<p>My son is going to be a college freshman in the fall. He has been offered a 4 year Army ROTC scholarship. He applied for a NROTC scholarship, but was not offered one. The Navy is his 1st choice. At this point, he is seriously considering joining the NROTC program at his school as a college programmer with the hope of earning a 3 year scholarship. Money-wise, we can afford to pay for some of his college. I am wondering how difficult it is to earn a NROTC scholarship as a college programmer. I am sure he will be competing with others with the same intention. I would really appreciate any insight on this.</p>
<p>Ma'am, Whether to pursue NROTC all depends on the local unit at his school.</p>
<p>At some schools they are fully subscribed - they are out of space in the boat - and can't even offer scholarships to all the qualified kids that want to go there. Some have a waiting list, and will let kids in Sophomore or even Jr year. Some have "candidate status" for those contending for a slot.</p>
<p>At other schools they are running under their allocated headcount - there is empty boatspace. In those units, one of the officer instructors (usually Navy LTs, or more rarely USMC Captains) is in charge of recruiting. Their job is to find viable candidates to build the unit up to their authorized count. These dynamics can change from year to year, depending on whether the college admissions office blesses or holds out on the Navy unit.</p>
<p>My son just graduated and was commissioned from a school where the Naval ROTC unit was very actively recruiting. They had a few freshman and sophomore kids in candidate status, and the assigned officer was looking for more. Of course, the NROTC service obligations will apply to those recruits; and they have to be interviewed, and ultimately accepted by the local unit command. There may well be peer input. And of course the candidate must be on top of the PFT.</p>
<p>The NROTC unit at his school was run in a consortium setup with two other schools in the area, and I am not sure if there was active recruiting for the other two (much larger) schools. One of the schools had a very large USMC presence of prior enlisted in the MECEP program, as well as NROTC midshipmen. </p>
<p>The NROTC scholarship is, to be sure, a very competitive scholarship, and a lot rides on the take of the local officer that did the interview. </p>
<p>I would urge your son to get in touch with the NROTC unit at the school, and ask to speak with the recruiting officer. He should express his interest early. Also, he should try and link up with some of the students in the unit; getting a perspective from members from all four classes will give him a good perspective on how the unit works, since the dynamics differ from school to school, and from year to year. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>As Ct said, every sch. is different. My NROTC S started out his freshman year with 24 scholarship mids and 3 non-scholarship. I'm sure there was a quota. There were several MECEP prior enlisteds in his unit also.
I don't think S's unit actively recruits. It's a large state u. that gets lots of apps. </p>
<p>Contact his school and ask. That way you can get the ball rolling if's it's a possibility. S had to report a week early for NROTC Orientation before all the regular college kids moved in. I recall there was a lot of NROTC paperwork to be filled out that summer before freshman yr.</p>
<p>Thank you CT and PackMom!!! That is good advice! Does anyone know if it is permissible to be part of the NROTC College Program while having applied for the NROTC 4 year scholarship? I've heard different opinions and I'm not sure what is correct.</p>
<p>I would not think being turned down for the 4 yr. NROTC would preclude him from joining as a college programmer but again, it prob. depends entirely upon the need of the unit. His best bet to contact the NROTC unit at his school and discuss it as soon as possible.</p>
<p>The dynamics of each school are different. Some schools are full up from day one, others - especially the more selective, big tuition private schools - may have available slots. (exception: Notre Dame seems to run full up, and is very competitive for both general admission and NROTC). </p>
<p>TYour son needs to get in touch with the NROTC unit at his intended school, soon after he arrives. Let them clear through the push of their pre-orientation program for the planned incoming NROTC frosh, and then urge him to get in touch with the unit and speak to either the freshman class officer (Navy LT, most likely), or the unit recruiting officer.</p>
<p>One key thing: He needs to be in shape, ready to pass or come real close on the PFT. If he was an athlete in high school, this will likely not be a problem - but he can't turn into a bedpost blob over the summer. And he needs to have the medical stuff squared away - hopefully he made it through DODMERB in the push last fall. This all helps, and can raise the interest of the unit officer cadre in his potential candidacy. </p>
<p>The population and budge dyanmics of each NROTC unit can differ according to local circumstances, budget structures, and the ever fluctuating Needs of the Navy and Marines.</p>
<p>My son's school had a small-ish NROTC unit, that used to be bigger. I gather they used to run about 12 in a class, his class had 8 (started with 9 or 10), and two behind is a class of 3. I think they have gotten back up to 6 or 7. A lot of this depends on the luck of the draw with the Admissions Office, and on decisions of individual kids. The NROTC unit was by far the biggest of the three ROTC service units at his school, for whatever reasons of history and preference. </p>
<p>The Unit officers - Navy and Marine - seemed to be very conscious of the need to keep up the numbers, and were recruiting to fill available slots from the student population. On the face, it is a <em>very</em> good offer - free tuition for three or two years - at a school where tuition is very high. The Navy also covered many of that school's very extensive and inventive additional fees. </p>
<p>One structural thing to look at - and you can find it out from the NROTC national web site that lists schools with NROTC programs - is whether there is a single unit with other schools covered as "cross town" participants - or whether each school has it's own distinct unit. I am guessing, but I think this has a major impact on the way they count heads and allocate budgets for tuition. The Naval command officer unit was shared between the three schools in his area as one - but there was a distinct command structure at each school for officers and students, and apparently a distinct head count and budget pool. </p>
<p>In contrast, in Cambridge, MA there is a single unit that is based at MIT, and serves Harvard and Tufts as a cross town units. As best I can tell from the Navy ROTC web site, and having watched those units over a few years, that means there is a single student group that shares out / contends for the midshipman officer duties. However, all three schools are private and the tuitions are essentially equally stratospheric. </p>
<p>Local situations will differ, and it can be hard to generalize. But as best I can tell, the officers of each unit are motivated to keep their units at or close to full head count. </p>
<p>One general point based on my own observation: The services are most interested in people that WANT to serve. Not who want a scholarship, not who want a job - but who want to serve. Genuine and committed interest counts for a lot - and persistence in pursuit of a strongly held and desired objective will count for a great deal. If your son genuinely and deeply wants to SERVE in the Navy or Marines - and can convey that desire convincingly in repeated conversations - then he has the required basis for being a contender. The recruiting officers don't want clock punchers or scholie takers that will dive out the door when the going gets tough - they want someone who can be flexible, adaptive and respond to the changing needs of the services, for the sake of the Service they hope to provide.</p>
<p>So again - check with the officers in the unit. Convey interest, commitment, and polite persistence, and hang in there.</p>
<p>^^^Very good advice. Persistance will go a long ways with the Officers in the Unit. The attrition rate can be high so if they say "no" for freshman (or for first semester) year, there may be a spot for soph. yr. As a freshman S's class had 27. Now that he's a senior his class is down to 12.</p>
<p>Well, my s has submitted his college program application and we are waiting to hear back. The Army scholarship money is hard to turn down. But after all is said, we agree that it's more important for son to follow his dream of being in the navy. Thank you all!</p>
<p>1989Mom, Best of luck to your S. My S is going into his senior yr. of NROTC. It has been a great program. He is on his 1C summer crusie right now.</p>
<p>Thank you for the encouragement PackMom! I really appreciate your input, as well as CT's. Best to you all!</p>