Candidate Kits

Szpieg

5-Year Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2010
Messages
273
Candidate Kits are now active. Get em' while they are hot!
 
Depends on how long your paragraphs are. I just looked at mine from last year, and mine were three paragraphs each.
 
Mine were three paragraphs too. 2500 characters is roughly one page double spaced so unless your paragraphs are really short you probably won't be able to fit five in. I checked the characters on mine and not all mine were even close to 2500 either. Don't feel like you need to fill the entire space especially if you have to do it with filler.
 
Just for reference, 2500 characters is about 400-500 words. As always, I believe in quality over quantity. So don't fret as long as you can answer the question in a meaningful way that conveys a sense of yourself.
 
From the looks of it, the three prompts for the candidate statements this year are the same from last year!

Would it be frowned upon if I went ahead and recycled my essays? Not to cheapen the quality of my personal statements, but I did work extremely hard on them last year (hours and hours of work and stress spent at the library) and my reasons and views for wanting to attend the service academies have not changed.

Any advice?
 
Haha, I misread it to be 2500 words. 2500 characters is almost nothing.
 
Sooo, anyone have any advice at all regarding the question i posted about the candidate statements? hahah
 
Sooo, anyone have any advice at all regarding the question i posted about the candidate statements? hahah

DS recycled his on his second application from Prep School. He did have his English teacher re-re-edit for him, and it did change ever so slightly.

IMHO, I'd have it edited by the best qualified person you know :thumb:
 
WP Hopeful,

Although you put a lot of work into your essays last year, perhaps your perspective has changed in the past year. You're a year older and have more experience. Based on decisions you've made about reapplying to WP as well as what you'll be doing this coming year, you may be able to make adjustments to your essays. Be very critical and approach the essays with a "continuous improvement" focus.

Good luck!!
 
WP Hopeful: one of the definitions of insanity is doing the exact same thing and expecting a different result.
I do not know why you were not offered admission on the first try; however, why would you use the exact same essays if they didn't get you in the first time? You absolutely must address in the new essays the fact that you are re-applying. Do not make them have to figure it out by pulling data...it should be expressly stated in your writing. Use the situation to your advantage to position yourself as someone who can take a setback and come right back after the goal.
 
It seems like it wouldn't take much effort on WP's part to look back and see that you recycled last year's essays.
 
From the looks of it, the three prompts for the candidate statements this year are the same from last year!

Would it be frowned upon if I went ahead and recycled my essays? Not to cheapen the quality of my personal statements, but I did work extremely hard on them last year (hours and hours of work and stress spent at the library) and my reasons and views for wanting to attend the service academies have not changed.

Any advice?

I agree with many others' comments.

Although your view hasn't changed, you are definitely showing more dedication and determination by re-applying WP. Not everyone who didn't get appointed the first time re-apply. Wait one extra year and re-apply says a lot about you that the original essays couldn't have captured.

Please at least edit your essays to reflect this strength.
 
Everyone,

Thank you all for your generous input!
I had no intention of actually recycling my essays verbatim, but just wanted to reuse some of the core twists and main ideas that I thought were uniquely me.
But I will definitely incorporate into the statements how my reapplying is affecting me as a candidate/person.
My essays last year were by no means perfect--there is definitely room for improvement, and I know I ought to take advantage of that.

There's no way I'll be able to know for sure why I didn't get in, but I'm sure my poor timing had a lot to do with it. If there's one lesson I can take away from last year's application process, IT'S TO GET IT DONE. GET. IT. DONE!
There is absolutely no time to waste with this.
 
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