<p>I get it but you also tied your statement into cost and that doesn’t work. But, again, I know what point you are trying to make. Let’s just please move on.</p>
<p>The OP took her kiddo to visit Georgetown, Wake Forest, UNC (OOS), Duke, Notre Dame…and KNEW she applied to Dartmouth, Cornell’s, BC, Vandy.</p>
<p>ALL of the above have the same sticker price as Wellesley. Clearly the OP KNEW her daughter was applying to $50k plus per year schools…and all competitive ones at that.</p>
<p>ISP what would the OP have done if the kiddo did NOT get accepted to the AFA, but got accepted to any of these…including places where she took the student to visit? </p>
<p>I still,say, there was a tacit approval for this student to apply to expensive private universities.</p>
<p>Wellesley is the only one that accepted her. It’s a great school. It is in the same price point range as ALL of the other schools listed above. </p>
<p>The only reason this is an issue is due to the “free” acceptance to AFA…which I totally agree is NOT free.</p>
<p>supermario10, As you will find, particularly once you become a parent- ideas about what to spend on college are all over the map. Each family handles it differently.</p>
<p>Update everyone. Talk about a call from nowhere…and I mean out of nowhere. D received an e-mail from Army yesterday offering her a 3 year ROTC scholarship. She is planning to accept. She will take ROTC classes through MIT, which Wellesley has a reciprocity agreement with and have a 4 year obligation following graduation from Wellesley. ROTC deal pays for all tuition and she would receive a monthly stipend. Scholarship would start sophomore year. Well, what does everyone have to say to this? I am still in a state of disbelief.</p>
<p>Congrats in the scholarship. However, the only way to get an ROTC scholarship is to apply for it.</p>
<p>Congratulations! But I don’t think it really matters what any of us “have to say to this.”
Your daughter will still have a 4 year obligation after graduation from Wellesley, in exchange for ROTC tuition and stipend. What does SHE think about this? Given that she was having issues with the whole AFA thing, I would want to be sure she was really onboard with this. Has she had any pressure to accept?</p>
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<p>One great thing about ROTC is that one can live much closer to a “normal college life” while getting training to become a military officer. It’s one great thing my NROTC alum cousin raved about while going to college. </p>
<p>However, is your D aware of the commute time it takes to go from Wellesley to MIT? Considering she may need to report with her ROTC unit to start morning exercises as early as 5-6 am…hope she’s prepared to leave extra early from Wellesley to MIT…and that’s assuming there’s a shuttle bus running that early. </p>
<p>She’ll also be giving up summers to train intensively so some internships which could benefit her in Foreign Affairs may not be available. </p>
<p>As for the 4 year obligation, sounds like the Army relaxed their minimal obligation requirements. When my HS classmates and older cousin went/looked into ROTC in the '80s and '90s, it used to be a 5 year minimum active-duty obligation if one accepted any of the scholarships.</p>
<p>Well, I don’t have any cousins that were in ROTC or a service academy but have known parents and college students who went that route. It is not easy and I think it really needs to be something the student wants to do .</p>
<p>My experience is very dated but I knew girls in the 80s who did ROTC at Wellesley; their units were at MIT. I don’t know how they handled the early stuff, but somehow they did it. I remember them in their uniforms on the days they had to go.</p>
<p>It’s a good opportunity, but again, it is a commitment, so I would want to be sure that your D really wants the military aspect. At least if ROTC does not work out for her, she can still stay at the institution (i.e. Wellesley) and get a degree, although she’d still have to pay off her ROTC expenses. Are you all right with paying for Wellesley even if your D ends up dropping ROTC? Does your D want the commitment of ROTC?</p>
<p>Sevmom,</p>
<p>Agreed. However, it is a compromise between maintaining some semblance of a college life and living hardcore military 24/7 from Indoc day till one graduates/leaves. </p>
<p>One thing’s for sure, I doubt the US FSAs, ROTC, or OCS could match the fanaticism or brutality of what took place in the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy as depicted in this scene from a 1957 Japanese film:</p>
<p>[??? - YouTube](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcu4ZP5qTKQ”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcu4ZP5qTKQ</a>)</p>
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<p>If she declines commissioning or otherwise voluntarily leaves ROTC once the scholarship is accepted and taken advantage of, whether she pays those expenses back financially or in the form of enlisted military service is solely at the discretion of the service branch and relevant Defense Department agencies. </p>
<p>In short, it’s out of the parents’/student’s hands. That’s not to say that a well-directed letter from one’s congressperson or senator won’t help…but it’s not guaranteed.</p>
