What I've learned that I wish I had known

<p>As a parent, what have you learned about the academies or the application process that you wish you had known before?</p>

<p>Okay, I think I have one: Not being selected for Naval Academy Summer Seminar does not mean you won't been appointed. That was a bit of a downer, but S got in on the first try out of HS after being denied NASS admission the summer before. Go Figure. Just a pearl that might save someone else some heartburn. </p>

<p>I have also heard to inverse of that, but parents of those who went to NASS and not to USNA are probably not on this board. Anyone?</p>

<p>Someone from the Alumni Association explained the complicated process with the nominations. He indicated that in late January after all of the nominations are received from the MOC, a giant spreadsheet is formed with all of their nominees. Appointments are then awarded based on the type of nomination received and the waiting begins. If a candidate turns down their appointment, they go back to the spreadsheet and take the next eligible candidate. Having sent two older children to civilian colleges it is hard to understand how this process can take so long! The other thing that I learned was that a candidate that truly wants to attend one of the academies needs to explore all angles that could possibly help them get in. My son utilized athletics as well as constant contact with his liason officer to help make it happen. It would be important to also let your field officer know that you would consider any avenue to get in---academy or private prep school. Luckily for my son, his appointment did come through. Bottom line is---NEVER GIVE UP!</p>

<p>1) Try to get into a summer program for rising high school seniors. The single most important criteria for selection into these programs is the PSAT score. Do really well on that test.
2) Make early contact with a local Admissions representative.
3) Plan your high school activities so that you will ultimately be in a leadership position.
4) Get stuff turned in early. Stop thinking that you have another 6 months before the due date.</p>

<p>1) Leadership position(s) are critical
2) Be clear to all who ask and at every opportunity that you want to be an officer in the U.S. Armed Forces - go after ROTC opportunities, the effort and meetings/interviews will help you all the way around and you might even decide to take the ROTC route
3) Get things in early and make sure that your file is being properly handled by talking to your regional admissions officer on a regular basis (we had some confusion between whether the regional officer or the athletic recruit officer had responsiblity for my son's folder and review)
4) Continue to do your best in High School - straight A's your senior year is a good thing.
5) Remember that you have a life to live and enjoy your time in High School - que sera sera.
6) Remember why you're interested in a military career. Do appropriate things - visit your local VA Hospital, contribute time to the USO at your local airport, etc.
7) Remember - Colin Powell did ROTC at CCNY and he did OK for himself. The current Chief of Naval Operations did OCS after graduating from a no-name college. He did OK. So remember your goal - it's not getting in to a Service Academy - that's just a way station and on potential path - your goal, I hope, is to serve your country and there are many, many ways to do this.
8) GET IN SHAPE. If you do get in, you don't want to get in shape three weeks before you start at one of the Academies. Make fitness a lifetime effort - and START NOW!</p>

<p>Wow, this could be a great thread. Some things I learned as well as my daughter
1. Follow up on everything you send to the academy.
2. EARLY EARLY EARLY in everything (paperwork, waivers etc.) Don't wait.
3. If you have a relative at the academies, or alum, you are very very lucky. They really do help their own.
4. Perserverence is critical, even if denied initially.<br>
5. NAPS is a blessing; not a curse.
6. Many back doors at the service academies. Find them!
7. Trust the military. Once in, they do take care of the kids and know what they are doing.
NAPS05mom</p>

<p>Were any of the Plebes/Cadets who've made it participating in the Congressional Award program? My daughter is working toward her Gold Medal award, since she has to do the athletics, personal development and community service anyway to be a well rounded candidate.</p>

<p>There site is <a href="http://www.congressionalaward.org/congress/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.congressionalaward.org/congress/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<ol>
<li> Make sure this is what you want....be honest with yourself</li>
<li> Persistance-tenacity-punctuality-with everything</li>
<li> Be yourself</li>
<li> Communicate: BGO, Admissions, congressional offices, ex-navy, etc</li>
<li> Research and read all you can get your hands on</li>
<li> Ask questions...lots of them</li>
<li> Visit- as often as you can...see for yourself what it is really like...not only on sunny days, but in the middle of winter and the "dark ages"....understand as best you can what you are committing to...if you don't get into NASS, consider an athletic camp for the summer...</li>
<li> Seek out and verify info for yourself...don't assume others have the answers (including these)</li>
<li> Have alternate plans: Plan A, B, C and even D...don't put all your eggs in one basket</li>
<li> Understand that not everything in life is fair, and some things are just not in your control....all you can do is the very best YOU can do</li>
</ol>

