Future Midshipman

[Shane-27]

Hello everyone,

I am a senior in high school, and two days ago I recieved my letter of acceptance for a NROTC scholarship at Penn State. Neither of my parents has any military experience, so I'm kind of on my own as far as finding answers to the thousands of questions I have. One thing I noticed though was that in my letter it stated that I was awarded a Tier II scholarship, which may or may not be a problem since I plan to get a degree in aerospace engineering, which falls in the Tier I category. Will this cause any when I get to school next year? And if so, will I be able to "officially" switch over to a Tier I at any point?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Renegade One]

Be happy. You have a scholarship…go forth and slay dragons. There will be no difference in your NROTC curriculum or your chances of success in college or NROTC. Of the myriad things you should worry about, I rate this as "bottom of the pile". Stay healthy, stay in shape, stay out of jail…that's all MUCH more important.

I wasn't an NROTC type, but I'm close to a few "leaders" of the local NROTC Unit, and what I understand is that it's mostly a "selection criteria":
Tier 1: We'll take most of you guys and gals...
Tier 2: We want a bunch of you folks too...
Tier 3: Lower selection rate, based on your intended major, but we think some of you are pretty as well...

That's it…Selection. Everything after that is the same. I'm actually "persuaded" that it may be better for you to start off in Tier 2 in case you need to change your major later on (for whatever reason) to a somewhat less arduous major…it happens all the time. The system does look hard at moving downward in the tiers…or so I'm told.

Others with more factually current info will wade in and correct whatever I have wrong.

 

[ea6bflyr]

Shane,
Welcome to AirWarriors. There are a few steps before you are a true Midshipman. Step 1 is to pass your DODMERB physical. I highly recommend you call Penn State NROTC (814-865-NAVY [6289]) and speak to the Freshman Advisor or the Scholarship coordinator. He'll/She'll be able to answer all your questions and concerns.

Good luck and enjoy Penn State.

-ea6bflyr

 

[KBayDog]

Shane,
Welcome to AirWarriors. There are a few steps before you are a true Midshipman. Step 1 is to pass your DODMERB physical. I highly recommend you call Penn State NROTC (814-865-NAVY [6289]) and speak to the Freshman Advisor or the Scholarship coordinator. He'll/She'll be able to answer all your questions and concerns.

Good luck and enjoy Penn State.

-ea6bflyr

^What do you know about any of that stuff?

 

[ea6bflyr]

^What do you know about any of that stuff?

Looked it up on the interweb. Special thanks to Al Gore..

-ea6bflyr

 

[Shane-27]

Yea I really wasn't going to worry about the whole tier thing until I got to school, if at all. But I was looking over the medical history section of the DODMETS, and I was wondering how lenient are they with past surgeries? I had sinus surgery 3 years ago to fix chronic sinitus. Would that keep me out of anything, specifically flying if/when I get to that point? It sounds a lot worse than it actually was, and I have no problems now.

 

[ea6bflyr]

I'm not sure. All I ever knew was if a student had passed the physical or not....again, call the unit and see what they say...I don't think surgeries specifically dis-qual you....I know that eyesight and asthma are ones we saw stop students in their tracks.

-ea6bflyr

 

[Shane-27]

Alright, I will definitely call the unit. Thanks everyone for all the input!

 

[Carny]

Well for starters congrats dude! I'll be commissioning from Penn State this May and trust me you'll have a hell of a time here, shoot me any questions you may have to axm5207@psu.edu or PM me here, if I know the answer I'll help and if not I'll ask or direct you to someone who can, congrats again!