<p>PMS from my daughter"s #1 school left her an email saying he hoped to have an answer “in early January”. As DougBetsy indicates, the process is new and has not been working well yet, so it is hard for anyone involved to have a good feel for timing.</p>
<p>Interesting, Mariner.</p>
<p>It sounds as if the PMS called CC and got a “we’re still working on it” answer to a status check. Perhaps a bit of pessimism on the PMS’ part, as I imagine, as I can’t imagine they are giving out estimates on when things will be done, although it certainly sounds like they are behind. Let’s hope his pessimism is not correct. </p>
<p>This could really get CC behind for the year if this keeps up… Ugh!</p>
<p>can you tell me what it is they are doing differently this year?</p>
<p>Does this mean that all the research I have done up to the practice used for the class of 2013 is useless for my son (he will be a class of 2015)?</p>
<p>I’m not so sure that the procedure is different this year from last year, based upon everything discussed so far between here and service academy forums. I think the major difference between this year and last year is the reported decrease in the number of scholarships and the increase in the number of applicants (especially early applicants). </p>
<p>This is purely my own speculation, but I think what is gumming up the process is the fact that with fewer slots and more applicants, the units are probably denying more applicants (you can’t say yes to everyone), so Cadet Command finds itself with a problem trying to offer enough applicants enough choices. It wouldn’t surprise me to see CC have to advise the units on which candidates are closer to the top of the OML, so they can readjust their “accepts” to align up better with the candidates getting offers in this round at the most popular schools, because lets fact it, if the average applicant gets 3 choices, 2/3 of the offers will be returned to the pool for the next round, so most schools will have those slots available for candidates who won’t get offers in the current round. I suspect the schools only get to see the file before the boards, not the CC OML scoring, so they are working blind (with regards to OML placement) in picking their applicants. </p>
<p>I think in previous years, there weren’t as many quality early applicants, so it was easier for schools to allot their larger number of slots over a smaller number of top level candidates.</p>
<p>I don’t think that your research is all for naught, hyeonjlee. I just think that the competition has just gotten greater. Perhaps the only thing that may change here is how you prioritize your school choices, knowing that you will need to understand “who loves you” out there before your application is completed (where the PMS can then look at your rankings). It is always good to “show the love” (rank high) to the schools that express a lot of interest in your son. That “exploration” needs to be done earlier in the whole process now.</p>
<p>I’m basing this whole thinking on our exchange with one of goaliegirl’s schools. There were 2 concerns expressed there - 1 was a weight/height issue (they had not known she was taped, which we have let them know that indeed she passed taping). The other concern was why that school was #2 on the list. Goaliegirl explained that the order of her schools was based upon the goaltending opportunities at the school (where she would have the best opportunity to start more years for a better club). In explaining this, she discussed the favor that coach at school #2 was showing where the coach at school #1 on the list had not committed to making a trip to see her, making it much less likely that #1 school coach will commit to her. And this remains true to this date. We have reason to believe that this explanation was critical in their decision with regards to accepting her for a scholarship. From the numbers presented, I believe this school had 2x the number of applicants for the scholarships available. And this is by no means a school with a well know tradition in ROTC. </p>
<p>Lets just say I think being at the top of a candidates list is becoming more important than it used to be and schools are probably not saying yes to many candidates who list a school below #3 on the list, because the schools have plenty of candidates who have a school higher on the list and are more likely to accept and the PMS’ don’t want the slots to come back for later rounds with “lower OML” applicants.</p>
<p>Just my speculation. Take it FWIW.</p>
<p>goaliedad and other sages:</p>
<p>thanks for the thought answer. It is very much appreciated.</p>
<p>I wonder what you think of this situation. I will appreciate your educated guess.</p>
<p>My son’s #1, #2, and #3 choice schools are served by the same battalion. The school # 1 will be a reach. #2 will be a match. #3 will be a match/safety. They are all private schools. Two schools are about the same price. The third school is about $5-6K cheaper. If we just list the schools, you can see that it’s all the same in terms of the battalion quotas and such UNLESS even within the same battalion, they have separate quotas for each school.</p>
<p>In this case does it make sense to list all three schools as #1, #2, and #3 on the priority school choice? Doesn’t it sort of “waste” the top choice spots? </p>
<p>For instance, let’s say he lists only school #1 and school #2, and the scholarship was granted for school #2. Further assume that in terms of the college admission, he only gets accepted into school #3 that he did NOT list as part of the 7 school choice. It should be easy enough to transfer the scholarship from school #2 to #3 since it’s still the same battalion and #3 school is actually cheaper. </p>
<p>In such a situation, isn’t it better that you list school #1 and school #2, and save still a high priority #3 spot for another school served by a different battalion to cast the net wide???</p>
<p>Am I going crazy with these things??? Given how this year is turning out to be competitive, and how it may not abate much for the class of 2014, I feel that we need to be really thoughtful and proactive about this whole thing: after all, in 5 months or so, my son will have to start the whole process - I want him to have a completed application ASAP at the beginning of the summer.</p>
<p>By the way, this is a very popular battalion, based in what I read/hear.</p>
<p>First, how many colleges do you think your son will apply?
