After your file goes to the Thurs. review..

<p>What happens at that point? Does anyone know how long before candidates are notified either way? Does rolling admissions mean that they reject you at that point if you are not found qualified Scholastically? Just wondering and waiting....</p>

<p>if you have not received an LOA or a scholastic qualification letter by this point(depending on how long ago you applied), then I would give the admissions office a call. By this time, MOST of the scholastic qual letters have been sent out...Good luck!</p>

<p>The admissions board will review files that are completed, and will make one of several recommendations at this point-
1. offer appointment
2. defer
3. recommend for NAPs or Foundation
4. decline</p>

<p>If you are #1 and #4, you will hear on a rolling basis. I am not sure how long the actual process takes- ie- how long it will take for the canidates from yesterday to be notified. It seems to take awhile for the paperwork to get done, mailed, etc, and it "seems" to get done in bulk. If you are not scholastically qualified, your BGO should have already contacted you as to what needs to be improved- so if you feel the need to call someone, that is where I would start. Please do not call the admissions office.</p>

<p>If you are #3, chances are you will hear through your BGO or from the USNA (for NAPS) or the foundation folks (for Foundation). Just to allay any anxiety at this point- if you get an offer for NAPs or Foundation, do not be concerned if you also get a rejection letter from USNA- it is just the way things are set up. Essentially, an offer of NAPs or Foundation is also a rejection for a direct appointment, thus the letter. </p>

<p>Understand that foundation program, in particular, is a seperate process- meaning, around 600 or so get recommended, from which 60 or so will be selected- so again, a competetive process. The foundation program starts notifications from now through the time their slots are filled, so word can come at any time, but they try and get the ball moving quickly as there needs to be time for 1. you to accept the offer, 2. you need to consider what schools to choose, and 3. you need to get the application to that school completed. </p>

<p>If you are #2, you are in for a longer wait. All I can offer is that "no news is good news," you will hear-eventually, and "patience is a virtue." They are going to want to see the entire pool of candidates before deciding on any particular one in this pile, so the process can be slow.</p>

<p>Again, please communicate via your BGO and not the admissions office.</p>

<p>I am the new kid on the block - can you tell me what the Thurs. review is?</p>

<p>The admissions board at USNA meets once a week starting in late august. I believe they meet on Thursday to review applications.</p>

<p>navy2010, if they wanted us only to communicate with the BGO, why would they have an admissions number for us to call? I'm not trying to be a smart ***, just wondering. </p>

<p>Also, communication with my BGO is VERY difficult. I'm sure this is not the case for most, but in my circumstance, the calling the admissions office and speaking with them has answered all of my questions, and everytime, they ALWAYS tell me to give them a call if there is any other questions I should have in the future. Never once have they referred me to my BGO. Just putting in my experience... good luck zackster18</p>

<p>if they didn't want you to communicate with your BGO, you would not have been assigned one.</p>

<p>Jarad-
the expectation is that:
1. you will research the information for yourself, to the extent possible
2. you will communicate with your BGO, who has a relatively small number of students to assist, council and mentor, compared to the entire admissions pool that the admissions office is dealing with.
3. when you can't get answers there, then call the academy. (Personally, I would insert regional director inbetween BGO and academy, but then again, I would hope the BGO would find out the answer to your question if they did not know it already.) For that matter, I would even insert this site into that mix- there are enough BGOs and alumni and parents and Mids on here that can field most- if not all- questions.</p>

<p>Not sure why communication with your BGO is so VERY difficult. Granted, BGOs are busy with lives of their own, but the ones I have met are very dedicated and vested in helping students assigned to them. The question I would ask is how much effort you have made to reach out to your BGO?</p>

<p>Just remember- you are but one applicant, and while you may have greased your wheel a bit this time, don't go to the well more than you have to. There are about 12,000 applicants just like you- just imagine if each one of them had just one question to ask- and called the admission office to ask it! Will they be polite and helpful? You bet. They are professionals. But keep in mind that the more time they spend answering your questions (that might just as easily-and accurately- be answered elsewhere) the less time they are focused on getting those appointment letters in the mail. Just because it is "easy" does not mean it is the first course of action to be taken.</p>

<p>Figure out a way to contact your BGO, or another way to get the answers you are seeking. After- and only after- you have exhausted those avenues, place a call to the Admissions office. It would be much appreciated, that much I can tell you.</p>

<p>Final thought-
the academy is looking for bright, intelligent, resourceful students that can take on the challenges at USNA. My challenge to you is how resourceful can you be to get the answers you need WITHOUT calling the admissions office to get them. Truth be told, you will find out more than you thought to ask by doing a bit of research and legwork on your own.</p>

