Scholarships for this student?

Parent Cafe
1

<p>I know this is the parent's forum, but I am not sure that any of the big scholarships in the f. aid section of CC would be appropriate for this student, so I am hoping to tap into the wisdom of experienced parents.</p>

<p>Said young man is a graduating senior. He's one of the kindest, most humble and hard working young men I know. He's earned an ROTC scholarship but was really hoping for the service academies and it doesn't look like it's going to happen. ROTC will pay tuition at his in state school choices and about 1/2 the costs of VMA. He would still need about 21K, though.</p>

<p>Strongest areas:</p>

<p>Congressional nomination
Student body treasurer
Two sports (team captain of JV in freshman year)
Worship leader at church (and some paid jobs)
High level life guard-works during the year and full time for the state during summer)
Lifetime musician and singer with several leading roles in MT
28 college credits including EMT class</p>

<p>His SAT was 1900, u/w GPA was 3.8, has taken 7 AP classes and 4 AP exams (scores of 3s and 4s)</p>

<p>I found a Teacher's Union scholarship to which he can apply (his mom's a teacher).</p>

<p>Other ideas out there for scholarships?</p>

<p>Feel free to PM or post here.</p>

2

<p>Free ride at Prairie View A&M (3.2 college GPA needed to keep):
[University</a> Scholarships](<a href=“http://www.pvamu.edu/pages/2154.asp]University”>http://www.pvamu.edu/pages/2154.asp)</p>

<p>Deadline is June 1 (but check if the scholarship has an earlier deadline):
[Application</a> Procedure](<a href=“http://www.pvamu.edu/pages/7853.asp]Application”>http://www.pvamu.edu/pages/7853.asp)</p>

<p>Army and Navy ROTC:
[Army</a> ROTC Home](<a href=“http://www.pvamu.edu/pages/6209.asp]Army”>http://www.pvamu.edu/pages/6209.asp)
[NROTC</a> at Prairie View A&M University](<a href=“http://www.pvamu.edu/pages/401.asp]NROTC”>http://www.pvamu.edu/pages/401.asp)</p>

3

<p>I don’t think Prairie View is the right place for this student. I think he’s going to go to VMI (Virginia Military Institute) and then reapply to the military academies next year, but he still needs money to cover his costs this year.</p>

<p>I did some searching on College Board and did find a handful of scholarships based on his profile. One was particularly generous but the deadline is April 1st.</p>

4

<p>With an April 1 deadline, he should start on it quickly…</p>

<p>Would the in-state schools be affordable with the ROTC scholarship paying the tuition? (leaving room, board, books, etc. expenses)</p>

<p>Also check whether these outside scholarships are one year only versus renewable. If not renewable, and he does not get into an academy the following year*, that may be a problem if he cannot afford to continue at the VMI or whatever school without the outside scholarships.</p>

<p>*Note that the academies do not take transfers, but do allow those who have attended college to apply as frosh/plebes who would then study for four years at the academy if they are admitted and enroll.</p>

5

<p>If money is an issue, has he contemplated taking a year off, raising that SAT score (or getting a better ACT score), and applying to the merit-aid list? He’s definitely close enough that he might be able to pull that off.</p>

6

<p>would have to figure out act/sat but until May 1…
not sure what you are looking for , ie what major etc…but UAB in birmingham is still accepting applications and providing merit to oos students…if he got the blazer elite it would leave him with about 10K to pay (blazer elite is 15k per year…total cost of attendance is 25K) you can get that number lower with lower meal plan and less travel, used books etc. 11k undergrads, urban campus, very high research school, 49 different majors, dorms are full apartments or suites. if you would like more info, feel free to pm </p>

<p>OOS students:
To be eligible for academic scholarships at UAB, students must be admitted by May 1. New freshmen are automatically considered for all university-wide academic scholarships upon admission to UAB. All scholarships are awarded as funds are available and are renewable for four years. The last scores that we will consider for scholarship purposes are the December ACT and SAT test scores from your senior year in high school.
Blazer Elite Scholarship
$15,000
Based on academic achievement (28-36 ACT and at least 3.0 GPA)</p>

<p>Blazer Gold Scholarship
$10,000
Based on academic achievement (26-27 ACT and at least 3.0 GPA)</p>

<p>Blazer Pride Scholarship
$5,000
Based on academic achievement (24-25 ACT and at least 3.0 GPA)</p>

