Principal Nom. denied appointment USMA. Help

Hello everyone, thanks for your time reading this bulletin. My name is Thomas and I really need some help where my USMA application is concerned; a lot is riding on my appointment, and its driving me beyond the brink of keeping my sanity (if you will). Let me give you the background of where I stand as far as my candidacy is concerned.
1 - I have recieved nomination from two different sources.
A) One is a competitive nomination from the senator in my state (Fiengold -WI)
B) The second (this is exciting), I have been awarded a Principal, or Primary Nomination from my congressman (Sensenbrenner WI-05)

2 - I am on the recruited athlete list in admissions for football - This has been confirmed.

3 - I am only double qualified as I speak. Passed the CFA with flying colors and am academically qualified, at least enough for a recruited athlete and the Political offices in this state.

Now here's the problem, I got medically disqualified from DoDMERB a few days ago for an uncanny reason that in essence has nothing to do with being medically inapt. When filling out my medical history questionnaire it asked if I had ever used alcohol: not if i was dependent on it, not if I've received psychiatric counseling for it, nor did the question communicate whether or not I received medical attention for the use of alcohol - it simply asked if I have ever used alcohol. And being the forthright candidate I am, I responded "Yes." Because I have, it was stupid, it was inane, it was naive and I was young, spontaneous, and had my eye peeled for thrill and yes I regret it ETC.... I'll cut to the chase and what I told them was that in my juvenile history I was cited twice for violating a municipal ordinance code in the city limits which is titled "Underage consumption," and in both instances my BACs added to equal .03%, which is close to nothing, so it wasn't like i was gone by any means whatsoever - just a stupid teenage decision on my part. I formally sent DoDMERB full documentation on BOTH citations and to which my surprise i received a letter from them stating 'Medically disqualified - History of alcohol abuse.'

Now with my background anyone would basically say "hey, he should get an appointment, which is what I've been told by basically everyone." So what I'm asking is will I be getting a waiver for this disqualifier when the admissions/congressman requests it? And if so, will DoDMERB grant my waiver? This means more than the world to me - please, any thoughts...

Luigi, I think people are refering to his very first post made a few months back on the DoDMERB section.

Mayhemmadness, you stated back in December that you were medically disqualified. You say you are now medically qualified, so that must mean you received an official waiver from USMA for this DQ? You would have received a letter from them and it would show in your medical status on the DoDMERB website.

Also, the only way to know if you are Scholastically qualified is if you received a letter stating the fact, or if your regional director confirms it. You say you are a recruited athlete, so perhaps you were misled into believing that you were scholastically qualified (which is your whole person score - not just your academics), when that might have been your recruiters opinion and not the official assessment from the USMA admissions board? I know the process is a little different for athletic recruits, so contact your recruiter for the accurate reason behind you not being offered an appointment - we can all only speculate from all you have told us.

All the best!
 
Hmmmm....

He had a post explaining the citations, but it looks like he's taken it down, I can't find it now. He stated that he had two citations for underage drinking (BAL 0.03) and DODMERB DQed him for alcohol abuse. Maybe they would let one go, but thought two showed evidence of a problem. Just a thought.
 
Well, I guess he didn't take it down, it was from his DODMERB thread, sorry.
 
He stated that he had two citations for underage drinking (BAL 0.03) and DODMERB DQed him for alcohol abuse. Maybe they would let one go, but thought two showed evidence of a problem. Just a thought.

I agree with you mom14. This could be the reason why you have not received an appointment Thomas. Not to be condescending but you stated in your DoDMERB post that you were "young and naive" and you were sincerely sorry. No offense, but I could make the argument that I am young and naive as well (I am 18) except I have never touched a drop of alcohol in my life outside of religious reasons and family celebrations, and even then it was the equivalent of a sip. The academies wants people who are going to be responsible and follow the rules and regulations, regardless of how young they are. You say that your BAL was .03 and that's not high. However, its high enough to impair your driving ability as well as your focus and concentration...its easy to get hurt or hurt someone that way.