<p>best of luck to all~</p>

<p>Let me add that the reason I stressed the PSAT and getting into one of the SA summer programs is because it is a way to do more than an overnight visit. You will pick up much more of the flavor/culture of an academy. By no means do I mean to suggest that it is such an important part of the admissions process that you must get in. I do think that it will help a number of applicants to validate a decision to apply. Therefore by positioning yourself to receive an invitation to a summer program by excelling on the PSAT as well as positioning yourself with leadership you will have the opportunity to gather more information about the academy and make a better decision.</p>

<p>You are both on the money. . . </p>

<p>I think SS sealed the deal for my son. We had gone to a football game earlier in the season and I think this got him "really interested." He applied for SS on the VERY FIRST DAY--at midnight as I recall.
Once he attended SS, he was convinced. [Or at least as convinced as you could be at that time.] The teamwork, the sense of honor, the accomplishment; these are all things he could not stop talking about.</p>

<p>Despite what some may say; your parents ARE very important to the process. There is a LOT of paperwork that has to be completed. For those kids that say they do it all on their own: more power to them. Most will require a healthy dose of marshalling by their parents.</p>

<p>Top Misconceptions I had:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>If you get a Congressional Nomination you're in. Although needed, the appointment from the academy is the more difficult part. In our son's case, our local MOC (who could nominate up to 10 candidates) received only 6 requests from candidates asking for a USMA nomination. There's probably 4-5 times the number of candidates who receive nominations than candidates receiving appointments.</p></li>
<li><p>You need connections to get a Congressional Nomination. Not true at all. We didn't have any connections and our son received nominations from both US senators and our local MOC.</p></li>
<li><p>If a candidate is healthy, passing the DODMERB physical is easy. I was surprised how many seemingly healthy candidates that were highly active in athletics had disqualifying medical conditions. Recommend that any candidate take the DODMERB physical ASAP to determine if they have any nonwaiverable conditions that disqualify them.</p></li>
<li><p>There's a ton of paperwork to apply to an academy. Some will disagree on this but I thought the level of paperwork to apply to the academies was the same or less than that required by most colleges. I qualify this with the comment that our son passed his physical without a problem since other posters have said that getting an intially problematic physical corrected is a real task.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Good luck to all the Class of 2010 candidates and parents.</p>

<p>aspen,</p>

<p>I think the paperwork for application to the academy seems like so much because you are also participating in a different process for each nomination application. WP alone wouldn't have been so bad, but the different deadlines, the different essay questions and different forms just meant a lot to keep track of.</p>

<p>momoftwins: You're correct, as usual.</p>

<p>Fortunately for our son, our two senators and local rep used pretty much the same form and requested the same supporting information.</p>

<p>Although our son never thanked me for it (what a shocker, I'm sure), I got him to put together a spreadsheet/checklist of information/activities that needed to be sent/done for each academy and MOC. The sheet showed the item/activity, its status, due date and the date it was completed. I also got our son to understand why "files rather than piles" is the preferred organization technique.</p>

<p>When I would ask him how his application process was going, he knew he couldn't just say "ok". Instead he would usually pull out the spreadsheet, mutter something under his breath (didn't sound like "thanks dad"), and tell me he had to follow-up on some things. Don't know about you but following up with a teacher or adult who had not yet sent in a recommendation or other information was one of our son's least favorite tasks.</p>

<p>Other than learning our son had received an appointment to USMA, my biggest thrill was seeing our son, at his own initiative, prepare a spreadsheet to organize all the paperwork and activities he needed to complete before he reported to West Point(Ok, I admit I am easily amused.).</p>

<p>Aspen,</p>

<pre><code> This might be the simplest, but most important post I've seen in a while.
</code></pre>

<p>Although our son never thanked me for it (what a shocker, I'm sure), I got him to put together a spreadsheet/checklist of information/activities that needed to be sent/done for each academy and MOC. The sheet showed the item/activity, its status, due date and the date it was completed. I also got our son to understand why "files rather than piles" is the preferred organization technique.</p>

<pre><code> It bears repeating, since it's so easy to kill there future by forgetting a deadline or to ask someone to do something. etc. I'm still working on my daughters organization, and she doesn't thank me either.

Quick thread jack: Daughter passed her Civil Air Patrol Mitchell test last night for Cadet 2nd Lt. She was the first cadet in our squadron in a while to pass on the first try, and she'll be a 2nd Lt. in the minimum 18 months from joining. Passing the Mitchell is a great step towards her future. If she were going enlisted, the services promote Cadets who have their Mitchell to E-3 right out of basic. The leadership experience can't hurt either.

