<p>I'll add that I received my appointment in March. I had all my other acceptances long before (with the exception of GT). Since their offers all expired on May 1st, I didn't have early admissions issues to deal with. However, I kept my file open with Rose-Hulman by calling them. I told them I planned on attending USAFA, but in the event of injury or illness, I may not be able to go. They were happy to allow me entrance to RHIT if that did happen, so I was able to keep a back-up secured right up till I-day.</p>
<p>College and universities appear to "buy" information from the College Board - e.g. those who score above a certain level on the PSAT and SAT exams along with basic or self-reported demographics. We saw a fair amount of traffic including offers from out of state universities to waive tuition etc., but in the end my son would just roll his eyes when I would yell "Go Tide!" to cite an example. In the end, USAFA was the only place he applied to, we had to "push" to get him to send in one other application (to a former football power that is now 0-5). Did some of his friends get fabulous deals without having to put up with the rigors of the Beast, pushups, and life at the Academy without obligation - yes! But in the end it comes down to "fit" and thus far he has conveyed no regret, or "buyer's remorse" and I seriously doubt he would trade places with any of them.</p>
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But in the end it comes down to "fit" and thus far he has conveyed no regret, or "buyer's remorse" and I seriously doubt he would trade places with any of them.
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<p>Correctamundo, sir.</p>
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...to a former football power that is now 0-5.
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<p>It'd be a bad year to be a freshman there, hehe.</p>
<p>Let me add on to the part about "fit" too. I mean sure, I could have gone to a regular college, but let me tell you what would have happened: I would have gotten fat and lazy, often doing the minimum rather than challenging myself, I would have had too much fun and done too little work, I probably would have graduated still not knowing what I wanted to do, and I'd spend the next several months actually looking for a decent job, if I could find one at all. I'd do a mediocre job, raise a mediocre family, and live a mediocre life. That's obviously not what I wanted. Not to mention that here I know I'll have an awesome career, I get to serve and give back to my country, I'm actually making money instead of spending $100,000 on tuition, and I'm simply not allowed to fail.</p>
<p>Come here, try hard, and you will succeed. You'll have opportunities that no one in your high school class will ever experience. You'll know things, understand things, that few other people are aware of. I've never gone to bed at night thinking: "Man, I wish I hadn't come to USAFA." This place is just too cool.</p>
<p>At the same time though, don't start thinking that it'll be the end of the world if you don't go to USAFA. You can attend a civilian college and still do amazing things. Just think about a few people in the world today that you really respect. Did he/she attend a service academy? Probably not.</p>
<p>This place will jumpstart and catapult you to an awesome future, but it's not for everybody and it's definetly not the only way there. Keep the enthusiasm high, but make sure you keep that in mind as well.</p>
<p>My S filled out those early apps for schools which he thought might be good safeties for him, should his AFA, NA, or Notre Dame apps fall flat; so, they are his plan B (along with PSU).</p>
<p>I am not sure that the college board and others do not do our children a disservice by selling their names w/ scores to colleges. I guess it is ego inflating to see 2 or 3 colleges wooing you in the daily mail, but for a kid trying to make a life-impacting decision, too much info might be just that. </p>
<p>We limited our S geographically (except for academies), and will then help him narrow the field if he is still interested as autumn marches on...</p>
<p>About the early LOA's - neither my son's ALO or the BGO from USNA even mentioned early LOA's. Are these primarily confined to specific regions of the country? to recruited revenue athletes? to 2400 SATs/val types? Is there a way to improve one's chances of being offered early acceptance?</p>
<p>According to my Son's academy counselor; there are 3 phases prior to becoming an "Appointee". When you start the process, you are a "Prospect", then when the application is processed, you become an "Applicant". If you already have a nomination or they consider "Competitive", you become a "Candidate". If your application is 100% complete by September, and your status becomes a "Candidate", your package may be looked at for "Early Appointment or LOA".</p>
<p>She said that if your application was 100% complete prior to 1 September, you are pretty much guaranteed to be looked at for the early LOA or appointment. If it's done by 1 October, there is still a chance.</p>
<p>If you don't get selected for an LOA or appointment in the early round, it doesn't have any affect on still being offered an appointment. They will still process LOA and appointments on a somewhat continual basis starting in November with the majority of Appointments being given out in March. That's what she said to us. Hope it explains some. Later.... Mike....</p>
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<p>Speaking for USNA, as stated in the current catalog:</p>
<p> [quote] Mid-October: Early offers of appointment are made to outstanding candidates. Offers continue into the following spring as admissions files on candidates are completed and additional well-qualified candidates are identified.
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<p>USNA will only offer scholastic LOAs to perhaps 10% of those who are accepted. As the catalog states, they commence in mid-October and continue throughout the year. So perhaps 50 or so will be coming out in the next week or so. Look at the upper 10% or so of the USNA Class of 2011 profile which is available online and see what the numbers are. Very, very selective and nothing one can really do about it. I would say that way too much undue concern has been expended on this thread worrying about something over which one has absolutely no control.</p>
<p>BGOs are counselled against making predictions. They do not see the entire package and have absolutely no insight into the deliberations of the Admissions Board. Any BGO who mentioned an LOA would be foolhardy. I would doubt very seriously if anything is different with AFA except that their board only meets commencing in Nov so they are a few weeks behind.</p>
<p>USNA69, you are mistaken. If you read a couple of posts higher, you will see that readhead89 received her LOA from Air Force on October 19th. My son's counselor at the air force academy said that they start to review the completed applications in September. (Not the board). And then in October they start the board reviews and depending on the applicant can start offering LOA/Appointments in mid-late October-November. readhead89 pretty much confirmed that.</p>
<p>However, there isn't anything anyone can do to hope for an early loa/appointment other than getting their application completely finished and submitted prior to 1 september. That still isn't a guarantee, but it's about as close to one as anyone can have. Then, if you have the gpa, ranking, test scores, ALO recommendation, etc... and are looking like one of the top candidates, then you might have a chance at an early. Later... Mike....</p>
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<p>Nope, not me. I was just quoting the AFA Admissions website. Call them and tell them they are mistaken:</p>
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Starting in November, the Admissions Panel meets weekly to review completed files............................... If you are a highly qualified candidate, have a nomination and your records are complete, we may notify you of an appointment as early as November
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<p>Ok, USNA69, I went to the site you posted. S is well above in SAT scores (as compared to the class of 09) but they don't list a gpa. His h.s. gpa is 3.97 (they don't weight), and his college course gpa is 3.95 (24 credits so far; no baby or easy courses... Physics, Adv. Calc., Chem, etc.). Everything is in to both AFA and NA (slight delay in NA because form was emailed and put in teachers "junk mail" file.).</p>
<p>Question: Should S have a counselor at AFA? We have just worked through the ALO and BGO, and of course, with the coach and asst coach at AFA. Is S missing some vital contact?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Your son should be in good shape. Son's LOA from USAFA was dated Oct 26, 2006. He was not a recruited IC but did attend summer seminar.</p>
<p>Yes, summer seminar... S wishes he could have done that. </p>
<p>Thanks Gasdoc (great sn, btw)</p>
<p>If you call the admissions department, I believe they have counselors based on alphabetical order of your last name. I remember calling multiple times and through the telephone tree got through to mine.</p>
<p>If you look at your son's online application/status, on the first section below his status, it will say who his counselor is. Along with their phone number. Right above his ALO contact and number. Later... Mike.....</p>
<p>I really should be paying more attention. Thanks!</p>