Frequently Asked Questions

a. Citizenship: U.S.-born or naturalized citizen

b. Age: not less than 17 years of age by September 1 of the year starting college and no more than 23 years of age on 30 June of that year

 (1) Must not reach their 27th birthday by December 31 of the year in

    which graduation and commissioning are anticipated.

 (2) Applicants with prior military service may be eligible for

    age adjustments equal to their prior service, on a month-by-

    month basis, for a maximum of 36 months, provided they do not

    reach their 30th birthday by December 31 of the year graduation

    and commissioning are anticipated.

c. Education: must have a high school diploma or equivalency certificate by August 1 of the year of entrance into the four-year scholarship program

d. Academic: Applicants must achieve the following qualifying scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), American College Test (ACT), or meet the following requirements:

(1) Navy/Navy Nurse: Applicants must have BOTH the minimum individual scores in the SAT/ACT Math and Verbal and a minimum Combined (Math plus Verbal) score in order to be eligible to apply for the scholarship.

   (a) SAT: 550 Verbal/Critical Reading; 540 Math AND 1100 combined (Math plus Critical Reading or Evidence Based Reading and Writing)

   (b) ACT: 22 Verbal; 21 Math AND 44 combined (Math plus English)

   (c) For application purposes, NSTC will evaluate candidates

       based on the highest score in each individual category

       if the applicant elects to take these tests multiple

       times.

 

(2) Marine:

      (a) SAT: 1000 Composite (Math and Critical Reading only)

      (b) ACT: 22 Composite

      (c) Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT): 74

      (d) Scores will be taken from the MOST RECENT test only.  Applicants cannot combine best scores from multiple tests.

e. Physical. This is not required during the selection process; however, the applicant must be certified as physically qualified for naval service before the scholarship can be activated.

Note: Candidates must meet height and weight standards in accordance with OPNAVINST 6110.1 in order to be considered eligible for the NROTC Program. An applicant that is out of standards must be addressed in the Officer Interview.

f. Conscientious Objector. No moral obligations or personal convictions that prevent conscientious bearing of arms and supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

g. Admission to a college/university with an NROTC unit. This is not required during the selection process, but notification of admission must be received before the scholarship can be activated.

h. Nurse Option. Applicants with Nurse Option must gain admission to a university that has a NROTC affiliation and offers a state approved or National League of Nursing (NLN) approved bachelor’s degree in nursing.

If you already have 30-plus credit hours or will have 30-plus credit hours at the end of this semester and would like to pursue a scholarship with the NROTC program, you should contact the NROTC Unit at the college/university you wish to attend. They can inform you about the College Program option.

If you decide not to attend an NROTC college/university, you can still receive a commission in the Navy by contacting a local Naval Officer Recruiter from the website navy.com/navy/locator.html and completing Officer Candidate School (OCS).

Additionally, the Officer Recruiter in your local area has other AMAZING commissioning programs such as the Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate Scholarship (NUPOC). More information is available at navy-officer.com/scholarships.html.

We recommend that you go to navy.com/officer and look at the options the Navy has to offer. You can receive a commission in the Navy through Officer Candidate School (OCS) by contacting a local Naval Officer Recruiter from the website above. More information on OCS is available at netc.navy.mil/nstc/otcn/index.htm.

By serving as an active duty commissioned officer, you can receive money for your graduate degree from the Navy in the form of tuition assistance and the Post 9/11 GI Bill^®. Additionally, the Navy provides opportunities for active duty officers to receive a master's degree through multiple Graduate Education Programs.

We apologize for any misunderstanding, but you will not be able to attend a non-NROTC school and still participate in the NROTC program. 

If you decide not to attend an NROTC college/university, you can still receive a commission in the Navy by contacting a local Naval Officer Recruiter from the website navy.com/officer and completing Officer Candidate School (OCS).  You can get more information on OCS at netc.navy.mil/nstc/otcn/index.htm.

Additionally, the Officer Recruiter in your local area has other AMAZING commissioning programs such as the Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate Scholarship (NUPOC). More information is available at navy-officer.com/scholarships.html and navynupoc.blogspot.com.

If you are interested in the Language, Regional Expertise and Culture (LREC) Academic Program, you should focus on one of the regional and cultural areas listed below when selecting an LREC academic major.

Regional/Cultural Areas:

(a) Africa

• Sub-Sahara
• North Africa

(b) Central Asia

(c) East Asia/China

(d) Middle/Central/Latin America

(e) Middle East

(f) South Asia

(g) Southeast Asia

(h) Southwest Asia

(i) Russia/Eastern Europe

b. You should also focus on one of the languages listed below when selecting an LREC academic major.

Foreign Languages:

Arabic                        Pashto

Cambodian                     Persian

Central Asian Languages       Portuguese

Chinese                       Russian

Dari                          Serbo-Croatian

Farsi                         Somali

French                        Spanish

Hebrew                        Swahili

Hindi                         Tagalog

Indonesian                    Thai

Japanese                      Turkish

Kurdish                       Urdu

Malay                         Vietnamese

Under the LREC program, you will be listed as tier 3 major and will still need to select an unrestricted line community to be commissioned in. You then follow the same career progression and assignments as all other personnel associated with that community. However, you will be categorized as an LREC officer to possibly be called upon in the future for your language/cultural expertise.