<p>You’re right, cobrat! It’s all relative!</p>
<p>That is great, LaBechtel. For those who wonder if she wants it, one would assume that does, otherwise she wouldn’t have applied for it. I also got my ROTC scholarship in the summer, by that time I’d practically forgotten I’d applied for it. They take awhile sometimes, and your daughter sounds like a strong candidate, so no surprise that she got it.</p>
<p>I don’t know how heavy duty the ROTC training is, maybe classes and drill twice a week? I sincerely doubt it would be at 5am, and summer training may be not be that extensive. Though there is a lot of physical fitness involved, no doubt that will be doable for your athletic daughter. Interesting that it is a three year scholarship. If you pay for the first year, then they pay for the last three…maybe that gives her some time before committing, to learn more about it and spend time with the ROTC unit.</p>
<p>I’m sure there’s some threads on cc with people who are knowledgeable about Army ROTC. Lots of information here.</p>
<p>busdriver, yes, you might “assume” she wanted ROTC because she applied for it. But you might also assume she wanted a service academy since she applied to those as well. And she has clearly changed her mind on that.</p>
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<p>After the turmoil you’ve been going through, it’s not surprising that you are in a state of disbelief. Still, this seems like a perfect solution to your family’s problem so congratulations!</p>
<p>It could be a “perfect solution” if the daughter is happy about it. Have seen kids in families I know thrive in a service academy, VT Corps of Cadets ,VMI. Others have gone off to the same schools and were very unhappy. One VT Corps of Cadet kid stayed in the Corps at VT the whole time but another quickly got out and became a regular student at VT. One kid on one of my kids’s sports teams graduated from the Naval Academy and is now an officer. Another kid,however, (whose dad was a NA grad) lasted less than a year there. This is all anecdotal but it seems hard to predict in advance who is really going to like the ROTC/service academy stuff in advance.</p>
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<p>Indeed. Several SA/ROTC/OCS alums I’ve known/worked with have said they were often surprised at who ended up excelling to the top of the class and who dropped voluntarily/dismissed. </p>
<p>What’s more, not all of it’s necessarily due to lack of intellect, work ethic, etc. </p>
<p>For instance, Senator John S. McCain’s reason for graduating 894/899 in his Annapolis graduating class is most likely probably due to the fact he’s more inclined towards humanities/social sciences and having to cope with what was then an even more of a hardcore engineering/STEM environment than it has been within the last 3 decades. </p>
<p>Recalled reading somewhere he visited and had a strong preference for attending Princeton and studying history…but family tradition and possible pressure meant he went off to Annapolis and the intensive engineering/STEM curriculum which existed in the '50s.</p>
<p>Now how many postings here about formerly topflight HS students who end up struggling heavily as engineering majors in college does that remind you of?</p>
<p>Yes, many kids struggle in engineering. Both of my kids got through it with no problems but of course that is not the same for everyone. But the whole service academy, ROTC stuff adds a whole different layer to things. It is a different way of going through college and it is not for everyone.</p>
<p>Many kids that go to service academies/ROTC programs seem to come from military families(like McCain). Not all but I hope that those that don’t want to continue on that path are not pressured to do so.</p>
<p>My DH attended college on a ROTC scholarship. I repeat. They do not just call/email out of the blue and offer them. That does not happen. A student HAS to apply for it and applying to a SA is a separate process. OP can you please explain because this makes no sense.</p>
<p>I’m beginning to have doubts about this thread. First the parent claims to have no knowledge if where the kid applied. But at the same time says she took the daughter to see a bunch of pricey schools. Then says…oh yes…she kew the schools in January. Wellesley is TOO expensive…but what about the others,the parents TOOK the kid to! Also exoensive! Kid with a 1350 CR/Math gets accepted at the AFA and then off the waitlist at Wellesley. Really?</p>
<p>Now the kid gets a call out of the clear blue sky for an ROTC scholarship for Wellesley…ahem…they don’t just drop out of the sky. You gotta APPLY…and to the specific college programs.</p>
<p>OP…are you saying you had no idea your daughter applied for the ROTC scholarship? Really? Or we’re you just surprised that she received the call?</p>
<p>I’m having trouble understanding and following all this…and believing it is true! </p>
<p>These ROTC scholarships are about as free as the free ride to the service academies.</p>
<p>Honestly,jym, lots of this does not make sense. I hope the OP is not pulling everyone’s leg.
And I do want to add that I have nothing against ROTC, service academies. Lots of people have benefited from both. And pressure to follow in a path can come from many places-legacy, profession, military etc.</p>