How the Air Force ROTC (HSSP) scholarship board decides

You must meet every minimum below to become eligible. AFROTC allows no exceptions to these criteria. [F1] For the AY27-28 cycle:

• Test score: SAT 1310, ACT 28 or CLT 93. AFROTC uses your highest single-sitting score; superscores are not accepted. If you take the ACT, you must take the Science section. [F1]
• GPA: an unweighted cumulative GPA of at least 3.3 through your last full school year. [F1]
• Fitness: a Physical Fitness Assessment (see below). [F1]
• Interview: with an AFROTC detachment. [F1]
• Age and citizenship: at least 17 when the scholarship activates and no more than 30 by December 31 of your commissioning year; a U.S. citizen by the last day of your first college term. [F1]

Beyond the minimums, the application asks for a counselor form and transcript, your youth experience (JROTC, Civil Air Patrol, scouting), and an activity sheet with the activities you want the board to consider from grades 9 to 11. [F1] AFROTC says test scores are "part of our selection process." [F1] It does not accept letters of recommendation. [F1]

Majors matter. AFROTC's instruction says the focus of the HSSP is to encourage study in critical majors. [F4] The applicant guide ranks majors from criticality 1 (most needed) to 4, and AFROTC tries to match each offer to your degree preference, subject to Air Force needs. [F1]

AFROTC picks the type when it makes an offer: [F1]

• Type 1: no tuition cap, plus a textbook allowance and stipend.
• Type 2: up to $18,000 a year in tuition, plus a textbook allowance and stipend.
• Type 4: up to $36,000 a year in tuition, plus a textbook allowance and stipend.
• Housing conversion: up to $10,000 a year for university-billed housing, in place of tuition.

AFROTC does not upgrade offers. [F1] It no longer awards Type 7 scholarships. [F4]

You cannot schedule the interview until AFROTC finds your application eligible. Then AFROTC refers you to the detachment closest to your home, and the detachment contacts you. The purpose of the interview is to determine your potential as an Air Force officer. [F1]

• The interviewer is an AFROTC detachment official or an Air Force Academy Liaison Officer. [F1]
• The interview follows a structured guide that AFROTC updates each year. [F4]
• The interview must be done by the board's interview cutoff, or you miss that board. [F1]
• If no detachment contacts you within 21 days of becoming eligible, AFROTC emails you the detachment's contact details. [F1]
• Only the assigned interviewer can ask to move your interview. AFROTC does not accept requests from applicants or parents. [F1]

Disclose all civil involvements in your application. AFROTC withdraws offers from winners who did not disclose civil involvements or drug or alcohol abuse that happened before the interview. [F1, F2]

For AY27-28 the Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA) is a timed 2-mile run, 1 minute of push-ups and 1 minute of sit-ups. It is not pass/fail. [F1]

• Only a certified high-school official or a parent or legal guardian can give it. AFROTC staff cannot. [F1]
• Use the current score sheet from WINGS. Older versions are not accepted. [F1]
• Alternate events (HAMR shuttle run, hand-release push-ups, cross-body reverse crunches) are not accepted, and neither are tests from another service or a service academy. [F1]
• You can submit only one score sheet. You cannot retake it after you submit. [F1]

Each board has 3 cutoffs: the initial application, the documents and test scores that make you eligible, and the interview. AFROTC grants no extensions. [F1] If you get an offer on one board, you are not boarded again. [F1]

Next cutoff: Board 2: application cutoff (final), December 11, 2026. Final cutoff: Apply by Dec 11, 2026 · documents and scores by Dec 22.

All cutoffs are 11:59 p.m. Central. AFROTC gives no extensions. You can schedule the interview only after AFROTC finds your file eligible. If you get an offer on Board 1, you do not go to Board 2. Accept a Board 1 offer by March 1, 2027 and a Board 2 offer by May 31, 2027.

Air Force ROTC deadline countdown and reminders

• Test scores. You can send more than one score. AFROTC uses the highest single-sitting score it receives by the board's cutoff. [F1] Scores can take 1 to 2 weeks to arrive, so send them early with code 0548. [F1]
• Fitness. You cannot submit a second PFA. AFROTC says you can talk about your fitness improvements at your interview. [F1] If you have not tested yet, train for the 3 events first.
• Interview. Answer the detachment quickly, and check that your email and phone number in WINGS are correct. [F1]
• Activity sheet. Report every activity from grades 9 to 11 that you want the board to consider. [F1]
• Third parties. Your counselor and the testing agency must meet the cutoffs too. AFROTC says that is your responsibility. [F1]

If you do not win a scholarship, you can still join AFROTC in college. AFROTC says most incoming cadets are not on scholarship, and the detachment can tell you about in-college scholarships. [F1]

See all Air Force ROTC scholarships.