Admissions board and bgo questions

2

2Steaktacos

5-Year Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2011
Messages
78
Hi, I am applying to the class of 2017 and I have a few questions.

I just reached out to my BGO last week for the first time. My BGO gave me a very lukewarm response. My BGO said that they do not get any information about applicants until late august and the Admissions Board will not begin meeting until the last week of September. I felt is was a "dont call me-Ill call you" response.

So my question is as follows: I see people listing last year that some people received their LOAs in July and August. If this is the case how do they receive them without their file going in front of the admission board? I would like to maximize any opportunity I have which includes the possibility of being eligible for an LOA ( I am not saying I am worthy of an LOA just that I would like to be considered).
 
I think in order for you to receive an LOA, your file must go in front of the admission board.

BGO will not contact you until you complete the substantial amount of application. I think your BGO's timeline is right.

Our DS's BGO changed and he had to wait for his BGO to contact him in early August when most of his application was completed.

As long as you complete your application early (say by mid August), you have a good chance of receiving an LOA if you are qualified. ( but this is based on last year's process). DS had a BGO interview in mid August and completed his file around the same time. His file was reviewd by the admission board in late September and he received an LOA after the board meeting.

I would concentrate on working on the essays, sending transcripts and test scores early, getting recommendations in a timely manner(make sure you have your teachers' summer e-mail address), practicing on CFAs, and other stuff that you can control and prepare in advance rather than worrying about your BGO's lukewarm response. Your BGO will act when you have your file ready.
 
Per instructions I do not interview a candidate until at least 40-45% of the application process has been completed. Historically, my interview season gets going in late August, early September and winds down in late December.
 
2Steaktacos,

Each BGO runs things differently and you have to get a feel (it sounds like you got a taste already) for how he/she operates. I think it is great that you were proactive and reached out and introduced yourself.

Conducting an interview is only one of the few jobs that BGOs perform. If you have questions and feel that you don't want to "upset" or "annoy" your BGO, this forum was created to ask questions.

Some good advice above, work to complete your application by late July or early August --- so that you are one of the first few to be reviewed.
 
Last edited:
jadler
thanks for your response. My concern is this: I live in a VERY competitive area-hundreds apply to each S.A. One of the ways I think I stand out is organization and timeliness. To be frank, I wanted to be the first one out of the gate as I think that will significantly increase my odds. (I learned that from this forum) I had planned on having everything done by mid summer. I am concerned that the benefits of being done early may be irrelevant if my BGO wont see me until later in the process. haivng said that-I am still trying to figure out all of this so I may be way off.
 
My recommendation would be to get all of your application completed (including the CFA) and when you have ~95% done (not necessarily including medical) send a follow-up email (if not already contacted) indicating where you are at, that you are looking to have your application go to the board at the first convening and state that you are standing by for an interview at his/her convienience.
 
I was fortunate enough to meet my BGO at my MOCs Service Academy Day a few weeks ago. I sent him a follow-up email stating my continued interest in USNA, let him know I'd keep in contact after NASS, and asked him his preferred method of contact. I thought I wasn't going to get a response then after two weeks or so he responded wishing me luck and letting me know to contact him again when I'm about midway through the application process. So it surely varies from BGO to BGO but I could imagine it would help to get the majority of your application done as early as possible. My plan personally is to get most to all of it done before senior year starts. Good luck!
 
