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I am applying for the Naval ROTC Scholarship, which I think I have a good shot at getting. I am looking into NROTC at Cornell, Tufts, UPenn, UNC Chapel Hill, and UMD College Park.

I was wondering two things:
1. If offered the scholarship, will you have a better chance at getting into the school?
2. Will the school give me less money if I am offered the ROTC scholarship?

By Massdad (Massdad) on Thursday, October 30, 2003 - 04:30 pm: Edit

1. Hard to say. If the school is need aware, it cannot hurt.

2. Most schools will decrease their institutional support proportional to outside support. But, the better ones will drop loans before grants, so you should come out ahead.

I went to undergrad with a full Army ROTC scholarship, in the days when they paid full tuition anywhere. That was the good news. You need to be aware that military duty is not for everyone and you will not be able to take the $$ for four years and skip the service. For me it was a good growth opportunity and made me more motivated for grad school when I got out. But, I just missed going to Viet Nam, and I'm sure some recent grads are not having too good a vacation in Iraq. Just be open eyed.

Also, you should consider the "culture" of the military. What part of the US do you live in?

By Justin185 (Justin185) on Sunday, November 02, 2003 - 10:46 am: Edit

I was in Air Force ROTC for two years at Cornell. I lived and breathed AFROTC and I was for sure that I was going to become a good officer. But I had some issues with the physical fitness test and retest. And since I became ineligible for field training, the colonel kicked me out. He could have waived that failure because I passed the PFT on many previous occassions but he isn't a forgiving guy. But it all worked out in the end because I transfered to another school where I am much happier. The disenrollment gave me a lot to think about and even though I had always aspired to be in the military, I learned that my list of dislikes is larger than my list of likes.

By Pssns0906 (Pssns0906) on Sunday, November 02, 2003 - 09:17 pm: Edit

I am a female from Maryland. What are the chances I would have in going into combat during active duty?

By Massdad (Massdad) on Sunday, November 02, 2003 - 10:47 pm: Edit

Pssn,

Being from Maryland does not affect your combat chances, but being female does. There are currently some limits regarding the type of assignments women can be given. You might say there's a "traditional" view in the military leadership that says women should not be targets i.e. not leading an infantry patrol, for instance.

Combat, however, is less sensitive to defined roles. When I was on active duty, we used to joke that no matter what your primary job was, your secondary job was infantry. Everyone except chaplains and a few medics train with weapons (yes, real bullets) regularly.

So, what are your chances? Ask Jessica Lynch. I'm sure she did not expect to end up like she did in Iraq.

Right now the Army has it the worst. Who knows what will happen the next time? Your chances are greatly influenced by who's in charge in Washington, of course. Personally, I'm still trying to figure out why we are in Iraq. What a waste. How much? About 2 million students entered 4 year colleges last year. We've spent a total of about 150 billion in Iraq so far. So we could have given an $80,000 scholarship to EVERY student who went to a four year university last year!

By Airforce (Airforce) on Tuesday, November 11, 2003 - 01:54 am: Edit

bump

By Destaany (Destaany) on Friday, November 21, 2003 - 11:01 am: Edit

I'm applying for the Air Force ROTC scholarship, i passed the PAE and have all the stuff needed.

3.63 GPA (3.60 Weighted)
1300 SAT (660 Math, 640 Verbal)
3 AP courses (AP Bio, AP Chem, AP Lang)
Top High School in County (and one of the top in the nation)
Science and Technology Program
Ranked in the top 25%
NHS
International Club committee chairperson
NSBE
FBLA assistant sec.
BSA President
SGA Class Officer
NASA Internship
Outstanding Student of America