Received TWE on Wednesday despite being principal nomination, still passionate about USAFA - Not sure what else to do.

M

MaximusGreff

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Jun 29, 2023
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Hello all,

I found out that I was not offered an appointment to USAFA or the Prep School despite being my MOC's principal nomination holder. I reached out to my MOC, and they said that they will be inquiring as to why I was not appointed. Naturally, I am devastated by this rejection, as I am sure I am not the only one, I am just not sure what I can do. I have heard about USAFA having a waitlist, but I am not sure how to go about getting on it. I also heard of candidates sending letters to Superintendents/Admissions Directors, but I am unsure on how to go about that. Any advice or support is extremely appreciated.
 
This is indeed difficult news.

Did USAFA inform you that you were fully qualified? Medical/DoDMERB and Physical/CFA are usually fairly obvious in your portal. The third qualification, which I will loosely call scholastic/academic, is everything else USAFA chooses to evaluate.

Pluck up your courage and call Admissions team yourself, your first tier of contacts, rather than elevating right to the Admissions Director or Superintendent. Figure out the “why” first. This is between you and them at this point. Outline your questions in advance, be professional and ask them to help you understand where you failed to qualify. Now, if they told you were fully qualified at any point, that’s a bigger bone to pick. If you are not fully qualified in their assessment, they cannot offer you an appointment, but perhaps you can get an idea of what the issue(s) is and develop your re-attack strategy if you still want to go there.
 
Checking back in on you.

Do your best to maintain poise, breathe deeply and focus on finding out facts. Then you can evaluate where you are, and develop options for next steps.

It is indeed an honor to get a MOC’s principal nom. The staffers and presumably the nom panel that evaluated you do not see the totality of your USAFA application, nor do they see your slate competition’s total application. Their choices and evaluation of nomination candidates may not fully align with USAFA’s Admissions criteria and priorities.

The USAFA waitlist is formed near end of cycle, and is a pool of fully qualified candidates for whom there is no room in the class right now. As declinations come in, as medical waivers are not given, as people get injured or ill and go into a DQ status, USAFA goes to that list and chooses. The critical piece is they are fully qualified, and USAFA knows they want them if room opens up.

The service academy prep schools can be used in any way the SA wants, though they are primarily used for those applicants the SA wants, but need a bit of polishing, usually academic. Ditto the Falcon Foundation Scholarships.
 
Capt MJ said:
Checking back in on you.

Do your best to maintain poise, breathe deeply and focus on finding out facts. Then you can evaluate where you are, and develop options for next steps.

It is indeed an honor to get a MOC’s principal nom. The staffers and presumably the nom panel that evaluated you do not see the totality of your USAFA application, nor do they see your slate competition’s total application. Their choices and evaluation of nomination candidates may not fully align with USAFA’s Admissions criteria and priorities.

The USAFA waitlist is formed near end of cycle, and is a pool of fully qualified candidates for whom there is no room in the class right now. As declinations come in, as medical waivers are not given, as people get injured or ill and go into a DQ status, USAFA goes to that list and chooses. The critical piece is they are fully qualified, and USAFA knows they want them if room opens up.

The service academy prep schools can be used in any way the SA wants, though they are primarily used for those applicants the SA wants, but need a bit of polishing, usually academic. Ditto the Falcon Foundation Scholarships.
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I do appreciate you checking back in. I am currently working alongside my family and my MOC's office to see if they can do a form of "overturning" the verdict, since they feel that the TWE is unjustified, and they feel at the minimum I should be in the prep school, for which I am grateful. I have spoken with my M-ALO and if my MOC cannot pull of the "Hail Mary" as he called it, that I should go to one of my other acceptances (of which I have paid a deposit at to secure my spot), and will be attending for one year, and working to strengthen my application next year. I know the process isn't over, if anything, its just delayed a year. Naturally it was crushing, but it has shown me that I only want it more.
 
MaximusGreff said:
I do appreciate you checking back in. I am currently working alongside my family and my MOC's office to see if they can do a form of "overturning" the verdict, since they feel that the TWE is unjustified, and they feel at the minimum I should be in the prep school, for which I am grateful. I have spoken with my M-ALO and if my MOC cannot pull of the "Hail Mary" as he called it, that I should go to one of my other acceptances (of which I have paid a deposit at to secure my spot), and will be attending for one year, and working to strengthen my application next year. I know the process isn't over, if anything, its just delayed a year. Naturally it was crushing, but it has shown me that I only want it more.
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Appreciate your update. Be poised throughout, whatever the outcome.
 