You can formally request to change your major from a tier 1 or 2 to a tier 3; however, this requested change of tier will cause us to rescind your current scholarship offer. Our scholarships are given based on the major/tier fields that applicants list on their applications at the time of selection. Tier 1 majors can request changing to a tier 2 major without losing their scholarship, but a change from a tier 1 or 2 major to a tier 3 major results in a scholarship loss.

If you decide to go ahead with the change request to a tier 3, your scholarship will go before a new selection board to be reviewed in order to award you with a tier 3 major vice a tier 1 or 2.  Please understand, though, that most of our scholarships are granted for tier 1 and tier 2 majors.

If you would still like to proceed with the change of major, please send your change of major request to pnsc_nrotc_cgo@navy.mil.

You cannot go directly to medical school with an NROTC scholarship. However, the Navy offers the Health Professions Scholarship Program, which you could apply for during your junior year of college as a scholarship midshipman. We only give 25 of these scholarships a year.

For more information regarding this competitive program, you can visit this website or contact our Medical Officer at 1-800-NAV-ROTC, ext. 29388 or pnsc_nrotc_medical@navy.mil.

All NROTC program midshipmen must be released from their present enlistment contract and terminate their affiliation with drilling reserve units, except for College Program midshipmen in the basic course (i.e. freshman and sophomore years).  College Program midshipmen in the basic course may continue their affiliation with a drilling reserve unit until eligible for benefits upon enrollment in advanced standing (junior and senior years).  Members of reserve components must be conditionally released (DD368) from their present enlistment contract and enlisted under the provisions of the NROTC Program to facilitate Scholarship or College Program (Advanced Standing) enrollment.  They may be enrolled as Naval Science students pending discharge from such status.

The period of time served in the NROTC Scholarship or College Program shall not be counted in computing longevity, retirement eligibility, retired pay, or for any purpose in computing the length of service of any officer of the Armed Forces.

NROTC Scholarship or College Program midshipmen in advanced standing may not simultaneously be a member of another officer accession program as set forth in Section 12209, Title 10, United States Code, e.g., Marine Corps Platoon Leader's Course (PLC), Merchant Marine/U.S. Naval Reserve Midshipman Program, Aviation Reserve OC Program, etc.

So, basically, you must be conditionally released from your contract with the reserves before you begin receiving any money from the NROTC program.

Thank you very much for your inquiry regarding NROTC board selection. Unfortunately, we do not discuss any applicant's status at anytime during the selection process until a final decision has been made due to the fact that our scholarship selection cycle is not completed.

Our selection boards meet monthly to ensure timely selection for applicants. If you are not selected, your application will then "roll" to the next board. This will continue to occur until the end of board selections in April. Applicants who are not selected will then be notified. However, you may currently be selected and will soon be informed.

Your acceptance to a college or university has no weight on a board's decision to select you or not.

Should we need any amplifying information from you, we will contact you by one of the available means listed on your application or through your NROTC coordinator.

Please be patient as we have many applicants. I understand that it can be anxious and stressful while awaiting results, but please check your online application status at the NROTC website periodically for any updates.

You have requested a school which is a cross-town affiliate of the university where the NROTC Unit is located.  This university is called the host unit.  You will only see the host unit on your acceptance questionnaire, however you can rest assured that your requested school has been noted in your record.

The scholarship money is sent to the host school’s unit and the host unit pays the cross-town affiliated school you are attending.

Qualifying ACT/SAT scores for both Navy and Navy Nurse options are as follows:

ACT: 22 – English

         21 – Math

         AND 44 combined (English plus Math)

SAT: 550 – Verbal/Critical Reading

        540 – Math

        AND 1100 combined (Critical Reading plus Math)

Additionally, we “superscore” your tests for Navy and Navy Nurse meaning that we take your highest score from either the SAT or ACT in Math and you highest score in English/Critical Reading for the past two years to achieve the best score possible.  So, it is best to have both exams.  If you do not meet those scores, we encourage you to retake both tests.

Note: If you do not meet these scores, you must be in the top 10% of your graduating class in order to be considered for a Four Year National Scholarship.

Qualifying ACT/SAT scores for Marine option applicants are taken from the MOST RECENT test and are as follows:

ACT: 22 - Composite

SAT: 1000 – Composite

Yes, you can request to switch options during the application process by sending an email to pnsc_nrotc_applications@navy.mil. Once the change has been made in the computer, you must redo the two essay questions and get an English teacher evaluation (if switching to Marine) or a Math teacher evaluation (if switching to Navy) unless you already have one. If you need a blank teacher evaluation form, you can request one from the above email. You need to get the evaluation and essays redone ASAP. You can fax the evaluation to (850) 452-2486 when completed.

If you are ultimately awarded a scholarship, you can also formally request to switch through your NROTC unit, but it is not always approved. It is best to have your mind made up prior to submitting the initial application.