<p>Hi to all those students and parents still awaiting news from USNA
I have not posted in quite a while but wanted to send my best to all of you as we were in the same situation this time last year. That path to the mailbox gets worn out quickly!
My son had a nomination, was approved by Dodmerb, was in the top 1-2 percent in his graduating class at school, near perfect SATs, top teacher recs and still had not heard at this time. His challenges were the need for an eye waiver and his sport was not a current Navy Varsity or Club sport. (Varsity sport at USMA and AFA though) He received acceptances from all his other major universities and two full rides from Major schools. He received a Navy ROTC scholarship in October of his senior year at an Ivy League University and acceptance into the University the end of March 2005. He did Summer Seminar and was invited to CVW early on. We live in a very competitive area and there were 10-12 very great candidates from our congressional area.
He received his letter on April 11th last year. The letter was very well done and he was encouraged to reapply. The hard part is one thin letter after several years of work towards that day! He had already decided to accept the Ivy League and NROTC Scholarship in case, and not knowing when he would hear. He handled it beautifully, was never bitter, did not try and call the Academy, his congressman etc. as many do. He said that he accepted their decision and although the Academy appeared to be a great fit for him, his academic interests were more in government and history than in engineering so we werent sure which would be best in the long run anyway. (perhaps rationalization) Last year the numbers of spots in NROTC and at the Academy decreased and there was more emphasis put on the technical careers or so we were told in orientation this summer.
So now here we are a year later and he is very happy with his decision and the Academys even though he had to turn down some other amazing offers! He loves school and NROTC. Dont kid yourself though, this is not playing soldier once a week! It is a tough all encompassing program. You must fit into a program that really runs contrary to what Major Universitys are like today. You are randomly tested for alcohol and drugs. Roommates will party and you cannot and survive the program. He is taking 20+ credit hours this semester and it is hard! Navy is not just once a week
.he has had classes and drill instruction on Saturdays and Sundays, PT at 5:30am, inspections after a full day of classes (with uniforms expected to be in perfect condition even though you have had to wear them all day). Several in his class have not made it and have not been able to balance freedom and NAVY and Ivy League academics. He has met and lived with an amazing group of students that have supported him and encouraged him and he has made many Navy friends as well. His professors are wonderful and one friend that did get into an Academy this year has not found this to be true. The professors have not met her intellectual needs (Not Navy) even though she has done very well. Apparently she said that gets better for upper classmen. He has been able to take languages not offered at the Academy and many diverse courses and still maintain the math and science classes required. It has been a great experience! He decided early on not to reapply. He said I am working towards the same commission and I am happy where I am!
So to those of you thinking that the only way to go Navy and serve your country is through the Academy sit back and think about what your long term goals are! The Academy is an awesome way to go, given the opportunity, but other routes can result in the same long term outcome. So hang in there as you walk to the mailbox over the next week and know that you can find success and meet your long term goals in many ways if you focus on what you really want! Good Luck to all of you and Beat Army!</p>
<p>Dear Lord, I thank you AGAIN for having spared me that thin envelope. I don't think I would have been able to take it. </p>
<p>Amen.</p>
<p>My first words after getting the the thin envelope last year:</p>
<p>"They're not gettin' rid of me that easily."....maybe a little more harsh, but you get the point.</p>
<p>I love NROTC, but since being here at UW, I feel like the Academy would be a much better environment for me. I feel more motivated when everyone around me is working towards the same goal. There are only three other people in my dorm in NROTC, and I rarely see them outside of unit activites.</p>
<p>But that's just me...</p>
<p>
[quote]
My first words after getting the the thin envelope last year:</p>
<p>"They're not gettin' rid of me that easily."