Second, you might want to do a gut check with your attitude. Statements like "how can they do this to me," "its not fair," and "I deserve this," etc are not good examples of character. And you said that admissions told you that there were other candidates who were more qualified than you but you highly doubt it is arrogant and, frankly, disgusting. There are billions of people in the world and there is always going to be someone out there who is better than you.

Sorry if I seem frank and offensive, but it is better to hear it now on a forum than at USMA from a cadre tearing you apart. Just my .02, take it or leave it.

And if at first you don't succeed, try again. Show them you have improved in all aspects. I was medically deferred from USCGA c/o 2013 and I am now busting my butt to get back in and to prove that I can succeed at the Academy. Do the same, even if it means taking an extra year.
 
I would like to retract my previous statement saying I am more deserving than others. To be honest there most certainly are a number of people who are far more deserving, and didn't make the cut. Listen I know why I got dq'd just talked to the regional guy for the third time today, nothing else can be done. I just know I'm the person they're looking for and it's not gonna happen and that's whAt breaks my heart. Idk what I'm gonna do WP is the only place I applied, now they're telling me to enlist but of course thts coming from officers who would happily tell a private what to do. He said coming down there isn't such a great idea and wouldn't do me much good. I'm still mortified to say the least. I thought there were laws governing my appointment, I'm medically and physically qualified, he also said my academics were on par as well, in fact better than most. I keep telling myself there's more I can do
 
My condolences to you - I know this is a rough time for you.

now they're telling me to enlist but of course thts coming from officers who would happily tell a private what to do.
he is actually correct about this. by enlisting you have an opportunity within the Army to redeem yourself. Of course this is your decision. You can also consider the National Guard or Army Reserves.
Without a plan B - you certainly can still apply to some schools. Plenty of colleges will take a late application.
You have hit a roadblock. Keep moving in a forward direction.
Best Wishes.
 
I would like to retract my previous statement saying I am more deserving than others. To be honest there most certainly are a number of people who are far more deserving, and didn't make the cut. Listen I know why I got dq'd just talked to the regional guy for the third time today, nothing else can be done. I just know I'm the person they're looking for and it's not gonna happen and that's whAt breaks my heart. Idk what I'm gonna do WP is the only place I applied, now they're telling me to enlist but of course thts coming from officers who would happily tell a private what to do. He said coming down there isn't such a great idea and wouldn't do me much good. I'm still mortified to say the least. I thought there were laws governing my appointment, I'm medically and physically qualified, he also said my academics were on par as well, in fact better than most. I keep telling myself there's more I can do

I'm sorry. I know it's a tough thing to find out that a a few mistakes you made have taken your dream from you.

There are still some schools that will take applications, especially community schools. You can apply to a school and go the ROTC route.

Good luck.
 
Would you maybe consider applying a second time? Maybe go to a cc or do ROTC and apply again? It will definitely show USMA that you are determined and a hard worker. Good luck in the path you choose to follow.
 
Idk what I'm gonna do WP is the only place I applied, now they're telling me to enlist but of course thts coming from officers who would happily tell a private what to do.

Er....Enlisting was my backup plan, and I would have happily done so if I hadn't gotten an appointment. If you're as qualified as you say you are, enlisting dramatically improves your shot for getting a slot in the class of 2015, as they haven't been able to fill all the slots reserved for enlisted guys at WP. So give it some thought.
 
I sware it's not over until r day rolls around and I'm not there. We haven't yet exhausted all outlets, even though admission has been denied, I can't help but weigh a certain feeling that a few other outlets exist. Here's one. Initialy I was sent to WP a a recruited athlete. However once I recieved a primary nomination they took me off the recruit list because I was guaranteed an appointment...apparently this is a false orthadox to service academys. What I plan on doing is seeing if I can get back on this recruit list and my file could hopefully go before a different, less critical admissions commitee thus offering the appt I was guaranteed. Thoughts? Keep in mind it's not over until they start shaving heads...
 