<p>Navy2010, </p>

<p>Not only have you made a good point, but also have brought out the expectations of a military officer.</p>

<p>XO and CO don't always have time to deal with the "small" matters -- that is where a Department Head decides what needs to go to the XO and what doesn't. If the XO and CO had every division officer come and tell them about their issues, they would never have the time to make the important decisions.</p>

<p>While I appreciate your comments, my son has had the same experiences as JaradW. He finished his application packet immediately after returning from Summer Seminar in June and had his BGO interview in August. Since then, he has had virtually NO contact with his BGO. My son called him in late October to give him an update on his new ACT/SAT scores and his BGO told him he was Triple Qed at that point. When he still hadn't received anything from USNA by the end of November, he called admissions to verify and was told that his math scores were too low to qualify him. (He got a 26 on the ACT - which is not great but is withing the ranges listed for 50% of entrants on the USNA website.) My son has been trying to reach his BGO since early December to discuss the situation and has received NO response, either to emails or phone messages. The state rep told my son that his BGO may be "traveling" and to call admissions directly. According to them, my son's file hasn't been looked at since early October, before his new scores were submitted and he re-took the CFA to improve his numbers. We have also sent in numerous additions to his file with letters from coaches, his youth pastor and several teachers to validate his experiences and leadership roles. So, please tell me, what would YOU suggest at this point?</p>

<p>It is very possible your son's BGO is, in fact, traveling. I met several BGOs that are active military, one flying for the US Navy. No doubt there will be times when they are out of reach, which I recognize is of no comfort to you. </p>

<p>So what to do.</p>

<p>You may not like the answer, but here goes.</p>

<p>I cannot say why the BGO told you your son was triple-q'd and the academy told you otherwise. I would default to the information provided by the academy, but if questions remain, and your BGO is not available, the next step would be to contact the regional director assigned to your area. </p>

<p>26 on the ACT- while in range-is just one factor that will be considered. If you had that information early enough in December, I would hope your son was encouraged to take the SAT or ACT again. Please keep in mind that while triple Q'd is no small feat, it does not necessarily mean an offer of an appointment will be made. Sadly, there will be 3-Q'd candidates turned away.</p>

<p>While I am far from sitting at the table, I would venture to say that at this point no news is good news. The fact that your son's file is still there with no rejection letter sent to the home, to me translates that he is still in the general pool for consideration, and as such, his file will be presented to the board again, complete with the updated and additional information you have submitted. Calls to your BGO or the regional director at this point will not be the deciding factor, unless your son has not had an opportunity to interview with his BGO or if the BGO did not submit and interview evaluation. If either of those are the case, I would suggest contacting your regional director to see if someone else can interview your son, as that interview will be taken into consideration. </p>

<p>Other than that, it sounds like your son has done everything on his end that is required. The only other reason that might prompt a call to your BGO and, if not available, to your regional director, is for your son to communicate that he would be accepting of NAPS or Foundation if offered, if a direct appointment is not forthcoming. </p>

<p>Other than that, it is a waiting game, and I fully appreciate that from where you are sitting, the wheels are barely moving. Rush, rush, rush to get everything done and in, then wait, wait and wait some more to hear. You will. </p>

<p>Hang in. Your son has done all he can to make himself as competitive as possible; the rest is out of his, and your control. </p>

<p>Best of luck.</p>

<p>Navy 2010</p>

<p>Thanks for your response. I do know that my son's BGO is NOT active duty military. He works here in the area where we live. I suspect that he is embarrassed about giving out wrong information about being triple Qed and is simply avoiding my son but I hope that I'm wrong on that.</p>

<p>My son fully understands that he will have to wait for the "process" to play out. He is not a recruited athlete and doesn't have the SAT/ACTmath scores that would make USNA run to sign him up. However, his English/Critical Reading scores are very good and he is looking to major in Political Science/Arabic with an eye towards Intelligence, which he explained to the Regional Director when he couldn't reach his BGO. He knows that his math scores aren't tops but his math teacher told us that she wrote in her letter that he does know more than his test scores indicate so hopefully the board will look at that as well. He currently has a B in Pre-Calc and a B+/A- in Physics. He is planning on sending his 1st semester grades in this next week. (He also has an A in British Lit, an A in Technical Writing, an A- in AP Spanish and an A in US Gov't/Civics so he's doing pretty well over all.)</p>

