trouble contacting BGO

aliceany

10-Year Member
5-Year Member
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Jul 28, 2008
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My son has yet to speak with his BGO. He did receive an initial introduction e-mail half way through the summer but there has been no response to subsequent attempts by my son to contact him. He went ahead and e-mailed his CGO regional rep to touch base and let him know about the issue over two weeks ago but he has not heard from him either.
He is a strong candidate (34 in Math and 30 in English on ACT's, candidate application completed, DODMERB submitted) so he is at a loss as to why no one has gotten back to him. Should he contact the CGO via phone?
 
It's easy to say to just be patient, but at this point, hang on for just a bit longer. The BGO may be at a conference, vacation etc. He or she are a critical link in the chain and trust me, they will get in contact with your son. As a parent of a 2012 plebe, we also went through the trial and tribulations of the application process and found the BGO to be the most comforting and understanding, especially through the waiver process if there are any. At some point, our BGO a retired LCDR came to our home for the initial (quite informative) visit. Hope this helps.
 
^^^^^

Agree. Summers are tough because people take long vacations, etc. Many (not all) BGOs have full-time jobs and /or family responsibilities in addition to their volunteer USNA work. Not so long ago, many BGOs didn't start interviews until the fall; now, candidates are completing their packages earlier (or seem to be) and interviews are moved up.

If you have 100% of your packet in other than your BGO interview, I can understand your frustration. However, while I would hope your BGO would respond, another week or even month won't kill your chances.

I'd give it another couple of weeks and see what happens. Most BGOs are dedicated and committed and do their best to help candidates while meeting their other responsibilities. Some drop the ball. Let's hope your BGO is in the "most" category. :smile:
 
From my limited perspective, the biggest reason to get everything submitted this early is to get the DoDMERB process going. If that's underway, you're in good shape. If things run as they did last year, there is still a month or so before the first admissions board meeting.
 
Correct. DODMERB is not backed up this time of year. My boys had their DODMERB two weeks ago and DODMERB has already processed the physical and notified Annapolis. The whole process was 2 and half weeks. I suspect in March you could add at least two more weeks.
 
His DODMERB has been submitted, he passed with flying colors--our frustration is the lack of response from the BGO AND the CGO in the admissions office. Again academically in pretty good shape--test scores very strong, transcripts decent, lots of AP, leadership, Varsity soccer player, three years, and heavily involved in choir to boot. The website specifically instructs the candidate to contact the CGO if they are not contacted by the BGO He also needs some guidance on whether or not to repeat his CFA---his BB throw was 68, shuttle, 9.03, 12 p.u, 75 s.u, 51 p.u and his mile was 6.27. He is generally very fast, (5 minute mile) but he is in the midst of 2 a day varsity soccer practices that will continue well into the fall. He would love to be able to bounce this situation off a BGO and get his perspective.
 
Maybe there is a BG on this forum that will read this and offer some advise.
 
Maybe there is a BG on this forum that will read this and offer some advise.

If you're asking about retaking the CFA, my view is the following: The CFA is pass/fail. Thus, if you pass, there is no particular reason to retake it. If you fail, USNA will notify you. You can get "bonus" points for doing extremely well on certain sections of the CFA, including pull-ups and the mile run. My view is that if you did poorly (but passed) in one or more sections on the original test AND can post substantially higher scores in retaking the CFA, you should do so. What is substantially? If the original run was 6:27, I would want to see a run under 6:00 with no major decrease in the other events.

I do want to emphasize that 6:27 is OK, especially after the many events of the CFA. It will not be looked at negatively. A sub-6:00 would probably be looked at favorably. However, I'm not sure that the small "bump" your son would get from retaking the CFA is worth it.

The above said, I don't have the advantage of knowing all of your son's strengths and weaknesses. Thus, given that you have a long time to submit the final CFA, I would suggest that you check with your own BGO.
 
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I would suggest that you check with your own BGO.

Thanks for your response. Are the CFA scores related considered a pass? He would love to discuss this with his designated BGO--if only the assigned individual would respond to e-mails! We will just have to be patient. Thanks again for your help...
 
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