Common Question regarding Summer Seminar acceptance

abrownlths

5-Year Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
Messages
38
A have a couple questions regarding acceptance to the summer seminar program. I applied February, 2 and my status reads "under consideration". I don't have the best test scores,however, I make up for it in the AP courses,sports,charity work,scouts,job,etc... Here are my questions.


1. Does this mean I will get denied or is this leaning towards the negative side since I haven't heard back from the academy in what is now coming up to the 5th week?

2. My liaison interviewed me and put "positive remarks" on my transcript, does this better my chances?

3. This might sound crazy but at what time of day did are the acceptance emails sent out? I've been checking my status for the past five weeks every day, and if I got denied I would like to know. I'm very anxious if you can't already tell.

4. Lastly when is the deadline for finding out if you got accepted or not?

-Thank You
 
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I can't give you official information, I can just tell you what happened to my son last year. He was waitlisted and kept emailing the person at USAFA. He was finally sent back an email and offered a spot for Session A. He jumped right on the opportunity and had the best time. He is now waiting for a medical waiver ( he already received a conditional acceptance) and hopes to join the Class of 2016 when they arrive on I day, June 28th. Good lick to you and remember that perserverance is a great personality trait.
 
A have a couple questions regarding acceptance to the summer seminar program. I applied February, 2 and my status reads "under consideration". I don't have the best test scores,however, I make up for it in the AP courses,sports,charity work,scouts,job,etc... Here are my questions.


1. Does this mean I will get denied or is this leaning towards the negative side since I haven't heard back from the academy in what is now coming up to the 5th week?

2. My liaison interviewed me and put "positive remarks" on my transcript, does this better my chances?

3. This might sound crazy but at what time of day did are the acceptance emails sent out? I've been checking my status for the past five weeks every day, and if I got denied I would like to know. I'm very anxious if you can't already tell.

4. Lastly when is the deadline for finding out if you got accepted or not?

-Thank You


Remember, the deadline for submitting applications is tomorrow, so they still have not passed out all the slots, also, selection to the SS is based geographically - they try to evenly spread out attendees across as much of the country as they can so if you are from a state/region that has lots of folks putting in applications, it might be harder to get a slot - no reflection on you - they only have so many slots (fewer this year than last I believe).

As the Director of the program posted in the SS thread, it's also recruiting tool to get in folks from areas that don't send many kids to the academies so if your area also has many appointees then they may concentrate on other areas that traditionally don't have many.

Don't sweat it, although a very significant percentage of SS attendees end up going to the Academy, as CC wrote a few days ago, it's probably more due to motivation levels of those who apply = they're probably going to get their applications in early and spend more time putting together a quality package and have good CFA results which means they will get better scores and have a better chance of appointment.

Just applying looks good and it gets you a jumpstart on your pre-app as well. Just hang in there, not being picked is not a negative, it just means that there are too few slots for the number of applicants and the positive in it is the file that gets started on you in their database - This meant my son got his application kit opened a full month before many others - Get it done and finished in less than 45 days and that will say a lot about your motivation level to the board. As Sportsmom posted, patience and perseverance is a virtue and you have to take the long view and get used to waiting if you don't want to drive yourself crazy in the yearlong application process!

Good Luck!

:biggrin:
 
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A have a couple questions regarding acceptance to the summer seminar program. I applied February, 2 and my status reads "under consideration". I don't have the best test scores,however, I make up for it in the AP courses,sports,charity work,scouts,job,etc... Here are my questions.


1. Does this mean I will get denied or is this leaning towards the negative side since I haven't heard back from the academy in what is now coming up to the 5th week?

2. My liaison interviewed me and put "positive remarks" on my transcript, does this better my chances?

3. This might sound crazy but at what time of day did are the acceptance emails sent out? I've been checking my status for the past five weeks every day, and if I got denied I would like to know. I'm very anxious if you can't already tell.