<p>He would be happy to accept NAPS and was just wondering when in the year he should indicate that? That's one of the things that he wanted to discuss with his BGO. If he says, yes, I'll take NAPS, does he remove himself from consideration for admittance to USNA this year? He was recently notified that he did receive a nomination from our MOC -still no word from the Senator. Does the admissions board re-evaluate files after all of the nominations come in? How soon do the slots for NAPS fill?</p>

<p>Sorry to be picking your brain-we are trying to be patient but it is one of those things where you don't want to find out later that you missed a vital deadline. My son doesn't feel comfortable "bugging" admissions, for all the reasons that you listed above but he is frustrated at not being able to get any questions answered.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Thanks for your response. I do know that my son's BGO is NOT active duty military. He works here in the area where we live. I suspect that he is embarrassed about giving out wrong information about being triple Qed and is simply avoiding my son but I hope that I'm wrong on that.

[/quote]

It could also be that there is nothing to share at this time. I recall feeling like we were in limbo about this time, and communication with our BGO, while reachable, was scarce until an offer of the foundation came through. I would not read more into it than what is. I will venture to say that some BGOs are more communicative than others, some have more time to devote than others, some call only when there is concrete information to share. Several BGOs that have been kind enough to mentor me have shared experiences that, while I will spare the details, the outcome has left them on the cautious side with saying too much, too soon. Several of them have also shared that they are sitting back a bit to see how the admission cycle goes this year, in light of the academy's desire to increase minority representation in the Brigade. Again, the more experienced BGOs can speak to this better than I can. </p>

<p>
[quote]
My son fully understands that he will have to wait for the "process" to play out. He is not a recruited athlete and doesn't have the SAT/ACTmath scores that would make USNA run to sign him up. However, his English/Critical Reading scores are very good and he is looking to major in Political Science/Arabic with an eye towards Intelligence, which he explained to the Regional Director when he couldn't reach his BGO. He knows that his math scores aren't tops but his math teacher told us that she wrote in her letter that he does know more than his test scores indicate so hopefully the board will look at that as well. He currently has a B in Pre-Calc and a B+/A- in Physics. He is planning on sending his 1st semester grades in this next week. (He also has an A in British Lit, an A in Technical Writing, an A- in AP Spanish and an A in US Gov't/Civics so he's doing pretty well over all.)

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Sounds like your son is doing all he can do, no matter where he ends up. While reading scores are important, please understand that no matter the major chosen, all will take a basic core in engineering classes; thus, the math SAT score is given more weight in the "whole person" multiple than verbal for those reasons. The recommendation letters from teachers are looked at closely, as are all other supporting documents, so again, your son has done his part, and I will assume to the best of his ability. What is hard is that while standing "alone" a package can look great, when compared to others that are vying for the same limited seat, may not hold up in the larger pool of competition, which is out of your control. </p>

<p>You have not mentioned if your son is a minority candidate, so I will assume he is not, which places him in the most competitive pool for admission. The USNA has clearly stated its goal of increasing African American and Hispanic enrollment, which makes the competition from other pools that much harder. One can argue the merrits of that, but ultimately it ends up in the same pile of things not in one's control.</p>

<p>
[quote]
He would be happy to accept NAPS and was just wondering when in the year he should indicate that? That's one of the things that he wanted to discuss with his BGO.

[/quote]

Some will indicate that right on their application, others in conversations or in the interview process with their BGO. I know it is a question I ask directly during the interview process, and I will venture to say that many BGOs do the same. I see that your son was interviewed by his BGO some time ago, so if he did not indicate that he would be receptive to that, and if you are unable to get your BGO, then that would be a conversation to have with the Regional Director. Even without indicating that desire, however, all applicants turned down for a direct appointment will be considered for NAPS or Foundation recommendation. </p>

<p>NAPS is generally considered for athletes and priors, although posters have indicated they fell into neither category and still got NAPs. Foundation is a separate process, and is a competitive one- meaning, you compete within the pool of candidates that have been recommended for consideration. Out of that pool, which can average around 600, not all will continue with the process- meaning, when contacted, there is no interest in considering the Foundation program, which is most unfortunate. Out of the remaining candidates, 60 or so will be selected. </p>

<p>
[quote]
If he says, yes, I'll take NAPS, does he remove himself from consideration for admittance to USNA this year?

[/quote]

The official answer to that is "no." Unofficially, I don't know- in our case, we were told he would still be considered for a direct appointment, but my gut told me that once sent in that direction, that is generally where you stay. I will share that while our son's immediate reaction was a bit of disappointment, that faded quickly when he looked at the bigger picture and his end goal. In retrospect, it was the BEST thing that happened for many reasons. But not all see it that way, and many, unfortunately, turn the offer down.</p>

<p>
[quote]
He was recently notified that he did receive a nomination from our MOC -still no word from the Senator. Does the admissions board re-evaluate files after all of the nominations come in?

