Regarding NROTC

Paying for College
1

<p>Hey guys so I'm back with the same dilemma from my previous post. The school that said would place my financial aid back did but made a non resident because i was living out of state temporally. I would have to pay 10k to attend! In other news, I found out about the NROTC scholarship. Since I plan on joining the navy after I graduate to receive its benefits ( tuition, stipend of 750 for books, all mandatory fees, and 300+ monthly cash ) would be great! I found out some colleges that offer room & board scholarship for the receipts of this NROTC scholarship. I was wondering though that if I receive the NROTC scholarship and the room & board scholarship from the school would I be required to fill out the FAFSA? I would basically would be paying for the very little bills I have and maybe for some books. I know about the dependency override I just need a plan B in case it doesn't get accepted and it works in with my life goals. I asked one the financial aid officer and she really just confused me, he is her version to try to clarify but I don't know why she started talking about Federal aid.
"Sorry for the confusion that my previous email has caused. The FAFSA is not required as part of your admission, university scholarships or the ROTC program acceptance. It only affects your ability to receive federal financial aid. Without your parent's information, you will only be eligible for federal Stafford Unsubsidized loan funds based on your year in school. As a freshman, you would be eligible for $5,500. Second year students will receive $6,500 and third and fourth year students will receive $7,500.</p>

<p>We also have a special circumstance appeal process that would require you to complete the FAFSA (without your parent's information). Then you would complete the appeal form and send a letter explaining the situation. Your appeal will be assigned to a financial aid counselor who will process your appeal and bring up to the appeal board for consideration. More information about the appeal process can be found on our website"
Here are some of the schools that offer Room & board for its receipt of the scholarship:
- Jacksonville University
- IIT
- University of San Diego
- college of holy cross ( room only ) </p>

<p>So again just to clarify I just wanna know if this is a feasible option. If you guys could give some colleges that you know that offer a room & board scholarship to ANY branch of the ROTC ( preference for NROTC ) would be greatly appreciated also!
Thanks </p>

2

<p>@kelsmom i remember you work in financial aid, your input would be greatly appreciated and benefital! </p>

3

<p>You should fill out the FAFSA even though it is NOT needed for NROTC scholarships. Many merit awards do not need a FAFSA on file either. It’s up the the individual school as to whether or not they require a FAFSA to be filed in order to get their merit scholarships. As for those schools that give NROTC scholarship recipients free room and board or any other beneifts, it’s again up to the schools as to what they require for a student to get those awards, and, yes, they can require a FAFSA, It depends upon the school.</p>

<p>The FAFSA is needed if you are going to get any federal college aid including subsidized loans and work study. It is possible that if you get the NROTC award, and other awards, that it will replace some federal or school awards. As a rule, you cannot double dip, though I believe PELL is an entitlement and you can get that on top of other aid and awards. If you have not been awarded any NROTC awards, or other major scholarships, it is especially important that you complete the FAFSA in order to get any federal and college financial aid available. NROTC scholarships are extremely competive and you can’t count on getting one When you have offer in hand, you can then think about how al your awards have to integrate. Right now, you don’t have anything, do you? So yes, you do have to fill out all the forms and see what pans out. </p>

<p>I am a bit hazy as to what your situation is. Do you qualify as an independent student due to having been homeless or some other such reason? If that is the case, the response you quoted from the fin aid officer is not correct. Do make sure that the fin aid office is clear that you are an independent student, and that you are not applying for aid as a dependent student whose parents refuse to fill out the FAFSA There is a big difference in entitlements and opportunities many times whether you are dependent or independent. </p>

<p>YOu are late to be hitting the NROTC scholarship process unless you’ve already applied It’s not a quick process. You need to sit and do some very quick and thorough reading to see if this is even an option for you. The same with other ROTC awards Bear in mind that these are not slam dunk awards, but are extremely competitive. </p>

