Parents at Interview

tuba143

10-Year Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2011
Messages
9
My son has his NROTC officer interview tomorrow afternoon. Since it is about 1 1/2 hours away I am taking the afternoon off to drive him there. Should I just sit in the car in the parking lot and wait for him to come back down or should I go in with him and wait in the waiting room? What is the norm in these situations. Don't want to distract from his interview one way or the other.

Thanks in advance.
 
There may not be a norm, so I'd simply advise to "go with the flow" and follow the officer's lead. If it helps, I can simply relate what happened at my son's interview yesterday.

He was instructed to bring a parent. I signed the paperwork and was with him as a CPO went over his packet and prepped him for his interview with the CO. Another officer came and escorted my son to the CO. He didn't ask me to go with him, so I didn't. (I stayed in a conference room and had a nice conversation with the CPO.) My son, the second officer, and CO eventually came back with the good news and the CO said, "Hey, why is Dad hiding out in here? You could have come in."

I figure this is big boy time, so no need to insert myself into his interview. In my case it wasn't a big deal, either way. The CO joked that "now you can get that boat Dad."
 
Drop your son off and have him call you when he's done so you can come pick him up, or go into the office with a good book, introduce yourself if required and otherwise butt out.

Just don't go to the office, introduce yourself to the interviewer and name-drop about your high-placed military connections, then spend a good chunk of time telling the interviewer how wonderful this particular candidate his and that the Army/Navy/Air Force would be a fool not to give him/her a full ride immediately. True story, honest. I cringed on behalf of the poor kid this fool was accompanying.
 
For what it is worth I felt it best for my son to do this by himself and after dropping him off, I found a coffee shop to sit and wait. He called me when he was done.

In his case, it was a NROTC Marine Option interview. They also did the physical fitness test directly afterwards.

Good luck!
 
For what it is worth I felt it best for my son to do this by himself and after dropping him off, I found a coffee shop to sit and wait. He called me when he was done.

I agree! Take a book and find somewhere to wait. It looks overprotective, nosy, and smothering to have Mommy and Daddy hovering around at this stage of the game. Your kid can make a full report when you rendezvous later.
 
Disagree...A cadet who has the support of his family is usually a happier cadet. My boss usuually likes to at least meet the parents, and see in their eyes that they support their students choice to serve. Kick the kid out of the car as you drive by HQ and you may be sending the signal that you don't support her/his choice. I do agree that you shouldn't try to monopolize the visit, but if you are interviewing at Clarkson you will be spending your time with me (the ROO) while the PMS is conducting the interview with your student, and then we will all be coming together to make sure all the questions are answered. Nothing worse than asking the student if the came alone, being told no, but that their parents didn't want to come in the building.
 
Guess you could say this question is situationally dependent.

As I think back on it, I recall that my son asked the local recruiter he had been speaking with (not the interviewer) who advised he go alone. So I suspect that the local interviewer had his own opinions on the participation by parents.

Perhaps the best guidance for those asking this question might be to first ask your local and trusted military contacts (but not the actual Officer conducting the interview) and in the absence of this option, weigh the excellent opinions and experiences offered here.
 
How about both as an option?

Disagree...A cadet who has the support of his family is usually a happier cadet. My boss usuually likes to at least meet the parents, and see in their eyes that they support their students choice to serve. Kick the kid out of the car as you drive by HQ and you may be sending the signal that you don't support her/his choice. I do agree that you shouldn't try to monopolize the visit, but if you are interviewing at Clarkson you will be spending your time with me (the ROO) while the PMS is conducting the interview with your student, and then we will all be coming together to make sure all the questions are answered. Nothing worse than asking the student if the came alone, being told no, but that their parents didn't want to come in the building.

Spring of junior year met with ROO of school A, informally but with mom and dad in tow as this was the first visit to the school. Probably spent close to an hour with ROO. Asked if it was necessary to return 13 hours for the official interview in the summer. ROO said that would be great but not necessary, go to closer school B for interview. Also DS and mom met with cadre at school B during junior year. Official interview and informal PT test at school B without any parents around. Meeting with ROO's was key in the whole process, so Clarkson ask for a raise :smile:
 
Oh, I agree, if parents are invited or if it's recommended they attend or participate, by all means, do so. Like USMCGrunt said, it's situationally dependent.
 
I think it is fine for the parent to enter the office where the interview will occur, and if the interviewer wants to talk to them they should. However, I also think it is wise to make a plan ahead and say, I will meet you at XYZ when you are done.

This allows your child the ability to walk the campus like they would as a student next yr. It gives them a "feeling".

I know several interviewers who want to talk to the family, especially if they are military. They like to meet them to make sure that the kids are doing it for the "right" reason.
 
My son and I did a tour of schools he was interested in....all long distance. I walked with him into the ROTC offices and shook hands with ROOs/PMS/etc when introduced and immediately said that I would wait for him at XYZ. Everyone asked me to please attend the meeting. I did not speak until spoken to. One of the schools decided to make this his official AROTC interview and logged it into the system. At one school, I was informed that we would have a group meeting and then PMS would meet with son alone.

Every ROO/PMS asked if I had any questions about the process. My questions were mainly about financing and what is expected of us as a parent. After a couple of these interviews I noticed my son's confidence grow and grow. It was the best learning opportunity to meet with so many ROTC programs.

The only meeting I did not attend was the official AFROTC interview, I waited outside for that one, since it was at a school to which he was not applying, and son wanted to fly solo on that one. For whatever reason, it felt that this was one that needed to be without me in the waiting area.

