Frequently Asked Questions

Start the process at the beginning of you high school senior year. The Navy Recruiting Command and Headquarters, Marine Corps accept and process all NROTC scholarship applications.

The Navy Recruiting Command and Headquarters, Marine Corps will notify you of the results of the scholarship selection board.

After arriving on campus as a college freshman, by entering NROTC as a College Program student, you can apply for a 3-year scholarship - at the end of your freshman year. The staff at the NROTC will assist you in preparing the application. If you receive a scholarship and accept it, you incur the same obligation as a 4-year scholarship student entering their sophomore year.

The scholarship covers full tuition and mandatory school fees. In addition, each scholarship student receives all educational fees paid for, uniforms, $375 towards books each semester, and up to a $400 per month subsistence allowance. The NROTC pays for scholarship students’ initial transportation from home to school and from home to summer cruise training.

The NROTC Unit will pay your tuition and fees directly to the university. Incoming freshman are required to pay a deposit before school starts. You must pay these deposits.

The deposit is applied toward your housing bill. Since the Navy will pay the tuition bill, your initial deposit can be applied to your housing bill. The Navy will provide a basic book stipend of $375, independent of the amount you actually spend on books.

Maybe, but not through the traditional process. Students can become eligible for the award of a scholarship by joining their NROTC Unit in the College Program (non-scholarship) status.

After one academic term, the student may be recommended for scholarship status to the Chief of Naval Education and Training - who is empowered to award scholarships to promising College Program students. In general, if you can earn better than a 3.0 GPA in your first academic term, achieve a “B” or better in Calculus, and demonstrate a high aptitude for Naval Service, you will have a good chance for a NROTC scholarship.

The availability of these “side-load” scholarships is also dependent on the officer production needs of the Navy and NROTC budget.

No. The scholarship selection process is TOTALLY INDEPENDENT of the KSU admission process. You must seek admission to KSU or some other NROTC host university.

Remember the NROTC scholarship cannot be awarded to you until you have been accepted for admission at an NROTC host school. It is a good idea for NROTC scholarship applicants to apply to more than one NROTC host school, to ensure acceptance to at least one school.

The scholarship selection process is completely independent of the medical examination. Scholarship selection is based on academic performance, extracurricular activities, and demonstrated leadership potential. You can be selected as a scholarship nominee, even before you take the medical exam but, of course, it cannot be awarded to you until you have passed the medical exam.

The importance of completing and passing the medical exam cannot be over-emphasized. It is up to you to do all you can to complete the medical exam in a timely fashion. If follow-up exams or inputs from your local doctor are required, then you must ensure you meet these requirements.

That depends on the nature of the problem. Some problems, such as minor eye corrections, can be waived. Some problems, such as having had certain childhood diseases or a family history of diabetes, can cloud your medical record - to the point that additional medical evidence may be required to substantiate your qualification. Unless you are told that your condition is absolutely disqualifying, you should do all that you can to obtain medical certification.

Letters from family doctors or your local specialists can help to show your condition should not be disqualifying. When in doubt, ask for a medical waiver. These issues should be addressed with DoDMERB and the NSTC medical board. DO NOT send medical documentation to the local unit.

Marine Option students are required to pass a physical fitness exam to be eligible for scholarship selection.

Navy Option students do not take this exam as a prerequisite to selection. Once in the NROTC program, all midshipmen are required to pass a semi-annual physical fitness assessment, which, for Navy option students, consists of push-ups, sit-ups, and a 1.5-mile run. All midshipmen are encouraged to seek excellence in their physical fitness and to do more than the minimums in their fitness tests.

Marine Option students take a slightly different test that consists of pull-ups, sit-ups, and a 3-mile run.

No. The same personal characteristics and academic credentials are considered in scholarship selection and in Kennesaw State admission. Selection for a scholarship is a good indication that you may be selected for admission but it is neither guaranteed nor implied.

The NROTC scholarship committee might place more emphasis on leadership potential as evidenced in extracurricular athletics or school government activities. The university might place more emphasis on academic achievement.

Yes. The NROTC scholarship selection board will consider the “whole person,” including College Board scores, grades, class standing, athletics, participation in extracurricular activities, recommendations, interview results, and perceived potential. NROTC is looking for future leaders of the Navy and Marine Corps. NROTC wants well rounded students, who are intelligent enough to excel in academics, athletic enough to meet the physical challenges of military service, and who are personable and dynamic enough to assume roles as military leaders. It is not enough to be only bright, or only athletic, or only personable. It takes a combination of the three qualities to be a successful Naval Officer. Officer candidates must also be of high moral character.

Students with criminal records or who have gone beyond experimentation with illegal drugs are not likely officer candidates. Take care in selecting those who will provide written recommendations for you. If a candidate is depicted as being an average run-of-the-mill student, it will detract from the board’s assessment of the individual.

The application interview with your local recruiter is also vitally important. Look sharp and present yourself well. College Board scores can be a positive factor for the student but only insofar as they are supported by actual academic achievement. A student with high SAT or ACT scores, but mediocre grades and class standing, is less desirable than a student with moderate scores and high grades and standing. One is coasting and the other is a hard working achiever.

A NROTC midshipman is a civilian, pursuing his or her own academic degree in a normal university environment - in the same manner as a non-midshipman would. The only difference is that midshipman takes a series of Naval Science courses and he wears a uniform to class twice a week. Midshipmen are free to join fraternities/sororities, and enjoy all aspects of campus life.

Offices and classrooms are just like all other offices and classrooms on campus. You will blend in with and participate in the campus activities of your choice. When you graduate, you will serve with pride as a Navy or Marine Corps officer.

As much as you want, but at least six hours a week. Your Naval Science courses meet three hours per week and replace other electives, so those courses should not be thought of as extra requirements. In addition, there are two one-hour leadership lab sessions each week; and you may be asked to devote about two nights per month in required activities.

The battalion conducts unit level physical fitness training on one morning per week, for one-hour. Additionally, Marine option students conduct physical fitness training on Mondays and Fridays. There are a number of NROTC extracurricular activities available to you, if you are interested in them. NROTC sponsors formal and informal dinners, parties, picnics, and other get-togethers. Many of these activities are purely voluntary.

There are three different cruises. The first summer cruise, after freshman year, gives all scholarship students the chance to learn about the four basic “line officer” specialties.

The students spend one week at each of four locations, to receive indoctrination in aviation, submarine, surface ships, and Marine Corps amphibious operations. The second summer cruise, which all scholarship students take after sophomore year, is aboard either a surface ship or submarine (student’s choice) and is geared toward experiencing the Navy from an enlisted viewpoint.

fThe summer cruise, after junior year, provides junior officer training aboard ships, submarines, or with an aircraft squadron for the Navy students and at the Marine Corps Base at Quantico, Virginia - for the Marine Corps students.

College Program students complete one summer training cruise - their cruise is the same as their scholarship student counterparts’, after junior year.

Students travel all over the world on cruises. The Navy pays for travel expenses from school or your home to the cruise site and your return home, each summer.

Our juniors have many options available to them. They can request Aircraft Carrier or Patrol Squadron cruises and special training with Navy Seals. They may also request a foreign exchange cruise, for their final summer.

Each year, several students take summer cruises aboard ships of a foreign Navy. Students have had the opportunity to visit Norfolk, VA, Mayport, FL, Pensacola, FL, King’s Bay, GA, San Diego, CA, Everett, WA, Pearl Harbor, HI, Yokosuka, Japan, Guam, Saipan, Singapore, and Panama.