank you for the offer of advice and congrats on your accomplishments!</p>

<p>If he’s under the minimum and truly confident he will do a lot better, wait to apply. Yes, it’s usually better to apply earlier because you get seen by more boards but in order to be seen, you have to make the cutoff. Once they see the SAT score, they’ll rank him really low as even though you can always update SAT score, there is no telling when they will update if and if anyone will even see it when it matters. </p>

<p>If a low English SAT score was the only problem, I’d say apply now. But since it as actually below the minimum and he is confident he’ll do a lot better, I would wait.</p>

<p>I know Navy ROTC prefers its cadets to be majors in the STEM subjects. Is this true also for Marine Option ROTC cadets?</p>

<p>No, the Marine Corp currently does not care what your major is. This also means you can change it as many times as you want without it affecting your scholarship. </p>

<p>The Navy will award 85% of the scholarships to STEM majors.</p>

<p>What is a typical day/week for you? What is the minimum score you must get on the PRT? Also, for the college program, will you be kicked out if you do not get that score on your first PRT?</p>

<p>What is a typical day/week for you? What is the minimum score you must get on the PRT? Also, for the college program, will you be kicked out if you do not get that score on your first PRT?</p>

<p>My typical NROTC week is as follows:</p>

<p>Monday: PT at 0545 (starts at 0600) until around 0700. Regular college classes during the day. Armed Exhibition practice at night. Sleep!</p>

<p>Tuesday: PT at 0544 until 0700. NROTC class from 0745 to 0900 (gives us time to shower). This class counts as a 3 credit course at my school, will be similar at most schools. Regular college classes during the day. Drill team practice at night. Sleep!</p>

<p>Wednesday: Same as Monday.</p>

<p>Thursday: Uniform day – Muster (meet) at 0545 in the Uniform of the Day (UOD). We had lectures, drill, inspection, etc from 0600-07000. On important military days (ex Marine Corp Birthday) we have a special ceremony and even eat birthday cake. NROTC class from 0745-0900. Regular college classes during the day. We are in uniform until 1600. </p>

<p>Friday: No unit ROTC requirements.</p>

<p>Freshman and sophomores also have colors (raising and lowering of the US flag) every day between 0730-0800 and 1530-1600. This requires two MIDN and we are scheduled based on our platoon and availability (ie if you have a class at 3:30 every Mon,Wed,Fri you won’t have afternoon colors on those days). </p>

<p>Some MIDN also have required study hall hours at my unit, the number of required hours depending solely on the previous semester’s GPA. </p>

<p>PRT Scores: Each school is a little different, but most make you score over a certain level or they will put you on “remedial PT”. Here is a link to scoring a PRT: [US</a> Navy Physical Fitness Test Standards](<a href=“http://www.navy-prt.com/]US”>http://www.navy-prt.com/) Scroll down until “Male (or Female) PRT Standards”. This link also has helpful suggestions for training. </p>

<p>You do not fail a PRT unless you get below Satisfactory, and even then most units will give you one or two failed PRTs before they kick you out (if, for example, you get hurt and cannot run, they won’t just kick you out because you can’t take one test). College Programmers are treated the exact same in terms of PRT requirements. So even if they fail their school’s fitness requirements, they still have leeway before they are kicked out.</p>

<p>Best of luck, please let me know if you have any further questions.</p>

<p>My son is a junior in high school and is also dual-enrolled at our local junior college. Therefore, he is earning college credits while still in high school. He will graduate high school May 2014, but will not graduate with his A.A. degree from the junior college until December 2014. He was then planning on transferring to a 4-year university as a junior in January 2015. He has now decided that he wants to participate in Army ROTC once he is at the university level. The commander of his high school ROTC program told him that he could still participate in Army ROTC his last two years of college as long as he takes the LTC the summer before his junior year. However, if he graduates with his A.A. in December 2014, but can’t take the LTC until the summer of 2015, does that mean he has no choice but to delay entering the 4-year university until after he completes the LTC? That would mean delaying entering the 4-year university by almost a year! I was hoping that perhaps he could take the LTC the summer of 2014, which would be right after he graduates high school, and then would just delay starting ROTC when he started his junior year in January 2015. I hope this makes sense! It’s making my head spin!</p>

<p>Hi Regnar,</p>

<p>You have a few options here. Does your son want the full ROTC/College experience? If so, could he enter as a freshman? If he’s on a four year scholarship (the one he would apply for online), they will pay all four years regardless of how many credits he has. Then he could start school Fall 2014.</p>

<p>ROTC is a four year program for a reason, that’s why if you skip the first two years, you have to go through an intensive summer course (LTC). However, even that course still requires a full two years in the unit, so he would have to start in the fall and graduate two springs later. If waiting until fall 2015 to apply or not getting his AA does not appeal to him, he could aways go through OCS (Officer Candidate School), where he would commission with the same rank as he would through ROTC. The difference is, OCS will not pay for school.</p>

<p>Joining ROTC as a junior, however, does not guarantee he’ll get school paid for either. He has to earn a scholarship, and two-year scholarships are very hard to come by. If he’s got good grades and test scores, I would definitely apply for the four year scholarship. It’s a free app, so it doesn’t hurt to apply. </p>

