<p>My rising senior has just completed her Officer Interview. The application lists her 5 choices in priority order.</p>
<p>This is a fictitious list that will serve to illustrate my question:</p>
<ol>
<li>Vanderbilt</li>
<li>University of San Diego (almost a co-#1 choice) ... this one is real.</li>
<li>University of Florida</li>
<li>Holy Cross</li>
<li>Fordham</li>
</ol>
<p>I'm hoping someone here has gone through this process recently. My understanding of the process is this:</p>
<ol>
<li>Scholarship Committee meets in August, Sept, October, etc.</li>
<li>Scholarship Committee awards a Scholarship for use at Vanderbilt or at cross town affiliates Tennessee State University and Belmont University.</li>
<li>Student is rejected at Vanderbilt, and has no interest in Tennessee St. or Belmont.</li>
</ol>
<p>Can this Vanderbilt-rejected student then ask the NROTC to have the Vanderbilt Unit Scholarship transferred to the University of San Diego NROTC Unit? </p>
<p>How this works exactly might influence whether my rising senior switches the order of Choice #1 (Top 50 school, low match for admittance), and Univ. of San Diego, which is more of a Safety for admission. </p>
<p>It would be a shame to lose the opportunity to use the NROTC Scholarship at USD just because the more selective 1st choice didn't work out in admissions .. if that is in fact how the system works.</p>
<p>Short answer is YES your rising senior can ask NROTC to transfer her scholarship to a different NROTC school. Whether the NROTC will do this will depend on whether there is room in the “new” unit.</p>
<p>Agree. it’s a puzzle-piecing process. Putting Plebes into places where there are billets. Also, budget comes into play since the expense is light years difference between a Vandy and Tenn St.; or a Notre Dame and Michigan (for in-staters). So, not quite as clear-cut as “space available/acceptance/rejection” issues. Thus, NROTC folks would LOVE IT if billets available all around that San Diego (preferably STATE and a CA resident) were the choice vs. Vandy. They could pick 2 or 3 additional winners w/ the $$ saved. Conversely, one should not choose Alabama St. in lieu of Harvard, to attempt to scoop the ROTC system.</p>
<p>I would call the NROTC units at the individual schools before choosing your list. I spoke to the USD Unit last month and they said that they fill up by October each year. If you wait to hear from “Vanderbilt” you will almost certainly lose the option to go to USD with NROTC. Does your first choice also fill up early? Some Units never fill up and it’s easy to switch in April or May. I disagree that budget plays into it. San Diego State and USD are the same Unit, the scholarship is to the Unit and they don’t ask which school you have been accepted to (or applied) before you receive the scholarship. Our son got into his reach school in April, decided to attend right before the May 1 deadline and transferred his Unit within a day or so since his reach school NROTC Unit never fills up. Other schools can be months long waiting list and may never open up. Call the school Unit to find out when they fill up and if they take off their waiting list (for NROTC not Admissions). If your first choice school fills up later or usually takes off their waiting list due to NROTC scholarship students not getting in, then I would switch. NROTC gives scholarships according to the list that students provide without regard as to the chance of admission into the school. Some schools, like Notre Dame, fill up early but they pull off the waiting list since many who get the scholarship to that Unit can’t get into the school. You get off the waiting list in the order you went on, not by scores, gpa, etc.</p>
<p>I’m trying to come to grips with the reality that failure to gain admission to #1 choice on the application also means no realistic fall back to #2 choice USD… risky.</p>
<p>I suppose we face forks in the road like this all the time, I just don’t think my rising senior has ever had to… a high risk high reward for choice #1, or low risk, medium high reward for choice #2…</p>
<p>I don’t even know how to advise another person how to balance risk/reward… it’s such a personal equation.</p>
<p>I can tell you my son put his #2 (match) school at the top of his NROTC list. He will apply EARLY to ALL of the colleges on his list and hope for the best. If he gets:
A. An early NROTC scholarship
B. An early acceptance to his #1 (reach) college
He will attempt to transfer his scholarship to his #1 choice. If there isn’t room (over the next 7-8 months) at #1, he will still have an acceptance at #2 and a scholarship…making him far more fortunate than many others.
Good luck!</p>
<p>i didnt get into my #1 school, but then got my scholarship transferred to my school no problem. just call the nrotc people and the nrotc unit. and Whistle Pig, we are not plebes ;)</p>
<p>Our Son applied for his NROTC Scholarship for the class of 2011 when the system opened in April. When do you hear from the Navy on their decision and how - email, phone call?</p>
<p>Usually you hear 1-2 weeks after the board meets. You can check the DoDMERB site, the NROTC scholarship site or wait for a letter. The letter often takes more than 1-2 weeks to receive. Good luck!</p>
<p>When S applied 6 years ago (can’t believe it’s been that long), he sent his app. in late Aug. and saw on the website that he was approved for scholarship in late Oct.<br>
His best friend was later in applying and the wait was much longer.</p>
<p>In the end USD was put as the #1 choice … around 8/12 if I recall, at which date the application was complete and showed online that USD was #1 in rank order. Ultimately it was decided that USD and the other more selective school were about equally preferred (though one more prestigious), so no point in taking the risk. Serving as a naval officer is after all more prestigious than acceptance at any university, anywhere.</p>
<p>NYeagle22 –</p>
<p>Now, another poster on another Service Academy website has posted, and one person confirmed a few days ago that the NROTC scholarship committee did NOT meet in late August after all. So the earliest anyone will find out, assuming their application is in the first (presumably late Sept. meeting) is around the 2nd week of October. Another thread last year on this site indicates that the notification comes via the internet application website, where the Application Status verbiage changes from “application complete” to "Congratulations … etc. Then 2-4 weeks later the paper mail confirmation arrives. Last year notification changes were always on a Wednesday.</p>
<p>Hi I’m actually applying for the NROTC, I’m almost done I just have to get my transcript and my evaluations in. But, since I’ll be in the October board, do you think I will get into USD because it is my first choice?</p>