[/quote]

Congratulations on the nomination. And yes, the admissions process will speed up a bit now that the Nomination slates are in, the deadline for those January 15th. Your son will compete in that slate first, and if not given an appointment in that round, will move to the national pool, which granted, is more competitive. Your son can check the CIS to see if he has received a nom from your Senator, but depending on how competitive your state is, some senators will not give a second nomination to a candidate that has already received one from their area MOC. (note: Some will- ours did not)</p>

<p>
[quote]
How soon do the slots for NAPS fill?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I do not have an answer to that, and hopefully USNA1985 and the other BGOs on here that have more experience with this can chime in. I do not know how to state this politically correct or with enough sensitivity, so cut me a little slack here- my take, which is my opinion and in no way representative of the official stand on things, is that NAPS will see a higher percent of applicants from the targeted groups that, when compared to the whole, fall to the left of the bell curve, and NAPS will be used to help get them ready, and in the larger picture, achieve the goal of increasing their numbers in the Brigade overall. So while I could be totally wrong in that assessment, it would seem to be a logical means to reach the desired end. </p>

<p>
[quote]
</p>

<p>Sorry to be picking your brain-we are trying to be patient but it is one of those things where you don't want to find out later that you missed a vital deadline. My son doesn't feel comfortable "bugging" admissions, for all the reasons that you listed above but he is frustrated at not being able to get any questions answered.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>From the sounds of it, your son has done everything required on his part, and as hard as it is, the waiting game begins. There is really nothing else to do at this point, no edge to be gained, no other strings to be pulled,no other deadlines to be met until you get further word. If it makes you feel better, have him call the RD and restate his willingness to consider NAPs or Foundation if offered- but do that only if he is, indeed, willing to consider that as a viable option for him. If it is not, don't make the call.</p>

<p>So how to deal with the frustration.
Wish I had the magic answer.
Will share what we did.
We focused on other things. We talked about his other schools, and tried to steer the focus away from Blue and Gold just in case it was not to be.
I bought sweatshirts- one for each school he got accepted to- just so I would have the right one on hand when he made is decision. I took a chance and bought one for USNA just in case, but that was my secret. Silly, in retrospect, but that is what we did.
We said some extra prayers, lit some extra candles.
He kept busy with his sports and ECAs, and we enjoyed his final time at school, at games, and with friends. We kept busy living our lives.
We made a conscious decision to check the mailbox every other day-rather than appear too anxious to run down the hill daily- not sure why we did that, but we did.
The waiting game was perhaps a bit easier as he was already accepted to all his other schools, but as Navy was his first choice, it was still hard, especially as he had to put off coaches and dance around their push for a commitment to their offers and programs. </p>

<p>Will spare you the rest of the details, other than to say that the answer will come, good or bad or in-between as it may be. Hang in. It is hard, but if this is what your son wants, then hang in. And if he does have questions, there are plenty of alumni, Mids, USNA parents, and BGOs on this site that can help with at least some of the questions that he may have, short of the final answer that only the USNA Admissions Office can provide.</p>

<p>Just in case it doesn't work out this admission cycle, after bit of time, if this is what your son really wants, approach the subject of trying again. As many as 1/3 of the admitting class come in with at least one year of post-HS study under their belts.</p>

<p>Hope this helped, and best of luck!</p>

<p>Lots of good info, 2010.</p>

<p>Admissions process may not "speed up" even though the slates are in from MOC and Senators. Deadline for completed applications from candidates is Mar 1. So, while a candidate is competing against his slate first in many instances, the slate cannot be fully evaluated if some of those candidates do not have their applications complete. So, things completely beyond your control are at work.</p>

<p>Not all BGO's are particularly responsive. Ours is totally non communicative. Doesn't return telelphone messages, email, etc. When Son does catch him on the phone, he is nice. Son has not "bugged" him. One converstation, ONE, since BGO interview in August. Son probably emailed 3 times, left 2 messages. No response at all. Finally got him on the phone in late December. He is retired. He is also 535 (yes, 535) miles from us. Son volunteered to hop on plane and meet him for BGO interview.</p>

<p>We found out Son was Triple Q-d when I stopped by Admissions while on the yard during CVW and asked to speak to Regional Director. I did not ask specifically about Triple Q, they told me. </p>

