Question about Tiers / Chances of getting NROTC Scholarship

[darkchariot]

Hello
First, I've been reading these forums for the last ~5 months and I want to thank all of you for the amazing insight that you've provided to me!

Second, I was reading the Tiers list tonight, and I noticed that the last major on the Tier 2 list is "Quantitative Economics." I'd really like to double major in International Relations/Econ; would a standard economics major be considered "quantitative economics?" because I've yet to encounter a school that has a specific degree in Quantitative Economics.

Obviously, I'd rather not be classified as a Tier 3 major, but I don't want to lie or misrepresent myself.

Third, I've tried searching everywhere for info on how many spots each school gets, but I don't think that navy publishes ANY data on its NROTC policies (admit rates, avg scores, etc.), SO I don't really know how to gauge where I stand/what my chances are so, I'd really like to know your opinion of my application. I apologize for that obnoxious run-on sentence.

My 5 schools:
1) Stanford
2) Duke
3) UVA (I have to put a public in the top 3, and this is my top public, but its 6th on my list, is there any way to avoid having to do this? I figure that UVA is competitive enough that if I put it third I won't get placed there, but I don't know what to do )
4) Harvard
5) Georgetown or UPenn



Objective:

• SAT I: 2340 (800 CR 760 M 780 W 10 essay)
• ACT: 35 (34 E, 34 M, 36 science, 36 reading, 10 writing)
• SAT II: will find out next thursday
• Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
• Rank: 1/525
• AP: Euro (5) USH (5) Lit (5) Psych (5)
• Major Awards: National Merit Finalist, Outstanding Community Leader, Invited to and attended The Missouri Scholars Academy, Leaders of Tomorrow

Subjective:

• Extracurriculars:
• French Honor Society (President, 10-12)
• College Prep/Volunteering Club (President, 10-12)
• Executive (Vice-President, 10-12),
• NHS (Vice-President, 11-12)
• Newspaper (News Editor, 10 & 12)
• Speech and Debate (Secretary, 10-12)
• Varsity Cross Country (injured early on in season 10 & 11, couldn't compete, I'm afraid that this will be my biggest weakness since the Navy seems to value/weight sports so heavily, but I will competing senior year)
• Communications Advisory Board (11 & 12)
• Job/Work Experience: tutor, summer job (still looking at the moment, I'm hoping to get a job/internship with a local politician)
• Volunteer/Community service: 100 hours at Church, 250 hours at Military Museum (Jefferson Barracks), 85 hours teaching/tutoring elementary school students
• Summer Activities: Missouri Scholars Academy, HOBY, NSLC-International Diplomacy, Trip to France with French class
• School Type: large, uncompetitive public
• Ethnicity: white
• Gender: male
• Hooks: none
• State: MO

I'd appreciate any feedback I get; thank you guys again!

 

[Ken_gone_flying]

Are you looking for a percentage?

 

[darkchariot]

I would take anything: ratio, fraction, percentage

I'm really curious about how the placement works out, for ex: I get rejected from school A but get accepted to school B eventhough my NROTC scholarship is to school A. Do I just try to get the scholarship transferred and hope for the best?

 

[MIDNJAC]

I know of a Tier 2 major who is now both my roomatte, as well as a fellow Meridian Stud in T-45 land. He might post here on occaison....worked out for him. I also believe he didn't pay for an expensive private school education...

 

[le lyon]

Judging from your credentials, you can do whatever the hell you want...In any case, I'm a straight Economics major, and it worked out fine for me.

 

[desertoasis]

I'm really curious about how the placement works out, for ex: I get rejected from school A but get accepted to school B eventhough my NROTC scholarship is to school A. Do I just try to get the scholarship transferred and hope for the best?

That happened to me. I got my scholarship to Univ. Washington (a school I didn't even apply to), so I thought I was screwed. I get to my actual school (Texas A&M) and about a month or so into the school year, the Navy calls me up and says they've approved my transfer to Texas A&M no problem, and that I should go fill out some paperwork. Got my contract that Friday. I didn't do anything...in retrospect I would have called them and said that I was going to A&M instead, maybe it would have sped things along a bit.

 

[torpedo0126]

Listen, if you have been on this forum for ~5 months you should have realized you don't need a mix of IP's, officers, midshipmen, OCS grads etc to tell you that you have an extremely competitive resume.