4. Lastly when is the deadline for finding out if you got accepted or not?

-Thank You
Look at the thread regarding the Summer Seminar: http://www.serviceacademyforums.com/showthread.php?t=23095&page=18
Here the OIC posted an email where you can ask these questions if you please.
 
I heard back that I was accepted on March 15th. There's still a chance to be accepted. Just be patient. At least you have a shorter wait than us who are waiting for an appointment.
 
So if I'm interpreting this correctly their still is a chance of getting accepted? Also thanks for all the encouragement and other info.
 
Yes. My guess is that it's not a sure thing until March 28th. That's the date that they said we had to either confirm or deny the acceptance by.
 
Late offers

My guess is that a few offers may even be sent out slightly after March 28th if for some reason, which I am sure happens, somebody decides that they do not want to go or something comes up that prevents them from going and they decline at the last minute. The same is true for actual candidates.
 
A have a couple questions regarding acceptance to the summer seminar program. I applied February, 2 and my status reads "under consideration". I don't have the best test scores,however, I make up for it in the AP courses,sports,charity work,scouts,job,etc... Here are my questions.


1. Does this mean I will get denied or is this leaning towards the negative side since I haven't heard back from the academy in what is now coming up to the 5th week?

2. My liaison interviewed me and put "positive remarks" on my transcript, does this better my chances?

3. This might sound crazy but at what time of day did are the acceptance emails sent out? I've been checking my status for the past five weeks every day, and if I got denied I would like to know. I'm very anxious if you can't already tell.

4. Lastly when is the deadline for finding out if you got accepted or not?

-Thank You

yeah i just heard back and didn't get accepted. it will clearly state your status as: not selected. im a little bummed cause my application was pretty well rounded and solid. ahh the troubles of being a white male...
 
yeah i just heard back and didn't get accepted. it will clearly state your status as: not selected. im a little bummed cause my application was pretty well rounded and solid. ahh the troubles of being a white male...

Don't fret too much. My DS was not accepted to SS and is currently a C4C at the Academy right now. Try and get a nomination to attend Boys State this summer. See your guidance councilor for details. Good Luck ! :thumb:
 
yeah i just heard back and didn't get accepted. it will clearly state your status as: not selected. im a little bummed cause my application was pretty well rounded and solid. ahh the troubles of being a white male...
Something about your post makes me thinks it could be a diversity issue.
 
Don't fret too much. My DS was not accepted to SS and is currently a C4C at the Academy right now. Try and get a nomination to attend Boys State this summer. See your guidance councilor for details. Good Luck ! :thumb:

thank you. yeah ill be sure to check out some other summer programs too. i wont let this bring me down too much
 
I remember reading somewhere that if a candidate is beyond obviously outstanding, they will not accept them because they want to give the opportunity to another candidate. Someone would have to confirm this though.
 
So I submitted my application on December 3rd, but still have not heard anything back. It has read "under review" since February 3rd. Even after the application closed today, my status has not changed. Does this mean that I have not been accepted?
 
So if I'm understanding this correctly if you are denied you status will read "not accepted". I'm also still very nervous I mean if I got denied I would like to know already. I know waiting is a thing of life, It just gets annoying some times. I guess only time will tell if I got accepted; I'll update my status on this thread if any new developments occur.
 
Okay folks, I'm going to step in here.

The topic is an excellent one and as this week has seen a LARGE number of candidates for summer seminar selected, the discussion of "why, why not, etc.?" is a good one.

However the comment "...ahh the troubles of being a white male..." is NOT acceptable in this forum. For several reasons.

First, the obvious racial bias/connotation is just not what we're about. Opinions, while we're open to them all and we all have them, that focus upon racial bias with a "sour grapes" sound can very quickly be taken as a racial comment. We neither want nor need that!

Second, I'm going out on a limb here but I'm guessing I'm possibly the most knowledgeable in this forum (and I say that only because I've been doing it a tad longer than CC, he's also an expert in this field!) on the selection process/criteria at USAFA/RRS for summer seminar. I've actually participated in the selection process several times, including this week.

