2- and 3-Year Sideload Scholarships

If you are interested in applying for the Non-Affiliated Sideload Scholarship, please review the application instructions provided. Contact us at dbnrotc@erau.edu for any further elaboration.

If selected for a 2- or 3-year NROTC scholarship, you will receive the associated scholarship benefits going forward and matriculate toward a commission in the United States Navy. Additionally, you will be required to take the applicable Naval Science classes and specified courses in addition to your normal classes.

Due to the additional course requirements associated with NROTC, we strongly encourage students to apply for this scholarship before their sophomore year to ensure you can graduate and commission on time. Additionally, we strongly encourage you to enroll in NSCI 101 and NSCI 102 (This is not required but highly encouraged, as you will be required to complete these courses retroactively if you are accepted to the program. This also allows you to interact directly with your prospective classmates and Naval Science Instructors).

Application

Sideload Scholarships applications are no longer being accepted for the 2026-2027 academic year. This window will reopen in January 2027 for the 2027-2028 academic year.

Application documents can be found below. Please do not send individual emails and/or attachments. Compile the entire application into one file and send in one email. Ensure that you use the Application Checklist as the cover page of your application to verify that you have all required documents. When completing your application, follow the Application Instructions exactly as written or your application will be rejected.

Application Instructions

Non-Affiliated Scholarship: Current Embry-Riddle students (including transfers) with 30-120 college credits and at least two years before graduating may be eligible for the Non-Affiliated NROTC Scholarship. Below is a list of eligibility requirements (there are no exception to policies):

• Be a U.S. citizen, a naturalized citizen or in process of obtaining their U.S. citizenship.
• Not less than 17 years old by Sept. 1 of year the Scholarship is effective and not have reached 24th birthday (3-year nominee) or 25th birthday (2-year or Advanced Standing nominee) or 26th birthday (1-year nominee) on Dec. 31 of that year.
• Must not have reached 27th birthday by Dec. 31 of year in which graduation and commissioning are anticipated.
• Applicants with prior military service may be eligible for age adjustments for amount of time equal to their prior service, on month-by-month basis, for maximum 36 months, if they will not reach their 30th birthday by Dec. 31 of year in which graduation and commissioning are anticipated.
• No moral obligations or personal convictions that prevent conscientious bearing of arms and supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic or to taking an oath to perform such acts.
• Scored at least a 60 on the Applicant Fitness Assessment.
• Must not have any body piercing or tattoos that violate Navy policy.
• Active-duty Navy applicants are ineligible to apply for the NROTC program.  Active members of other branches of the military may apply if granted a conditional release.
• Must be within 1, 2 or 3 years of estimated graduation/commissioning date.
• Must have at least 30 semester hours (45 quarter hours) but no more than 120 semester hours (180 quarter hours). College credits include those already earned and those currently enrolled in and anticipated to be earned during the spring term. Only those college credits that are accepted by the University/College, that the nominee has been admitted to and from which they are being nominated, should be used to determine eligibility.
• Must have a minimum college GPA of 2.5 (on a 4.0 scale).
• Must be admitted to a school affiliated with the ROTC Unit from which they are being nominated.

All interested parties must submit the application, with the Applicant Letter Template form, along with all enclosures/documents, by March 15. Please format the applicant letter as applicable. You must wet-sign the cover letter. Incorrectly formatting your application may result in rejection of your application. You may send the essay response within your email submission or attach as an enclosure.

Competitive applicants will be accepted and interviewed by the unit’s Commanding Officer. All applicants for the Non-Affiliated Scholarship must be prepared to attend both New Student Indoctrination (NSI) and New Student Orientation (NSO). You must complete the NSI administrative and medical requirements within the NSI Mandatory Information Package. This must be completed and sent to the NROTC Unit and the Candidate Midshipman Guidance Office (CMGO). Please review the NSI tab for more information regarding the process and timelines for submissions. NSO is the week prior to the Fall semester at the Embry-Riddle campus prior to program entry. Non-Affiliated Scholarship results are announced in early August annually.

Note: It is your responsibility to ensure that your package is complete; incomplete or incorrect applications will not be considered!

