<p>Son is finally doing the fitness assessment next Tues (after some delays none of which were his fault). Anyway, S’s ALO is doing the assessment since son doesn’t attend a school with a gym teacher (long story). Also in attendence will be 2 other colonels and a Lt Col., who all plan to interview him at that time.</p>
<p>Is this a normal experience? I was a little surprised that there would be 3 Cols and a LtCol there for one kid.</p>
<p>Other than that, things are moving along well. He met the congressman’s aide who handles the kits and is a contact liaison. So far, S’s was the only one they had!</p>
<p>Well, there's a lot of reasons for such a thing. I wouldn't worry about it. 1st; when doing the assessment, you really need a couple of people. Your son is going to be throwing a basketball approximately 70+ feet away. It sucks to have him throw it, you measure where it hit, then go chase the ball so you can give it back to the kid. The military may have gotten us in good shape, but us old folks still feel the difference.</p>
<p>Also, as far as the interview goes, there are multiple ALO throughout your state. Some of these officers may be new at this and are sitting in on an interview so they are better prepared to do interviews on their own. If anything, more than 1 interviewer is a good think. 1st; it makes sure that your son truly does want to attend the academy and knows what he is getting into. Your son will have many different perspectives. 2nd; The ALO's understand the nervousness of your son. They will almost always give the benefit of the doubt towards attitude and demeanor. With 3 ot 4 there to interview, 1 will always be sure to think more highly of your son than another one. The others will give the benefit of the doubt and go with that impression.</p>
<p>Remember, there are no "Right and Wrong" answers during an ALO interview. They are there to get a "Feeling" of your Son's motivation, attitude, etc... towards going to the academy, graduating, being commissioned, and serving his country. They are there to see if he has the right perspective. The same answer to a question can be given multiple ways and still produce the right feedback. I wouldn't worry about it. I am positive that just about every ALO has sat in on another interview at least once before going solo on their own interviews. It's like the "Miss Teen USA" contest. There are no wrong answers. Unless of course you somehow try to correlate American kids not knowing a USA map with Africans and Iranians and the shape of their country. LOL ! :) Don't sweat it. Later... Mike....</p>
<p>S is so excited about this whole process and really hoping he'll get the nomination and appointment. </p>
<p>He has really been working on the physical fitness stuff and has brought his mile down to under 6 minutes now and everything else is (way) above the printed "averages" except his basketball throw. Fencers hardly ever actually throw anything. But, he's working hard on that too, and is within a foot of the average, which is something around 65 ft, I think.</p>
<p>I'm grateful for all of your input! Thanks!</p>
<p>This is still plenty early to complete your CFA, so your son is in fine shape there. One small piece of advice, have your son bring a copy of his resume with him. He may be asked about his activities and stats, and in the stress of the moment it will help to have something to jog his memory. The ALO should already have a copy of his resume. If he doesn't, send or bring him one and bring a copy for each of the other officers. When the ALO writes up his report he has to follow very strict guidelines. Some of the info on the resume will probably be very helpful for him and it will help your son get a positive report both for the information on it and for his thoughtful preparation.</p>
<p>It's my understanding that there is not a "passing" score, but they do post the "averages" and the maximums. My son assumed that the averages are generally the minimum for which one should shoot.</p>
<p>my son interviewed for all 3 MOC nominations for our area. each interview was conducted by a panel of retired military officers from various branches. i think the panel interview is normal, but the interview with the CFA is unusual.</p>
<p>I don't think there's anything weird or unusual about interviewing directly after the CFA. They need to interview them anyway, so why not when it's convenient. When the parties have already met for the last hour taking care of sit-ups, push-ups, running, etc... Puts the applicant at ease. Especially after trying to run the mile in 6 minutes.</p>
<p>My son's ALO knew how precious time was for my son and for her. We arranged that the interview would be done directly after the CFA was done. We went to the Base Gym where the ALO arranged for the CFA to be performed and monitored by the gym staff. Afterwards, we went to her office. My son did a typical 3 minute clean-up (Guy thing), and put on a fresh shirt and slacks he brought with him. After we got to the ALO's office, I said; "Have a great meeting, I'll see you in an hour". I went to burger king for a coke and a burger and I let the two of them have their interview. </p>