MaximusGreff said:
I do appreciate you checking back in. I am currently working alongside my family and my MOC's office to see if they can do a form of "overturning" the verdict, since they feel that the TWE is unjustified, and they feel at the minimum I should be in the prep school, for which I am grateful. I have spoken with my M-ALO and if my MOC cannot pull of the "Hail Mary" as he called it, that I should go to one of my other acceptances (of which I have paid a deposit at to secure my spot), and will be attending for one year, and working to strengthen my application next year. I know the process isn't over, if anything, its just delayed a year. Naturally it was crushing, but it has shown me that I only want it more.
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Have you confirmed that you were deemed fully qualified by admissions?
If you are not 3Q, thus the TD is justified and TBE. You can only get that answer from admissions, not your MOC. Check with them and then you will know with certainty and can move on.
 
shock-n-awe said:
Have you confirmed that you were deemed fully qualified by admissions?
If you are not 3Q, thus the TD is justified and TBE. You can only get that answer from admissions, not your MOC. Check with them and then you will know with certainty and can move on.
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I was told "where to improve" but I was not told whether or not I was 3Q. They were rather vague and just told me to improve in all aspects, but ill call on Monday, since they rarely answer on the week-end.
 
Sounds to me you have something disqualifying or too many things below standards. Just my .02
 
It has to be academic, doesn't it, since CFA and DoDMERB are go/no-go? Academic is a bit more vague, but I'd first look at SAT/ACT scores and, second, grades, particularly in Math, Science (Chem/Physics), and English classes. And doesn't the applicant handbook even give minimum SAT/ACT scores of some sort?
 
My DD was a Falcon and had a friend who got a TWE. He went to one of the prep schools, and they both got in the following year. Just another avenue rather than regular college that I know worked.
 
franknd said:
It has to be academic, doesn't it, since CFA and DoDMERB are go/no-go? Academic is a bit more vague, but I'd first look at SAT/ACT scores and, second, grades, particularly in Math, Science (Chem/Physics), and English classes. And doesn't the applicant handbook even give minimum SAT/ACT scores of some sort?
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It could be CFA or leadership as well as a academic. It wouldn't be DoDMERB to be best of my knowledge.
 
My daughter was in this same boat last year....I haven't signed into this forum since April of '23. I totally empathize with your feelings of disappointment and puzzlement at how this happened. My daughter had 3 nominations (Sen, Rep, and Presidential), a 4.78 GPA (due to taking 10 AP classes), completed college level calculus at the community college summer after 11th grade, CAP cadet of the year award, and Girls' State. And she wasn't accepted to USAFA. The best analogy I read on this forum (the one that made the most sense in what seemed like a senseless situation) was that the Academy is auditioning students for complex play. You may be the absolute best "Romeo" or the top notch "Juliet." But once they've filled those roles with adequate numbers, they move on to applicants who may bring niche qualities they think they will need. Maybe someone who has a lower GPA, but speaks fluent Russian; etc.

Anyhow...daughter bounced back fast. A week after her USAFA TWE, she got accepted to Cornell. We drove up there (hated it) and she said "thanks, but no thanks." Now she's a computer engineering major at Stevens Institute of Technology ans is thriving. Definitely feels like she picked the right track into emerging fields.
 
Sqwak7700 said:
My daughter was in this same boat last year....I haven't signed into this forum since April of '23. I totally empathize with your feelings of disappointment and puzzlement at how this happened. My daughter had 3 nominations (Sen, Rep, and Presidential), a 4.78 GPA (due to taking 10 AP classes), completed college level calculus at the community college summer after 11th grade, CAP cadet of the year award, and Girls' State. And she wasn't accepted to USAFA. The best analogy I read on this forum (the one that made the most sense in what seemed like a senseless situation) was that the Academy is auditioning students for complex play. You may be the absolute best "Romeo" or the top notch "Juliet." But once they've filled those roles with adequate numbers, they move on to applicants who may bring niche qualities they think they will need. Maybe someone who has a lower GPA, but speaks fluent Russian; etc.

Anyhow...daughter bounced back fast. A week after her USAFA TWE, she got accepted to Cornell. We drove up there (hated it) and she said "thanks, but no thanks." Now she's a computer engineering major at Stevens Institute of Technology ans is thriving. Definitely feels like she picked the right track into emerging fields.
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You’re missing the point. Of course many top kids get turned down every year but that’s not what this is about. He/she stated they received the Principal Nomination, that in itself should mean that’s who they take from that slate if fully qualified.
 
Sqwak7700 said:
My daughter was in this same boat last year....I haven't signed into this forum since April of '23. I totally empathize with your feelings of disappointment and puzzlement at how this happened. My daughter had 3 nominations (Sen, Rep, and Presidential), a 4.78 GPA (due to taking 10 AP classes), completed college level calculus at the community college summer after 11th grade, CAP cadet of the year award, and Girls' State. And she wasn't accepted to USAFA. The best analogy I read on this forum (the one that made the most sense in what seemed like a senseless situation) was that the Academy is auditioning students for complex play. You may be the absolute best "Romeo" or the top notch "Juliet." But once they've filled those roles with adequate numbers, they move on to applicants who may bring niche qualities they think they will need. Maybe someone who has a lower GPA, but speaks fluent Russian; etc.

Anyhow...daughter bounced back fast. A week after her USAFA TWE, she got accepted to Cornell. We drove up there (hated it) and she said "thanks, but no thanks." Now she's a computer engineering major at Stevens Institute of Technology ans is thriving. Definitely feels like she picked the right track into emerging fields.
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I live close to Cornell.

Smart move!
 
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