Nomination interview questions

NamD

Candidate
5-Year Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2010
Messages
249
Hello community,
I was drilling myself with potential interview questions and found out that answering them confidently and precisely was a lot harder than I originally thought. I've always had successful interviews with past job interviews, position interviews in JROTC and military inspections, but the difference is: my answer will potentially decide whether or not my senator/congressman will give me a nomination (aka my life!) or not.
to all of you appointees, congratulations! Please help me, and other potential class of 2016 candidates with what questions you were asked during your nomination process and how you answered them. Thank you very very much :)

also on a side note, when did you guys receive the nomination packet from your congressmen/senators? I have been doing a little research and found out that many senators/congressmen recommend juniors to request for a nomination packet in the spring (which is now). Can anyone verify this and explain the specifics of the whole process? I know I have been taking over this forum lately, and I hope I haven't annoyed or bothered any of you with my questions. :rolleyes:
 
Hello community,
I was drilling myself with potential interview questions and found out that answering them confidently and precisely was a lot harder than I originally thought. I've always had successful interviews with past job interviews, position interviews in JROTC and military inspections, but the difference is: my answer will potentially decide whether or not my senator/congressman will give me a nomination (aka my life!) or not.
to all of you appointees, congratulations! Please help me, and other potential class of 2016 candidates with what questions you were asked during your nomination process and how you answered them. Thank you very very much :)

http://www.serviceacademyforums.com/showthread.php?t=15447 Skim through that old thread. It should be pretty helpful.

also on a side note, when did you guys receive the nomination packet from your congressmen/senators? I have been doing a little research and found out that many senators/congressmen recommend juniors to request for a nomination packet in the spring (which is now). Can anyone verify this and explain the specifics of the whole process? I know I have been taking over this forum lately, and I hope I haven't annoyed or bothered any of you with my questions. :rolleyes:

I contacted the offices of my MOC's about this time last year and got the packets. Check their websites first to see if it may be on there. *Warning about the website though*- If you download a file, make sure it says somewhere that it's for candidates from the class of 2016. Some congressmen/women may still have last year's up and it wont help you to fill it out.

Questions are GOOD.
Good luck:thumb:
 
don't be over prepared for the interview. Most interview panel members are experienced in life, so they should spot any "canned" answers.

I actually sit on a nomination panel. One year I asked a question "are you ready to kill someone for you country?" Seems like an odd question, but I will provide the context. Based on the application essay, the impression I got was that the applicant was very religious and wants to help people. Questions by other panel members confirmed my impression, so I ask the question about the killing. To my surprise, the applicant's answer was no.

My advise to answer why you want to become a military officer, than rest should fall in place. There is no right reason, but you do have to make a connection between your life experience and what you want to do with your life.
 
Having a strong, genuine desire to go to West Point and serve your country as an Army officer - and showing that in your interview - is much more important than answering questions "correctly". Be yourself - Be sincere - Be enthusiastic
 
Some that I got:
"Why should the american people spend 400,000 dollars on you?"
"If you could have a conversation with any person, alive or dead, who would it be?"
"What first interested you in West Point?"
"Why an academy and not ROTC or OCS?"
 
The hardest question for me was asking about people that I would of liked to meet or who do I admire, no matter what I thought about it always sounded corny, scripted or fake, be careful with that one.
 
My interview questions were fairly basic, so I won't go into detail about them. For me it was different being interviewed by a panel of eight people, so definitely be prepared for that (as you may or may not face that same situation). Also, another thing is to think about what you're going to say when you answer. It's usually better to take a small pause to gather your thoughts instead of blurting out the first thing that comes to mind.
I didn't do too much pre preparing for my interviews and I came out of them all confident in how it went. Just look confident in front of them; the appreciate that.
 
I believe Tiki has it right down to the core. Be confident with your answers! Confident, not cocky.

I was interviewed by a board of 11 active duty and retired military officers for my nomination, and here are some of the questions I was asked
"Tell us about yourself and why you want to go to a service academy?"
"How do you feel you will fit in at an academy, and how will you adjust to the environment?"
"What do you want to do in the military as an officer?"
"How long do you see yourself in the military?"
"How do you feel about killing someone?"
"Although you don't have to answer this, and it will not effect your grading, how do you feel about gays serving in the military?"
"What will you do if you receive an order from a commanding officer that is not 'right' and is contradictory to your beliefs?"
"Who is your favorite military figure in history and why?"

Those are all the ones that I can remember that were not directly related to my resume and background.
 
how do they "grade" your interview?
if you just answer from the heart with a clear voice and confident presence, are you fine?
 
Thank you all for the responses!
On a side note, are the interviews a mandatory part of the nomination process? I heard some congressmen/senators just require an online application with a small essay, is this true?

Thank you very much :)
 
Thank you all for the responses!
On a side note, are the interviews a mandatory part of the nomination process? I heard some congressmen/senators just require an online application with a small essay, is this true?

Thank you very much :)

Each Member of Congress is different. All of mine had interviews but I know some kids in my squad at SLS did not have a single interview by an MOC/MOC committee. They are both appointed now.
 
the biggest question I haven't seen mentioned yet is "Explain your back-up plan if you don't get a nomination/appointment"
 
how do they "grade" your interview?
if you just answer from the heart with a clear voice and confident presence, are you fine?

yes, he or she have right reasons for wanting to attend a service academy

or no

Sometime just answering from your heart or being confident is not good enough.

Your heart could be wrong - want to attend a service academy because my family can't paid for my college.

You could be very confident, but if your resume don't back you up no nomination. Most panels will not give nominations to an unqualified applicant, unless there are not enough qualified applicants.
 
For one of my Senatorial interviews, each interviewer had a score sheet.
They wrote a number 1-10 for my response to a question. I remember seeing mostly 8s and 9s.
As soon as I sat down, one already wrote down a couple of numbers which I believe would pertain to my demeanor and appearance.
 
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