<p>I'm just wondering if anyone else's Congressman/Senator denoted anyone as a "Principal Nominee". In this case, you don't necessarily have to be the most qualified candidate in the district/state, but it just means that your source of nomination thought that you would be the most successful candidate. My GPA was a 3.81 out of 4.0 which was decent, but I only had a 1210 SAT but I was still denoted as a Principal Nominee. I know he chose me over kids who had upper 1400's and low 1500's in Rhode Island. I know I am an All-State runner, but the fact that I was a foster child for 11 years and I am adopted probably gave me the nod. I just can't believe it! I feel badly that I may have taken away someone else's spot who was probably more qualified. Does anyone else feel the same way about the Principal Nominaiton procedure? In case you are not familiar, the Principal Nominee automatically receives an appointment as long as there are no problems with DoDMERB.</p>
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My GPA was a 3.81 out of 4.0 which was decent
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<p>"Decent"? What are you, stoned? I know people who would have committed infanticide to get a 2.0, and you're calling a 3.8 just "decent"?</p>
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but the fact that I was a foster child for 11 years and I am adopted probably gave me the nod.
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<p>At the risk of being somewhat too blunt, no one cares. You got what you got based upon your accomplishments and a bit of luck (all of us did). Don't sell yourself short.</p>
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I feel badly that I may have taken away someone else's spot who was probably more qualified.
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<p>If they were, THEY would be in the Principal position instead of you. </p>
<p>Never EVER feel BAD about something you have EARNED (This is a pet peave of mine. It's simply envy in reverse, and just as pathetic.). </p>
<p>No one just walked up and GAVE it to you. You busted your ass, studied, and showed some responsibility while the rest of your sorry classmates were all off either trying to play hide the sausage with the resident tramp in the class, getting smashed, or crashing Daddy's BMW. The rest may have gotten into good schools, but how many of those require NOMINATIONS instead of MONEY to get into?</p>
<p>STOP SHORT-CHANGING YOURSELF, DAMMIT! :mad:</p>
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In case you are not familiar, the Principal Nominee automatically receives an appointment as long as there are no problems with DoDMERB.
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<p>Don't get ahead of yourself, either. Don't get cocky until you have an appointment letter IN YOUR HAND, and even then, only be cocky until I-Day, where I suggest you leave it at the main gate unless you want to exit the same gate long before four years is up.</p>
<p>Congratulations on your accomplishment! I know what it's like, but it took me two trips to the MOC's office to attain. You did it in one. NICELY done! ;)</p>
<p>I probably would have worded it a little differently, but ditto.</p>
<p>Turningsignal's mom</p>
<p>Thank you. I got my appointment on Feb 2. My Congressman called me about a week before. Oh, don't worry, I know that getting a 2.0 at the Academy is not going to easy. A 3.8 is good in high school? I thought that most of the people on here had higher than I did.</p>
<p>Thank you for the words of encouragement. All of us can feel on top of the world for the next 65 days or so until I-day, but let's just leave it at the gate like you said. I know that the Naval Academy is the best opportunity in the land, and I know that some people may have gotten into Harvard and other such schools, but those acceptances did not require acts of Congress. Oh well, I'll be quiet for now.</p>
<p>Did you hear that supposedly the acceptance rate this year at the Naval Academy went down to 10.8%? I feel so lucky.</p>
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I probably would have worded it a little differently...
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<p>LOL!</p>
<p>I know! I know! </p>
<p>I'm about as subtle as a hand grenade in a barrel of oatmeal. :D</p>
<p>[FoghornLeghorn] </p>
<p>Oatmeal, that is!</p>
<p>There's somethin', I say there's somethin' kinda YEEEEEEEEE about a boy that wants to go Army!</p>
<p>[/FoghornLeghorn]</p>
<p>;)</p>
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At the risk of being somewhat too blunt, no one cares. You got what you got based upon your accomplishments and a bit of luck (all of us did). Don't sell yourself short.
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I disagree--colleges (and people) care about your background. So the fact that he had to deal with a less than ideal situation (correct me if I am wrong fellow XC runner) and came out doing great is significant. </p>
<p>Additionally, this does not take away from you appointment. You are who you are and they took you for who you are.</p>
<p>I dunno. They have much better things to grade you on than that.</p>
<p>I may be wrong, though. I've often said that there is a good bit of plain old Kentucky Windage thrown into the selection process. Someone on the Admissions Board may very well go ahead and choose someone for that, or even decide NOT to. </p>
<p>The hard grades only go so far, but I doubt that there is an actual selection/advantage criteria for foster kids, or kids from single-family homes, etc. Veterans, probably, but the other stuff? <shrug></shrug></p>
<p>what about Eagle Scouts?</p>
<p>Sure. It's an extra-curricular activity just as valid as any other. It's a plus on your side.</p>
<p>I will agree that they care about your background. Of course I know that you still have to have accomplishments and the like, but I am positive that the fact I have been at three high schools and still was able to do what I have done was not ignored (my congressman wrote me a note about specifically that)
And I agree with zaphod, i doubt the Naval Academy gives you brownie points for tough situations (foster parents, moving, etc.), but i think they do if you still did great things despite them</p>
<p>Actually, your background can be a "selling point" if presented by your board sponsor as a life/character building situation (this should be covered in one of your essays).<br>
If you think about it, everyone experiences difficulties at some point in their life. It's whether it's perceived as "poor me," or "I've become empowered by difficulties and struggles." After all, is this exactly what it's going to be like serving as a Navy Officer?