I mean just say your stats aloud, 35 ACT? 1 out of 525? 4.0 unweighted? National Merit Scholar?

A movie that reminds me of this is that scene from Grandma's Boy where Nick Swardson kicks ass on Dance Dance Revolution...the machine says "NEW HIGH SCORE" and Swardson goes "Is that good?"

no one except the board can tell you if you will get awarded a tier 2 or 3 scholarship. However, I would feel safe to say that you have a VERY good chance.

If you want to be more sure, pick a tier one major...you obviously can handle it, and having an engineering degree will keep/open many doors down the road you might not be aware of.

3) UVA (I have to put a public in the top 3, and this is my top public, but its 6th on my list, is there any way to avoid having to do this? I figure that UVA is competitive enough that if I put it third I won't get placed there, but I don't know what to do )

No you have to put a 3rd public school. You have to live with the possibility that you might get into your number one school but not get the scholarship to that school.

Good luck!

 

[Jim123]

Which tier is Dance Dance Revolution?

 

[torpedo0126]

Which tier is Dance Dance Revolution?

its tier 1. NAMI found high score setters on DDR are more likely to complete flight school.

Also, I heard that if you get above a certain amount of points, the Navy GIVES you an F/A-18.

 

[CommodoreMid]

For quantitative economics, maybe they're looking for a BS degree rather than a BA. I studied econ and while I got a BA (because my major was paired with history) some people in the econ department got a BS because the focused on the mathematical and statistical sides of econ rather than the theoretical and societal trends. Just my guess, but you'd probably have to contact the econ departments of the schools you're looking at to figure out if you could get such a degree.

 

[desertoasis]

its tier 1. NAMI found high score setters on DDR are more likely to complete flight school.

Also, I heard that if you get above a certain amount of points, the Navy GIVES you an F/A-18.

Along with an office, a staff, and a direct phone hookup to the President. Word is that he makes most of his troop placement decisions by following the little arrows as they scroll down the screen.

 

[darkchariot]

lol torpedo, thank you =D

I know that I have good stats, but I know that they weight sports and tier heavily, and I just wanted your input

@CommodoreMid, that makes sense, hopefully they do

Does anyone how many spots each school gets? I'd really like to know how many spots/applicants Duke and Stanford get.

Thank you guys!

 

[Pistol719]

its tier 1. NAMI found high score setters on DDR are more likely to complete flight school.

Also, I heard that if you get above a certain amount of points, the Navy GIVES you an F/A-18.

LOL.. Wow if that was the case maybe I should of put Atari Star Wars in my intended major instead of Poly Sci. Maybe I could of scored a guaranteed fighter spot too haha.

BTW darkchariot, they do weigh tiers heavily, but the "Overall person" is very much taken into account. And judging from what you posted there you are sitting pretty solid academically speaking.

As for how many spots each school gets.. I asked the same question before and I will sorta give you the rundown of the answer I get. I am a metrics kinda guy myself and I was trying to gauge my chances as well. Honestly there really alot of factors that play into how many "slots" are avail at a particular school. From what I understand the variables are on both the school and navy level. So in short, without any numbers it is had to tell.

My suggestion is to get in touch with Duke and Stanford units and maybe do an informational interview with the LT's there and see if they can give you a better idea

 

[redmidgrl]

That's a very impressive resume!

I was an International Affairs major with a concentration in International Politics (Diplomacy) at the George Washington University (the ROTC unit you would go to if you were to go to Georgetown University). I found that ROTC boards are likely to overlook the major/tier if you have a really strong package (which it looks like you do). Study what you enjoy studying. The military needs people with a true grasp of International Relations just like they need Engineers (see the Army/USMC Counterinsurgency Field Manual).

Good luck!

 

[torpedo0126]

from what I was told the "slots" or "quotas" per school only partially exists.

Certain schools, like Northwestern University have caps on the number of scholarships (I believe 15). This is because these schools are very expensive at +$40k year.

However, public universities, like University of Illinois can give out as many scholarships as they need/qualify for. In short, I would not worry about quota's very much. Trying to play a numbers game and stressing about that is way harder than just maintaining an impressive resume.

**Note: please don't take the above statement to mean U of I actually gives out the scholarships, they are controlled by OD