<p>I think you guys are down-playing the academic qualifications for ROTC scholarship cadets. There are many ways to obtaining a scholarship, but a 4 year national scholarship is not easy to come by. There are several entry points into Army ROTC for both scholarship and nonscholarship cadets. The first is for high school seniors who apply for a national scholarship. These students are ranked on a national Order of Merit List (OML), and offers are made in order of the rankings. The Army offers two basic types of scholarships through this national process: four-year awards and three-year advanced designee (AD) awards. The four-year awards offer a certain scholarship amount for four years, as long as the student remains in Army ROTC. The three-year AD awards require the student to participate in ROTC but pay only in the student’s second through fourth years. Students who receive any scholarship must contract with the Army when they begin receiving payments. Once contracted, the student is obliged to serve in the active or reserve forces after graduation. Minimum service is generally four years active duty or eight years reserve duty. Once on campus, students who did not receive a national scholarship can apply for on-campus scholarships. Three-year on-campus scholarships are offered for students starting their sophomore year. Two-year on-campus scholarships are offered for students starting their junior year. If a student has not received a scholarship, he or she must contract as a junior or leave the program.</p>
<p>It has been noted that military funding and sequestration has caused there to be less scholarships. This is true, and because of this, for any branch of the military it is more difficult to get a scholarship. I have gone through the process just this last year and applied for a scholarship at each branch. I had excellent stats and am very thankful and blessed to have received the full tuition 4 year Army ROTC scholarship, however I did not receive anything from the Navy and only got the 3 year Airforce scholarship.</p>
<p>If anyone has any specific questions regarding the application process, feel free to ask.</p>