<p>@echolocation</p>
<p>Actually, the time frame for each of the services (Army, Navy, and Air Force) is different. If my memory is correct, Air Force ROTC scholarship applications need to be completed by early December of the senior year, while Navy closes theirs in mid to late January. Army varies from school to school (see why below). The application process opens up in late spring or early summer. </p>
<p>As I mentioned above, it is particularly important for students interested in Navy ROTC to apply very – very! – early if they really want to attend a particular college. This is because the Navy chooses the college which the student attends with the scholarship and makes those assignments in the same order in which the applications are received. “First come first serve” as the saying goes.</p>
<p>Air Force will let the student choose any state supported university in their home state, but going out of state is very difficult. It can be done, but the Air Force expects about 75% of scholarship students to go to a state university.</p>
<p>The Army is bit different from either one, because the student can actually get more than one scholarship. This is because the Army scholarship is locked to specific colleges. In other words, a student could get an Army ROTC scholarship to, say, University of Kansas and ALSO get one to, say, Notre Dame. Of course, the student can only choose to use one. Similarly, the student might apply for a scholarship to Notre Dame but get denied, while actually getting one to University of Kansas. Plus, the deadlines can be different for each school; but generally the deadlines are in December or January.</p>
<p>Because of the way the Air Force does its scholarships, financially out of range schools are unlikely to come into range. However, Army and Navy scholarships can definitely be used at pricey schools like MIT, and Yale, and Stanford, and Duke.</p>
<p>So, each military service is different when it comes to ROTC scholarships.</p>