<p>Our son completed his first MOC (Member of Congress) interview yesterday at one of our Senators local offices. It was a very professional, straightforward process with two interviewers for each applicant, and half an hour allotted for each interview. Three interview teams were operating simultaneously in separate offices due to the large number of applicants. </p>
<p>Each applicant signed-in on a roster upon arrival, an sat with the other applicants in a work area immediately adjacent to a few of the Senators secretaries. Not wanting to disturb the secretaries, the applicants were very quiet. This was a shame because I know the kids wanted to exchange information, however, felt uncomfortable doing so given the quiet office environment. About half the kids had one or both parents present. The uniform of the day for male applicants was sport coat and tie or business suit. I didnt see any female applicants so I cant comment on the dress code in that regard.</p>
<p>Each applicant was invited in to one of the separate interview offices by one of the interviewers. The interviewers were very gracious when they came out of their respective offices, and walked about the sitting area introducing themselves to all the applicants and parents, praising them for applying to the service academies. This was really a class act and helped put the kids at ease.</p>
<p>Our son said he felt his interview went well, with one of the gentlemen, apparently a Naval Academy graduate, jokingly asking how his dad felt about him going Army vice Navy. He said the interview questions were very similar to those asked during his Army and Navy ROTC interviews. Both interviewers seemed keenly interested in his Eagle Scout project which hed conducted at our local VA hospital. The interviewers didnt mention when the selection results would be posted, and nor did our son ask.</p>
<p>I hope this information helps anybody about to undergo the MOC interview process. Very best of luck to you!</p>
<p>Keep in mind also that the process will differ per the state. In the larger/and or/ more populous states and congressional districts, there may not be a face to face interview. Our D was interviewed by phone by both senators' and congressman's offices.</p>
<p>My son didn't actually have an interview at all. An aide to our Congressman called yesterday for what I thought was an interview, but instead he was only calling to say that DS had a very impressive packet and was making sure that West Point was his first choice. The Aide told DS that he was getting the nomination and that he would receive the letter in about a week.</p>
<p>Question though - what if the other MOC's call for an interview? Should he go through with their interview process or mention that Congressman told him he was getting his nom? I guess this will be a moot point once son receives the letter (making it more official). Until that time, I say son should go through with the other interviews, if asked. What do you all think?</p>
<p>No offense taken - we live in Missouri - I'm sure our state is not one of those where spots are especially difficult to come by--our particular school is very small, but we've never had a student appointed to WP (we've had two appointed to USAF). Also, since the nom is coming from Congressman, the area he is competing in is much smaller than for our Senators.</p>
<p>OK-3 - We were notified last evening via email from our AOG liaison that S is showing up in the Candidate DB as an "appointee". Nothing via US mail yet. The DB was updated 12 November. Our liaison seemed to think the package would show up in the next couple of days.</p>
<p>He's thrilled...Hope to see you or R day and maybe tell a few sea stories over a beer!</p>
<p>I just received a phone call today from my congressman's office letting me know that my interview was canceled. He will be leaving office this year, and his last day is next Friday. I was told that I will receive the results of the nomination selection sometime after next weekend. Unfortunately, I will not be able to experience being interviewed for a nomination (as both of my state senators do not conduct interviews).</p>
<p>Congratulations to your son!!! That's excellent news and good on him! Please let us know when he receives the "Special Big Envelope" in the mail.</p>
<p>So, are you going to wear your NAVY t-shirt to R-Day? I took some major league good spirited hazing from a few of the admissions folks when we dropped our son off at SLS last summer. LOL!</p>
<p>That's GREAT news! The head of our state's USMA Field Force said we've had four Appointment offers and three accepts for the Class of 2013 as of last week which I presume are predicated upon service-related (Presidential, ROTC, etc.) nominations. I suspect our state will receive several more Appointment offers when the Congressional nomination results are released.</p>
<p>The son of one of my buddies just received a 4-year Army ROTC scholarship in the mail on Saturday. He's pretty darned excited about it and so are we! My buddy is a H-60 pilot in our state's Army National Guard. His nephew, a Harvard graduate, is completing his final year of medical school on an Air Force scholarship.</p>
<p>We've told our sons "you are about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime which you will not regret!" Ah, to be young again...</p>
<p>OK3 - I think it's sunk in for me because I have been through it as an applicant. It seemed to take a lot less effort for him to get his appt to USMA compared to I, who had to bite/scratch/kick my way into NAVY. I recall that I did not get notified until mid-April. Then again, his grades / ECAs / sports are way ahead of anything I did in HS.</p>
<p>His AOG liaison, who handles 6 schools in the area, says he is the first of his applicants to receive an appt this year. I'm saving the speeches for later....I'm emphasizing to him for now that continued academic perfomance and "risk management" is paramount between now and R day. I wish I could coat him in bubble wrap, as Mom3boys suggests. He will play lacrosse in the spring and I hope that's the "riskiest" activity he undertakes.</p>
<p>Again - Thanks for your words of encouragement. See you on R day!</p>
<p>The danger lies not in what the knowingly do (i.e. lacrosse), but the unknown: for example...playing frisbee and stepping into an unseen hole in the grass. Everytime I came home and saw his car in the driveway I heaved a sigh of relief. While we prescribe bubble wrap for appointees, we suggest valium for the parents.</p>
<p>Our son received word that he was awarded a Congressional nomination for West Point as a result of his interview with one of our senators two weeks ago. Our state’s second senator doesn’t conduct nomination interviews and decides based solely upon the package submitted by each service academy candidate.</p>
<p>S underwent his final congressional interview yesterday morning at our Congresswoman’s local office. This was a two-part interview process of one-half hour each. The first interview team consisted of three male service academy alums and the second team consisted of five male and female alums. The interviewers from the Naval Academy wanted to know why, given my Navy background, our son wasn’t interested in Annapolis. I think he kind of burst their bubble with his very frank response. Apparently the West Point alums just sat there and smiled. Our son said they all seemed interested in the fact he's an apiculturist with active hives in our yard. </p>
<p>The congressional staffer in charge of the interview process appeared somewhat frustrated yesterday because despite previous written warnings to the contrary, several kids requested last-minute changes for their interview appointment. My advice would be this: if you make a nomination interview appointment you’d better plan on making that appointment because there very likely won’t be a second chance. Unless you have a personal emergency plan on being there! Or as I mentioned to my wife after hearing the inter-office commotion, this reminds me of the Woody Allen quote, “90% of life is just showing up.” Do what it takes.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how West Point admissions will handle this second nomination given our son’s previous Appointment, and whether they’ll use the Congressional nomination as a substitute for our son’s Presidential nomination so as to free that up for somebody else. I assume that would be transparent to the applicant and done in the background by the WP admissions team.</p>
<p>For kpsong87: I’d prefer to keep my specific location anonymous, however, our son is in training for varsity Nordic skiing and the local vernacular contains the term “wicked,” as in “it’s wicked-cold!”</p>
<p>I did not. Cheryl McGuinness, wife of LCDR Tom McGuinness who died piloting American Airlines Flight #11 on September 11, 2001, served as the USS New Hampshire’s (SSN 778) sponsor. By all accounts it was a very touching christening ceremony. Tom was a co-worker of mine and is sorely missed by all who knew him. May he RIP.</p>
<p>I have an initiation or pre-interview to receive a nomination from my Senator. Although I know that this will be a lot easier and informal than the real interview, I was wondering if anyone of you guys have had a phone interview first. If you guys had, what are the common questions that they ask.<br>
Thanks </p>