<p>I am a current Junior in HS prospective academy class of 2013 (USAFA hopefully ;)). I'm just curious seeing all the parents on this forum and had a question... Was it of your own whim that you decided to integrate yourself into the application process of your son or daughter? Or did they ask for your help/assistance/encouragment/etc?</p>
<p>Welcome, fellow Coloradoan!</p>
<p>In our case, we homeschool, so I acted as my dd's guidance counselor. All those pesky papers that your school normally fills out--well, we filled them out together. I also helped make up a spreadsheet with all the deadlines. The rest was up to her.</p>
<p>I helped only when my son asked. I didn't do much. I checked his medical history form after he filled it out to make sure he covered everything and picked up copies of medical records from his doctor. I also made copies of his nomination applications before he mailed them. I went with him to informational meetings in Seattle and with him for a day visit to West Point. His Dad and I were mostly just there for emotional support when needed.</p>
<p>Always a provocative topic . . .</p>
<p>The application process is daunting. Some claim to have "done it all on my own." Good for them!</p>
<p>Others, as in most all others, require a bit of help. Whether providing necessary medical forms, reminding family friends to complet recommendation letters, editing essays, ensuring that mail gets to the right place, or just providing a computer on which the applicaiton is completed, there are a hundred things that need to be rounded up, copied, notarized, or completed.</p>
<p>So . . . I don't think its a matter of interjecting ourselves into the process as much as helping to manage the process.</p>
<p>And for some parents it was the desire to just learn more about the nontraditional choice our children were researching, pursuing and then selecting.</p>
<p>Great question! The admissions process to a service academy really is very different from that of a civilian college. I agree with Bill that there are numerous details where parental help can be useful and needed, but the bulk of the process, the words for the essays, and the preparation are owned by the candidates.</p>
<p>My son did all the work - academically,sports, EC's, interviews and essays. I did all the paperwork.</p>
<p>DS did all paperwork. We only assisted for proofreading essays, and mailing in info needed for noms. I.E. Presidential, and mailing packets.</p>
<p>Our ALO is phenomenal, and was a large integral part of the process. He met him @ every week for interviews, then to review his essays, then to prep him for the interview process with his sen. He frequently emailed or called DS to remind him of what he stilll needed to finish, and/or add to his packet. I.E. right before the Mar. 1 deadline, DS added more thngs.</p>
<p>Your ALO/MALO/BGO may also be the person you will be working with if you decide to apply for ROTC.</p>
<p>If you allow your parents to assist, allow them to do so in a minimal way. We always said to our DS, we will not be with you next year and if you want this bad enough, you will be on top of it.</p>
<p>In the end if it really is your dream, you will be dragging your parents. Not saying they don't want you to go and are trying to divert you. I am just saying, that you will be the one saying did you make my appt. for Dodmerb? If you are a minor that is really the only time they definetly need to be there for legal reasons, the other times are for morale support. Plus, interviews can be many hours away by car. Ours was @3 hours ea. way. The nomination reception was @ 4 hours away.</p>
<p>I wasn't going to help at all, because I wasn't sure about her decision, but... ;)</p>
<p>I ended up editing essays, set up drs appts., and drove her to interviews/drs. appts./etc., copied and organized paperwork, and kept track of deadlines for everything. She did the rest.</p>
<p>I strongly suggest that you should be the only one to communicate with WP, MALO, and the MOCs offices.</p>
<p>I'll admit that I probably did too much for my daughter. She got testy with me several times over the years. I did refrain from phone calls or doing what she should be doing. Probably the worst thing I did was monitor her progress and question her on it.</p>
<p>The best thing I did, in my opinion, was meet a lot of people who had the answers to questions. CC and other internet forums have been very valuable. My daughter mostly kept her concentration on school work and ECs while I made friends here. I even found a friend who lives in our town with a daughter a year ahead of mine. We've become friends outside the whole Academy process.</p>
<p>The original post asks if our children invited us in. We have an interesting story. My in-laws live within site of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. We went to the visitors center when my youngest son was about 8 years old and my daughter was about 12. Son got all excited and decided the Air Force Academy was for him. A month or so later, my daughter came to me and said, "Dad, could I go to the Air Force Academy?" I said, "sure, if you want to."</p>
<p>The next year we went to a local Academy day presentation and when we were done she had changed her mind to USNA. After attending both Summer Seminars she was still sure she had made the right decision.</p>
<p>So I guess what my rambling means is I wasn't so much invited as it just developed over time, and almost 7 years later she's still working on it. Son, who's now 14 still wants to go Air Force.</p>
<p>Well, I read everything on CC and that's about it! :)</p>
<p>We (DH) did drive DS up to USNA for his CVW & took him to the airport for SS (paid for the ticket), but he did everything else. We were pretty adamant about this being his choice- not ours, so we made sure to sort of stay out of it.</p>
<p>I guess we were pretty good cheerleaders - but from the sidelines only! </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>This one is interesting. I did so very little for my son that I almost felt guilty. The only time I think I got involved was when we were not recieving replys from our congressmen. Felt like I had to really get after one in particular to even acknowledge that they had received his requests.</p>
<p>Provocative topic or not, it is pertinent. For USNA specifically, it is a subject which the Admissions Dept asks the BGOs to explore.</p>
<p>Another big question, however, in the middle of dark ages in the spring of Plebe Year, when your Plebe calls and tells you to come and pick him up, on the ride home will you have a clear conscience that he was doing what HE wanted?</p>
<p>A bigger question is when you get the first email that he is involved in his first operational mission going in harm's way, in the event that he does not return, can you say at least he was doing what he wanted to do?</p>
<p>I think that every academy wants to know that the decision to attend an academy is the candidate's decision and not the parent's decision. Every parent who has watched a child survive plebe year will know how important this is too.... </p>
<p>As far as the application goes, I believe that the candidate needs to do all of the legwork themselves, but the process can be complex and having a parent "oversee" the process is not a bad idea (especiially if there is no real MALO/BGO etc. support). I helped my son organise a simple filing system and write out a combined target date and deadline timetable. He had a separate file for each school, scholarship, and nomination source he applied to, and a spreadsheet to keep track of everything (those backup schools and scholarships sure add to the load). He learned to make and keep copies of everything, and make follow up calls rather than make assumptions.</p>
<p>I didn't do it for him, or leave him to "sink or swim" - instead, I tried to teach him the transferrable skills that as a 16/17 year old, he may not have had. </p>
<p>A candidate's motivation to complete the application is a really good measure of their motivation to attend the Academy.</p>
<p>I totally agree with Ann on everything she wrote. I don't know about all the academies, but I know that WP wants to be sure that it's the candidate's idea to apply/attend, not the parent's. I don't know if it's SOP, but after my d was interviewed by our area MALO, I was also asked in to his office for an interview. Quite a surprise for me!</p>
<p>My S did all the work himself except I filled out the medical history since he didn't know dates, diseases, etc. (and didn't care!). It is daunting for them but it is also good practice for adulthood, especially one spent in the military.</p>
<p>Originally, I was on CC because the college process is so much different for my kids than it was for me. I learned a lot, not just about SAs but also about civilian colleges too. I stay because I enjoy it. My kids have never been on CC - and don't care to be.</p>
<p>My D did all the work herself. I was often a cheerleader (maybe alarm clock) and a secretary. My H and I tried not to push her in any particular direction except that I finally had to insist that she apply to at least one other Univ! I feel very comfortable that this is all her idea, in fact, several times I have told her that if this is not what she wants she can change her mind at any time!</p>