My personal opinion is that I would use the first three choices for three different battalions. If there were multiple colleges within some of those battalions (as in your son’s case) I’d list the college he was most likely to be accepted for each of those three different battalions. Depending on how many colleges your son wants to apply, he may have 7 different battalions and I’d have seven different battalions on my list. Again this is just my opinion, but I’d rather increase my chances of getting a slot in one of seven battalions and then if necessary transferring that scholarship within the battalion to a different school. I think moving a scholarship within a battalion (if a reach school accepts your son) is much easier than moving it to a battalion that you haven’t been approved. Keep in mind that the PMS for battalions with multiple cross-town schools is the same person. As long as you show serious interest in one of his colleges AND his battalion, there is no reason for him to resist moving your son to a different college within the same battalion…if necessary.</p>
<p>ACK! I think my head’s gonna explode with all the second-guessing going on inside it. :p</p>
<p>When Son listed his 7 schools, he just did it in order of favorites. At that point we were so new to the process that it never occured to us that there might be a strategic way to form the list. </p>
<p>I recall my biggest worry was that CC would grant to only the cheapest schools: #6 (which is a host) and #2 (which is an affiliate) and that would present Son with quite an dilemma. </p>
<p>Oh, nevermind. I can’t keep worrying about this. I’ll go crazy. What’s done is done; it is what it is. :)</p>
<p>DougBetsy: I was just expressing an opinion formed from reading other posters opinions and what they (and I) have heard from our PMS conversations. Often times this information conflicts with what others have reported. I’m not sure even the PMSs have a real handle on how the Army scholarship allocations are going to work THIS year. The one bit of advice that seems unarguably worthwhile to me is that you should make sure that the PMSs at the top 3 schools your son wants to attend knows that they are your top choices and you should try to maintain some ongoing communication with them. </p>
<p>Good luck and I’m sure your son has as much of a chance getting a ROTC scholarship as those of us with some convoluted college list. In the end the best candidates will be selected regardless of our attempts to outwit the system.</p>
<p>hyeonjlee,</p>
<p>My best advice for your situation is to ask the PMS for the battallion what their policy is for allocating scholarships and if they allow candidates to move scholarships within the battallion. Each battallion will have different parameters. Let me explain 3 of our different situations.</p>
<p>1) We are a candidate at one school within this battallion, although there are other schools in this battallion where she could transfer and sit on the bench a bit longer before getting a chance to start. All of the schools in this battallion are state universities with basically the same tuition (within a couple hundred dollars). They teach their classes at each campus, so knowing where an applicant is going to attend is important to balance the load. The ROO explained that this battallion awards for specific campuses and that transfers are not allowed.</p>
<p>2) This huge battallion is hosted at a state flagship, but has a bunch of higher cost private schools and a couple lower cost state U’s within 45 minutes of campus as affilliates. All classes and activities are conducted at the host site. The ROO told us we could freely transfer the scholarship between schools as long as the new school’s tuition was the same as or less than the previous schools, as it doesn’t hurt their budget nor does it interfere with the program operation.</p>
<p>3) This third battallion is hosted at a large private school with affilliates that are both privates and publics. They host all of their activities and classes on their host campus. However, they allocate their scholarships on a campus by campus basis with a couple of campuses sharing a small pool of scholarships. They do not allow students to change schools unless it is within that small pool (unlikely as these schools have different specialties).</p>
