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Scholarships

Nearly 1.5 million American college students are currently graduating colleges with debt; that’s 70% of students today. The average cost of that debt is around $30,000 and can cause a lot of stress and hardship as students work to pay it off.

scholarship

Thankfully, the Army has a lot of wonderful scholarships that can help to significantly alleviate the cost of college, and many Army ROTC scholarship winners will graduate with no debt. In addition to a nearly free education, scholarship winners will receive the best leadership training and the world and their service to the nation will give them job training that no civilian career could give them.

The Army’s window for earning an Army ROTC scholarship opens up for students who are seniors in high school and will close during the junior year of college, unless students are pursuing a masters degree and still have two years of school remaining. This flexibility means that it’s not too late to earn money for college!

Please explore the High School and College sections of this page to get a better understanding of the scholarship opportunities available!

Scholarship Requirements.

There are also minimum requirements for all scholarship applicants. In order to receive a scholarship you must meet the following standards:

  • Be a citizen of the United States
  • Be between the ages of 17 and 26
  • Have a high school GPA of at least 2.50
  • Have a high school diploma or equivalent
  • Provide score report for the SAT (two-part) and ACT
  • Pass the Army Physical Fitness Test
  • Agree to accept a commission and serve in the Army on Active Duty or in a Reserve Component (Army Reserve or Army National Guard)

For further information, please contact by email at armyrotc@cornell.edu or by phone at 607-255-4000.

Simultaneous Membership Program

natty-guard

Cadets that serve in the National Guard or Army Reserve can obtain additional benefits from the Simultaneous Membership Program. This program allows students to serve in their reserve component units while also actively participating in Army ROTC as a cadet.

  • SMP cadets will be required to follow their unit’s drill schedule, which is one weekend per month and two weeks during the summer.
  • Receive drill pay, which amounts to $3000-$4500 per year
  • SMP Cadets without scholarships can take advantage of different tuition assistance programs
  • Army Reserve= $4500/yr Federal
  • NY National Guard= $4500/yr Federal + $4350/yr State

Contracting

The goal of ROTC is, of course, to create officers for the US Army. Unfortunately, not everybody who participates can be guaranteed the opportunity to commission and not every cadet the completes the program will be given a scholarship. All cadets that want to earn the commission, even if it means not getting a scholarship, must sign a contract with the Army before the end of their junior year.

  • Contracting commits you to 8 years of service with the Army
  • 4 years active duty, followed by 4 years inactive or actively drilling reserve component
  • 8 years on National Guard or Army Reserve
  • Contracted cadets receive monthly stipend of $420 a month during school year
Cadets are sworn into the Army after signing their contracts

Cadets are sworn into the Army after signing their contracts