Talked with recruiter...confused about ROTC

[Prefontaine]

Hello everyone,

I recently came home from practice to find, much to my surprise, a navy recruiter sitting in my living room talking with my mother. After overcomining the initial shock, I started talking with him and drilled him with questions for the better part of an hour. One of the things we talked about was ROTC. He said that, even though I'm a senior in high school still, it's too late for me to join NROTC. This doesn't seem right to me at all; I thought I was still eligible to join as a freshman in college, if not after that? I intend on doing ROTC for all four years, but I'm not confused on when I should go about joining. The guy, as nice as he was, was an enlisted recruiter, so I'm not sure if he was just trying to convince me to go enlisted first.

So here's my question: When do I go about joining ROTC? I understand that I'm too late for a 4 year scholarship, but want to participate this coming academic year (06-07) regardless, and plan on trying for a 3 year scholarship. Should I start filling out paperwork now, or wait until I get on the college campus? I plan on talking with an officer recruiter soon, but this quesiton has been bugging me recently and I want to know what I need to do soon!

Thanks in advance,

Pre

 

[BrandonJ1780]

Hey, the AW guys'll steer you straight on this, but I wouldn't think it'd hurt to call the NROTC unit at the school you're looking to go to this fall...Get somebody there who knows their business and they should be able to give you some guidance.

 

[Fezz CB]

Hey Prefon. I can understand your confusion. I worked in the nrotc dept while i was with navy recruiting district sd so maybe i can give some advice.

As far as joining nrotc, since u are a senior in high school youre no longer eligible for the 4-yr scholarship. If you still want to participate with the nrotc program at your respective school, I recommend the following:

1. Attend your intended college, but do not join their nrotc program. You will then become a college programmer (basically, part of the program but with no scholarship). The reason is bc if u apply for the scholarship, it will be through the nrotc unit. From my understanding, it is much more difficult to gain a scholarship this route vs. applying with the nrotc area recruiter.

2. Apply for the 3-yr scholarship with your local nrotc coordinator/recruiter. They have specific info on when to apply.

3. I highly recommend calling your nrotc recruiter. They have a wealth of info and will answer any and all your questions. They can point you in the right direction and assist in the application process since theres a bunch of paperwork you need to complete.

4. Good luck! Highly competitive. Very Rewarding.

 

[Goober]

Nothing personal Fezz, but...

Best bet is calling the NROTC unit of the school you plan to attend directly. Three year scholarship numbers can vary from unit to unit, and being a college programmer within the unit defintely won't hurt your chances (I was a CP'er offered a three year but turned it down for my own reasons). A good GPA and a strong effort to participate in all manner of activities within the unit give the CO a good feeling regarding giving a 3-yr PNS (Prof. of Nav Sci) scholarship. Motivation and hard work go a long way. Not too late at all - I signed as a CP'er about 3 weeks before classes started.

 

[Crowbar]

I'm with Goober. Even if you aren't on scholarship you can fully participate in the NROTC activities (double check this with the school you want to attend, some places may be weird about it). That way you can get a taste for how the program works. Who knows, you may try it out and decide that BDCP or something else is right for you. If you do decide to stick with it, you've already made a name for yourself at the school, and have some familiarity with how things work. You'll get some exposure to people who have been around the fleet, been on summer cruises, and can answer some of your questions.
Also, make sure you make it to freshman orientation or whatever it's called at your prospective school. Good times will be had by all.

 

[navy09]

Goober and Crowbar are definitely right. I'm a freshman College Program MIDN now in Arizona...

-If you don't join on as a CP...you can't do anything with the unit, except take the Naval Sci classes, which are open to anyone. That's the case at my school and I'd be willing to bet that's the deal pretty much everywhere else too.
-It's true that the 3.5, 3, and 2.5 year scholarships are very competitive, but you can only get put up for those by your unit (you don't actually apply yourself...they submit a package for you). Civilians can only apply for 4 and 2 year scholarships.
-If you show up and stand out, you'll be good to go...in a lot of ways you'll have to be better than your fellow MIDN that are on scholarship.
-Definitely get in touch with the unit Recruiting Officer at the school you're going to. The application is a joke...they'll take anyone with a decent GPA/SAT (probably anyone over the minimum), but you still want to put a lot of effort into it to show that you're motivated before they even meet you.

