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Are you a Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) trainee and on the hunt for scholarship money for your college? If so, then you should not miss the NROTC Scholarship application. Before beginning a career in the Navy, you can concentrate on your studies and live a typical college life thanks to this scholarship program.
While renowned as a generous financial aid, the NROTC Scholarship is also one of the most difficult to secure. The application is notoriously lengthy and takes hours to complete. Luckily, you are in the right place!
We have broken down each component of the application in this guide to assist you understand how to win your own award, so keep reading.
What is an NROTC Scholarship?
The NROTC Scholarship allows you to enjoy a regular college experience while preparing to serve as a Naval Officer by offering full tuition, stipends, summer training cruises, and more.
It is a prestigious award with a strikingly straightforward goal: to develop brilliant students for our future fleet, to offer funding and the chance for an excellent college education, and to support you in realizing your full potential with a career that would make any other day job envious.
The NROTC Scholarship, which is the largest single source of Navy and Marine Corps Officers, is made to help you become a strong leader capable of succeeding in a variety of management jobs.
There are three career paths available when joining the NROTC program:
- Navy Option: Prepares students for post-graduate commissioning as U.S. Navy Ensigns in a variety of warfare specialties, including surface, submarine, aviation, and special warfare.
- Nurse Option: Leads to post-graduate commissioning in the U.S. Navy as an Ensign in the Navy Nursing Corps, a division of the Department of the Navy Bureau of Medicine.
- Marine Corps Option: Results in commissioning as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps after graduation.
Over 170 prestigious schools and institutions across the nation receive scholarships from this program, many of which have nursing programs that qualify. Most likely, one of them is already on your short list.
How Do You Know if You Are Eligible?
The NROTC Scholarship has a very high bar. Nevertheless, there is a place for you here, provided you are committed, determined, and inventive. You need to fulfill several conditions, including:
- Be a U.S. citizen and a high school graduate
- Meet the required SAT and/or ACT scores. The minimum SAT scores are 550 Critical Reading, 540 Math (1100 combined), and the minimum ACT scores are 21 Math, 22 English (44 combined).
- Be between 17-23 years of age by September 1 of the year starting college
- Have no criminal record
- Be physically/medically qualified by Navy standards. Some common medical disqualifiers are asthma, mental health, vision, hearing, orthodontics, and orthopedics.
- Be admitted to an approved NROTC college or university. Check out the complete list here.
How Much Money Can You Get from the Scholarship?
All NROTC schools offer the following advantages. Many institutions offer even more:
- Get free tuition at an NROTC-affiliated institution or university.
- Have all the required undergraduate fees paid.
- Get a stipend for uniforms and books. Currently, a school year costs $750 ($375 for each semester and $250 for each quarter).
- Receive the following allowances per academic month: $250 for freshmen, $300 for sophomores, $350 for juniors, and $400 for seniors.
- Take three training cruises over the summer. Get paired with a Naval Officer in the fleet and make the most of your summer to get on-the-job experience in a variety of settings, including as on a nuclear submarine, in aviation squadrons on aircraft carriers, or on warships at sea. You can become familiar with the Marine Corps as well.
What Information Do I Need to Apply?
In addition to the online application, the following items must also be completed:
- An Applicant Fitness Assessment (AFA)
- The three needed references are: 1) a guidance counselor/school administrator; 2) a math, science, or English teacher (depending on program selection); and 3) another teacher, counselor, coach, or employer. Provide their names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. Do not provide teachers your home address; instead, give them the mailing address for the school.
- You have to come up with your own ideas. Take your time to consider what you want to say and attempt to answer a question or explore a subject briefly and thoroughly. Put your signature on a statement attesting that the words are your own original writing. These are brief essay questions and the recommended word count is 250–500 for one to two paragraphs.
- SAT/ACT scores. While you can submit your NROTC Scholarship application electronically at any time, it will not be deemed complete until NROTC receives your qualifying test results.
Additionally, you must coordinate with your recruiter/coordinator to complete the following forms:
- Statement of Understanding for NROTC Application
- Debarment Statement for NROTC Application
- Drug Statement for NROTC Application
How Do I Apply for This Scholarship?
As NROTC Scholarship application can be daunting, you can rely on our general instructions to navigate the process.
You will need to access the NROTC Scholarship Application System to begin your application. First, fill out a NETFOCUS gateway account registration form with your email address and other personal data. Next, select the email/password option during the gateway registration process rather than the CAC card option.
You can begin your scholarship application once you have finished the registration and login processes.
As an added security measure, you must enter your Social Security Number (SSN) and birth date when you first launch your application. This will only be required once. Later, you will only need to provide your email and password the next time you log in to your scholarship application.
Selecting the “Finish” button after finishing your application will enable you to check it for errors. Before they finalize your application, you must get in touch with your coordinator or recruiter to complete and sign supplemental forms.
When Is This Scholarship Due?
The NROTC Scholarship application deadline is January 31, 2023. The application procedure may be started in the second semester of your junior year of high school. Your chances of getting into the institution of your choice increase with the earlier you submit your application.
What’s Next
Are you on a mission to find more life-changing opportunities? Make sure to check out our guides to getting the Mensa Scholarship or these forensic science major scholarships.
