TWE Out Today

USMA 1994

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Mar 23, 2016
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My candidate received her TWE today through the portal. We thought that this was sort of a waiting period until the middle of April, but it seems like they are cleaning up the list ahead of time. She had been 3Q'd for a while and was ranked very high in her district in the SA's eyes but we recently learned that our congressman made a principle nominee that was not her. She had received a letter of encouragement but it seems like that was not enough to help her get an appointment. It is tough to swallow but bad news does not get better with age so it is now time to move on to plan B.
 
My candidate received her TWE today through the portal. We thought that this was sort of a waiting period until the middle of April, but it seems like they are cleaning up the list ahead of time. She had been 3Q'd for a while and was ranked very high in her district in the SA's eyes but we recently learned that our congressman made a principle nominee that was not her. She had received a letter of encouragement but it seems like that was not enough to help her get an appointment. It is tough to swallow but bad news does not get better with age so it is now time to move on to plan B.
Interesting that she got hers through her portal. My DD got an actual letter and it has never been posted to her portal.
 
I am sorry to hear of your news. I wonder if my son heard anything today in his portal? Do you think the will notify sooner than later?
 
All of my contacts had said that she was still extremely competitive and we would not hear anything toward the end of April so we were very surprised to get it today.
 
Here is the first paragraph. It was added to the portal around lunch time.

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I received a TWE today via the portal. Not sure how to feel but I guess the option is always there to reapply...
 
I received a TWE today via the portal. Not sure how to feel but I guess the option is always there to reapply...
I'm sorry to hear this gf16. Far be it for me to suggest how you should feel right now but allow me to offer you this. Give yourself a bit of time now to think it out. Remember that your not being selected this go around does not define you nor the effort that has brought you so far.

No doubt you have a Plan B which soon enough you'll hopefully come to fully embrace. Between now and then, determine whether or not you want to reapply for next year and figure out what is that may have held you back. Your RC may be able to help you with that. If you choose to pursue it, use this experience to your advantage and see it as an opportunity....a year to make yourself that much more desirable to the academy on many levels.

The process is in your control, not the outcome...so focus on the process and what you can do if you chose to go forward. In the meantime, there is a life to be led, a school to go to, a new set of life experiences to encounter. I like Life Lesson #273 "Often you think when you're rejected in something that you weren't good enough, but the truth is they weren't ready for all you have to offer them". Go show them all that next time around my young friend.

I wish you the best!
 
"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." WP admissions deemed DS2 QNS for the class of 2020. While DS2 is disappointed (I've seen that pained stoic look before), he is determined to "fix" his WP application deficiencies and reapply to WP for the class of 2021. His 27-ACT math score was at least two points shy of what WP wanted for this cycle, based on 845something's recent post. In addition to retaking the ACT in April and June, DS2 will enroll as a self prep in MMI's SAP.

Flieger '83, I showed DS2 your recent posting wherein you stated that it took you two attempts to get an appointment. Falcon A, DS2 also read your recent post about staring down adversity. DS2 nodded and gave me his determined look after reading your posts. I had to look away quickly because I did not want DS2 to see the tears in my eyes. It's a marathon, not a sprint.
 
My DS got his TWE via portal today. Said he was fully qualified but not appointed.

Proud of the kid, regardless. He's now twice-rejected by USMA, currently on AROTC scholarship at Furman University, getting set for four weeks in Fort Knox in June.

Good luck to those still in the hunt.
 
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"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." WP admissions deemed DS2 QNS for the class of 2020. While DS2 is disappointed (I've seen that pained stoic look before), he is determined to "fix" his WP application deficiencies and reapply to WP for the class of 2021. His 27-ACT math score was at least two points shy of what WP wanted for this cycle, based on 845something's recent post. In addition to retaking the ACT in April and June, DS2 will enroll as a self prep in MMI's SAP.

Flieger '83, I showed DS2 your recent posting wherein you stated that it took you two attempts to get an appointment. Falcon A, DS2 also read your recent post about staring down adversity. DS2 nodded and gave me his determined look after reading your posts. I had to look away quickly because I did not want DS2 to see the tears in my eyes. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

When your DS is appointed next year, he will be older, wiser, and squared away. A "gap" year is not a bad thing. I am really glad my son was older and had a year of college under his belt. He's doing great on all 3 pillars....not sure if he'd have done so well straight from HS. Anything that is a "dream," surely is worth another shot at. Good luck to him!
 
Anything that is a "dream," surely is worth another shot at. Good luck to him!

Nice words, but I'd estimate that less than 1/2 of the qualified reapplicants get in on their 2ND try. That's totally unscientific.

If it's their dream, and they've dedicated themselves to going, that second setback can be crushing.

I'd never discourage anyone from reaching for their dreams, but there are no guarantees. That's a long, hard mountain to climb. I don't blame anyone for accepting that "bird in the hand."

When the course has been decided, "Damn the torpedos! Full speed ahead!"
 
Maybe 845 can weigh in on the actual odds. It certainly depends on how qualified one is. If it's your dream and you're a C student, then maybe your dream is unrealistic. But if your RC gives you hope, I say "stay the course!"