Let me know if you have any other questions...what school are you going to?

 

[Dalamara]

Best thing to do is talk to an officer in the NROTC unit at the school you're planning on attending. Those enlisted recruiters are worthless... I went to one trying to get some information and he told me that my ACT(30) and GPA(3.8 in college) was not competetive enough to get a NROTC scholarship and my best choice would be to enlist for a delayed-deployment... what a load of crap.

What is your prospective major? The Navy really likes people who have technical degrees(Comp Sci, Chem, Physics, Engineering, etc.) so you should look into that if it's your thing. There's a scholarship called the Tweedale scholarship, and to be eligible you must have 30 hours of college credit, have above a 3.0 GPA, and have a technical major. It covers tuition and doesn't have a set-limit on how long you can take to graduate. The good thing about the Tweedale is that it's all done school-side, meaning your Naval Science Professor decides if you should get the scholarship, not some board at CNRC.

 

[wink]

Let me clear things up a bit because there is some good info above, but maybe a lack of coherence.

Yep, too late for the 4 year app. All that is pretty clear up front. You blew it. Don't get distracted again as it is harder from here on out.

Talk to the unit you think you want join.

Getting the scholarship before you start your junior year is only through the college program. To say it is difficult is an understatment. Goober neglected to tell you he did it many years ago. He is just hoping you think he is not a fleet dude left dreaming about his college escapades .

Maybe mid09 will tell us how many guys in the college program got the scholarship from UofA last year.

If you don't get the scholarship as a college program guy then you can try for the 2 year program through a NROTC recruiter. Well I think so anyway. That is the question you should ask the NROTC unit you want to join, or a NROTC recruiter for that matter.

The 2 year scholarship is just about as difficult to get as the college program pick up at the 3 year point.

If you haven't run out of money and dropped out of school by your junior year then just look at the BDCP program. Better deal then ROTC after that point. Good luck

 

[Fezz CB]

Nothing personal Fezz, but...

Best bet is calling the NROTC unit of the school you plan to attend directly. Three year scholarship numbers can vary from unit to unit, and being a college programmer within the unit defintely won't hurt your chances (I was a CP'er offered a three year but turned it down for my own reasons). A good GPA and a strong effort to participate in all manner of activities within the unit give the CO a good feeling regarding giving a 3-yr PNS (Prof. of Nav Sci) scholarship. Motivation and hard work go a long way. Not too late at all - I signed as a CP'er about 3 weeks before classes started.

its all good goober. I was just going with the gouge the nrotc officer recruiter told me when i had asked a similar question. He said its much more difficult to get a 3-yr scholarship through the unit than it is through the actual nrotc area recruiter. He said it had something to do with it being more competitive or something. I dunno. Maybes hes wrong. But i agree. It wouldnt hurt to contact the nrotc unit AND the nrotc officer recruiter.

 

[navy09]

Getting the scholarship before you start your junior year is only through the college program. To say it is difficult is an understatment.

CDR Wink is very right. Out of about 6 guys last year, just one picked it up. It fluctuates with each board and they don't release a spread with average scores or anything like that. You have to have good grades (how good, I'm just not sure) and a very high aptitude score (assigned by the officers in the unit...compares your military aptitude to your classmates'). A technical major, high PRT scores, leadership billets, and a good recommendation from your CO help too. Sorry I can't give more specific numbers, there's just no reliable average as far as I can tell.

If you're attending a HBC (Historically Black College) or you're a math/science/engineering major (Tweedale Scholarship) there are more specific scholarships available through NROTC that make it a little easier for you. Each CO also has a "silver bullet," giving them one scholarship per year for an outstanding college program Navy option MIDN who was unable to pick up a scholarship through any other source (PNS Leadership Scholarship). They don't talk about this one too often and I'm not honestly not too sure of it's availability year to year/unit to unit...perhaps one of our AW friends knows more or has recieved this scholarship.

I'd highly recommend signing on as a college programmer as opposed to waiting it out to apply for the 2-year through your recruiter. If you do the latter you're just numbers on a piece of paper, if you get submitted by your unit as a college programmer you've shown your dedication to being a Naval/Marine Corps Officer and you get a recommendation from on O-6 (Col. or CAPT). It also gives you the option to say that the Navy is not for you, if that is the case.