A couple of things to keep in mind. BGO's are volunteers and most of them still have a regular job, so time can get scarce from time to time. This is the end of the 2016 cycle and in the next few weeks many of us are doing certificate presentations to those candidates who have gotten appointments to USNA or NAPS. This week I have two presentations plus a MOC Service Academy Day, and I have two more presentations by the end of the month. The best method for contacting a BGO from my perspective is via email as it doesn't interrupt him/her at his job, and he/she can read it and respond at a time when there is time to prepare a thorough response. I have several boilerplate responses that I can tailor quickly and easily for a specific prospect whether in eighth grade or a junior in high school. GENERALLY, as AC I used to respond to inquiries from prospects and new candidates before the start of their cycles to keep my BGO's free to work with their current assignments - I am retired and usually have more time available for such things as college fairs, MOC events, so on.
If you read through some of the OPs in this section you will find ideas of what your predecessors have done to prepare themselves for their cycle. Right now you should be talking with your counselor to ensure that he/she knows you are pursuing a SA. You also should be meeting with your junior year math and grammar teachers as USNA will want letters of recommendation from them. Start working on taking the CFA, there are several discussion in the site telling you how others have gone about this so they can max their scores. Prepare to take the SAT and ACT exams at least one more time unless you are over 700 on SAT math (over 30 ACT math); remember, it is better to be above the average than under the average... watch your exposure to being turned down. Set a course of action, prepare a punch list and follow it. Again, and it is a personal preference, unless you have an emergency on hand communicate via email. Also, as noted by Jadler, most BGO's won't be contacting you until you have started completing your file; I had about 30 candidates/prospects this cycle, only 12 were serious enough to start their files and about 8 completed their files. DO NOT USE THIS AS A BENCHMARK! THIS VARIES PRETTY WIDELY FROM CYCLE TO CYCLE! Best wishes to you, and remember it is your responsibility to make yourself the best candidate you can become, and no one else can do that for you!
 
To the OP:

1. Remember, the goal isn't an LOA, it's an appointment.

2. Don't sweat the dates too much. S finished his application in October and was fortunate enough to receive an LOA in November. BUT, he still had to obtain a nomination from his MOC.

3. This race isn't to the swiftest, it's to the best candidate you can be.
 
Don't worry about your BGO until that is all that is left to be done. If you want to maximize your odds anywhere, I'd recommend you take some of these steps right now:

1. Make sure someone is in your school office over the summer to send out your grades as soon as they are all transcribed into your official transcript, and make sure you've submitted the proper request and fees beforehand.

2. Make sure you've asked one math and one English teacher from the last two years (Soph/Jr.) to recommend you and let them know it will come via email in June and needs to be turned around ASAP (in the politest manner, of course).

3. Get contact information for those teachers so you can follow up over the summer if they flake out (my DS' English teacher went straight to Italy after school last summer - it caused a bit of a heart palpatation).

4. Same goes for your guidance counselor, whom you'll designate as the contact for both the Candidate Academic Information and Candidate Activities Record. (To clarify on nos. 2 and 4 here: once your application is active, you designate all three of these people and their email addresses, and then they automatically receive emails from USNA with links to the page they have to fill out).

5. Start drafting a "Why do I want to go to the Naval Academy" essay that can be revised to meet whatever essay question they ask this year.

6. Getting this stuff done will trigger the BGO and DoDMERB contacting you. If your end of the application is all done and a couple weeks pass, sending your BGO an email apprising him/her of your status and letting them know you're looking forward to meeting them (not asking why they haven't contacted you yet) is certainly appropriate.

7. IMHO, it's great to briefly reach out and put yourself on a BGO's radar, or that of the staffer at your MOC's office who handles noms. But don't be that annoying person constantly calling, asking for facts you should already know, soliciting their opinions, etc. If you want to impress them, have everything squared away x10, and early, i.e. June/ July.

8. Make copies of everything you send, save all emails, document all phone calls (e.g. "April 2, talked to Jane Smith at Cong. Peabody's, she told me Markie Mark is the staffer in charge of noms and is returning from vacation April 10 but that she's pretty sure you have to write in to request an application.")

My DS did almost all of this (he didn't contact BGO - BGO contacted him in late June) and received his LOA dated August 29. My DS is a good candidate, but was not fluent in Chinese, 4.0, 1st place in the science fair (or ever in one), no immediate family in the Navy, not a URM or recruited athlete, no 35 on the ACT, etc. We believe that every component of his application played its own part in his eventual appointment, and that the timing was definitely one of those components. Good luck.
 
If you speak to or hear an admissions person from any high quality college or university, you will be told that it is to your advantage to complete your application as early as possible compatible with providing accurate and complete information. Several years at Buckeye Boys State college fair, I have heard an admissions officer from MIT say exactly that, and unprompted add that it is particularly true for those seeking appointment to a service academy. Take it for what it's worth. You have several very good responses and suggestions. Best wishes to you.
 
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