He received all 3 ROTC scholarships and appointment to USNA, but he chalks it up to his lucky outfit that he wore to every single interview. It will be made available on ebay shortly....:smile:
 
LMAO singapore.....EBAY! No need to do that just post it on here, I bet people would bid on it just for the fact that he got all scholarships and an SA appointment. You know people are superstitious.

Our DS always wore his St. Joseph of Cupertino medallion that he got when we went to the Vatican to his interviews. He is the patron saint of aviators. That was his superstition. Seemed to work, he got AFROTC scholarship, and all 3 noms to the AFA for his MOCs.

He also wore it during the entire time that the AF board met and released the rated slots for 2012. He got one, so now he is very superstitious. Already asked his Dad how he can wear it while flying, Dad told him to hook it through his laces on his boot. Many fliers don't wear any jewelry due to ejection seats. Bullet never wore his dog tags around his neck...he had it threaded through his laces on his boots.
 
Definitely need to keep that medallion close by! Plebe summer pics of my son show his cross flying all over the place. that's how I knew it was him!

The official interview outfit was;
perfectly pressed/dry cleaned:

Blue button down shirt, sleeves down and buttoned, until we go to lunch
Crisp white Lands End T shirt
Docker pants that are almost too short
Tan socks
Scuffed but clean suede dress shoes
Leather belt with polished oval brass and silver belt buckle

optional: shoulder harness to keep shattered collarbone in place.

....works every time!
 
OK, on this question I am qualified to give good advice, since DD applied both NROTC and AROTC a year ago. Plus we have a Navy 2nd Lieutenant in the family who did all this five years ago. I also researched, asked around, and checked this Board for past posts on the subject.

- Navy: Absolutely sure, without doubt: DO NOT SHOW YOUR FACE. Drop DD or DS off in the parking lot, and have them call you when they're exiting the building. The Navy wants the applicant to show leadership and independence from the start to the end of the process.

- Army: Usually a parent is welcomed, and in fact usually invited into the interview.

- Air Force - no idea.

Each method has its positive and negative aspects... but they are as different as night and day.
 
Seems to be a trend with AROTC and interviews.

I received a call from the Major at the school my older son interviewed at, she asked if I was coming with my son. I told her I was planning to drop him off and stay out of the way. The Major quickly said "No don't do that" she stated that she wanted to meet with us both before the interview and the Col. wanted to meet with me while she conducted the interview. I was surprised at first but I have to agree with Clarkson, his comments seemed to be the theme of our visit.

Thanks to those parents that have gone through interviews for different programs, the information give great insight to future applicants and their parents.
 
Things with DS's AROTC interview were very similar. When DS and ROO scheduled the interview he asked to see if DM or DD could come along. Started with a nice conversation with the ROO, whom we had met earlier in the summer. PMS came in, introduced himself, had a nice casual conversation, and then he gave some good examples to demonstrate the quality of the school's AROTC program. The the 3 of them left to conduct the interview in the PMS's office. Afterwards, the 4 of us had a wrap-up conversation. PMS was very complimetary of DS and said he felt tha DW and I did a great job of bringing him up.

For the interview, here's what seemed to work great for DS. Took him shopping to get some big boy clothes, but allowed him to pick out what he felt was appropriate. Here's what he ended up with:
- Black button-down collar dress shirt
- Black dress slacks
- Knecktie that would be difficult to spot from even a short distance on a camo ACU
- Black belt, socks and dress shoes

ROO's first comment was "thank God no tennis shoes like the last one."

p.s., mohawk optional (and they both guessed correctly as to why).
 
DS did NROTC interview with a local liason. this he had on high school campus in NJROTC office, on his own. the other NROTC meetings he had were during looksees and fact finding visits. Those I attended with him and waited for direction from officer as to if i was welcome or not.

One officer said, "Of course, you should come on in. I would have thought it strange that this young man made it all the way from Texas to North Carolina on his own."

DS followed up every interview with a thank you email.
 
Sounds like you can do the interview about any way you want. For us, my son was working for the summer 7 hours away from home so he was in charge of everything including getting there, the interview, PFT, etc. He is applying for NROTC Marine Option. His second interview was by phone which he also scheduled himself. We did contact the MOI at his preferred college and scheduled a visit. The MOI encouraged both the applicant and the parent to come in. It was very productive as he was able to answer several of my sons questions that we had not yet found an answers for. Good luck to all.
 
Thanks for everyone that replied, lots of good advice. Wished I would have posted a couple of days ago, but the interview came on fast.

I drove me son to the Navy Base where the interview was. When they came down for my son I offered to leave and they invited me up. I ended up waiting in a break room reading my book. The CPO who was coordinating all this did come in and talked to me for about 5 minutes while my son was with the CO, he was very nice and gave me some good information about the process. Now his packet is complete for the September board and we just need to cross our fingers.

The only thing he probably could have done better was to shave off his beard before the interview. He does have a crew cut and the beard is nicely trimmed and not spotty like some kids his age. He was dressed in black slacks, white shirt, tie and a sports jacket and wore black dress shoes and socks. So hopefully everything else will offset the beard. I do have pictures of my dad when he was in the Navy in the 70s with a full beard but I guess times have changed.
 
I think its fine for parents to sit in on the meeting. Gives them a chance to get a feel for the program and understand what their child is committing 8 years of their lives too...
 
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