I received a called from a Midshipman 1st Class last night. The purpose of the call was to ask if I had any questions about academy life. It was great because I had a long list of things I had been wondering about. It was also very encouraging! Does every candidate get a call?
My twins, both who whom received LOAs, never had any contact with their Regional Director and never had any contact with their Blue & Gold Officer beyond the required interview.
No midshipman ever contacted them.
Only one of them attended the Summer Seminar - somewhat reluctantly, too. I think he did 2 pull-ups for the CFA. (He's a 6'4", skinny, baseball pitcher and upper body strength is not really his thing)
They were invited to participate in the CVW (Candidate Visitation Weekend) and both declined.
I say this to give others some perspective on the level of involvement one "must" have in order to receive an appointment - not to mention an LOA.
I was a grad and maybe that had something to do with the lack of contact. Perhaps they were assuming that, "Their dad will fill them in." Also, my sons' luke warm interest in going to the academy for all these extra "experiences" was probably diminished by the fact that they had visited the academy many times when they were much younger. Sort of the "been there - seen that" syndrome.
It's different for a kid whose parent attended the Naval Academy. They've heard the stories. They know the routine. They know the pitfalls. They've heard all the "words of wisdom", ad naseum. Consequently, they have a different perspective that tends to cause them to be slightly
less enamored with the institution than the average candidate. Most of the mystery has been stripped away. Their level of curiosity and the number of questions they have are far less.
Other than one twin attending NASS, it would be difficult to have more minimal contact with the academy in the admission process than we did.
Why do I say this?
I know others read posts like the one above and think, "Why hasn't anybody called
me?" - and it creates some anxiety as if the academy is not very interested in them. Do not despair. Although it is encouraging to get such a call - and it probably
does mean that academy is interested - but the lack of a call could very well mean NOTHING.
It might have to do with geography! Maybe "imjustsayin" lives in an area where the academy has been getting low interest and is trying to encourage him/her to continue the application process and choose the Naval Academy. They need representation from that region and are making a little extra effort that they do not need to make for other candidates from other regions.