<p>Students receiving UAB merit-based scholarships are required to live on campus for their first year of enrollment. (Don’t roll your eyes. Have you seen UAB student housing? Nice. Very.) For more information, review the Freshman Scholarship Residency Policy.</p>

7

<p>This is coming from a mom who had 2 sons receive 6 appts to different service academies in 2 years (3 each).</p>

<p>UCB is correct, the academies do not accept transfers. But they will accept those with college credit. So the purpose in reapplying would be to better his chances for the academy and not incur any additional expense. If he is determined the academy vs. ROTC, then attending his local CC and upping his GPA and SAT scores would better serve him.</p>

<p>It also depends on what state he is in. Some state are much more competitive for appts than other states. Each MOC has only so many open slots for students at any one time at each academy. If he is from an “impacted” region it might not make any difference if he reapplies. </p>

<p>It is his math SAT that counts, the higher the better. And as far as ROTC scholie there are schools that will grant room and board in addition to the ROTC scholie covering tuition. Sons’ ROTC scholie were at MIT, Princeton and Yale.</p>

<p>Again the question really is does he want to serve any way he can or is he set on being a ring knocker? I don’t know if the ROTC scholie will go to his committment once he is at the academy?</p>

<p>Kat
was his appt waiting on a waiver? For eyes, asthma or anything health-related? one more question, has he heard from the academies with a no or spoken with his MOC?</p>

8

<p>Thank-you all for your comments. This is just such a quality young man of great character. I really want to see him succeed in his heart’s desire.</p>

<p>Kat,</p>

<p>My understanding is that he has until April 10th before the door closes, meaning, I don’t think he’s heard no. There are two others at his high school that have gotten in the academies; both are superstar athletes. He’s a good athlete but not a superstar.</p>

<p>His math SAT was 700 and he wants to major in math or aero/nuclear engineering. He’s taken Calc I, Calc II, Linear Algebra, and Discrete Math, all with As.</p>

<p>He’s in California. I believe he applied to two private Christian colleges here and the ROTC would cover tuition in state.</p>

<p>So, you’re saying it’s better to do CC than to accept VMI and try to reapply as a freshman next year?</p>

<p>Yes, he really seems to want one of the academies. (And I am so unfamiliar with them, I can’t remember which he really wanted but I think it’s in Annapolis; is that the Naval Academy?)</p>

<p>His parents have been hands off and he’s quite independent. He does attend a good public school and I am guessing he got excellent letters of rec since he did get a congressional nomination.</p>

<p>What would he do if he took a gap year?</p>

9

<p>VMI has a wonderful and proud tradition and I don’t know that once he is there that he would want to leave. I expect it would be difficult. Different branches of service value and perceive their “academy” grads differently. Hard to explain. And different warfare communities see them differently as well.</p>

<p>I mentioned the CC because it would cost little in CA and he would have the opportunity to raise his GPA even higher and hopefully up the math SAT score. Sons’ scores were 760 and 780. Their verbals were also above 700.</p>

<p>And now that some branches of service do not need as many junior officers there is not as many openings to fill. USNA (both sons received apts., one attended) has a relatively new mission (more urban combat readiness) and has increased their need for Marine officers. They have also limited non-tier 1 majors to no more than 30%. So everything not engineering.</p>

<p>And no matter how much math or other coursework he does before the academy he will still spend 4 years there, regardless. He can place into higher level coursework but it will not change is overall rank nor up his chances for service selection time.</p>

<p>When you are at the academy you are in the military. What you do is based on the needs of the service. Even your major. Whether they do your eyes or not. They decide, not you. They dictate what you wear, when you wear it, when you walk, when you run.</p>

<p>Being in CA can be difficult it is one of the roughest states to get an appt from. Just the sheer numbers. Same as with med school acceptances, its just the numbers.</p>

<p>The gap year would give him time just to strengthen his application but I honestly do not know how much of a difference it would make. And his reapplication would be that. He would need to re-apply again all over again. </p>

<p>I haven’t had the time but maybe if he sorted through what schools give matching room and board with the ROTC that still have openings would be worth it to look. I know you can call the various ROTC offices at each school and ask who still have openings for a full ROTC scholie. Kind of like the med school residency SOAP scramble. And the ROTC office can have some pull with admissions.</p>

