Class of 2016-Mailbox Stalkers Club

Dad said:
Acronym from last year: SMNE = Stalked Mailbox, No Envelope.
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SMNE yesterday. Although, I don't know why I expected to see one this early.

Went to AFJROTC Booster meeting last night and got asked at least a dozen times "has DS heard anything yet?". It seems that's the case everywhere I go. It's getting harder and harder to smile and say "not yet".

Thankfully, there are lots of events going on from now until the end of the school year. There is something practically every weekend between March 1st and graduation on May 26th. I suppose staying busy will help somewhat.:bang:
 
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Just posted on the US Air Force Academy (Admissions) Facebook page, today, 2/22/12:

"IMPORTANT NOTE – Due to recent Secretary of the Air Force mandates, the number of appointments for the Class of 2016 will be the smallest in recent history. As a result, respective candidate appointment information will not be provided until the later part of March and final notifications will not be completed until the first week of April. Admissions appreciates your understanding and patience."

It seems they felt it necessary to reiterate this.......
 
I am sure the AFA felt the need because most likely many candidates are inundating the email and VMs of their RDs. This is their polite way of saying come March 1st don't start calling or emailing asking for insight regarding your status.
 
Pima said:
I am sure the AFA felt the need because most likely many candidates are inundating the email and VMs of their RDs. This is their polite way of saying come March 1st don't start calling or emailing asking for insight regarding your status.
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I am sure you are correct. They just re-posted this from the (Admissions) Facebook page to the (Official) Facebook page.
 
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I bet they may have also done this to support their ALO's. Many candidates will call their ALO's for updates, not realizing an ALO could have 15 candidates, plus a job and their own personal life.

If only 5 call/email a day, the ALO will spend about an hour a day holding their hand, repeating the same thing the AFA will state...end of March.

It can be draining on someone who is doing this as a volunteer position. They don't want to lose ALO's that are being inundated due to the silence from the AFA.
 
dagger said:
LOL this thread is funny.

So what if you find out tomorrow whether you're in or not, you still would have to wait four months to leave.

Stressing about acceptance is low on my totem pole. If it happens, great, if not, oh well I tried- I'm serving either way.
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If we find out tomorrow - at least we know WHERE DS is going. It's not about the wait to leave, it's about the wait to find out. How heavily should we invest in plan B, C, or even D? Life will be drastically different at the USAFA vs. a regular college experience. Will my DS need EVERYTHING (housing, pots/pans, furniture, etc) or is he going somewhere he is taken care of and doesn't even need a car? That's a huge difference. Also not know WHEN he is leaving is a huge thing too. Can we plan a vacation in July? Do we have to squeeze everything in between HS Grad and 28 June? We are also trying to decide if we should PCS - will DS be with us or near to us - will he choose a local college? Or will we be uprooting DD to a new location without her brother? So to me finding out is HUGE.

Until we get an answer (either way) it will be constantly on my mind. Silly or not.
 
CristalLee said:
Until we get an answer (either way) it will be constantly on my mind. Silly or not.
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That why there is the mailbox stalkers' club. To share the excitement and venting some stress. The wait is excruciating, no doubt. You will survive this. Remember: whatever doesn't kill you makes for a great story later. :thumb:
 
CristalLee said:
Where's the "like" button on this thing? LOL :smile:
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CristalLee said:
If we find out tomorrow - at least we know WHERE DS is going. It's not about the wait to leave, it's about the wait to find out. How heavily should we invest in plan B, C, or even D? Life will be drastically different at the USAFA vs. a regular college experience. Will my DS need EVERYTHING (housing, pots/pans, furniture, etc) or is he going somewhere he is taken care of and doesn't even need a car? That's a huge difference. Also not know WHEN he is leaving is a huge thing too. Can we plan a vacation in July? Do we have to squeeze everything in between HS Grad and 28 June? We are also trying to decide if we should PCS - will DS be with us or near to us - will he choose a local college? Or will we be uprooting DD to a new location without her brother? So to me finding out is HUGE.

Until we get an answer (either way) it will be constantly on my mind. Silly or not.
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I'm with you! I have been saying all along that once I know where DS is going to "land" I will be much better. So much is up in the air not knowing WHERE he's going to be and WHEN he needs to be there!
 
CristalLee said:
If we find out tomorrow - at least we know WHERE DS is going. It's not about the wait to leave, it's about the wait to find out. How heavily should we invest in plan B, C, or even D? Life will be drastically different at the USAFA vs. a regular college experience. Will my DS need EVERYTHING (housing, pots/pans, furniture, etc) or is he going somewhere he is taken care of and doesn't even need a car? That's a huge difference. Also not know WHEN he is leaving is a huge thing too. Can we plan a vacation in July? Do we have to squeeze everything in between HS Grad and 28 June? We are also trying to decide if we should PCS - will DS be with us or near to us - will he choose a local college? Or will we be uprooting DD to a new location without her brother? So to me finding out is HUGE.

Until we get an answer (either way) it will be constantly on my mind. Silly or not.
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I understand your point of view and it does make sense. I suppose your best bet would be to create a contingency plan for several scenarios. That would probably alleviate some of your stress and will allow you to analyze each option more thoroughly.

Either way you'll look back in 4 years and laugh.
 
Hello Fellow Parents,
I've been following this thread since it's beginning so, would any of you mind if a USNA dad chimed in a bit please? Thanks...

My son received his BFE 3 weeks ago from USNA. Before that day, my wife and I were living many of the moments I've read here. We would look out the window waiting for the mail, check caller ID everytime the phone rang or ponder calling our BGO (Navy version of ALO). Finally, our son told us to relax. He said it will happen when it happens and when it does the news will be what was meant to be. He's just like another son described here by another dad, cooler than his parents. So we settled into a "normal" day to day routine expecting to hear by March or April. Feeling a little helpless made resigning to the wait easier. We knew of his congressional nomination at the end of November so we had been at this waiting game for about a month when my son spoke up, relax mom and dad, relax.