<p>She was the won that suggested killing two birds with one stone by doing the interview right after the CFA. Now, if you don't have access to a military base where you can arrange a CFA any time you want one, then obviously arranging both the CFA and the interview would be difficult. My son's ALO wanted to be present at the CFA to make sure the gym staff administering the test didn't screw up accidentally. Which they almost did on the shuttle run. Anyway, she even said he could interview with the running clothes he did his CFA in. I said that he would have time to change. So, no, it's not all that irregular. Later... Mike....</p>
<p>That question may be harder to answer than you would think. Most of us on this forum are obsessive about getting things done as early as possible. Keep in mind that many USAFA applicants haven't even started yet and the nominations process has earlier deadlines than the academy itself. Nevertheless, your application is not complete until you have sent in your CFA and the admissions committee won't consider you until your file is complete. Theoretically you could put off the CFA until next February (or sometimes even later), but you really don't want to do that. If you need more time to get in shape, then you still have some time; but I don't think I would put it off any later than December. Potentially a really bad score could keep you out of the academy, but a really great score by itself won't get you in. It's a judgment call.</p>
<p>@pilot - those are very good scores, wish I could have had those back then!</p>
<p>@fencersmother - you are correct in assuming the "averages" are really the minimums you should shoot for. A passing score would be if you got all averages on each event.</p>
<p>I, too, am quite obsessive about getting everything done as soon as possible. At this moment, nearly everything in my application is completed except the CFA. The problem that I have is that I did not participate in any sports in high school, so I would like a few months more to train and knock out the CFA. With the practice tests I've done, I can easily attain the published averages, but I want my scores to impress the committee.</p>
<p>Soylent (I like your handle - shades of musty old Charlton Heston science fiction movies), if you can confidently submit scores above average in each event, I wouldn't worry about taking it later. Most applicants don't realize what a tiny percentage of their overall admissions score the CFA is. Not participating in sports is a big hit, but a high CFA score will not do all that much to impress the committee. It would be a good idea though if you had some good reason for not participating in sports (such as a job to support the family). Sports earn you points, jobs earn you points, every positive thing on your application questionnaire earns you points. Just some things earn you more points than others. Frankly, the admissions committee sees your point total before they ever actually look at you. That admissions score gets your app onto their desk, then when they see the real you, they make a final decision - in now, out now, or maybe later.</p>
<p>You might consider getting into a sport now, even if it's just a good community soccer league. You can continue to update your resume right up until the committe makes its decision. Many acceptances have come to people who are weak on sports, but not many where there is no sports participation of any sort. Blessings on your application!</p>
<p>I am a perfect example of someone who had no recent sports activity when going through the application, but who made it in anyway. What I did though, was join a local community basketball team, and just got the league director to sign a letter saying that I would participate in the league that Winter/spring. You might be able to try that. Good luck.</p>
<p>Daughter went to an Academic Magnet that did not have HS Sports. It wasn't practical for her to compete with her zoned HS until her Senior year. The ALO was very critical about the lack of team sports. Like Hornet she had Competed Nationally in TKD beginning in Jr. HS and continued through HS. The Academy offered her appointment shortly after her CC letter in December.</p>
<p>OK, S's scores are in... I'll follow Pilot's format:</p>
<p>64' bball throw (fencers don't throw things!)
18 pullups
87 situps
71 pushups
8.4 sec shuttle (slipped... drat!)
6:05 min mile (had to go 20 times around a gym, instead of 4 times around the track; really threw off his timing)</p>
<p>Guess those should be ok, except for the ball throw. Nothing he can do about it now.</p>
<p>The colonels and S went out to pizza place after and had their discussions and it was an enjoyable evening. S was very relaxed and the interviewers seemed very comfortable with him. They all said he made a great impression and that they would all recommend him in their reports. </p>
<p>I'll keep you posted! Thanks for your help and support!</p>
<p>BTW: Pilot2B: are you already a pilot? My eldest S got his license when he was 17,then his Air Traffic Control Cert when he was 18. He wants to fly for the Marine's - eventually.</p>