Does it count for extra points? Not really. Though it can be used to explain why your application may drastically differ from another applicant.
Here's one example: military dependents and those whose families are often transferred experience constant moving around. I had one guy whose father was transferred 3 times during high school, dad constantly deployed, etc. This is as stressful as any situation and will be an indicator of his potential success as a military officer (did he step up to the plate, have a plan, motivate his siblings, continue to seek his goals, keep his grades up...so many what-ifs).
I believe that Zaphod would agree that life in the Navy will never go exactly to what you plan, it will always be according to the NEEDS of the Navy, with many quirks and surprises thrown your way. Adaptablility, a positive outlook and great work ethic are what you should strive for!</p>
<p>What she said! /</p>
<p>Long ago, in a land far away, a boy had a dream of going to a service academy. He did everything in his powers to make sure everything on his application showed only the very best of his efforts & character. Then he was met by a congressional nomination board with four SA alumni. After about an hour of easily answering questions as to why he wanted to go to an academy & what would make him a good leader, he was side-winded with a question he'll not soon forget. "What has been you're biggest failure, and what did you learn from it?" The boy had to sit and think long and hard on that one before answering. After giving his answer, that humbled the boy back down to earth, the gentleman from USNA told him that he respected his answer and it was their most important question as it showed the board how he would handle the stresses of being a military officer. He told him that he would have to be able to adapt to any situation and be able to think both on & off his feet. The boy shook the man's hand and said, "I understand, sir. I promise to do my best". The boy learned a lesson that day that it wasn't all about the A he'd made in AP Euro history or the three letters earned in a sport but what kind of man he would become with the education he was being offered. </p>
<p>The end. :)</p>
<p>wow, I enjoyed reading your story, JM.</p>
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"What has been you're biggest failure, and what did you learn from it?"
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<p>One of my favorite questions to ask during an interview, and one of the ones I hate answering the most. :D</p>
<p>The next worst is, "Tell me about yourself..."</p>
<p>re: biggest failure
I concur as a mom of 5 super-star kids ( this isn't a boast, just a fact and explains why this is such a crucial question for my kids to answer)...I know this question has been asked of each of them. For our USNA bound kiddo...it's the fact that despite doing the longest, hardest most demanding workouts to train for swim, since a 10 year old...despite being the winner of every Coach's award on every team she ever was on....despite every internal and mental challenge she set on this goal....she has NOT yet set a CIF standard for competition. Last year she was 1/10 of a second off. Her body language after that time was posted in a pre-lim competition was painful for this mom to watch. Know what she told me afterwards? this is an exact quote: "Well, I have something to answer to the question on my Nomination Boards about what is your biggest failure and what did I learn from it."</p>
<p>Jamzmom~
Thank you so much for sharing your story. I just printed it out and put it up on my son's bulletin board. He is getting ready to do an NROTC interview and this will definitely give him something to think about!</p>
<p>No, the worst question was from my rep's board...."Who was the most successful military leader from Missouri and why?"</p>
<p>I don't mind saying that I almost threw up hearing that. How should I know? It's not like we studied that in school! After several seconds, I remembered my older brother doing a project on Omar Bradley (Army, yes, I know! Couldn't think of a Naval hero from land-locked Missouri) back in fourth grade and insisting we go to Bradley's hometown to visit the train depot where he worked as a child....</p>
<p>I pulled some other info out of thin air (such as Bradley being a five-star general...coming from an Army family helped) and let it go at that. Fortunately, they liked my answer because I got their nomination, hehehe.</p>
<p>As a principal nominee myself, I'd have to say my favorite interview question over the course of them was, "If you could do one thing over again, what would it be?" An interesting thought exercise indeed...My answer was something along the lines of "Nothing. I've given 110% at whatever it is I've set my mind to doing, and if it failed, so be it. It wasn't meant to be. Time to move on with no regrets. Life if far too short to concentrate on the coulda, shoulda, woulda; Why concentrate on a crappy past when there's a perfectly good future out there waiting."</p>
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