<p>We read of candidates who hear from BGO that their app was reviewed, they are Triple Q, etc. Can't imagine. I have a feeling he is overwhelmed. Big geographic area.</p>

<p>the NAPS question is supposed to be brought up during the interview.
There is a box on the BGO site where you indicate whether or not interviewee would accept NAPS.</p>

<p>It should also be appreciated that it works both ways sometimes. I have had applicants show up on the screen, email them to offer assistance and never hear back from them.
Its not a perfect system but it seems to work most of the time.</p>

<p>Other thing to remember is that, unless there is some particular reason to communicate, there isn't a lot the BGO can really tell you. He/she may answer questions about process, etc. but we--at least in our area--don't have a lot more information than what you have about where your application stands. Our AC, for example, does not encourage us to call him--or admissions--to check on status. We have access to a screen that indicates whether your applicaiton has been evaluated and whether the board considers the applicant "Q" [whether that means "triple qualified" is not particularly stated] and other such information but thats about it.</p>

<p>535 miles? wow. That seems to call for a telphone interview.</p>

<p>In my son's case, for example, he met w/ BGO for his interview and that was it; didn't speak to him before or after. So, as, I think, 2010 said, don't read more into it than is necessary.</p>

<p>ONe other thing [re-read above]; I had an appliant who had some update materials. NHS, I believe. I e-mailed admissions and they said to contact his admissions counselor to submit the update. Via e-mail is what I believe they encouraged.<br>
2010 is correct in that, you need to remember, there are thousands of applicants. Evena quick phone call from every third of them adds up.
E-mail your update info to counselor [it is not up to BGO to update your file] fo rinclusion in file for consideration.</p>

<p>


</p>

<p>The deadline for nominations to be submitted to the USNA is not until January 31st.</p>

<p>USNA</a> Admissions - Steps for Admission - Nominations</p>

<p>535 miles- wow, that is unbelievable. Thank you for the reminder that there is a whole "other world" out there!</p>

<p>I am fortunate that my all schools are within an hours drive (well, theoretically at least- traffic on the LIE is a whole other conversation!), and getting to college nights or back to school nights are easily done as long as I can fit them into my schedule- AND if I can get my foot in the door at some of them. Not for lack of trying that is for sure! But 535 miles- wow, that is huge- sounds like you folks could use some dedicated parents to join the BGO ranks and help the guy out!</p>

<p>luigi- I stand corrected. January 31st it is.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Admissions process may not "speed up" even though the slates are in from MOC and Senators. Deadline for completed applications from candidates is Mar 1. So, while a candidate is competing against his slate first in many instances, the slate cannot be fully evaluated if some of those candidates do not have their applications complete. So, things completely beyond your control are at work.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>rangelady- true, providing the MOC has submitted an unranked slate.</p>

<p>If the slate is, however, ranked, or unranked but with a primary, and the primary has their application in and completed, and the primary candidate meets all requirements for admission, the slot will be filled at that point with the remaining candidates on that slate forwarded to the national pool. Under that situation, if the primary candidate does not meet admission requirements, then candidate #2 will be considered if it is a ranked slate, or it will default back to the situation you noted above if the remaining candidates are unranked. </p>

<p>Probably confusing as mud to all new candidates on here looking towards 2014- but not to worry- get yourselves a copy of "A Candidates Guide to the United States Naval Academy" and read up on the section that addresses nominations- its a great place to get a basic understanding of the process. Consider it a "must read."</p>

<p>Amazon.com:</a> The Naval Academy Candidate Book: How to Prepare, How to Get In, How to Survive: Sue Ross: Books</p>

<p>I've read the discussions so far and it's very informative. My BGO is awesome! He gets back to me within hours of my email. That being said, I don't bug him at all. Since my interview, I've only bothered him about 3 times with questions. I don't want to bother him again now..but I would like to ask the experts out there what the Q means. I was told that I have a Q, so I thought that meant Scholastically Q, and that I know about the Med Q and CFA Q. Is there more or less to this? My BGO is very conservative with his comments though, so I try not to push further with questions. Principal Nom with Q??</p>

<p>This board is great! My parents and I have learned so much from just reading the posts!!!</p>

<p>Admissions Board has a status of "Q"</p>

<p>This indicates the Admissions Board result upon review of the candidates record. This is primarily scholastic, however, athletic background and demonstrated leadership potential is also critical. Four possible terms:
Qualified - The board feels the candidate has the potential to succeed at USNA.
Rejected - The board feels the candidate will not be successful at USNA based on the information currently available.
Deferred - The board would like additional information about the candidate before they can make a final determination.
Blank - Record has not been reviewed.</p>