ROTC Programs to Accept Classic Learning Test for Scholarship Applications

Applicants to all ROTC scholarship programs will have the option to submit CLT scores for scholarship consideration.

ANNAPOLIS, Md., June 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The SROTC (Senior Reserve Officers' Training Corps) now accepts Classic Learning Test (CLT) scores from applicants to its scholarship programs across all branches of the United States Armed Forces. Due to expanded assessment choice, students now have a greater opportunity to earn one of the prestigious awards. These changes have been made for the 2027 admissions cycle, which means students can currently submit their CLT scores for consideration.

ROTC programs are currently available at around 1700 colleges and universities nationwide. Accepted candidates receive full tuition coverage, a stipend, and they exit the program with the same rank as officers commissioned by one of the U.S. military academies. Graduates of Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps ROTC are commissioned as Second Lieutenants, while Naval ROTC graduates receive the equivalent commission of Ensign.

The ROTC programs are held to be the single largest commissioning source for the U.S. military overall. Army ROTC, Naval ROTC, and Air Force ROTC produce a combined total of over 8000 new officers annually. 

In February of this year, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth directed the Military Departments to accept the CLT for any SROTC scholarship programs currently recognizing the SAT or ACT, broadening access to students seeking alternative measures of academic achievement and college readiness.

Hegseth previously described the exam as "the gold standard."

With long reading passages drawn from a curated list of classic authors such as Aristotle, Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin, Jane Austen, and W. E. B. Du Bois, the CLT's Verbal Reasoning section deeply assesses a student's readiness for high-level analysis and critical thinking. Its Quantitative Reasoning section measures a student's proficiency in complex arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and mathematical reasoning without calculators allowed during testing.

"The ROTC is an elite institution with a long history of commissioning excellent officers," said Jeremy Tate, founder and CEO of CLT. "We at the CLT are grateful to the young men and women who choose to serve in our Armed Forces, and we are honored to play a part in helping qualified candidates find their way into this prestigious program."

For more information about the CLT, please visit cltexam.com, or contact Susan Morrow (email: [email protected]; phone: 1-443-782-3733).

SOURCE CLTExam