My daughter, currently a senior in high school, received her appointment to the scholars appointment on Friday. She has known she wanted to attend the academy since she was in the 9th grade.
My suggestion would be to spend as much time on the campus visiting with the cadets as possible. Chat up anyone who is willing to chat. Sophie's SAT scores were a bit low and her GPA wasn't what she had hoped for but she is a pretty decent sailor with and the coach was very helpful in the process.
I would have to say that if there is an opportunity for an interview it is incredibly helpful.
As for dinner, there are a number of restaurants in New London, on Sunday we went up and had lunch in the Dry Dock Snack Bar in celebration