<p>There is a whole politic about ROTC placements for service selection. Different schools have better placement success than others for service selection. Some do better with aviation than SWO, some do EOD better subs…all depends on prep and the instructors. But at the academy YOU must pick a warfare community and with ROTC you can select out of warfare…ie intelligence or languages.</p>

<p>Did he apply to only one academy? Does he only want USNA/Navy? I ask because with his stats I am sure the Point would have been VERY interested.</p>

<p>Kat</p>

10

<p>Kat,</p>

<p>I think the problem with VMI is that he would incur too much debt over four years without outside scholarships, thus, my original inquiry.</p>

<p>I know he applied to at least two academies but I don’t know if he applied to West Point (that’s the Point, correct?).</p>

<p>It’s a lot for him to decide on in the next few weeks, that’s for sure. I’ll share some of what you said with his family and him.</p>

11

<p>If ROTC would pay for UC or CSU tuition, would he be able to attend one with an ROTC unit, possibly within commuting range to minimize the room and board expense? (Or did he not apply to them at all?) It looks like VMI may be unaffordable without the outside scholarships. He should be aware how possible debt compares to military pay levels when considering the cost implications of various schools.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, CC does not seem like a great option for him if math is his major, since he has already taken most of the possible math courses at CCs. There may be more course work he could take at CC if he does engineering. CCs are also unlikely to have ROTC units on campus, so doing ROTC while a CC student would likely mean at least commuting to where there is an ROTC unit.</p>

12

<p>Good question ucb. I am pretty sure he didn’t apply to the local UC or any other UC and probably not to the state schools. From what I remember, he applied to the academies and a couple of private Christian schools. I do think their plan was either the academies or community colleges. He wanted this so badly and we all wanted it for him…</p>

<p>Yes, engineering would work at the local CC since he’s not taken any classes.</p>

<p>It seems like his options are:</p>

<p>VMI - try to find outside scholarships (not too likely, though I did find one that would be 4K for four years but that’s the one due on April 1st); could try to reapply to academies after one year at VMI.</p>

<p>In State Christian universities as ROTC student - still would need to come up with 11-12k a year. That’s a possibility.</p>

<p>Take a gap year and reapply. Retake tests and build resume.</p>

<p>Go to the community college and forget the whole ROTC thing.</p>

<p>He’s so busy with school, work, and college classes right now, I just don’t know what can get done.</p>

13

<p>Since he has been awarded the ROTC scholarship, that means he has been assigned a school/ROTC unit. I am assuming he was assigned to VMI. When applying for the scholarship, he would have had to list five school choices. The board then chooses a school and assigns him to that ROTC unit. It is possible to appeal to get his scholarship transferred to one of the other four ROTC units that he would have listed on his ROTC application. He could join that unit(if it is cheaper than VMI) if there is still room in the unit for him and they agree to take him even then he would still have to pay room/board.</p>

<p>Has VMI offered any need based FA? </p>

<p>ROTC scholarships pay for tuition,books,fees, uniforms and they receive a monthly stipend that increases each year he is in the program. My S had a NROTC scholarship so I’m pretty familiar w/ how it works.</p>

14

<p>It looks like the most realistic option financially (in the absence of UC or CSU application or admission, or going to PVAMU or similar late application full ride school) is probably:</p>

<ul>
<li>Go to CC for a year, taking major-prep courses for engineering and (if desired) commuting to an ROTC unit on another campus if it will accept him as a current CC student.</li>
<li>Reapply to the academies next year (they accept frosh/plebe applications even if the applicant already has college work, so no need to do a gap year for this purpose). Attend the academy of choice if admitted.</li>
<li>If not, go to CC for another year, applying to UC and CSU schools as a transfer student (may be doable in the first year if he has a lot of courses complete already). ROTC is, of course, a possibility at many UC and CSU campuses.</li>
</ul>

<p>Not sure which “Christian universities” he got admitted to, but math and engineering course offerings may need to be checked, since he is very ahead in math (like your son). (PVAMU has ABET-accredited engineering, but math seems to be limited.) $11-12k would be a stretch for a student to come up with from work earnings and small (Stafford) loans.</p>

15

<p>I know West Point has a prep school on post. I do not know about the other academies nor do I know how students are selected to attend the prep schools. Perhaps he could ask about prep schools. If my son were in the position of this young man, the prep school would have been a great option. </p>

<p>My son’s ROTC detachment paid his room charge for his first year and the cadets can earn free board. I would ask about that as well.</p>