Expert: Aaron Shifferly - 6/30/2009

Question
Hello sir my name is Andrew and I am going to be a high school senior this
upcoming school year and is heavily considering joining college Army ROTC.
I have A's mostly B's though and am in honors and AP classes. Due to my
mother being terminally ill since I entered high school it has limited my
oppurtnities to join clubs and sports even though I was briefly on the
wrestling team and Held a leadership postion in Student Governent. I
voulenteer at a homeless shelter on the weekends. I mention all of this
because I was wondering what you think my chances are of getting a ROTC
scholorship. I have not taken the SAT yet but am sure that I will do a good
job on it.

Answer
You sound good, but there are several types of ROTC scholarships: ones the Army gives out and ones that schools give out themselves... so they can all have slightly different criteria for awarding them. Also, you're not just meeting base criteria, but you're competing against all other applicants for a limited pool of scholarships. The review board will consider all of you against each other and theoretically choose the best available candidates. Your chances are really up to those people who you're competing against. Sorry that I can't be any more definitive, but good luck!