Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) offers a variety of highly-competitive college scholarships, ranging from 3-year and 4-year scholarships offered to graduating high school seniors, 2-year and 3-year scholarships to college students enrolled as AFROTC cadets, and 2-, 3- and 4-year scholarships offered to enlisted military personnel.

Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) Scholarships offered to high school seniors are categorized as follows:

Type 1: Pays full college tuition, most fees and $900 per year for books. Approximately 5% of AFROTC four-year scholarship winners will be offered a Type 1 scholarship, mostly in technical fields such as engineering, chemistry, meteorology, applied mathematics or computer science.

Type 2: Pays college tuition and most fees up to $18,000 per year and $900 per year for books. Approximately 20% of AFROTC four-year scholarship winners will be offered a Type 2 scholarship, again, mostly in technical fields. If a student attends an institution where the tuition exceeds $18,000 per year, then he/she pays the difference. All three-year scholarships are Type 2.

Type 7: Pays college tuition up to the equivalent of the in-state rate and $900 per year for books. If a student receives a Type 7 offer but wishes to attend a college/university where they do not qualify under the guidelines above, the student can convert the four-year Type 7 scholarship to a three-Year Type 2 scholarship. A Type 7 scholarship cannot be activated at a non-qualifying school where the student pays the difference.

Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) Scholarships offered to in-college students are as follows:

In-College Scholarship Program (ICSP): Open to college freshmen and sophomores in any major. Program is divided into two selection phases and awards-

ICSP Phase One: Open only to students enrolled in the Air Force ROTC program. Eligible applicants are nominated for ICSP Phase One by their school’s AFROTC detachment commander. Nominees for each detachment are rank-ordered by the detachment commander based on their leadership ability, grades, fitness, and overall participation in the Air Force ROTC program. Headquarters AFROTC makes the final decision and awards scholarships. The nomination deadline is between February 10 and February 28 of each year.

All cadets selected through ICSP Phase One are awarded a Type 2 scholarship (capped at $18,000 per year for tuition, $900 per year for books).

Freshman nominees are awarded three-year scholarships and sophomore nominees are awarded two-year scholarships. All scholarships activate the following fall term.

ICSP Phase Two: Open to college freshman and sophomores in any major. ICSP Phase One nonselects and students not enrolled in Air Force ROTC are eligible to apply for ICSP Phase Two. Eligible applicants are nominated for ICSP Phase Two by the commander of the detachment serving the school where they attend or the school where they will attend once they join Air Force ROTC. Students not currently enrolled in Air Force ROTC must be interviewed by the detachment commander or his/her designee. The deadline for detachments to submit a nomination is June 30. The board meets in July, and those selected are typically notified by August 1 of each year.

A limited number of cadets selected through ICSP Phase Two are awarded a Type 2 scholarship (capped at $18,000 per year for tuition, $900 per year for books). Most scholarship selected students are awarded a Type 3 scholarship (capped at $9,000 per year for tuition and $900 per year for books).

Freshmen nominees are awarded three-year scholarships, and sophomore nominees are awarded two-year scholarships. All scholarships activate the fall term following their distribution.

ICSP Phase Three: Depending on officer production and funding, a limited number of qualified sophomore ICSP Phase Two nonselects may be offered Type 6 scholarships. This process takes place at the same time ICSP Phase Two results are released.

Express Scholarship: Designed to meet Air Force ROTC officer production requirements in specific fields and year groups. This program awards Type 1 scholarships paying full college tuition, most fees and $900 per year for books. In many cases, these scholarships can activate during the same term as nomination. The Express Scholarship program is operated on a fully qualified basis. Those students who meet the qualifications are awarded the scholarship and do not meet a scholarship selection board. The processing of the scholarship award is completed at the local AFROTC detachment. Eligible majors are Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Environmental Engineering and Meteorology.

Express Scholarship (Foreign Language): Designed to meet Air Force ROTC officer production requirements in specific fields and year groups. This program awards Type 1 scholarships paying full college tuition, most fees and $900 per year for books. In many cases, these scholarships can activate during the same term as nomination. The Express Scholarship (Foreign Language) program is operated on a fully qualified basis. Those students who meet the qualifications are awarded the scholarship and do not meet a scholarship selection board. The processing of the scholarship award is completed at the local AFROTC detachment. Eligible majors are: Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Cambodian, Chinese, Hausa, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Kasakh, Kurdish, Malay, Pashtu, Persian-Iranian/Persian-Afghan, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Swahili, Thai, Turkish, Uighur, Urdu/Punjabi, Uzbek and Vietnamese. Most candidates will eventually become USAF officers in the Intelligence career field.

Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) Scholarships offered to enlisted military personnel are as follows:

Airman Scholarship and Commissioning Program (ASCP)*: Permits active duty USAF airmen and junior non-commissioned officers to separate from active duty and receive a scholarship worth up to $15,000 per year while pursuing their commission through Air Force ROTC. (* Previously known as the Airman Education and Commissioning Program (AECP))

Professional Officer Course - Early Release Program (POC-ERP): Offers active duty Air Force enlisted personnel an opportunity for an early release from active duty to enter AFROTC and receive a commission as an Air Force officer. Members selected for POC-ERP will separate from active duty, sign a contract with AFROTC and become full-time college students. This program is open to undergraduate degrees only and cannot be used for postgradate degrees. Upon completion of all undergraduate degree and commissioning requirements, cadets are commissioned as second lieutenants and returned to active duty in USAF for a period of at least four years, with longer service commitments required for those selected for flight training. POC-ERP is open to all academic majors. While in AFROTC, individuals will no longer receive military pay or benefits. All members applying for POC-ERP are required to provide proof that they have the financial means to make it through the program. Enlisted personnel selected for POC-ERP may use their Montgomery GI Bill benefits while in the program along with any additional grants or scholarships for which they may qualify.

Scholarships for Outstanding Airman to ROTC (SOAR): The SOAR program allows USAF enlisted personnel to separate from active duty and receive a scholarship worth up to $15,000 per year while pursuing their commission through AFROTC. Students may not pay the difference to attend higher-cost schools.