NROTC may be making cuts...

[supertgrl]

So my daughter is a 3/c midn in NROTC.  Her captain sat down all of the college program freshman and sophomore (there's a approximately 30 of them in her unit) and said that they may not be guaranteed advanced standing and that they should just forget about getting a scholarship.  My daughter has enough scholarships for school already, but she really wants to be a naval officer.  My concern is that a year and a half ago when she joined, the officers from her unit said that she would get advanced standing as long as she could "breathe".  I think they meant as long as you get above a C average and pass the PFA and get descent evaluations (which she's more than done thus far). Her captain told her that he wouldn't blame her if she quit now. 

My question is, is her dream of becoming a naval officer pretty much over b/c she didn't apply for a scholarship out of high school? 

I know that spots for OCS are much tougher to get than those for NROTC, so would that even be an option? 

Should she just quit now and look in to another military branch?

Just as an aside, she's an electrical engineering major and has a B- average. 

[Jo1]

I'm not sure what to tell you about another branch of the military but the same thing happened to my son who was in AFROTC last year.  Now it sounds like the Navy ROTC is doing the same thing.  My son was told  that most would probably not get the AF scholarships.  Since my son couldn't count on the AF scholarship he decided to enlist in the Navy.  He's going to be in the Nuclear Program and will start BC in April.  He did return to college last summer and fall and is now waiting to go in.  He has finished some college and hopes to finish up while in the Navy.  Have your daughter check out the other branches and maybe she will have better luck with them.  A friend of my daughters joined the Coast Guard and loves it.  Good Luck!

[Fur&FeathersDVM]

My husband wanted to be a naval officer his entire life (I'm not kidding, we're talking from the time he was 5 years old and understood what it was, that was his only goal). He grew up doing sea cadets, researching the navy, working under the guidance of retired chiefs and officers from his sea cadet unit. When it came time to apply for schools, he had LOR's from a retired Command Master Chief and a reservist Rear Admiral, among others. He had a 4.0 in high school and community service. No one was surprised when he got accepted to both the Naval Academy and to NROTC with scholarships. But then the letter came saying that they were pulling all medical waivers due to budget cuts, and so due to the fact that he had less than perfect vision, all of that was gone. Talk about devastating. He was discouraged, but decided to go to the university that had NROTC and be a naval science minor and try to get into the unit. He never did, and I still remember his description of the experience from a graduation speech he gave: he was the only one in blue jeans in a room full of Khaki. His next option was OCS, which like you said, is tough to get into. When he first went to the officer recruiter, his response to him was "Sorry, I don't have time for you: I need to make time for *real* officer candidates" because he had a less than perfect GPA (he had a 4.0 in his naval science classes, but he was in a horrible car accident his junior year which prevented him from taking finals: he also left school twice to go home and help his family's failing pizza shop: this, combined with a freshmen year of "not caring",  resulted in an overall GPA of somewhere in the neighborhood of a 2.3). Instead of being discouraged, he studied hard for the ASVAB, got a 99, got more LOR's from people who knew his long record with sea cadets and with community service, and was immediately picked up for OCS. He left less than a month after being selected, and is now loving life as a naval officer and doing quite well.

I didn't tell you this to brag about my husband, or to tell you that everyone who doesn't get into NROTC gets into OCS. I'm just trying to let you know that if your daughter is truly wanting to be a naval officer, you CAN get into OCS with a less than perfect GPA (which is not what the recruiters will tell you). If she wants that to be her goal, tell her to start getting active with community service now, if she isn't already. Work on improving her GPA while she still can. Whatever she does, DO NOT just let her quit and look into another military branch- the military does not look favorably on quitters! We have several friends who did army ROTC and did not commission and instead went to Navy OCS. If she already has scholarships, keep on with the NROTC program and if she doesn't get a commission that way, start putting together an OCS package!

I wish you and your daughter the best of luck!!

[katydids61]

Navyprincess- you do have bragging rights! What a great story of determination. Glad your husband made it.

[Paula S.]

The is a program for the enlisted, I believe it's called the "Seaman to Admiral" program.  You need a stellar review by your superiors but it is possible to go to officer's school after enlisting.

[supertgrl]

I refuse to let my daughter enlist if she has a college degree, which she will in 2.5 years.  Not say that there's anything wrong with that, just that I would feel like she's not up to her true potential.  But thank you for yoru response.

 

Thank you everyone for your responses. Hopefully she'll just get advanced standing and everything will turn out ok.

[Sweet*Southern*Lady]

Alot can happen in 2.5 years in college I have a degree from University that took me 5 yrs, I know at least 20 people who dropped college cause of money, pregnancy, family issues, some one dying or being very sick in their family. Being enlisted doesn't mean your living up to your potential. Its just an option. OCS can be extremely picky in these times of recession because so many people are open to Military as a career field.

[ebigirl]

If your daughter is 18, or when she turns 18, SHE can do whatever SHE she feels is best for her. You will have no way of "refusing to let her do anything"! My 19 year old "enlisted" all on his own and I am very proud of him.

 

[pgrlisa]

As the mother of a female officer, and mother in law of a male enlisted (HM2), I will tell you that there is no disgrace in being enlisted, and it does not diminish true potential.  Some just prefer to work for a living.  (LOL)  I recently attended the retirement ceremony for a Chief Petty Officer.  She had been in the Navy for more than 22 years, and had a college degree (or maybe two, I don't recall).  She was well respected by her officers and those who served under her, alike.  She was married and raised a beautiful family while serving our country and seeing some beautiful places.

I wish your daughter the best of luck in her Navy career, whether it be as an officer or an enlisted sailor.