Sounds good, thanks – clearly I need to be more dialed in with the GC. That’s going to be a priority as soon as school opens in 10 days.
My family can scrape together the money for visits and incidentals, but I sat down with them and ran the numbers. After rent, student loans, and a car payment, they only have a couple thousand dollars a month and are not able to save very much. My dad will eventually have really good professional prospects, which is why we have to live here. No complaints whatsoever from me; I and my siblings have had great lives and my parents have always put us first. They already live pretty hard lives of long hours and self-denial, though, and it will be 5+ years before they can write college-sized checks.
May I just say, I love your attitude. You’re thoughtful, inquisitive, and receptive to feedback. You remain optimistic and willing to put the work in, but you’re also grounded in reality. If you keep this up, I think you will go far in life. Now, to get you a full ride!
Oops, accidentally submitted too early! Here’s the rest.
These are some schools that will cover the room & board costs for ROTC scholarship recipients that are ABET-accredited for your engineering interests, apart from TCU which is just general engineering:
Clarkson University is an engineering school with generous merit awards as well as a large ROTC program. It is a small school (2900ish undergrad) in the North Country in upstate NY near the Canadian border and very rural, but it’s possible you could attend for no cost.
Thank you for your kindness and support! I will apply to each of these schools. I think my odds of ROTC are not bad, so this might be exactly what I need.
You’re going to have to do a deep dive into schools that have the major you want as well as generous merit. Ideally merit that can be stacked.
One example is Already University. They have majors in Electrical, Mechanical and Sustainable Energy Engineering. They offer an additional scholarship for ROTC members, 1K of honors, 1K for visiting (can be virtual), 3K if your GC contacts them for a book award. IF you decide against ROTC, they still offer generous merit that they will stack with FA.
This is the ROTC info:
How much money will I make as a cadet?
Contracted cadets earn a tax-free monthly stipend for up to 10 months each year (first year students $300, sophomores $350, juniors $450, and seniors $500).
### What does a scholarship pay for?
*OTC scholarships at Alfred University are earned through St. Bonaventure’s ROTC program. They pay full tuition and mandatory fees. This is in addition to the monthly stipend listed above and a $1,200 annual book allowance. New York state, students receiving full tuition ROTC scholarships are not eligible for NYS TAP per NYS regulations. A student can earn a 4,3, or 2 year scholarship.emphasized text
Thank you, will definitely apply there. The Clarkson ROTC “Golden Knight” Battalion enrollment officer is a legend on ROTC and service academy boards, and I’ve benefited greatly from his articles and advice in putting my ROTC application together.
Thank you for another great option! I’ve been trying to find a list of colleges that give room and board scholarships like the one you posted, but I haven’t had a lot of luck. If I do find such a list, I’ll post it to this thread (and also see if there is someplace else appropriate on CC to post it.) Much appreciated!
Sounds like you will probably have a few very good merit or ROTC options thanks to your own research as well as some of the suggestions made here. You are a very strong student and there are many colleges out there who will be lucky to have you!
This thread has certainly been a journey. I’m in a much better position than I was 24 hours ago thanks to the great folks of CC. Thank you for participating and for all of your great advice!
Michigan Tech offers room and board to ROTC participants. It is a great school for engineering and with all the majors and minors they offer you can definitely really pinpoint the energy interest. They have one of the biggest engineering job fairs in the country. YOu have to be really committed to cold and remote, but once there, kids seem to love it. It was one of D23 top choices. Just remember, it will be costly and not easy to travel back and forth (which is eventually what made my son choose another school).
(They do offer a few non-ROTC full rides, however, they have changed the process and it’s basically a recruiting event now. They invite 100s of kids for just a few scholarships. Going to the “competition” requires a couple of days of travel back and forth, expensive flights and hotel stays. We opted out).
Did you get official grades when you took a semester at college? Do you have a transcript to submit? Double check that you won’t be considered a transfer at some schools (may depend on how many credits you got, if official)
Thanks! It’s 10 credits. ucbalumnus noted upthread that, as I had 4 years of high school between my college credits and my scheduled high school graduation, I will likely not be considered a transfer. But I’ll confirm that with each school admissions office before going complete on the Common App – book a half day, set out a long checklist, etc.