A SHORT summary, explaining that which I can, follows.

Summer Seminar is a recruiting tool. In that respect, it is aimed to bring in the best and brightest "potential" candidates for USAFA. It is not a "if you score XXX points, you will be selected over anyone with XXX-1 points." ALL candidates are evaluated using the "whole person" concept and that assigns value to ALL things being considered: grades, SAT/ACT/PSAT, school activities, outside school activities, familial background, school demographic (is your school a new school with no established history...so we need to look closer at you...maybe you'll be the first chosen, to build the interest in the school?) and so on...it is a VERY long process.

Do we select some candidates with "lesser appearing" records over others? Yes, of course we do; so do all other colleges/universities/scholarship programs/enter-the-name you wish here. Are some superb candidates NOT chosen while some candidates that are a bit lower on the scale selected? Yes. But understand, we give some candidates a bit of "favor" if they've had to endure/overcome some diverse situation.

Ahh..that word: DIVERSE. Note, I didn't say "diversity." MOST folks see/hear that word and assume: racial minority. And if they do they are WRONG. A "white anglo saxon male" can come from as diverse a background as can any other individual. It's the "diverse background" that the military will review; see how it shaped the individual, etc...and yes, that will be looked upon as a "bonus" for selection. Sometimes we give folks a chance simply because they have had to overcome some amazing challenge/difficulty, based upon what they faced.

The example I use actually occurred several years ago. We had a young man that lived with his LARGE family on the family farm in the midwest. From the time he could walk, he had farm chores to perform daily. He lived a good distance from town (I can't remember precisely, but it was something like 10-20 miles from anyplace).

When he was in Jr HS, his father was killed in a farming accident. He was the oldest of something like 6 or 7 kids. He immediately became "mom" while his mother ran the farm, with the help (occasionally) of friends/neighbors that would come to their farm to help. HE raised his siblings.

When he was old enough, he ran the farm: up before the sun, did his farm work, then off to school, immediately after school he had to return home to do farm work, finishing in the dark. While he did that, his mother worked 2 jobs in town, so his siblings all raised the younger kids.

When he applied for USAFA...he had NO sports, NO extracurriculars, NO anything other that school and farm work. And his GPA? Above 3.0 but not stellar...he simply had no time for anything but farm/family/school.

Yes, he was accepted to USAFA...as I recall, he was sent to the prep school where he excelled, and then up to USAFA where he excelled and graduated as a "blue chipper" with guaranteed grad school.

He was selected over others because of the diverse difficulties he faced and excelled at. FYI...his race had zero to do with it.

SO please...if you were not selected, don't try to second guess it. As an ALO, I can give you an idea of why, IMHO, you were or were not selected but that's all it would be.

Selection for summer seminar is NOT easy; the numbers applying are LARGE and we only pick @600 total.

Let's leave the comments about background/race/etc., out of an excellent discussion, okay?

Thank you!

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
So I submitted my application on December 3rd, but still have not heard anything back. It has read "under review" since February 3rd. Even after the application closed today, my status has not changed. Does this mean that I have not been accepted?
No, it doesn't mean that.

It literally means what it says: you're still being reviewed. Don't try to read into it, it is what it is.

Keep checking daily...they're making selections every day this week.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
I remember reading somewhere that if a candidate is beyond obviously outstanding, they will not accept them because they want to give the opportunity to another candidate. Someone would have to confirm this though.

This can "sometimes" be true and "sometimes" not be the case. See my "long" post for a bit of insight.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
To flieger83, thank you for writing that long explanation it really helped me and I'm sure many others. I'm just one of thousands that are nervous about this selection process for summer seminar. Also I in no way meant for this thread to change topics, I just wanted to get some questions answered, and to hear from others on their selection progress.
 
Okay folks, I'm going to step in here.

