How to build a target list of ROTC colleges

For all of you out there who are applying for ROTC scholarships (and I hope that’s all of you), it’s time to build your list of traditional colleges.

This list consists of traditional colleges where you hope to use your ROTC scholarship (assuming you get the scholarship).

The first step is to make sure the colleges you’re applying to actually have an ROTC program.

If you go back to Week 30, you can review how to find colleges that have Army, Navy, and Air Force ROTC programs.

The Navy offers ROTC programs on about 150 campuses versus Army and Air Force that have programs on over 1,000 campuses.

Step #1: 

What branch of service(s) are you interested in (Army, Navy, Air Force)?

I use the plural, “services”, because I’ve worked with many students who received ROTC scholarships from more than one branch. That takes a lot of work, but it gives you options.

Let’s say you chose Navy ROTC.

Go to this webpage where you’ll see an index of colleges with Navy ROTC programs listed by state.

Choose the state you’re interested in and peruse through a list of colleges with ROTC programs. This is a good starting point.

If you have a specific college(s) in mind, you can also go directly to that college’s website and click around until you discover whether or not they have a Navy ROTC program on their campus.

There are several ways to build the list of schools that you like and that have NROTC programs.

Step #2: 

Once you’ve narrowed down your list of colleges that have ROTC programs, now it’s time to do a deeper dive into the colleges themselves.

• What kind of campus is it? 
• How big is the ROTC program? 
• How many people attend? 
• Is it in a rural, urban, or suburban setting? 
• How competitive is it academically? 
• What scores do students typically get on the SAT and ACT?
• What’s the average GPA of a typical freshman class? 
• What kind of academic programs does it have? 

Remember, you have to actually get accepted into a college with an ROTC program in order to use your ROTC scholarship. They are not a “package deal”.

Just because you win an ROTC scholarship doesn’t mean that you’re automatically accepted into any college.

You will apply to a list of traditional colleges, get accepted to some of them (hopefully), and then attempt to match your scholarship with your top choice school.

For this reason, you have to make sure you are applying to a balanced list of colleges with ROTC programs.

If you apply only to Harvard, Princeton, and Yale, and don’t get accepted to any of them, you will not be able to use your ROTC scholarship.

Make sure you apply to a few “reach” schools, a majority of “match” schools, and a few “safety” schools.

All the schools, of course, should have ROTC programs.

Step #3:

In terms of your major, each of the branches will have a slightly different protocol.

If you refer back to Week 16, you’ll see the details of how the Navy ROTC system works.

The Navy will ask you to select one of the majors offered by your #1 choice school. The majors will be categorized in three different Tiers.

The most scholarships are given to Tier 1 majors, like electrical engineering, and the fewest scholarships are awarded to Tier 3 majors, like History.

The Army and Air Force have their own system of choosing majors. Check out their websites for more details. 

REVIEW

• Step #1: Which branch of service(s) do you want to apply to for an ROTC scholarship (Army, Navy, Air Force)

• Step #2: Which colleges have ROTC programs for those branches (and would you prefer to go to a college that serves as a host or an affiliate?)
• Step #3: Of those colleges, which ones have what you’re looking for (e.g. size, location, learning environment, a major you’re interested in).
• Step #4: Make sure you build a balanced list 

Remember, this process of researching colleges, creating a balanced list, getting teacher letters of recommendation, all runs in parallel with your ROTC and service academy applications.  

There are a lot of moving pieces to manage. 

Aren’t you glad you have ServeWell Academy to show you the way?