<p>So as you can see, battallions can have different rules for scholarship awards and transfers based upon their program operations and financials. I think your best move is to talk to the ROO and tell him/her that your son has an interest in 3 of the schools in the unit and ask if or how they allocate their scholarships between the schools and if/how they transfer students between the campuses if/when admissions decisions come into the picture.</p>
<p>Even with this answer there are some decisions to be made. The degree of inflexibility of use of the scholarship within the unit may help you determine the order of your preferences.</p>
<p>It would be nice if the high cost school was the “relative safety” school from the admissions perspective, as it would allow a slide down the cost chain for the scholarship if higher schools admitted after the fact. My guess is that this isn’t the case.</p>
<p>I can see this becoming a very complicated situation. I do think that you will want to talk to your son extensively about what is important in his school choice and together sit down with the ROO and ask these questions. It is OK if your son has not finalized his choices and it is good to tell the ROO this. They really want to have the kids at the school they most want to be at, whenever this is possible. They should be more than willing to discuss the strenghts and weaknesses of your son’s application and give him an idea of where they see him fitting into their battallion. You are going to have to trust them on this. And this is a good thing, as you are going to have to trust them with your son for 4 years. We have found that the more information you can give, the more good will you can build with an ROO.</p>
<p>It is best not to play a game, but to understand how the process works and how your son fits into the process. It is not necessarily perfect (as you can see from the appearant hiccups in this year’s processing), but it really is the best way to get the best outcome.</p>
<p>These are things you probably already know though. Having read a bit of your posting history, I can tell you that you are the type of people that ROOs like to deal with. My advice though is to not be afraid to ask detailed questions as long as you give them good reasons why you ask them. They really want to help good people.</p>
<p>Wow…all I can say is thank goodness Navy was SO much simpler. Good Luck to all of you and your kids.</p>
<p>Oh, and BTW, I am hardly a sage. Just another parent who is discovering that “experience is the thing you get just after you need it”. Hoping to pass along our experiences and share with the others going through it with us and after us. Been doing that over on the Boarding School threads for about 4 years. Hope to stick around here for a while as well.</p>
<p>goaliedad and aglages,</p>
<p>Thank you so much for sharing your insight. It is <em>greatly</em> appreciated.</p>
<p>I hope to help others also as I am getting a bit more clueful.</p>
<p>I wish you much luck for your kids’ scholarship application.</p>
<p>You’re welcome and I wish you and yours success and a Merry Christmas.</p>
<p>Thank you for all that you share here at College Confidential (not to be confused with thath other CC Cadet Command) and wishing your son a successful application when his time comes.</p>
<p>Quick update. My daughters’s status on the ROTC application web site change to DODMERB tonight. I think that means she has some level of scholarship, but we don’t know where, or any other details.</p>
<p>Good luck everyone!</p>
<p>My daughter’s status changed to the following also:
“You may check your medical qualification status by visiting the Department of Defense Medical Examination Review Board DoDMERB WebSite”</p>
<p>DodMERB status here, too. :)</p>
<p>Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue.</p>
<p>I believe that means the next step is to schedule her for a physical or if she has had one, it probably means they are still waiting for results. I don’t think they’ll be considering whether to offer her a scholarship until they have her entire packet complete. DODMERB stands for Dept. of Defense Medical Review Board.</p>
<p>Has anyone received any word from a college ROTC unit about whether they are being offered a slot at a college?</p>
<p>The Army Scholarship Status site has been updated again. It now lists the colleges that you have been approved. Good Luck!</p>