The topic is an excellent one and as this week has seen a LARGE number of candidates for summer seminar selected, the discussion of "why, why not, etc.?" is a good one.

However the comment "...ahh the troubles of being a white male..." is NOT acceptable in this forum. For several reasons.

First, the obvious racial bias/connotation is just not what we're about. Opinions, while we're open to them all and we all have them, that focus upon racial bias with a "sour grapes" sound can very quickly be taken as a racial comment. We neither want nor need that!

Second, I'm going out on a limb here but I'm guessing I'm possibly the most knowledgeable in this forum (and I say that only because I've been doing it a tad longer than CC, he's also an expert in this field!) on the selection process/criteria at USAFA/RRS for summer seminar. I've actually participated in the selection process several times, including this week.

A SHORT summary, explaining that which I can, follows.

Summer Seminar is a recruiting tool. In that respect, it is aimed to bring in the best and brightest "potential" candidates for USAFA. It is not a "if you score XXX points, you will be selected over anyone with XXX-1 points." ALL candidates are evaluated using the "whole person" concept and that assigns value to ALL things being considered: grades, SAT/ACT/PSAT, school activities, outside school activities, familial background, school demographic (is your school a new school with no established history...so we need to look closer at you...maybe you'll be the first chosen, to build the interest in the school?) and so on...it is a VERY long process.

Do we select some candidates with "lesser appearing" records over others? Yes, of course we do; so do all other colleges/universities/scholarship programs/enter-the-name you wish here. Are some superb candidates NOT chosen while some candidates that are a bit lower on the scale selected? Yes. But understand, we give some candidates a bit of "favor" if they've had to endure/overcome some diverse situation.

Ahh..that word: DIVERSE. Note, I didn't say "diversity." MOST folks see/hear that word and assume: racial minority. And if they do they are WRONG. A "white anglo saxon male" can come from as diverse a background as can any other individual. It's the "diverse background" that the military will review; see how it shaped the individual, etc...and yes, that will be looked upon as a "bonus" for selection. Sometimes we give folks a chance simply because they have had to overcome some amazing challenge/difficulty, based upon what they faced.

The example I use actually occurred several years ago. We had a young man that lived with his LARGE family on the family farm in the midwest. From the time he could walk, he had farm chores to perform daily. He lived a good distance from town (I can't remember precisely, but it was something like 10-20 miles from anyplace).

When he was in Jr HS, his father was killed in a farming accident. He was the oldest of something like 6 or 7 kids. He immediately became "mom" while his mother ran the farm, with the help (occasionally) of friends/neighbors that would come to their farm to help. HE raised his siblings.

When he was old enough, he ran the farm: up before the sun, did his farm work, then off to school, immediately after school he had to return home to do farm work, finishing in the dark. While he did that, his mother worked 2 jobs in town, so his siblings all raised the younger kids.

When he applied for USAFA...he had NO sports, NO extracurriculars, NO anything other that school and farm work. And his GPA? Above 3.0 but not stellar...he simply had no time for anything but farm/family/school.

Yes, he was accepted to USAFA...as I recall, he was sent to the prep school where he excelled, and then up to USAFA where he excelled and graduated as a "blue chipper" with guaranteed grad school.

He was selected over others because of the diverse difficulties he faced and excelled at. FYI...his race had zero to do with it.

SO please...if you were not selected, don't try to second guess it. As an ALO, I can give you an idea of why, IMHO, you were or were not selected but that's all it would be.

Selection for summer seminar is NOT easy; the numbers applying are LARGE and we only pick @600 total.

Let's leave the comments about background/race/etc., out of an excellent discussion, okay?

Thank you!

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83

i apologize for that. i wasn't looking to snag any harsh feedback or anything, its just that coming from a group that produces such a huge pool of applicants for anything, particularly academically related, makes our chances much more slim and its a little frustrating. this is a whole other issue within itself, and i understand the policies so i'll discontinue the discussion of that on here. sorry again
 
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