Before I begin I am a 15 year old high school junior with currently average grades but the determination to exceed my peak within a two year time. I have been looking into the Military Service Academies, Ivy Leagues, MIT and some Senior Military Colleges. It takes too long to search the hundreds of colleges up and trying to research the pros and cons, so I would like some suggestions and opinions. I have another thread if you want to know my statistics and chances of getting into a college. But without further a do, I am looking to join the Army, Navy or Marines as an officer so the college must have a ROTC program. I want to major in a STEM Program, but I do not have a specific career choice yet; Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Computer and Information Sciences, Engineering and Engineering Technologies are some areas.
I also want to know from experiences and stories of how some of the colleges are that I listed; West Point, Annapolis, Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Princeton, MIT, VMI, Citadel, T&M University and Notre Dame (I am not very religious but am a Christian-revived).
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You need to talk with your parents about how they expect you to pay for your education. Can/will they pay anything? What will you do if you don’t land an ROTC scholarship? What alternate plans can you make in case you have a surprise health issue that means that you must resign from ROTC?
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Google is your friend. Just run a search with ROTC and college or university in the query, and you will end up with all of the lists. Provided you can complete the major you want along with the ROTC program, it really doesn’t matter all that much where you attend. You will still get your degree and your commission. You won’t get paid extra because you graduated from A, B, or C.
Holy Cross(don’t have to be religious) very good school in Massachusetts has Rotc. HC is smaller version of Notre Dame but slightly easier to gain admission to.
Holy Cross does not have any engineering, and its CS offerings are rather limited.
Not trying to being all emotional but my parents cannot pay for tuition because they have 3 other children to think about, 2 pets and themselves. I am the second oldest being the oldest in the house since my older brother moved out, but I get the least attention, help and support from my parents which means its harder for me to work towards getting into a top college with the limited support and opportunities. Sure, I have google but that can only take me so far, I need a real person who understands the situation. I think ROTC scholarships are only for JROTC, please correct me if I’m wrong. I will not have health issues after joining ROTC, but if that ever comes up then I will have to deal with it at that time. And the reason for wanting to get into a top college is because I like to challenge myself. I want to do something meaningful instead of staying inside with no friends and playing games all my life. I used to be a skinny, lazy, nerdy, socially awkward person, but I’ve grown out of some of those traits while having pride in some others. All my life my so-called friends have said I will be a nobody even my siblings and parents. I want to get out the house and be successful. Not as in Bill Gates successful but I want to know that I did something which is real hard for others to do, plus you only live once. And actually, graduating from some colleges, you do get paid better. Service Academies pay more, so do ivy leagues. But money isn’t my top priority. If I get a degree from a top college and do my time in the military then companies will see me differently. It is true, think about it, if you wanted to hire someone, you had a community college graduate and a ivy league graduate which one would you hire considering the are both very smart, nice and are in the same boots (life-wise) and you will pay them the same.
Are there any colleges and universities around where you live? If so, spend time this fall going to admission office info sessions and touring the schools. Get a feel for what they’re looking for and what they’re like. Perhaps this would also broaden your horizons beyond the idea that Ivies are best. Also, run the Net Price Calculator on a few local schools’ websites to start getting a feel of your financial need.
You may want to look at some automatic full ride merit scholarships that can give you safety options if you do not get into a service academy or get a full ROTC or other scholarship. See http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/ for some test score thresholds to aim for to go with your 3.5 GPA.
ROTC scholarships are open for everyone, JROTC isn’t a requirement. Also, you need to recognize going to a top tier college is good, but not everything. There are plenty of Ivy League graduates making average money, and there are billionaires who didn’t graduate college. That being said, if you want to get into a SA, you need to get very, very involved. Join clubs and take up leadership roles, run for student government, volunteer, play a Varsity sport and become captain, etc. You also need to make sure you do well on the ACT/SAT, because a bad score on those will completely disqualify you for admission. As far as senior military colleges go, the best one (academically and environment wise, in my opinion) is Texas A&M. VMI is also a good choice if you’re looking for a military career, but keep in mind it is VERY Spartan there. Meaning you live in barracks with no A/C, and have little to no privacy. You’re also not allowed to have a cell phone until after your Rat year (February of your first year).