What I've seen after following this forum since 2007 is that many say this is their dream, but after not gaining admission, they do not try again. Many, in fact, don't even include ROTC in their plan B. I scratch my head at how your "ultimate dream is to go to USMA and commission," but if you don't get in you don't even want to be an officer? Something worth having is worth fighting to achieve...and I just know from personally watching a determined young man that a dream--even if delayed--is worth chasing. Perhaps not everyone feels that strongly. Life is full of choices and our DSs and DDs need to make the ones that allow them to sleep at night.
 
There are too many variables to give any decent odds. Some points to consider -
1) your high school rank is set when you graduate and that carries over to your reapplication as a significant portion of your academic evaluation/WCS.
2) you are not likely to build much on leadership potential after high school that will impact your application (your life experiences may build that actual potential, but your WCS isn't going up from that). Your athletic career peaked in HS most likely and there isn't much chance as a college freshman to top being a varsity athlete or team captain. Same for extra curricular activities. Glory days.
3) your district is not likely to get significantly more or less difficult - so if you weren't close this time (ask your RC) and you don't significantly improve the remaining major determinant (test scores), then your college performance won't make a significant difference. Don't think you can coast into college, pass your classes and suddenly WP is going to want you above a high school applicant. If you aren't pushing up your test scores and pushing for that 4.0 with 16+ credit hours, then you might not really want it as much as claim. These trade offs in time/effort are what usually wears down that desire to reapply and makes determining odds difficult as individuals effectively self select out of the process by not giving a full effort.
4) you have the ability to change your nomination source to improve your odds, but there are risks. ROTC gets you a nomination, but odds are more difficult than your local MOC in most situations. Depending on where you go to school and the residency requirements, you could find yourself in a less competitive district - University of North Dakota anyone? Then there is the enlistment option which might preclude you from even applying to the next class depending on training dates and how much your chain of command likes you.
5) there are more ways to commission than just West Point. There are more ways to serve than just the Army/uniformed service. You may find after a year or two exploring one of these other options that you want to give it a go again, so make sure that you make smart life choices along the way - that is in performance and character.
 
My DS got his TWE via portal today. Said he was fully qualified but not appointed.

Proud of the kid, regardless. He's now twice-rejected by USMA, currently on AROTC scholarship at Furman University, getting set for four weeks in Fort Knox in June.

Good luck to those still in the hunt.
Furman is such a fabulous school! Wow, he picked a winner!
 
I haven't been notified of anything. Does anyone know why this would be? I'm medically and physically qualified, my test scores are below the average, but I'm in the top of my class with a 97.5 GPA. I have three nominations and I still haven't received a "3Q" update on my portal, or any form of a TWE. Does anyone have any thoughts on why my portal hasn't been updated?
 
Thanks for the substantive information, 845something. I have spent some time with DS2 in the past couple of days discussing with him how others have come through the pain of a SA rejection. Take, for example, Richard Davis, the USAFA rejected him. Richard came from a blue collar family (dad was a truck driver) so he needed to work to pay his college tuition at a civilian college. Richard got a job as a bank teller. He worked in the bank during his college years. Upon graduation, Richard decided to keep working in the banking industry.

Today, Richard Davis is the CEO of US Bank. He is the most inspirational leader I have met. (No, I do not work for US Bank.) He is responsible for almost 65,000 employees, not to mention his responsibilities to a board of directors, shareholders and regulators. He oversees the management of more than $416 billion in assets.

Twenty-five years ago, a large national firm would not even meet with me during on campus interviews. I was a honors student, but I did not graduate from a tier one professional school, which is a desired plum for the nation's largest firms. Eleven years later, that firm reached out to me to determine whether I would be interested in joining the firm as an equity partner. Fast forward to today, I am a senior partner in that firm.

My point is that getting in to a SA or landing a plum position immediately upon graduation from college or professional school does not necessarily define a person's career trajectory. I know graduates from the SAs (and other highly regarded civilian colleges) who, although reasonably intelligent, have a sense of entitlement because they "wear the ring." That sense of entitlement does not work well in the civilian world. The ring might get you in the door of America's best companies, but whether you stay and climb the ladder of promotions will depend in large part on what you have to offer in terms of talent--and a work ethic. Some of my SA friends have told me that they are frequently criticized by civilian bosses for not being creative in their approach to solving problems or growing a business unit. In a nutshell, graduating from a SA is a nice stepping stone, but a person's career is a series of building blocks and college is just one of those blocks.

The eighteen or nineteen years of life that have brought you to where you are today are a precursor to the hopefully 70 years or more that you have in front of you. Stay focused, work hard, stay out of trouble and exercise good judgment and you'll do just fine, regardless of where you go to college.
 
All of my contacts had said that she was still extremely competitive and we would not hear anything toward the end of April so we were very surprised to get it today.
Our DD got hers on her portal last Friday. Highly qualified with 4 nominations, but it wasn't meant to be. Within 2 minutes, her response was 'which of my plan B options gives me a better chance of getting in USMA class of 2021?'. Had time to ponder pros and cons, even before she received her TWE, and I have to say that many USMA cadets come from college, and the overwhelming opinion is that the extra year makes USMA much easier to handle once you're in. It's disappointing, but you'll probably look back after a few years and realize that it was a good thing....regardless of what path she takes.
 
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