Only 2 more days until Summer Seminar Invites come out!

A lot of folks found out today that they were not selected for summer seminar. While this is a disappointment, let me point something out: this has ZERO, ZIP, ZILCH, NADA to do with your chances for appointment to USAFA if that is your end-goal!

Let me say that again; non-selection or selection for Summer Seminar has NOTHING to do with your candidacy in the future. It's not viewed, not included, and frankly, it's pretty much ignored by admissions. This is a recruiting program and some folks that are selected don't have the "3Q numbers" right now...if you weren't selected, please DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED!!

I wasn't selected...I was appointed to ALL THREE of the "big" service academies (I didn't know about Kings Point, shame on me, and I was an alternate at USCGA: they're tough). And as an ALO, I've heard this year after year from the Director of Admissions, personally.

It's a disappointment; I understand, but move on...the BIG challenge awaits!!!

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
So I was sent a PM requesting that I post a bit as far as scheduling goes during Summer Seminar. So for those who are curious, I thought I'd give a bit of info. Disclaimer: I am going from memory, and there is no guarantee everything will be the same this year as it was last year.
So, one of the things you need to do before SS is pick some classes. These are the classes you will take during the third and fourth days (I think) of SS. For myself, I can't remember what classes I requested, but I ended up taking Officership/Economics, and Bombs on Target/Effective Communications.
I'll kind of walk through how they scheduled SS last year.
First day, there wasn't a whole lot going on. We pretty much just all got there and sat around and talked all day and watched a movie. The weather was pretty yucky, so they may have had other things planned that we just didn't end up doing because of the weather.
Second day was Doolie for a Day. Guys, it was rough, and they even took it easy on us. All morning and up until the late afternoon, we did lots and lots of physical training, and got a brief intro into military drill.
Third and fourth days were classes in the morning. We would go to one class (it was about an hour or maybe two...I am so sorry that I can't remember!), take a 10 minute break, and then the next would start. After the second class ended, we had other activities, which I will touch on a bit later.
As for the rest of the days, I honestly can't remember the structure. We had tons of activities that we did, including a ropes course a tour of the place where the parachute team meets, a very in depth tour of the Academy itself, several briefings (majors night, Q&A with cadets, lots of others), and the CFA practice.
I believe each day was structured differently based on which flight you were in, so don't hate me if you get there and don't go to classes until the end of the week.
As far as the classes went, I actually enjoyed them all. The teachers were amazing, and I feel that I gained a TON of knowledge from them. My advice would be to not get discouraged if the class schedule you get sounds boring, because odds are, it won't be.
I hope that this can help some of you who had questions about SS. If you still have any, feel free to ask and I will answer as best I can. Congrats to those who got in! It's such a great experience!
 
baileydb said:
So I was sent a PM requesting that I post a bit as far as scheduling goes during Summer Seminar. So for those who are curious, I thought I'd give a bit of info. Disclaimer: I am going from memory, and there is no guarantee everything will be the same this year as it was last year.
So, one of the things you need to do before SS is pick some classes. These are the classes you will take during the third and fourth days (I think) of SS. For myself, I can't remember what classes I requested, but I ended up taking Officership/Economics, and Bombs on Target/Effective Communications.
I'll kind of walk through how they scheduled SS last year.
First day, there wasn't a whole lot going on. We pretty much just all got there and sat around and talked all day and watched a movie. The weather was pretty yucky, so they may have had other things planned that we just didn't end up doing because of the weather.
Second day was Doolie for a Day. Guys, it was rough, and they even took it easy on us. All morning and up until the late afternoon, we did lots and lots of physical training, and got a brief intro into military drill.
Third and fourth days were classes in the morning. We would go to one class (it was about an hour or maybe two...I am so sorry that I can't remember!), take a 10 minute break, and then the next would start. After the second class ended, we had other activities, which I will touch on a bit later.
As for the rest of the days, I honestly can't remember the structure. We had tons of activities that we did, including a ropes course a tour of the place where the parachute team meets, a very in depth tour of the Academy itself, several briefings (majors night, Q&A with cadets, lots of others), and the CFA practice.
I believe each day was structured differently based on which flight you were in, so don't hate me if you get there and don't go to classes until the end of the week.
As far as the classes went, I actually enjoyed them all. The teachers were amazing, and I feel that I gained a TON of knowledge from them. My advice would be to not get discouraged if the class schedule you get sounds boring, because odds are, it won't be.
I hope that this can help some of you who had questions about SS. If you still have any, feel free to ask and I will answer as best I can. Congrats to those who got in! It's such a great experience!
Click to expand...

Thank you Baily, very informative post. It appears the workshops are on Tuesday, Wednesday and some on Thursday. So, does that mean the Economics/Officership workshop was an hour or was it all day and then you had the Bombs/Communications workshop the next day? Thanks for being patient and answering all these questions from this newbie.
 