You have several different issues going on here all jumbled up, so let me help you separate them:
- You want to go to top school like West Point, Harvard or MIT (along with the rest of the world) – sorry, but I looked at your stats on your other thread, and that isn’t going to happen. The good news is you say you want to go there to “challenge” yourself, and you will be plenty challenged with any college and ROTC program, so focus on the other issues below.
- You need to pay for college yourself by getting an ROTC or other scholarship, or by working to pay for it. Look at more realistic options for where to apply. Even at a place like the University of North Georgia (a wonderful university, but not anywhere close to your dream of West Point, e.g.), the ROTC scholarships are very competitive. Per their website, “For the academic year 2014-2015, 8,434 high school seniors applied for the scholarship. About 2,500 applicants were awarded a scholarship. About 25% of those were 4-year scholarships and 75% were 3-year scholarships.” See: http://ung.edu/military-college-admissions/costs-financial-aid/scholarships-and-grants/army-rotc-scholarship.php
- I’m assuming you’re working on your fitness, because that will likely be a factor in admissions to a military college or ROTC program. If you need ideas for benchmarks to strive for, check out stewsmith.com.
- You could always join the military as a recruit and work your way up to being an officer, and get your degree later.
- Keep your dream of getting your degree and joining the military – where there’s a will there’s a way, even if it winds up taking you longer or having twists and turns along the way. You are right to disregard all the negative talk around you. That’s an awesome survive and thrive skill of some of the most successful people I’ve ever met – they are able to shut out negativity and keep their dreams alive to pursue them and make them reality.
+dyui13: No colleges near me, I am currently residing in South Korea, not that I’m South Korean though. And thanks falcon97 for the update. I also heard Rat year at VMI is harsh compared to Plebe year at USMA. Also if anyone knows, how do you become captain or get a varsity letter from a sport? Is it just being good, working hard, improving a lot or do I have to make it to state or something? And how much will community service go compared to leadership positions because I have less than 2 years. To be a leader of a club, they need someone with a lot of experience. Others have been in for 4 years while I would only be in for a year or so.
“I am currently residing in South Korea, not that I’m South Korean though”
It looks like you are attending high school on your parent’s military base. That means that your own guidance counselor should be able to tell you what you need to do in order to be admitted at your target colleges and universities. Your situation is not the same as that of students who spend all four years in one community and/or one high school.
When school starts this fall, speak with your guidance counselor and find out what your GPA is. Ask your guidance counselor to take a look at your previous standardized test results from the schools you attended in the US, and to tell you whether it looks like you have the potential to score well on the PSAT. If so, spend some time in the next month preparing for that exam. A good PSAT score can mean that you qualify for scholarships through the National Merit Scholarship system. It also is a decent predictor for good scores on the SAT and ACT exams. When you know your GPA and test scores, you and your counselor will have a better idea of where you can be admitted.
Where you are admitted is one thing. What you can pay for is another. Spend some time in the financial aid forum reading up on need-based and merit-based aid. Some of the parents who post in that forum are very knowledgeable, and can give you a lot of help. Here are some of the questions that they are likely to ask you so that they can help you better:
Can your parents pay anything (books? health insurance? travel home for holidays? cell phone plan?), or are you really completely on your own for the costs of college?
Are you eligible for any GI Bill money, or has that been used up/promised to someone else in the family?
Do your parents have a state (or states) where they qualify as residents for tuition and fees purposes at the public colleges and universities?
What is your GPA, and what are your test scores?
I don’t know much about other schools, but I know the University of Wisconsin has a great ROTC program and fantastic STEM programs.
Ok thanks for some suggestions. I don’t want to enlist because I will be the first in my family to go to a college and also because I don’t want to be a private, would rather be a butter bars. My family has no money to support me for college so I am truly on my own. I don’t have a job and it’s too late to save up, especially because I can’t secure a job at my age and within the time I have since I moved around too much. Also I don’t know my current GPA and never took the test before, as I have said in another thread, I’m a late bloomer. Would a student loan pay for all of college?
Possibly Community College. You are limited to $5500 as a freshman.