<p>Do our parents need to be at the interview or not? I'm not sure and I don't want to screw it up.</p>
<p>It doesn't matter since they aren't going to talk to your parents anyway. My BGO told me my parents could come if they wanted to, but he would still have to talk to me one on one. I went solo and everything was great.</p>
<p>Some BGO's like to chat briefly with parents (to suss out the level of the support the candidate is receiving), but the bulk of the interview will be ex-parents.</p>
<p>Our BGO wanted parents there for the introduction phase and to make sure we understood the committment required of our son. Family support is immensely important, especially during the tough times, like plebe summer and plebe academic year.</p>
<p>After the preliminaries, the BGO interviewed my son privately.
I think it depends on the BGO and/or the District guidelines for BGO interviews.
CM</p>
<p>My son's BGO met with the whole family last Monday. He answered lots of questions and gave my son an idea of what to expect in the second "formal" interview he plans to do in late August.</p>
<p>our son's BGO had an initial introductory meeting with all of us there; this was purely informational and informal, and no doubt included an assessment of interest and motivation. The interview, which followed about 6-7 months later, was more formal....the parents were included for the initial opening moments, just to get any questions we had on the table, and then we stepped out while the interview was completed with our son, which lasted for about 30 minutes or so. There were many, many conversations and correspondence between the two meetings with our son and the BGO, so by the time they met for the second session the BGO aleady had come to know our son well. When the interview was over, the parents were invited back in for just a conversation of the admission process from there, and discussion of the nominations and Physical testing that was still pending. </p>
<p>For what it is worth, I am sharing the following comments from our experience:
In retrospect, we were glad that the interview was between the BGO and our son, with us outside of that process. We felt that it would be our son going through the process, and not us, and that he would be more "open" with just the BGO in the room and not the parents (who no doubt scrutinize everyting being said).....for the parents just starting this, I think sometimes you just have to trust your kid and the process....for the students, I think you just remind yourselves that many have gone before you, and you are certainly not the last to experience this...and that the BGO's really do know what they are doing. In our case our BGO (retired from the Marines) is a well-established, and well-respected lawyer, so there is no doubt he was able to get to the very core of what was what, and I came away knowing that, if nothing else, he knew our son well and did not miss anything....many questions were asked and answers probed in depth leading to yet more questions.....like we advised our son, all you can do is be yourself...be honest, be genuine, and be as candid as you can....if you are Navy material and you fit into what they are looking for it will be ferrited out....if not, better to have that answered now so that you can shift your attention and efforts to other opportunities.</p>
<p>What we, as parents, did to help him "prepare" was to have him examine his reasons for attending the academy in depth....as we did to "compare and contrast" every other college we looked at....I am not sure if this was so much to prepare him for the inevitable question from the BGO as it was to challenge his choice and reassure his parents (us) that this is really what he wanted to do with his life.....in the end I think it was more important to us as it cemented our appreciation for his desire and his dreams, and gave us the opportunity to "come to terms" with his choice and get "on board" with full support and encouragement....I have no doubt this process goes on in just about every household embarking on this journey...</p>
<p>If you feel the need to control something, just be sure to make a good "first impression"....shirt/tie, jacket, belt, SHINNED shoes, neat haircut, fresh shave (obviously, we are speaking from the male perspective), solid handshake (practice!)...and then take deep breaths and be yourself! If you have gotten this far then there is something that has struck their interest, so use this opportunity to let them see why you want to be a naval officer and what you will be able to bring to the table...leave all the "paper you" (athletic/activity resumes, transcripts, awards, certificates, recommendation letters, or anything else you are tempted to take) AT HOME.....this is your golden opportunity to let them see who you are aside from those things (they will get copies of all of that along the way if they don't have it already)....so rather than take a chance on looking at the "papers" better to let your BGO see "you"!!!
best of luck..</p>
<p>For " Inquiring Minds that want to know"</p>
<p>If you would like to get a better idea of the type of questions asked by the BGO and the intended focus of the BGO interview, go to the USNA website homepage and enter "BGO Interview" in the search box in the lower left corner. You will find some interesting materials, including a powerpoint presentation that outlines the BGO interview process and the type of responses they expect from top candidates.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>To all who have had an interview-</p>
<p>When it came time to schedule the interview, did the BGO contact you or did you guys contact them?</p>
<p>Our son had ongoing conversations with the BGO...but when the time came for an interview he sent a letter and then our son called to schedule the appt date/time....
With everything that has to get done, being proactive is best...if you know the contact number for your BGO then I would suggest contacting them rather than waiting-</p>
<p>My daughter is just now going to be a Junior in High School, but has been in contact with the BGO for almost two years. We went to an "Academy Day" presentation and met the BGO her Freshman year. She has gotten some good advice from the BGO on her High School classes and also been able to show him she can follow instructions and take advice. She sends him an update letter every 3-4 months, when there is new news to report, and he has looked favorably on this. Hopefully that will help when the interview process kicks in, since they'll already be familiar with each other.</p>
<p>I'm sure there are BGOs out there who will say "contact me when you're closer," but ours has been a good resource.</p>