The new TWE - Sent by E-mail Poll

Do you (DS/DD/Parent) prefer getting the TWE by email?

  • Yes, I like getting Bad News, ASAP

    Votes: 40 85.1%
  • No, I like a Thin White Envelope from the Mailbox

    Votes: 7 14.9%

  • Total voters
    47

murfthesurf

Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2015
Messages
601
USNA Admissions appears to be transitioning into sending out the traditional "TWE" by email instead of 'snail mail'. It is clear to see by the 'tsunami' of electronic TWE notices over the past 4-5 days. As some one commented, it appears that the days of stalking the mailbox are now over.
 
The sooner the bad news gets here, the sooner the candidate's resources and energy can be redirected toward Plans B thru Z.

With this information, decisions about touring other colleges, accepting other offers, and planning summer jobs can be acted upon.
 
The one suggestion I would make is that they send the email out after school is out. My DS e-TWE came at 11:03 local. Right in the middle of the school day. Most kids these days are connected 24/7 and receiving the e-TWE in the middle of school is probably not the best place. There was a post from one parent that they had to pick the DS up from school because he was so devastated by the bad news. Sent them out sometime around 7PM local. Most likely they are done school and athletics and they are at home with some parental support.

Same with the portat update. Or add a day delay between email and portal update.
 
Agree with 5 Day.
Perhaps 16:00 Eastern time (19:00 Pacific time ) would be a good time to release the notifications.
Should not be hard to program that.
 
Agree they really should try for after school. My DD's email arrived yesterday at 1:22pm, and my tough little cookie did not want anyone to see her cry so she left school for the last hour. (She went back for track practice though.)
 
We are not expecting a TWE in the mail, I think he will likely only get the email notice now.
The same happened with USAFA, email/portal notice, nothing in the mail....
 
@Spud @usnabgo08 How do we get this information/feedback to USNA?

Send a letter to Admissions expressing your input

I wouldn't expect much to change

Not that they don't empathize, but it would likely be very low on their priority list.

It is still the USN and a huge bureaucracy

Sensitivity is not their strong suit
 
The one suggestion I would make is that they send the email out after school is out. My DS e-TWE came at 11:03 local. Right in the middle of the school day. Most kids these days are connected 24/7 and receiving the e-TWE in the middle of school is probably not the best place. There was a post from one parent that they had to pick the DS up from school because he was so devastated by the bad news. Sent them out sometime around 7PM local. Most likely they are done school and athletics and they are at home with some parental support.

Same with the portat update. Or add a day delay between email and portal update.
To clarify -- my DS was devastated -- he got the email just as he was finishing donating blood at the blood drive his Leadership group was sponsoring, so he was definitely not at 100% when he received the bad news! And he did go back to school for baseball practice -- took a little frustration out in the batting cage, I'm sure! I was only happy that he did not receive when he was in DC the week before or now while on his class trip in NYC. I agree, I think they could send the email out later in the day when they are MOST LIKELY to be home.
 
The purpose of sending notice via email is twofold. Most importantly, the process is designed to let candidates know sooner. Second, it results in fewer trees being killed.

An added "benefit" is that candidates now know before their BGOs which has solved the issue of some BGOs telling candidates ahead of the official notice.

Timing is based on when it's convenient for USNA, which typically works 0900-1700 M-F. It's unfortunate that info may arrive before the candidate comes home but I doubt there is a "perfect" time, let alone a perfect time that works for everyone in the country.
 
Agree with 1985. Our children can be doing anything at anytime anywhere, so there isn't a good time to call for everyone. Don't forget folks who live in Hawaii either! They are now six hours behind the east coast (part of the reasons why I gave up football when I was stationed there).

e-appointment could be just as problematic! We were on a road trip when my wife suddenly smiled at me and showed DS's appointment to me on her iPad!

Make sure your DD/DS put their phones away when they drive!
 
I hope all these " let them know quicker" theories are right but I suspect that they just want to save money. Sorry for being a scenic.
 
Concur with USNA1985.
Brawny...I think it is both, but you'd be a fool to think money isn't part of the equation!
 
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I was going to say the same thing about the work day. You don't want your DS/DD to get the news at the wrong place/wrong time, encourage them NOT to check until they are home. A more likely change than getting the USNA to change when they work/notify/update. I like the portal and not having to wait for snail mail. Who here hasn't had something lost by the USPS? BTW other schools are doing the same thing. We applied to 3 back up schools, all notifications on their portals proceeded an email (often by days) and definitely proceeded any actual paper.
 
I am usually an encourager on this forum and don't want to seem insensitive. My heart goes out to all these amazing young men and women who received The Worst Emails, and I understand the sadness and embarrassment in having to report the bad news to all the people who put effort into their nomination process and SA applications. However, one of the biggest lessons we can teach our kids about life is how to deal with disappointment, not try to control the circumstances surrounding the delivery of that disappointment.

There were many disappointed kids on Tuesday, and my DD was one of them. I didn't share it in Tuesday's post, but she got a double whammy with a TWE from the USAFA the same day. She got the USNA news in class and forwarded me the email while I was on a field trip with my first graders. How many tears did we shed? None. Did either of us leave school? No. Did we wait till we got home and then fall apart? Not that, either. Does that mean attending a SA meant less to my DD than any of the other kids here? Absolutely not. It means that (despite many other shortcomings in our parenting!) we have prepared our DD adapt to whatever life throws her way - and that seems to be a pretty good trait to have in preparation for a career in the military.

My DD immediately looked for the good in the situation. She was glad she didn't have to hold out hope for another month when the answers would still be no. She contacted her BGO (and LLO) to thank them for their efforts on her behalf this year and to let them know she wants to work with them on a plan for reapplying next year. Her girlfriends were crying and couldn't figure out why she wasn't, but then again, that's just more evidence that my DD has the strength to acknowledge a situation and move forward with what needs to be done. Granted, she still has an application in at the USCGA, but rather than putting all her hopes into that so that the final letdown is huge, she has further steeled herself for a TWE from them as well. (Not that she isn't a plenty strong candidate, mind you; we just acknowledge that the competition seems particularly fierce this year when even kids like 5Day get passed up.)

I get that when we humans can't control a particular situation, we seek out other situations we can control. At this point, however, modeling a matter-of-fact approach to adapting to the coming year is probably a more productive use of time than contacting the Navy about the timing of their emails.

BTW, I do know how to cry...while holding the hand of my dad (28 years Army) when he passed a couple of years ago, I cried like a baby. When my DD gets commissioned, I know I'll be crying then, too. When she gets a TWE? Nah, just time to enact the next plan.
 
Socalfan and next generation hit the gist of what I would have said if I wasn't on a mobile device. Albeit, everyone reacts differently to various situations...but agree that proactive parenting (and I'm not saying that parents on here aren't) plays a big part if a TWE is received.
 
Most or all public/private colleges uses a portal to deliver "the news". My DS checked 3 college portals in one day and saw he was accepted to all because rumor was going around many portals were updated. Between 3 days and a week later, he received the BFE's for those state colleges. So, SA's are not the only ones updating with news during the day/week.

It's the change of times.

I know my DS is still checking his SA portal, in the morning, after school and before bed. I am sure if an email is sent to check it, he probably will because it's just the anticipation to "know". It will be a huge disappointment, but isn't there many of those in life? Just another lesson in the adult world on how to handle it. It's unfortunate because us as parents still want to protect them from hurt.
 
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