My situation with Army ROTC being out of scholarship funding.

[marshmallow]

I have a situation in which I am looking for positive insight. I am a prior-service enlisted man and I have deployed with the ILARNG in support of OEF as an infantryman during 2008-2009. After demobilization, I went back to school in a private university and joined their ROTC program under the suggestion that I'd be given a GRFD scholarship and my tuition would be paid for by it. I just recently found out that the state of IL no longer has funding for GRFD scholarships this school year and that I would have to foot the bill for my tuition. I'm aware that I have other benefits to utilize for tuition but none will pay for it completely. I'm only at 60% for the Post 9/11 GI Bill and since tuition costs $9k for me per quarter I am going to lose a great deal of money. I would need to pay for the current quarter I am in and the next quarter.

I am looking for advice on who I can contact to push my GRFD scholarship paperwork through. As a prior-service national guard infantryman, I feel like I'm being left out in the cold.

[dnall]

I am looking for advice on who I can contact to push my GRFD scholarship paperwork through. As a prior-service national guard infantryman, I feel like I'm being left out in the cold.
That's not fair. Don't confuse bad timing with being screwed over.

If they're out of money then they're out of money. Elevating paperwork doesn't really make any difference.

You chose a costly private school that your benefits don't cover. You may have done that anticipating a scholarship, but it was your decision & you made it before that money was in the bag. Take responsibility for that, and do the best you can going forward. I swear, having a sense of entitlement or tendency to push blame off on others are the very most unacceptable qualities in an officer.

I'm really not trying to be too hard on you here. I just want you to take ownership of your situation so you can overcome it through self-reliance.

You already know the solution/options. You have to maximize the benefits already available to you - your GI Bill, Tuition assistance, and any other traditional financial aid or scholarships you can get. If you're short then you're short. You either drop some cash &/or you shorten your course load to something you can afford. If that's not going to work, then you go somewhere you can afford. Maybe that's a junior college for a semester - maybe one with a cross-town agreement with this or another ROTC unit.

Good Luck! I really hope it works out for you.

[matthew.ritchie]

I'm surprised to hear that, since for the past 20 years this has not been the case. Have you discussed this with Illinois' OSM? Have you looked into Dedicated ARNG ROTC scholarships, or campus-based?

[PFC Lowe]

have you considered going to another school but still doing ROTC at your current school?