• All applicants for any Embry-Riddle NROTC program must be accepted, or in the process of applying, to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
• Review the Application Checklist (listed below) thoroughly and make it the cover page of your entire application.
• For all documents that are fillable PDFs, complete the information by typing in the PDF itself — not by pen/pencil!
• Navy applicants may “super score” their SAT/ACT scores on the General Information Form. Marine applicants may not.
• Your personal statement is limited to a maximum of 1500 characters or approximately 250 words and must address all the following questions: 1) Why do you want to become a Naval/Marine Corps Officer through the NROTC program? 2) Why do you believe you would make a good Naval/Marine Corps Officer? 3) Which specific community do you hope to be a part of within the Navy/Marine Corps?
• Your letter(s) of recommendation should be from individuals such as coaches, teachers, mentors (non-family members) that can speak to your character and propensity to serve as a Naval/Marine Corps Officer. No more than three letters will be considered.
• For the NSTC Forms 1533 -101/102/112 (or any applicable forms), the signature of Witnessing Official will be left blank.
• A Degree Completion Plan (DCP) is a semester-by-semester “roadmap” of your classes. Use the template listed below using the guidance outlined in the NROTC Specified Courses section. It must reflect Naval Science courses, calculus/physics, etc.
• The Applicant Fitness Assessment (AFA) may only be administered by an athletics coach, certified trainer, JROTC instructor, NROTCU staff, active-duty, or gym teacher. If the AFA is administered at Embry-Riddle NROTC, you must complete the Preparticipation Physical Evaluation (PPE) by University Health Services/any health care provider. This form must be given to the NROTC staff prior to the assessment.
• Applications may be submitted in-person or by email. For emailed applications, scan your documents into a single PDF and email to johnstoz@erau.edu and dbnrotc@erau.edu with the subject line “Embry-Riddle NROTC Non-Affiliated Scholarship Application – Full Name”. Please do not send individual emails and/or attachments. Compile the entire application into one file and send in one email. If you do not receive confirmation of receipt from us within two weeks, please reach out to verify your status.

Application Checklist

Submit the documents in the order listed below, using this checklist as the first page of your application. You may copy the below checklist into a Word doc and then add it to your PDF for submission.

1. NROTC Non-Affiliated Scholarship General Information Form
2. Personal Statement — Prompt described in Application Instructions
3. Applicant Cover Letter Form
4. College Transcript (Unofficial/Scanned Copy)
5. Letter of admittance from university
6. Degree Completion Plan (DCP) — Include all required NROTC courses; guidance provided within the NROTC Specified Courses Guide below.
7. Applicant Fitness Assessment (AFA) Scoresheet — Navy applicants only
8. Physical Fitness Test (PFT) Scoresheet — Marine applicants only  
9. Statement of Understanding (Navy URL or Nurse Option) (NSTC 1533/112 or 1533/129)
10. Drug Statement (NSTC 1533/101)
11. Debarment Statement (NSTC 1533/102)
12. Letter(s) of Recommendation — No more than three

Application Documents

• General Information Form
• Applicant Letter Template Form
• Navy URL SOU
• Nurse SOU (Nurse Option only)
• Debarment SOU
• Drug Statement
• Pre-Med SOU (Pre-Med only)
• Applicant Fitness Assessment (Navy Option Applicants only)
• Preparticipation Physical Evaluation Form
• Medical History Form
• Physical Examination Form
• Medical Eligibility Form 
• Degree Completion Plan Template

NROTC Specified Courses Guide

Purpose: To promulgate a list of courses approved in order to meet the academic requirements of reference NSTC M-1533.2 (Series).

Scope: This notice is applicable to all NROTCU students. The additional degree requirements are delineated in the following table:

Note: There are specific courses that are approved for Calculus (MATH 241/242/243), Physics (PHYS 150/160/226/227), English, American History and World Culture. Please email dbnrotc@erau.edu requesting the entire NROTC Specified Course Notice to facilitate in the generation of your Degree Completion Plan (DCP). This will help ensure you have the approved courses, course credit limits and understanding that NSCI courses are only offered during certain semesters of the year.

View the Degree Completion Plan Template

The above document must be filled out using your approved major/NSCI/specified courses before attaching to your application. If you need assistance accessing the above document, please contact IT Support at ITsupport@erau.edu.

If you have any questions, please email dbnrotc@erau.edu.

To assist in the facilitation of these applications, Embry-Riddle NROTCU will administer two Applicant Fitness Assessments (AFA) every spring semester. One conducting in the first week of February, and one conducting in the first week of March. There are no retakes of the AFA. You must have the Preparticipation Physical Evaluation (PPE) by the University Health Services/any health care provider before conducting the AFA. If you do not achieve the minimum score, we encourage you to stay motivated and apply again the following year.

These applications are due March 15 of each year, with results announced in August of each year. PNS Interviews will be scheduled following the application deadline.

Recipients of any Sideload Scholarship must obtain medical clearance from the Department of Defense Medical Examination Review Board (DoDMERB), pass the Navy Physical Readiness Test (PRT) or the Marine Corps Physical Fitness Test (PFT), and attend New Student Indoctrination (NSI) at Naval Station Great Lakes before the scholarship can be activated. Failure to do so may result in delayed scholarship activation and eventual disenrollment from the NROTC program. For more information on NSI and physical preparation, please see the "New Student Indoctrination (NSI)" section.