<p>So no, you do not have to fill out a FAFSA to be in the running for ROTC scholarships, but because they are not guaranteed, you had better fill out FAFSA so you are in line to get fin aid. </p>

<p>Where are you right now in terms of college, a freshman, a transfer, a senior in high school, a high school grad on a gap year? Are you independent? I am a bit confused here.</p>

4

<p>You didn’t explain your state residency problem very well. What state do your parents reside in or are you over 24? If you are having trouble paying for school and plan a military career, some states will pay 100% of your in state tuition if you join the National Guard. I believe you can move to a state with a better deal and join the guard there. Here’s a list:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.gxonline.com/careers/tuition-assistance-state-state”>http://www.gxonline.com/careers/tuition-assistance-state-state&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

5

<p>The are a few other NROTC colleges and universities which provide room and board, or a dorm room.
These include:</p>

<ul>
<li>Tulane University, free room and board</li>
<li>Rhodes College in Memphis, free room and board</li>
<li>Westminster College in Utah, free room and board</li>
<li>University of Rochester, free room and board</li>
<li>Rochester Institute of Technology, free room and board</li>
<li><p>Milwaukee School of Engineering, free room and board</p></li>
<li><p>Marquette University, $7000 toward room and board</p></li>
<li><p>Fordham University in NYC, free room</p></li>
<li><p>Drexel University, free room plus 25% discount off their meal plans</p></li>
<li><p>Boston University, competitive free room and board (about 50% get this)</p></li>
</ul>

<p>At University of San Diego, you do not get the free room and board until your second semester. You are only guaranteed 50% of room and board, the remainder is a “work-study” type situation where you work about 8 or 10 hours per week for USD. Still a wonderful deal, because I figured that basically the pay equals about $25 per hour.</p>

<p>Also, remember that the Navy has final say on where you attend. You give them a list of 5 schools which you are willing to attend. One of those has to be an in state public university, and there is a very high chance that the Navy will send you to the state university. I am aware of only one state university with NROTC which provides free room and board – LSU, but the NROTC classes are actually about 10 miles away at Southern University A&M. If you are not a resident of Louisiana, this might not be your best choice.</p>

<p>Finally, given your situation, if college does not pan out, perhaps it would work out to simply join the Navy. Typically the Navy will pay 100% of tuition while you earn a degree. Some people do this via online degree programs. Penn State has an outstanding online undergraduate program.
<a href=“Find Careers in the U.S. Navy | Navy.com”>Find Careers in the U.S. Navy | Navy.com;
<a href=“Bachelor's Degrees Online - Penn State World Campus”>http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/degrees-and-certificates/directory/undergraduate/bachelor&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I knew a guy in the Air Force who got his degree through the Penn State World Campus. Probably a little easier in the AF than the Navy. Internet access might be extremely limited on a ship at sea.</p>

6

<p>Yes, you still have time to apply for the NROTC scholarship. The deadline is January 31st.</p>

7

<p>@cptofthehouse‌ I received independent status for my homeless because I managed to get documents from the 2013 - 2014 school year from my high school liaison. It won’t be valid if I take a gap year because the FAFSA will update. I can try for a dependency override but it is not guarenteed each year. The response I quoted was about the NROTC question. I am currently in a gap year ( high school graduate ).
@ so around March I became homeless and it led to me becoming migratory. I was in California for some time because traveling to Massachusetts where I stayed with an aunt who let me go back to school. I took the English credit I need to graduated and applied it to my former school allowing me to graduate on time. However when it came time verification of homeless the documents showed I was in Massachusetts. I’m still in contact with the financial aid seeing if they can change it for me.
@NROTCgrad thank you so much for the information! </p>

8

<p>Glad to help. See the following link for more information on the Navy’s tuition assistance program:
<a href=“https://www.navycollege.navy.mil/ta_info.aspx#eligibility”>https://www.navycollege.navy.mil/ta_info.aspx#eligibility&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;