 

[Prefontaine]

Wow, thanks for all the quick replies. I plan on doing ME while in school so I'll have to look into the Tweedale Scholarship. I got waitlisted at Villanova, so if I eventually get accepted there, I'll most likely be going there. In order to do NROTC I actually have to go to Villanova, because UMass (along with the other schools I applied to) doesn't have it.
At this point, getting involved in the program and showing I'm serious about doing it is more important than the money. Don't get me wrong, I'm not rich by any means and would prefer not to graduate with debt, but I'm not going into the military just for the educational benefits.
I'm going to give both schools a call this week and explain the situation, and get whatever information I can from them. Thanks again!


Pre

 

[Fezz CB]

if i remember right, if u apply for the 2-yr scholarship you dont need to take calc or physics? i forget. anyone else wanna back me up on this?

 

[Goober]

Actually, I skipped out on the 3 yr scholarship. I was prior service (and still in the reserves) when I started college. It was to my benefit to stay in the reserve and go through as a CP'er because my pay counter (yrs of service) continued to accrue because I was actively drilling as a SELRES. Had I taken the scholarship, it would have stopped, and I'd have lost three years of pay counter. In Florida, an AA degree legally guarantees an approval/transfer/acceptance into a state university. I did my first 2 yrs at the CC level (and paid significantly less per class than my univ counterparts did), transferred to FSU and finished the last two yrs in only one year. Because I was still under a reserve enlistment contract when I was picked up for advanced standing, my year of adv standing is treated as a year of reserve service (hey, they made the rules...I'm not complaining).

End result, I graduated w/ 8 yrs of service vice 6. My GI Bill paid for school (and then some), student loan kept a roof over my head and groceries in the fridge, and I went drinking on my stipend (that one's for you Wink ).

Oh, and I didn't have to take calc or physics. Science requirement met by biology and meteorology (helped for API), and math met by pre-calc and trig. Scholarship mids, regardless of number of years of scholarship, must take calc and physics.

Mine will cost me a few more years to pay off my loan (could have worked instead but chose not to), but I also didn't have to juggle as much while in school. As a local reservist in Jax it was a little strange to some people see me leave the NROTC unit at JU in a flight suit w/ an AW2's nametag or show up at my reserve squadron in MIDN flavor (I was a regular Thursday night flyer for the T/G hop to Key West). Flying's flying...

Overall disclaimer - my case is not the norm (as is the case with me in general). My advice: go college program. It's one more year that you can be in the running for a ticket.

 

[wink]

Actually, I skipped out on the 3 yr scholarship. I was prior service (and still in the reserves) when I started college. It was to my benefit to stay in the reserve and go through as a CP'er because my pay counter (yrs of service) continued to accrue because I was actively drilling as a SELRES. Had I taken the scholarship, it would have stopped, and I'd have lost three years of pay counter. In Florida, an AA degree legally guarantees an approval/transfer/acceptance into a state university. I did my first 2 yrs at the CC level (and paid significantly less per class than my univ counterparts did), transferred to FSU and finished the last two yrs in only one year. Because I was still under a reserve enlistment contract when I was picked up for advanced standing, my year of adv standing is treated as a year of reserve service (hey, they made the rules...I'm not complaining).

End result, I graduated w/ 8 yrs of service vice 6. My GI Bill paid for school (and then some), student loan kept a roof over my head and groceries in the fridge, and I went drinking on my stipend (that one's for you Wink ).

Oh, and I didn't have to take calc or physics. Science requirement met by biology and meteorology (helped for API), and math met by pre-calc and trig. Scholarship mids, regardless of number of years of scholarship, must take calc and physics.

Mine will cost me a few more years to pay off my loan (could have worked instead but chose not to), but I also didn't have to juggle as much while in school. As a local reservist in Jax it was a little strange to some people see me leave the NROTC unit at JU in a flight suit w/ an AW2's nametag or show up at my reserve squadron in MIDN flavor (I was a regular Thursday night flyer for the T/G hop to Key West). Flying's flying...

Overall disclaimer - my case is not the norm (as is the case with me in general). My advice: go college program. It's one more year that you can be in the running for a ticket.

That, my youn'uns, is how you make the system work for YOU. That story should inspire you all.

 

[Prefontaine]

Does calc and physics have to be taken at the university level? I already took both (advanced level) and did well in them. But I'm assuming the Navy doesn't regard high school classes as highly as college ones?