Then one day, I pulled into the driveway and saw 2 packages at my front door. I knew what they were and strolled to the mailbox to get the mail. Of course, while there I did a quick scan and found nothing important from USNA. As I got closer to my front door I noticed a manilla envelope also. It was addressed to my son from the Dean of Admissions, USNA. When he got home he opened it and told us he got in. You can imagine the scene in our kitchen at that moment. But this moment came totally unexpectedly. We had settled into a longer wait. But my son's patience was rewarded just like other applicants will be. I can now look back and offer up, "just let it happen". I got this from my son who had it figured out before his mother and I did. Good luck to all.
Cheers...
 
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CristalLee said:
I received a phone call today from the city and area code my Congressman is in (his office and where we live are not the same place). Naturally, when the caller ID came up with that city/area code, my heart skipped a beat. It was a stinking furniture company following up on an item I purchased... OMW!!! I start crying on the poor girl and tell her I can't talk to her (because I couldn't sound as if I wasn't choked up). I was where I volunteer twice a week (so not alone) and everyone else is wondering why i'm crying... (not like boo-hooing, but a few silent tears). Of course I explained the situation, they said what I good mom I was for caring so much and said they couldn't handle the unknowing.

What an up/down moment! First very excited and then extremely disappointed.

Dear USAFA - I just need an ANSWER for my DS - so we can celebrate or move on.

Sincerely,
Basket Case caused by Phone Call

(But at least I have you all, who completely understand my pain) :)
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CristalLee, I am with you today. We just received a phone call from the same area code our congressman called our DS from when he told him about his nomination. I picked up the phone and it was a dead line--ugh. A minute later it rang again--it was legit but not what I wanted it to be. A few weeks ago the same thing happened from the same area code but that was a sales call (I could have sworn we were on a do not call list:mad:). To make it worse, the past 2 days DH has gotten mail that, when reaching into the mailbox, looks just like the BFE that Blackbird posted a picture of.

Is it bad when you go to the chiropractor and most of the people in the waiting room ask if you've heard anything? It was a little heartbreaking today because there was a new client who told me that 20+ years ago his son had made it this far but didn't get it. He added that they felt confident that he get an appointment so he didn't have a back-up plan. I am extremely grateful that DS has a strong back-up plan in place and still has a few more options on the table.

Hang in there everyone. It is almost March and every day that we don't get a TWE is a good day.
 
Mailbox Stalker Thread Stalker

I’ve been stalking the mailbox stalkers thread for some time and have been commiserating with each post. My feelings have run the gamut from excited with anticipation to angry and exasperated. Of course the entirety of my feelings reaches extremes due to my undying love and appreciation for my DD. Like other posters in this thread, my DD has shown more resiliency and patience than have I. I find it more and more frustrating each day to come home to no letter and no phone contact. I have had days where I wish she’d just say “enough of this waiting; I’m moving on to Plan B, C, D, etc.” But, it is her life, her destiny, and her privilege to have the chance to attend a service academy.

I pray that whatever the decision of the powers that be, my DD be happy in her journey of life. I know her value as a person and will be forever grateful for the gift from God that she has been to me. The USAFA would benefit greatly having her in their ranks, but if it isn’t meant to be then I know she will be a blessing to the other institutions that have been clawing at the door to get her to attend their University.

I won’t lie and say that I am at peace and don’t race home in anticipation to check the mailbox every afternoon, or that I don’t hold my breath as I listen to voicemails. I do and will until I am finally able to close this door if we receive a TWE, or am able to say: “What took you so long to recognize my DD’s tremendous worth!” when we receive the BFE. Either way, I love my DD and will weep for our loss when she goes off to school to start her own life’s journey with a swollen heart of joy for the young lady she has become.
 
What makes a great AF parent, notice I said AF and not AFA?

The ability to state now, this is their life, their dreams, and being fortunate enough to take the ride with them.

Don't worry she will be a success be Plan A, B, C or D because you get it!
 
Not trying to be a downer, but I can tell you right now that NO ONE in our STATE/Districts has been notified of an appointment yet. A few summer seminar offers, but no appointments yet. And yes, I've been watching the notifications and status changes.

So, my suggestion is to relax and as Pima mentioned; "Enjoy the ride". As ironic and selfish as this may sound, part of me WISHES I was back in y'alls boat again. I remember taking my son to summer seminar. I went to sleep and woke up, and he finished his senior football season. I went to sleep again; woke up; and he graduated high school and I took him to the academy. Well, I woke up again this morning, and my son has EXACTLY 3 MONTHS to the day left, and he GRADUATES from the academy. Trust me. Enjoy them today. Don't be in a rush to hear yea or nay about the academy or ANY COLLEGE. I'd love to turn the clock back 3 years.
 
Was home sick today with food poisoning, but I still managed to check my mailbox 3 times today before the mail actually came. No BFE :( , and I'm fairly certain I won't hear from admissions until March since my nominating source ranks competitively... But with all these appointments that are going out to others I'm starting to hope I might be one of the lucky few that finds out early. I guess it's safe to say I'm part of the club now? :rolleyes:
 
Like I said, none in our state has been offered yet. And whether there's a principal, ranked, or competitive list, you'd think that at least one from each senator/rep would be notified. But they haven't.

So when you say: "But with all these appointments that are going out to others", realize that there AREN'T ALL THESE appointments going out. You've heard of a couple. There is no significance to these few that have come out compared to the remaining.
 
My USAFA counselor told me yesterday that my file is going to the panel this week. I should be receiving my TWE soon and then I will probably join the Marines :)
 
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