<p>Does anyone have any experiences to relate regarding the NROTC program at Penn State? My son is interested in applying for a NROTC scholarship and would like to hear anything about the program there and any successful scholarship attempts. Thank you for any thoughts.</p>
<p>KM: My niece is in the program; she has a partial scholarship, from what I hear. She has excellent stats: 1400+ SAT and was third in her graduating h.s. class and is OOS. She absolutely loves the program and her ROTC classes are her favorites (she is an engineering major).</p>
<p>My son will be attending PSU in the fall and will be in NROTC. He received a 4 year scholarship (Marine option) but may not be able to use it as each NORTC unit is limited as to the number of scholarship kids it can have enrolled at a given time. But they seek scholarships along the way for dedicated kids so I'm hoping it will all work out.</p>
<p>As for NROTC (cant speak for other branches) we have been very impressed by what we've seen so far. It;s a large unit, and has an excellent reputation. </p>
<p>We were up at UP a few weeks ago for an introductory meeting, and I was very pleased to hear that they really sit on the freshmen midshipmen in the form of mandatory study halls in the evening, morning PT (physical training) and a sit-down with the XO (Executive Officer) in the case of malfeasance (poor grades, underage drinking, etc.) So during a time when my freshmen show up for college and go haywire, the ROTC program will be keeping tabs on my son - something from which I would have benefited my first year.</p>
<p>Not that you are, but I encourage you not to look at ROTC as a scholarship vehicle or for other dubious motives. The dedication required will wilt a kid not interested in the military aspects of ROTC, not to mention the commitment to the military. Other parents at the meeting said that some kids drop before leaving the week-long orientation at Ft. Indiantown Gap that takes palce the week before classes start. Some kids show up completley out of shape, and some clearly did not understand that ROTC required a high level of commitment. </p>
<p>I encourage you to visit the school and meet with the ROTC people and learn more yourself. We have been very pleased with the professionalism.</p>
<p>A few more items I forgot to mention. The NROTC scholarshp kids are required to take 2 semesters of physics and 2 of calculus. This is because the Navy is increasinly engineering and technically oriented. (THe Marine option scholarships do not carry this requirement, but are fewer in number and harder to get.)</p>
<p>My son is more oriented to English, history, etc. He would have a tough time with the Navy scholarship requirements. It's something to keep in mind. </p>
<p>Check ou the NROTC web site on the PSU site. The NROTC administrator's name is Shawnie Butts. She's very capable and can perhaps assist you with more info. There is also a ton of info on the NROTC scholarships on-line. </p>
<p>ALso keep in mind that rather rigorous physical requirements mush be passed to gain the scholarship. Deficiencies such as poor eyesight, joint problems, or other issues require "waivers". </p>
<p>The scholarship process is fairly straightforward, but full of little complexities to overcome, so study the on-line stuff carefully and you;ll have a good idea of what is involved.</p>
<p>Is the NROTC website working? The last time I checked (a few weeks ago), it didn't work.</p>
<p>No, we are not looking at it as a scholarship vehicle only. It is just that my son is so certain he wants a career in the Navy. So if he is going to give them his life for at least 8 years, we would like some help.
Thanks for your replies so far...still reading.</p>
<p>So do you think for next year that the NROTC scholarships will be full again? Did you get a feel for how many upperclassmen are in the unit. He's kinda focusing on Penn State because it is but not too far away from home as some of the other schools in the program that he could get into.</p>
<p>kevinsmom - I see no reason to believe that the scholarships would be full next year. In my son's case, the Marines make 2 "cuts", and he was advised of the scholarship in early March - they were on waiting list at that point already.</p>
<p>However, I am told that there is a very high percentage of NROTC kids with solid performance who are on scholarship by the time they are well into the program. </p>
<p>I encourage you to focus first and foremost on the school (for your academic needs and wants) and quality of the NROTC program - let the scholarship take care of itself as you don't really control that anyway. The school is excellent for my son's purposes, and the NROTC program has an excellent reputation. That's a great combinatin for my son, and exactly what he was looking for.</p>
<p>As for the number of upperclassmen, not sure, but you can call S. Butts, the administrator. Her info is on the web site. PSY has a pretty large program, and If I recall correctly NROTC has about 160 in it total, that would imply about 100-120 upperclassmen? I'm guessing. </p>
<p>It sounds as though your son is a junior. If so, you should visit each program as you visit the colleges.</p>
<p>Sorry to be a serial poster, but there is a fair amount of nuance that goes behind the scholarship thing.</p>
<p>When you apply for the Navy scholarship (or Marine) they wil ask you to list your top schools, in terms of preference, on that application. Say you put 5 schools down and get into all 5. They will "assign" the student to the first school on the list. You can ask for that to be changed, but it's helpful if you list those schools in the ideal order for you when the application is submitted. If you do not get into your first pick they will "assign" that scholarship to that top school anyway because they have no way to know who was accepted and who wasn't. (The admissions and schoarship processes are completely independent.) </p>
<p>We did not really understand this, and my son had UVA at the top of his list. Being from OOS he did not have much of a shot at acceptance there. So when he was declined from UVA we had to contact an office in Pensacola and have his scholarship reassigned to PSU (becasue they would have automatically assigned him to UVA based on the application). THAT also took some time. (The same thiing occurred with one of his high school pals who preceded him by a year at PSU.)</p>
<p>So by the time we got notice of the scholarship, and got it reassigned to PSU to get on the waiting list, we were quite late in the process. Not much we could have done about that, but I thought I would share our experience with you as we've just been through it. And it's been a bit confusing and frustrating, as many first attempts are.</p>
<p>Just be aware that the scholarships applications are reviewed, approved, and aministered by the Navy (and Marines), NOT by the colleges. The colleges are simply notified of those who selected that college (as first pick) and who received the scholarship.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your help, hvcc golf. I appreciate any and all experiences you have related. I understand that you should rank your choices on the NROTC application, and it is good to know that you were able to transfer your scholarship to Penn. I think my son is going to rank them as such: Villanova, Penn State, GWU (reach) NC State, University of South Carolina. Was you son interested in Villanova, being from Pennsylvania?</p>
<p>kevinsmom - I sent you a private message.</p>
<p>My son began his education at PSU - Altoona and transferred to main campus this school year (he’s a junior). He chose PSU because he is studying Mech. & Nuclear Engineering. It was not until this past summer that he chose to explore the NROTC. After speaking with them, he decided to apply for the engineering scholarship they still had available. The application was sent to Florida (headquarters?) and came back approved. Given his double major, he had 3 years left and was given a 3-yr. scholarship.</p>
<p>PSU’s NROTC program is one of, if not THE best in the country. It is highly regarded among other programs. It is certainly one of the largest battalions among collegiate groups, and they take their pledge seriously. Given my son’s major, he is really into the experiences and financial benefits the Navy will afford him. We are quite proud of him and he is quite proud to be a part of this. We did not push him - it was his idea and we met with them several times before he made the commitment. If your son would like my son’s address at PSU to ask questions, please let me know.</p>
<p>Plus the above mentioned MIDN throws a mean M1 Garand around. TCBP!</p>
<p>Hello! My son is a high school senior in Kentucky and we were wondering whether all members of the NROTC at Penn State are from the northeast? Also, what does everyone mean by scholarships being “full”? Thank you!</p>
<p>^^
Covers “full” tuition.</p>
<p>Gavinsmom - Did you ever get the information you requested above? If not, or you still have questions, re-post & I’ll do my best to answer them! :)</p>