Started late - Does DS have a chance?

anne99

Parent, Class of 2021 USNA
5-Year Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2015
Messages
196
My DS didn't discover USNA until the first week of his senior year (last month) and has hit the process with a vengeance. He is almost done with all his congressional packets (all due October 9 or 15). He has submitted everything on the USNA application and is just waiting for teachers, coaches and his counselor to do their part. One teacher says it will be two weeks until she can finish it. Of course there are quite a few students looking for recommendations this time of year and DS is right in the middle of those.

Since USNA is on rolling admissions and the earlier you can get your application complete the better, how do you think this will affect his chances? Has anyone had much luck getting an appointment when their application wasn't done early on? I suspect he won't have a complete submission for another month since he is waiting on other people to follow through. Granted, he still has to get that nomination first.

He can't push all these people any harder than he already has. It's asking a lot for them to do this in the first place.

Any advice is appreciated. All I've told him to do is be patient, he has done his job and just needs to occasionally follow up with these people to see if they need anything. I've been really proud of him for taking all this on, but he is impatient.
 
Timing is good. Don't worry about that.

Most important when "getting in late" is making the congressional nomination deadlines. Sounds like y'all have that handled.

If he has a good packet, e.g. ACT/SAT scores, leadership, etc., finishing the USNA application in October won't be the determining factor in whether he gets on or not.
 
I think the deadline is January 31st 2016. If DS gets all of his MOC interviews nailed down he should be good. Top of the slate is top of the slate regardless of when the app landed at USNA.

(Sledge beat me to it while I was typing)
 
As I mentioned in earlier post, files are not necessarily reviewed by the Admissions Board in a perfect queue. If you have the other individuals submit their parts within the next 2-4 weeks, you are doing perfectly fine. It really is when you get into mid-November and beyond that quite a few qualification decisions are made, some nomination slates start getting submitted, etc. I would agree that your DS is in an "okay" position.
 
That's good to know. Maybe he will calm down a little and be patient knowing all this. He needs to focus on Calculus and Physics right now.
 
Last year DS completed USAFA application early because at the time it was his first choice. He had started theUSNA application but not quite finished it. His first congressional nomination came in late November and it was to the USNA. He completed the application and received appointment in January. He now knows there was higher power at work guiding him to Annapolis. He often says he can't imagine himself anywhere else. My point to the original poster is...don't spend time worrying just follow up on completing the application and preparing for the nomination interviews. Good luck to you and your son⚓
 
As I mentioned in earlier post, files are not necessarily reviewed by the Admissions Board in a perfect queue. If you have the other individuals submit their parts within the next 2-4 weeks, you are doing perfectly fine. It really is when you get into mid-November and beyond that quite a few qualification decisions are made, some nomination slates start getting submitted, etc. I would agree that your DS is in an "okay" position.
Thanks for the info, it really helps to keep calm... I cant believe how stressful it is to wait on the appointment. Given that our son (DS I guess - whatever that means) is top of his class with top ACT scores we thought he would have heard by now. I guess no news is good news.
 
Thanks for the info, it really helps to keep calm... I cant believe how stressful it is to wait on the appointment. Given that our son (DS I guess - whatever that means) is top of his class with top ACT scores we thought he would have heard by now. I guess no news is good news.


We would all like our cupcakes to have heard by now. You're in good company.
 
Last edited:
This was probably one of those "if you can't say something nice" moments. Not everyone is familiar with just how stellar the competition is for service academy appointments - but most figure it out before the process is over, even without help.
 
This was probably one of those "if you can't say something nice" moments. Not everyone is familiar with just how stellar the competition is for service academy appointments - but most figure it out before the process is over, even without help.

I wasn't being mean. It's a sincere statement. And true.
 
Back
Top