For high school cadets and parents
How to apply for an ROTC scholarship
An ROTC scholarship application goes to the military service, not to MeritLink. This guide shows which official page to open, which published deadline belongs to that page, and what to do when a page does not print a date.
Dates below are the ones already listed on MeritLink’s ROTC scholarship dates page. Official sources were read on October 4, 2026. Confirm each linked page before you apply.
Apply to each service on its own site
Army ROTC, Air Force ROTC, and Navy or Marine NROTC do not share one form. Pick the service first. If a cadet wants to try more than one, complete each application on that service’s site and track each deadline separately.
- Army ROTC scholarship deadline 2027. High school class of 2027.
- Air Force ROTC scholarship deadline. High school window for the 2027–2028 academic year.
- NROTC scholarship application deadline. Navy, Nurse, and Marine options.
Army ROTC, class of 2027
The U.S. Army scholarships page says applications for the high school class of 2027 opened on and must be started no later than to be eligible for review by the Army ROTC National Scholarship Board. The same page lists board due dates of October 12, 2026, January 18, 2027, and March 8, 2027.
Start the application on the Army page. The eligibility list there includes U.S. citizenship, age, a high school diploma or equivalent, an unweighted GPA of at least 2.50 for students applying while in high school, the SAT or ACT, and the fitness standards the Army names. The Army page is the checklist. This guide does not add steps the Army did not print.
Air Force ROTC high school scholarship
The Air Force ROTC high school application page says the window runs from through for students entering Air Force ROTC in the 2027–2028 academic year. That page says junior year of high school must be finished before you apply, and it tells applicants to read the application guide to confirm eligibility.
Apply on the Air Force ROTC site during that window. Students already in college follow the in-college scholarship page instead. This site does not list a deadline for the in-college path, so confirm it there.
Navy and Marine Corps NROTC
The Naval Service Training Command four-year page says the fiscal year 2026 NROTC online application is closed and the fiscal year 2027 application is open. It does not list a calendar deadline. The Marine Corps page says applicants use the NROTC online application and select the Marine option, and it does not list a deadline either.
Open the Navy four-year page, confirm the fiscal year 2027 application is still open, and look there for a close date before you submit. On the application, choose the Navy, Nurse, or Marine option. The Army start-by date and the Air Force window are published for those services. Use the NROTC page for the NROTC close date.
Leave academy applications on their own sites
A nomination and appointment to West Point, the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy, the Coast Guard Academy, or the Merchant Marine Academy is not an ROTC scholarship. None of the ROTC dates on this site apply to those admissions offices. Use the academy links on the dates page and follow each admissions site for the current class.
A practical order of work
- Choose the service. Read that service’s guide linked above.
- Open the official application page and compare its dates with the ROTC scholarship dates page. If they differ, follow the official page.
- Gather only what that page asks for. For Army applicants, the scholarships page names the SAT or ACT, GPA, citizenship, and fitness standards. For Air Force applicants, finish junior year and read the application guide. For NROTC, select Navy, Nurse, or Marine on the NROTC application.
- Submit on the official site.
- If you want a cadet profile to keep while you apply, create a free MeritLink account. That account does not send the scholarship application.
Common questions
How do you apply for an ROTC scholarship?
Apply on the official site for the service you want. Army, Air Force, and Navy or Marine NROTC each have their own application. Use the deadline that service publishes, then submit on that service’s site. MeritLink does not file the application.
Can one application cover Army, Air Force, and Navy ROTC?
No. The Army scholarships page, the Air Force ROTC high school application, and the NROTC four-year application are separate. A cadet who wants more than one service completes each official application.
Which ROTC scholarship deadline should a high school cadet use?
For Army ROTC, the high school class of 2027 must start an application no later than March 4, 2027. For Air Force ROTC, the high school window runs from July 1, 2026 through December 11, 2026 for entry in the 2027–2028 academic year. The NROTC four-year page says the fiscal year 2027 application is open and does not list a calendar deadline.
Are service academy applications the same as ROTC scholarships?
No. West Point, the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy, the Coast Guard Academy, and the Merchant Marine Academy use their own admissions pages. ROTC scholarship dates do not apply to those appointments.