<p>ROTC is an experience on its own. I believe you need all four years to fully get the ROTC effect. Spending a year as the scum of the earth (as a freshman) builds a lot of character. I would recommend going in as a freshman but if that’s not a possibility, then he has to complete at least junior and senior year in the unit. That means that he can either sacrifice his AA (but still keep a lot of the credits and use them for college) or move his graduation date a year later. </p>

<p>I hope this helped make sense of things. Please let me know if you have any more questions.</p>

<p>Thank you so much for your reply! However, I just want to make sure I’m clear on something. Am I correct in the understanding that my son would NOT be able to attend the LTC the summer of 2014 (right after high school graduation), and then wait until January 2015 to enter a 4-year university as a junior? If I’m understanding you correctly, he would have to enter his junior year of college the fall of 2014 if he took the LTC the summer of 2014. If that is, in fact, the case, it’s definitely going to mess him up with dual-enrollment. His primary reason for going thru ROTC is to enter the military as an officer, not so much for the scholorship opportunities that the program offers. Any college classes he completes while still in high school through dual-enrollment are paid for 100% by the state (incl. books & fees). In addition, we have a pre-paid tuition plan for him, plus he will also probably qualify for a state-sponsored scholarship that will give him approximately $100/credit hour. Even though OCS is also an option, I was under the impression that it is more difficult to get into OCS than it would be to just go through ROTC while in college. Am I correct on that fact, as well? Thanks again for your help!</p>

<p>how often is it that you will get a NROTC scholarship but not get into the school? I got my scholarship but still waiting on the school, which is a bit of a reach.</p>

<p>Congrats on the scholarship! </p>

<p>The scholarship board and the school have no correlation with each other. So like you could get a scholarship to Harvard but not get into the school. Once you are awarded a scholarship, the board looks at the list of schools and tries to give you a school you like. But if the unit has no more available scholarship slots, they’ll move you to the next school on your list. </p>

<p>The school itself has nothing to do with that process. The one thing I would recommend doing is calling the unit at the school you want to attend and let them know that you got the scholarship but haven heard back from the school yet. Some units will push for your acceptance. Schools also like scholarship kids because they get paid full tuition costs so that might play a small factor f</p>

<p>I have a lot of questions revolving around 2 issues:</p>

<p>1) NORTC Scholarship versus getting “in” the NROTC program : Are these 2 separate issues? My kid has been working on the NROTC thing on his own - I assumed it was for getting “in” & now I think it is for the Scholarship.</p>

<p>Also, I saw your comment about Harvard & how student can get the NROTC scholarship, but not get into the school. And I can understand how it is a 3 step thing; scholarship, school acceptance, then school NROTC acceptance. What if a student does NOT want a scholarship - what is the process at similar high academic school like Harvard?</p>

<p>I saw on Wikipedia the difference is a Scholarship Midshipmen vs College Program Midshipmen. Could you please explain the differences in the process etc.?</p>

<p>2) NROTC Scholarship versus School’s Regular Financial Aid: We qualify for the school’s Financial Aid at nearly 100%. The high academic school we are hoping for is over the $180,000 for 4 years & as I understand it the NROTC scholarship would cover everything but Room/Board. So, with the NROTC scholarship we would end up paying MORE than the school’s Financial Aid (i.e. Room/Board). Please input.</p>

<p>Also, if we get the NROTC scholarship do we HAVE to use it before we use the School’s Financial Aid?</p>

<p>If we get the NROTC Scholarship, can we decline & just take the school’s Financial Aid?</p>

<p>3) Lastly, NROTC Scholarship versus School Scholarship with regards to commitment to serve in the Navy: My student has not been exposed to the ROTC program, he finds it “cool” and “fascinating”, but does not have full knowledge of the extent of the commitment as a teenager and I feel he has rose colored glasses and there is a remote chance he may change his mind once he learns more. With that being said, I would like to know the financial aspects with regards to leaving the program the 1st 2 years.</p>

<p>My student just had his interview and I need to know if I need to stop the process. It appears that we are financially better off with the School Financial Aid and my student has the option to leave the program in the 1st 2 years without financial payback if we do not pursue the NROTC Scholarship…But, I do not want to interfere with his ability to get into the NROTC program at college. So, I need your advice.</p>

<p>Thank you for your comments in advance.</p>

<p>Since scutrules hasn’t answered your questions, I’ll attempt to:</p>

<p>1) Sort of. You can get the scholarship for x school but not be accepted to x school, but you are usually accepted by the ROTC program so long as you are accepted to the school…anyone can join a ROTC program as an elective even with no scholarship. Your son is applying for the scholarship, not working on just getting into the program. </p>

<p>If you don’t want the scholarship, you just contact the ROTC unit at the school of his choice and let them know you’re interested. It’s an elective class, so like I said, anyone can join. </p>

