My DC spoke with a couple ROTC officers at top schools and they said they would vouch for her with admissions if she applied ED. She won the Navy ROTC 4 year scholarship and got accepted to a top school ED. She really wants to serve though and is excited about the opportunity. I don't know how much help she got with admissions but glad everything worked out for her. Army ROTC you can do 8 years reserves or NG, but Navy you have to do 5 years active duty.

It really isn't a hook. Plenty of high stats kids who get the scholarship are then rejected at the highly selective schools.
I've spent way too many hours on the Service Academy/ROTC message boards (for my son who then decided he was not interested).

Plus there's the little detail that you have to complete 4 or 5 years of active duty military service after graduation. LOL It's not for anyone who doesn't have a genuine interest in serving in the military.

One more thing. The AFROTC scholarship is very competitive. They favor tech/engineering majors and average sat scores were above 1500+

DC got the AFROTC hssp type 1 and wasn’t much of a hook. Make sure that the school applying runs the rotc detachment and it’s not with a crosstown agreement. Some schools will provide free room and board which will make the cost of attending 0. Plus the scholarship provides monthly stipend and travel cost from home to school.

Some college applications will have a check box for ROTC. This is a good indication that there is a bump for ROTC scholarship winners at these schools.

I know a kid who got the ROTC four year scholarship. They were just an ok student, but very committed to joining the military in a field that is in demand. They got into a highly selective school. No way in hell they would have even been considered if not for the ROTC hook.

If you’re doing it just to have a hook or to get a scholarship, you will be miserable & quit in tears the first time someone in uniform yells at you. Don’t go this route unless you actually want to serve in the military, & think it’s worth putting up with a lot of crap to do so.

It's a hook for the very selective schools - Ivy and the like. Everywhere else, not so much.

It's very much a hook for those students who have received a four year ROTC scholarship, which is extremely competitive to get. Generally, students receiving a four year ROTC scholarship are very good students who are also very fit and have demonstrated a commitment to community service. Schools like Yale, Princeton, Vanderbilt, MIT, Duke, Stanford, and Notre Dame all have ROTC cadres that they need to fill. And that four year ROTC scholarship will get an applicant serious consideration.

It can be a hook but your kid would need to win the four year scholarship from ROTC for that particular school before the head of the unit would try to get you in.

Can be a hook depending on the school. Some ROTC programs have relations with the admissions department and if you are applying ED as well as ROTC this can definitely give you an edge.

Anonymous wrote:Can be a hook but also isn’t a gimme. ROTC has some real requirements for admission.

+1. ROTC scholarships are competitive. And has commitment obligations.

Can be a hook but also isn’t a gimme. ROTC has some real requirements for admission.

Anonymous wrote:Is this a “hook” for college admissions? Or just a way to keep costs down?

Can be a hook.

Is this a “hook” for college admissions? Or just a way to keep costs down?