Sorry about the thread jack, just needed to brag a little about someone who's a couple years out from joining Academy life.
</code></pre>

<p>"momoftwins: You're correct, as usual."</p>

<p>aspen,</p>

<p>Seeing a picture of my daughter on the usma site is worth gold, but this quote is absolutely priceless. You may be easily amused, but I am easily flattered - especially when no one at home ever thinks I'm right. :)</p>

<p>I love this thread! No doubt, this will be priceless to those applying this upcoming year and to the parents of those applying. Wish I would have had this info last Fall to educate myself more while watching the application process.
Bill - a great question for this new thread! Cougar - I, for one, will live to hear whats going on with your daughter this year. She is meant for the bigger scheme of things the way it sounds. A step above! Congrats! These young people never cease to amaze me. My son was with Prayerfulmom's son at the Mets game on Wednesday & I received the same report. He was humbled by the people that stood up to salute the uniform. He felt he hasn't much to offer his country yet and kinda cringed at the applause, but ya really gotta hand it to all these kids that are educating themselves to serve and lead. NYminute - you picked a great one. "Never give up". How true that is. After all the paper work has been done, the nominations received, and perhaps an alternate position given (personal experience), never give up. If your son or daughter is meant to lead, see #7 of oib1 post. Its what it is all about. I would have been just as proud to have my son make any difference. Just knowing that one of my own contributed to society in any fashion makes me bleed red white and blue. Hey! World Peace Everyone! Man, I gotta go eat some chocolate. Ya'll have spazed me out. Aspen, your "thanks Dad" is coming and well you know it. LOL! You guys are the best! The c/o 2010 & 2011 awaits this great advice! Give it up!</p>

<p>You new minted and future service academy parents have a wild, wonderful, and rewarding ride ahead of you.</p>

<p>Among the greatest rewards of being a service academy parent is that your cadet/midshipman comes to really appreciate you. Like most kids, during their high school years our twin sons often seemed to think that our primary role as parents was to harass and embarrass them. The first hint of a change was the content of their letters home and the strictly rationed phone calls during Beast Barracks. Then came the ardor of the first enveloping hugs on Acceptance Day after they were finally released from duties. No teenage angst or reticence. It had been seven weeks since we had seen them. Something in the crucible of Beast had shifted their perspective. This was the experience of every cadet and cadet parent I know.</p>

<p>The change was especially apparent during our sons' first visit home for Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving morning, we attended the traditional football game between our town's two high schools. Whereas our sons' high school classmates who attended other colleges either kept their distance from their parents at the game or even discouraged them from attending, our sons insisted we attend, even though it meant that Thanksgiving dinner would be late in the day and would interfere with their time with their friends that evening. At the game, our guys were in dress gray with long overcoat and were quite the center of attention. (It was the last year they did THAT ... and they may have done it, on their own hook, because they thought we would like it. On the other hand, barely ten weeks after 9/11/2001, it seemed appropriate.) </p>

<p>While our sons spent a lot of time with their friends and in the bench area at their old coach's invitation, they chose to stand with us for much of the game. Other parents commented on our sons' obvious appreciation of us as contrasted with their children's reluctant tolerance of their presence. They said that our sons showed more appreciation of them than their own kids did!</p>

<p>Now that they have graduated, I think our sons would agree that our relationships with them are stronger than they have ever been, even as they forge their own paths in the Army and life. The sense of autonomy and self-sufficiency they built at West Point means they feel no need to distance themselves from us. They can love and value us, warts and all.</p>

<p>Thanks Laxdad for your perspectives. We are starting to see some of those very traits in our son. Its almost shocking to a "newbie". The rare phone calls seem to be rich with I miss you & I love you both. And the real talking is to us not just about inquiring which of his friends we may have seen. He seems to be so focused on what he needs to accomplish and how to do it. These kids come out of summer training focused and changed. I know we were told that this would happen but WOW, it is amazing. However, I did send him an extra bar of Irish Spring for that potty mouth he's developed when speaking with his Dad & he didn't know I was on the extension! LOL They all (USMMA) seem to feel pretty great about themselves having just come through the rigors of Indoc. You're right! It will be a real wild ride watching what comes next. I'm gonna sit back and enjoy each day one by one because I'm sure they'll rush by. I can't wait to hear about the 3 am watch my Plebe did this morning while I hanging out with Mr. Sand Man. ;) We won't have seen him in 10 weeks so I'm on the countdown until parent's weekend! 40 more days to go!</p>

<p>Thanks for your insight laxdad -- I think I see it already. </p>

<p>We live close enough to USNA for my kid's friends to come down on PPW and my kid told me to make sure they didn't come down the first day of the weekend -- "I want to spend that day entirely with just my mom and dad." Who would have believed it!</p>

<p>Hi, this is my first post here. My son received an LOA from USMA about 3 weeks ago. He just got a call from his regional naval officer. The local liasion officer had talked to him in June. The son also went to naval and air force summer camps. He did the physical, but had two remedials to fix like having his pulse being taken after running in place. Weird huh? So now we await paperwork from USMA and USAFA. Navy has assigned a number to him. We also have made all the required political applications, whoa. Any other thoughts from those that just got their child into an academy? Please, we are on that roller coaster.</p>