Mayhemmadness27, Is there a "different, less critical" admissions committee for athletes? I was under the belief that everyone had to meet the same criteria to get an appointment. Am I wrong?
 
I'm sorry about the denial. It clearly came as a complete shock. I don't know how far you'll get trying to get back on the recruited athlete list - I suspect it's the same admissions committee.

You really also need to be working on Plan B. Go to your guidance office tomorrow morning and tell them what happened. They should be able to guide you to colleges that have ROTC programs and will take late applications. Can you afford college tuition without a scholarship? If not, you need to fill out a FAFSA to see how much need-based aid you might qualify for. Go to FAFSA.gov for the form. How badly do you want to play football? Are there colleges that are still trying to fill their football rosters for the fall? Your high school football coach might be able to help with this. You need to get going on this TOMORROW - don't put it off hoping WP will change their minds.

Enlisting is, of course, an option. However, if your ultimate goal is to be an army officer IMO you need to go to college.

Did the admissions office at WP give you any idea if they would reconsider the DQ if you reapplied next year? If so, a year of college, taking a similar course load to what you would take at WP, should help with your re-application.

Best of luck.
 
OP, your attitude of "i wont take no for an answer" is not going to get you anywhere. It is over for this year, If you still want USMA, either go to college for a year and do ROTC, or enlist. If you don't, you can still get a commission via rotc or ocs. I get that you are mad, but try to move on.
 
Yes, there is another admissions review board for recruited athletes, is is much less enduring and not nearly as critical as far as admissions requirements. No essentially the ultimate goal is not to be an army officer- it's to graduate from west point. I want to go there more than most can fathom, it practically completes me. My brother is an 07 grad, he is not why I want to go...but even he says he has never seen anyone with the dedication I compell. We will see, but i'm sorry to me it's not over yet.
 
Your ultimate goal is not to be an army officer but only to graduate from West Point????? This statement right here would give me pause if I was on the admissions committee.
 
Listen I know being an army officer is the essance of the whole west point experience, and it would be awesoe to be an army officer for 5 years after that. I am in love with that school for the person it molds you in to; and essentially what you can take those lessons with you thus creating an army officer. However I dot plan on being an officer my whole life, but I do plan on taking west point with me for the rest of my life.
 
I have to tell you that if I were you I wouldn't post any more information on here as it's a public forum and you never know who is reading. For admissions it wouldn't be hard to figure out who you are with all the information that you've given.
Now that you've made it known your intentions are not to serve more than the required 5 years you may make it harder if they find out that serving your country isn't your ultimate goal to try and change their mind.
West Point is there to make the best future officers for our country not to mold you into something for your future. At least that is not their only intention.
 
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In reference to the statement that there is a different admissions board for recruited athletes:
I was under the impression that the same admissions board reviews every single application. The only difference if you are a recruited athlete is that the coach from your sport will go in front of the board with any information they collected from you and talk you up to them. The higher up you are on the their list determines how strong their argument is. Again, this was just the impression that I was given as a recruited athlete.
Good Luck!
 
Well there you go you just gave me another break; see it isn't over yet and I'm after it. Okay here's the deal, I have not signed my life away yet for the next 9 years, or the next 25! I am 18 years old, you cannot hold me accountable for what my ideas are, especially since I'm banking now on being able to serve a platoon for the next year and reapplying then. Yes the expectation is for everyone to serve their country with a myriad of valor and diligence, which is my utmost ambition. Sure I said michie stadium in 4 years is the aim, but I am happy to give the next 25 if that's where my heads at. As for now, I'm concerned with an education, concerned with not going in debt for it, and most importantly fulfilling my unremmiting need to serve this country hands down. Hands down. And as a citizen of this country I am hoping youre grateful for mine, as well as everyone else's commitment. Do not think I plan on using, or want to use anyone especially a place like USMA. I'll go there for a reason- the exact reason they would (hopefully) accept me.
 
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