[/quote]
</p>
<p>And there, dear friends, is the entire Service Academy ethos in one succinct sentence.</p>
<p>Applicants: If you don't have THAT attitude, please don't bother to apply.</p>
<p>Hoo-yah, DMeix! GET SOME! :D</p>
<p>I echo DMeix. NROTC is great but the Academy is for ME. Hoo-yah!</p>
<p>DMeix and MIDNjelf,</p>
<p>It is great to see how much you want to be here. Just remember to keep that motivation because for 85% of the mids, it doesn't stay and many get cynical to the point that "doing the right thing" is "doing the wrong thing". </p>
<p>I think many college students (who re-apply from HS and college) are the ones who do the right things; the ones who don't get as cynical; the ones who hold themselves to higher standards....it is pretty evident in my company.</p>
<p>Motivators, it is Oorraahh! not hoo-yah (SEAL wannabees :))</p>
<p>OOH-RAH is for the Marines (unless THAT changed, too!)</p>
<p>We've borrowed "Hoo-Yah!" from our fellow sailor brethren. ;)</p>
<p>Thanks for the support, jadler03! Nobody ever said I didn't want to go SEALs haha.</p>
<p>Zap, it is still here and will never go!</p>
<p>juniormom- things always have a way of working out, and it never ceases to amaze me that despite all of our worry, angest, nail bitting, pacing, sleepless nights, upset stomachs, et al.....that the kids end up where they are supposed to be.....even though they might not realize it at the time it is all unfolding. Having said that, the thin letter had to have been difficult after all the work that went into it..... </p>
<p>Thank you for the post- and best of luck to your son- it sounds like he made a great choice and is doing well!!</p>
<p>i was a 4.0 student 1400 SAT captain of three varsity teams, president of various clubs, sentor nomination, congressman nomination, and presidential AND i was a going to be a third generation mid if i got in with a father still on active duty. i waited and waited and nothing ever came. turns out, i was wait listed. and boy was i devistated. i called the academy to ask why, and it turns out there was a mess up in my application package...i lived in VA ( my dad was stationed there) but im a resident from FL and got my nominations from them. somehow the academy though i didnt have a nomination because i didnt get one from VA. ok well the moral of the story is, dont stop fighting to get in!! if you get wait listed, call and find out why there might be a mess up in your package too!!</p>
<p>My son is still waiting and hasn't heard much. We have given up hope for this year and are focusing on what we need to do for next year. We need some critical feedback - so here is your chance to help us figure out where we went wrong.</p>
<p>S received an NJROTC nomination early on (August?) and completed his application package in August, too. He applied for NROTC scholarship early in the year, too. He was still taking SAT/ACT in October and December (SAT 660 verbal, 680 math, SAT II 780 math), but had average scores from fresh/soph years in high school (620 verbal, 650 math). High school gpa 3.84, but attending a competitive high school so class rank was only top 20%. Taking AP Physics, AP Calc BC, AP Comp Sci, AP U.S. History, etc. Sports include cross country letter, 4 yr orienteering letter, rifle team. Extracurriculars include typical service activities and a long term involvement in local ballroom dancing including a leadership position. This is a huge organization in our area involving thousands dance students (yes, thousands - its amazing). August CFA was just below average, but CFA was retaken and scored average or slightly better in every event. DoDMERB only identified eyesight (20/80) as an issue.</p>
<p>Now, the puzzler is that our BGO told us way back in October that S had already been rejected by USNA. What in the world would get him rejected already in October? We haven't received any sort of official correspondence from USNA telling us he was rejected. Likewise we haven't received any notifications of being qualified. I've read on CC where individuals know they are triple Q or scholastically qualified, etc. We haven't heard anything. </p>
<p>Please give us some feedback. Thanks CCers!</p>
<p>Is there any chance that your BGO meant he was rejected by USNA for the NJROTC nomination? I know there are limited slots using that method. Did your son ever pursue with his NJRTOC people whether he actually got the nomination through them???</p>
<p>Did you ever ask the BGO to clarify what he meant???</p>
<p>If my hunch is correct and that is what was rejected, did your son also try for a Congressional nomination??? </p>
<p>If not - then geeze...this may be bad news.</p>
<p>juniormom,</p>
<p>Thanks for posting!! Your message is one that applicants for all the service academies should heed. Your knowledge of the entire application process was invaluable last year and I tell the story of your son's experience everytime someone asks me about how competitive the process is. Even though you don't post here very much anymore, I'm always so glad to hear about his progress. I look forward to seeing you change your screen name to admiralmom. :)</p>
<p>And for everybody still waiting, I'm on pins and needles for all of you. Good luck!</p>
<p>Implication is that his file was Scholastically rejected. October was the time to ask "why". I don't understand this inquiry almost six months after the fact. Is there a reason S just hung on all this time? Have son contact regional director for explaination. But I can't see them changing their mind if S had not questioned the decision for all this time....shows lack of interest/motivation.</p>
<p>Regardless, it IS important that you get to the bottom of this. There maybe something in his record that you are not aware of and might be able to fix and/or contest. It could also be that his SAT/GPA/Class rank just didn't make this year's cut-off. Good Luck.</p>
<p>The mystery lies in why nickmom's son has had no official correspondence. That is very strange indeed. Perhaps some confusion can be cleared up by contacting admissions directly and asking the status of his file and explain why you're asking. If nothing has been heard from USNA directly, I would be callin' somebody. I'd bypass the BGO and go straight to the horse's mouth so to speak for some peace of mind.</p>
<p>I'm with jamzmom, get calls out to the Academy ASAP. Time to start pushing buttons. Find out who your Regional Director is, your BGO should know if nothing else. I know you can call the admissions office and they will direct your call to the RD of your area also.</p>
<p>NJROTC nomination went through b/c it shows up on the CIS as an official nomination. S rec'd congressional noms (congressman and senator) for AFA but USNA was not interested in him. BGO just said that the website he has access to listed S as 'turned down by usna' and that he has never seen one of these get turned around. This whole process is very new to us and until I found this site, I really didn't have much info on how the process works. I thought the BGO was our contact and didn't realize until recently we could call the admissions person at the USNA. Guess we'll be calling on Monday.</p>
<p>I know what you're going thru nickmom and it is NO fun. I just came upon this site last Tuesday and I have already gained an unreal amount on insite, not to mention a host of friends (dare I say family?). </p>
<p>Good luck Monday and please keep us abreast of status. Know prayers are with you.</p>
<p>My son is still waiting to hear from the academy. We have not heard anything regarding an appointment. I know that they said most hear by April 15. I do not know whether this not hearing is a good or bad thing. WATCHING the mail everyday!</p>