FalconsRock said:
baileydb said:
So I was sent a PM requesting that I post a bit as far as scheduling goes during Summer Seminar. So for those who are curious, I thought I'd give a bit of info. Disclaimer: I am going from memory, and there is no guarantee everything will be the same this year as it was last year.
So, one of the things you need to do before SS is pick some classes. These are the classes you will take during the third and fourth days (I think) of SS. For myself, I can't remember what classes I requested, but I ended up taking Officership/Economics, and Bombs on Target/Effective Communications.
I'll kind of walk through how they scheduled SS last year.
First day, there wasn't a whole lot going on. We pretty much just all got there and sat around and talked all day and watched a movie. The weather was pretty yucky, so they may have had other things planned that we just didn't end up doing because of the weather.
Second day was Doolie for a Day. Guys, it was rough, and they even took it easy on us. All morning and up until the late afternoon, we did lots and lots of physical training, and got a brief intro into military drill.
Third and fourth days were classes in the morning. We would go to one class (it was about an hour or maybe two...I am so sorry that I can't remember!), take a 10 minute break, and then the next would start. After the second class ended, we had other activities, which I will touch on a bit later.
As for the rest of the days, I honestly can't remember the structure. We had tons of activities that we did, including a ropes course a tour of the place where the parachute team meets, a very in depth tour of the Academy itself, several briefings (majors night, Q&A with cadets, lots of others), and the CFA practice.
I believe each day was structured differently based on which flight you were in, so don't hate me if you get there and don't go to classes until the end of the week.
As far as the classes went, I actually enjoyed them all. The teachers were amazing, and I feel that I gained a TON of knowledge from them. My advice would be to not get discouraged if the class schedule you get sounds boring, because odds are, it won't be.
I hope that this can help some of you who had questions about SS. If you still have any, feel free to ask and I will answer as best I can. Congrats to those who got in! It's such a great experience!
Click to expand...

Thank you Baily, very informative post. It appears the workshops are on Tuesday, Wednesday and some on Thursday. So, does that mean the Economics/Officership workshop was an hour or was it all day and then you had the Bombs/Communications workshop the next day? Thanks for being patient and answering all these questions from this newbie.
Click to expand...
Oh, gosh! Never be afraid to ask me questions!!! I have asked a million on this forum and all of the good patient people have been so kind in answering them, and I would love to be able to help someone else.
So as I recall, we had the Econ class, break, and then the Officership class. Next day it was Bombs class, break, then Effective Communications. I can't remember exactly how long each workshop was (I was sooooo tired!), but the workshops took up the morning, and then in the afternoons, we had other activities. As far as I recall, there were only two days of workshops, but I could for sure be wrong, or they may have changed it :)
If you have ANY other questions that you think I may be able to answer, please ask!
 
When I contacted the USNA Admissions concerning selection for Summer Seminar, they said that they send letters around April.... I'm confused. How then you all know that you were selected?
 
EOR said:
When I contacted the USNA Admissions concerning selection for Summer Seminar, they said that they send letters around April.... I'm confused. How then you all know that you were selected?
Click to expand...
I think the NASS has rolling admissions.
flieger83 said:
A lot of folks found out today that they were not selected for summer seminar. While this is a disappointment, let me point something out: this has ZERO, ZIP, ZILCH, NADA to do with your chances for appointment to USAFA if that is your end-goal!

Let me say that again; non-selection or selection for Summer Seminar has NOTHING to do with your candidacy in the future. It's not viewed, not included, and frankly, it's pretty much ignored by admissions. This is a recruiting program and some folks that are selected don't have the "3Q numbers" right now...if you weren't selected, please DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED!!

I wasn't selected...I was appointed to ALL THREE of the "big" service academies (I didn't know about Kings Point, shame on me, and I was an alternate at USCGA: they're tough). And as an ALO, I've heard this year after year from the Director of Admissions, personally.

It's a disappointment; I understand, but move on...the BIG challenge awaits!!!

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
Click to expand...
I know that going to the summer seminar does not increase your chances of getting into the academy or anything, but does not being accepted indicate that a candidate needs to improve in order to gain acceptance? Does being accepted indicate that a candidate is extremely competitive already?

Also, in my essay I basically stated that I was set on attending a service academy. Could this have played a role in my rejection since the seminar is a recruiting tool and if someone is already set on going to an academy there isn't a reason to try and recruit them?
 
Non selection has NOTHING to do with your qualifications for nomination and ultimately to your potential for appointment; please do NOT read into it!!! I know (well, we're not close friends, but I've met and spoken with him several times) "the man" that makes the final call and he told me: "We're using SS as much as a recruiting tool as anything else...we pick highly qualified folks and we pick folks that aren't qualified but this might motivate them..."

Or as he put it so succinctly: "If a candidate of yours is NOT selected...oh well, no biggie; move on. We don't look at the list when we're considering someone for appointment to USAFA; summer seminar isn't connected."

I greatly admire and respect this guy...he's a straight shooter.
(And he's occasionally a lurker here)

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
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