Im currently a junior looking to apply early decision next year, but I have a few questions
Is it significantly easy to get in ED not being an engineering major? The rep who visited my high school made it sound like they were trying to let in a lot of students to liberal arts majors to help balance the school, is this true?
Is it easier to get in if applying as a cadet? Also, is it possible to switch out of cadets if you don't like it? A friend of mine had a brother who applied as a cadet and got in, but then switched out very quickly his freshman year. He claims that he wouldn't of gotten in if he didn't apply as a cadet, whats the truth behind this?
What are my chances?
White male, north carolina, competitive public high school, mostly Bs, few As, few Cs, 2 Ds. Weighted GPA ~~3.50, SAT 1540 (planning on retaking, aiming for 1800ish) Very strong upward trend from sophomore to junior year (Cs and Ds sophomore year to almost all As so far this year)
The idea behind the whole “cadet priority” thing is more along the lines of, “we will look at your resume a little earlier”. To be part of the Corps, you have to be accepted into the University first before anything else. You get priority for your resume being read, not acceptance.
You can switch out of the Corps after the first three months (red Phase) of training. But honestly, if you try to “slip through the cracks” and try to cop your way into tech just by going through the Corps as an “easy ticket”, you’re going to have a bad time. Not to mention, you’ll have a $4000 uniform bill to pay once you quit. I’m a Regiment Cadre Staff member. We can/will know who’s got the drive to stick it out, and we can/will drop you if you can tell you’re only trying to slide by. We are require to file monthly evaluation reports for freshmen under our command, and if Higher Ups from the University Staff of Cadets catches wind, you bet you’re going to have a hard time. If you quit before the three months, you will get kicked out of the university, and will return in the Spring semester without a reapply requirement.
Are you planning on ROTC’ing, or going through the Civilian Leader Track? If you haven’t heard, the Civilian Leader track is pretty much a Corps branch on it’s own. You live the entire cadet life alongside your ROTC buddies, you still do the 5am PT, but on Tuesday ROTC training days you take business leadership classes instead. If you’re Civilian Leader Tracking, it’s a good way to experience the military life without the military contract or training, and can transfer to an ROTC if you like it.
Oh, and ROTC’s with scholarships get priority over those who want to ROTC but don’t have scholarship, who in turn have a bit more priority over civilian track people.