<p>College programmer means Midshipman is taking ROTC, but not on scholarship. Non-scholarship Mids do everything scholarship Mids do except summer training. If he’s non-scholarship, he will have to try to contract to be commissioned. Those with scholarships are contracted meaning that they will commission so long as they meet the requirements. Non-scholarship Mids have to try to contract, you won’t commission just by doing NROTC, he will have to try to contract to commission. That’s the nice thing about the scholarship, you’ll for sure be able to commission so long as you do well. That said, if he doesn’t want/need the scholarship, it’s fine, he just needs to do very well to compete for advanced standing. </p>

<p>2) I’m not sure, but I’d think you could use NROTC for tuition and then use whatever financial aid you get from x school to pay for room/board, but I don’t know. Ask on that website I gave you on your other question. If he’s offered a scholarship, he certainly can decline. </p>

<p>3) He doesn’t need to stop the process, he can decline it if he wants to and be a college programmer. For scholarship Mids, they have until end of sophomore year to say yes, they want to stay and commission and serve their years. They can say no and not owe anything. For college programmers, they can quit anytime before sophomore year is up, and after that, they HAVE to contract if they wish to commission. If he does want to commission and does not contract by the end of sophomore year, he cannot participate in NROTC any longer and will not commission. </p>

<p>My .02</p>

<p>CE527M,
Thank you. I know so little and you have been helpful.</p>

<p>Scutrules,
If you have more input, I am all ears.</p>

<p>Hello,</p>

<p>My son received a NROTC 4 year scholarship and was assigned to a school to which he has serious doubts regarding acceptance. My question: can he start the wait-list process immediately (before being accepted/rejected from the school) and better his chances of using the scholarship at his second or third choice schools (which he has a much better chance of attending and/or being accepted). Would this be considered rude by the originally assigned unit? If he IS accepted to the originally assigned unit/school would they have a problem with his going onto a wait-list prior to acceptance? I hope I explained this in an understandable way. Appreciate any help or suggestions. Thanks.</p>

<p>I don’t have any real exerperience because my S was accepted to his first choice school after receiving his NROTC scholarship but I would think that your S would have to be rejected by the first school before getting on waitlist for school #2 or #3. Just don’t think he could be assigned to one unit and have his name on a waitlist for a different unit. If that were the case there would be hundreds of kids choosing “dream” school as a first selection and also going on waitlist at school with the" best chance" to ensure they have a back-up option if they don’t win the “dream school” lottery. It would essentially be choosing two schools at once when only one is allowed. It would be a logistical nightmare for the NROTC program.</p>

<p>Inquiring Mom, CE527M has answered a lot, but let me clear up a few things.</p>

<ol>
<li>You receive a scholarship to a specific school (you list your top five schools on your application, they go down the list filling the slot in your top school that still has open slots). So if you get a scholarship, you have gotten into the specific unit already.</li>
</ol>

<p>College Programmers must receive Advance Standing by their sophomore year in order to be commissioned. This is getting harder and harder to get, so do not rely on this! Scholarship recipients, as CE527M mentioned, are already contracted (ie they have already passed the selection process for picking contracted MIDN). </p>

<ol>
<li><p>Some schools offer free room and board for scholarship recipients. Definitely check to see if your school has that! If not, you need to check if you can use your financial aid to cover room and board and use the scholarship to cover tuition. Another option is to use your scholarship to cover room and board (they let you choose either or) and financial aid to cover tuition.</p></li>
<li><p>You can keep the NROTC scholarship until the first day of your sophomore year and not owe anything. However, the second you sign the paperwork for your sophomore year, you will owe the Navy enlisted time/money if you drop out. (Take note, only the freshman year is obligation free).</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Proud dad, I answered your question via email but I’ll post it here as well in case anyone else is curious: </p>

<p>Congrats to your son for receiving a scholarship! That is definitely a big deal and you all should be very proud.</p>

<p>I would call the unit of the school he was given a scholarship for and let them know that he has applied but has not been accepted to the school yet. Sometimes the unit officers can have a pull in candidates accepted. If, however, your son has no interest in attending the school, you can start the wait-listed process as soon as you want. Just know that your son might be stuck waiting until all other scholarships have been given, which may mean he won’t get moved or won’t keep the scholarship (because they take him off the list for his current school).*</p>

<p>Bottom line, call the unit he was assigned to first. Ask if they can help get him accepted. If he gets rejected, that’s a different story entirely, but that bridge won’t have to be crossed until later.*</p>

<p>I personally would not start the wait-listing process until you hear back the first school as he might end up without any school.</p>

<p>I tried to make this sound clear but I know it’s very confusing. Please let me know if you need any clarification or additional questions answered. I’m more than happy to help.</p>

<p>I recently received the four year national Army ROTC scholarship and I was wondering if this scholarship will make me a more competitive applicant at selective universities like Berkeley and Johns Hopkins because of the fact that my tuition is paid for??? The ROTC leader at Berkeley has already spoken with admissions on my behalf, but will this have any weight when it comes time to review my application??</p>

<p>Any thoughts you have on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!</p>

<p>Since Scutrules hasn’t replied, I’ll try and answer your question…</p>

<p>I don’t think it makes you any more competitive, it’s a separate process. Now, since the ROTC leader has spoken on your behalf, maybe, but definitely not just because you received a scholarship.</p>