West Point Candidate Statements

Theyellowfellow

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Does West Point actually pay attention to their Candidate Statements? It seems very cumbersome for the West Point admissions board to look at all of the applicants that complete their candidate statements.
 
We went to a West Point Academy night at a local school about a month ago. I asked the question "Who reads the Candidate Statements?" The speaker, said "I DO!" My DD was very surprised to learn he would be reading her essays.

GPAs, ACT/SAT scores, CFAs and the ECs would seem boring compared to reading your candidate statements. By the way, the speaker said they want to hear your voice in the essay, which is more important than being a perfect writer. (But be sure to fix grammar and spelling).
 
Sorry to jump in on this thread, but is it okay for the Candidate Statement to be the same as the statements used for the MOC nomination? I believe the questions: "Why do you want to go to West Point? Why do you want to serve in the military?" Should the answers be consistent? Thoughts....
 
Sorry to jump in on this thread, but is it okay for the Candidate Statement to be the same as the statements used for the MOC nomination? I believe the questions: "Why do you want to go to West Point? Why do you want to serve in the military?" Should the answers be consistent? Thoughts....

If the questions are similar, there is no problem with the answers being consistent. IMO, cutting and pasting between the two is not an issue. It's not laziness; it's answering the same question the same way. If you are applying to a Congressman that might allow multiple service academy nominations, maybe the essays are more "I want to serve my country as an military officer" generic, whereas you would tailor it to the specific service on the academy statement.
 
Sorry to jump in on this thread, but is it okay for the Candidate Statement to be the same as the statements used for the MOC nomination? I believe the questions: "Why do you want to go to West Point? Why do you want to serve in the military?" Should the answers be consistent? Thoughts....

If the questions are similar, there is no problem with the answers being consistent. IMO, cutting and pasting between the two is not an issue. It's not laziness; it's answering the same question the same way. If you are applying to a Congressman that might allow multiple service academy nominations, maybe the essays are more "I want to serve my country as an military officer" generic, whereas you would tailor it to the specific service on the academy statement.
Understood. Roger that.
 
The essays are not only read by your RC, but another committee member, before another RC checks them as well. If you have poor test scores or struggled grade-wise in English, the English Department will specifically be that committee member reading and making a determination based on that essay if your file is worthy of academic qualification.
 
I dont know where plagiarism would fit in here, but it is considered academically dishonest to submit one essay or work to two sources.... Perhaps since this isnt academics it will be viewed differently
 
To our OP, I'm curious... why would you think no one would read the required essays? Why wouldn't they read them?
 
The essays are not only read by your RC, but another committee member, before another RC checks them as well. If you have poor test scores or struggled grade-wise in English, the English Department will specifically be that committee member reading and making a determination based on that essay if your file is worthy of academic qualification.
We had this debate a few weeks ago in our house as far as taking the straight approach and answering the essay question in a straight forward answer or approaching it from a more creative writing standpoint. DS is a good writer and took the stance that most everyone approaches the prompt in a straight forward fashion and he wanted to take a more creative writing approach to get his point across. I don't think there is a right answer but I am hardly a creative person so my thought was his approach was risky. Thoughts?
 
I dont know where plagiarism would fit in here, but it is considered academically dishonest to submit one essay or work to two sources.... Perhaps since this isnt academics it will be viewed differently

In my opinion, plagiarism is when you use someone’s work without acknowledging or ascribing credit to the original source. I don’t see it as plagiarism if you submit your own essay to two different recipients. If I give a sermon at my church one Sunday and a month later give the same message at another church’s retreat, that’s not plagiarism. Or if write an article and submit it to two different publications, that's not plagiarism. It’s plagiarism if I use someone’s sermon or article and pretend that it is my own.
 
In my opinion, plagiarism is when you use someone’s work without acknowledging or ascribing credit to the original source. I don’t see it as plagiarism if you submit your own essay to two different recipients. If I give a sermon at my church one Sunday and a month later give the same message at another church’s retreat, that’s not plagiarism. Or if write an article and submit it to two different publications, that's not plagiarism. It’s plagiarism if I use someone’s sermon or article and pretend that it is my own.

In nearly all colleges and even most high schools it IS plagiarism. Its not an opinion on this. Kids are suspended and expelled for this.

Im saying that the gray area here is because it is not graded, perhaps it isnt although you are turning it in to be scored or weighted in some way.
 
In my opinion, plagiarism is when you use someone’s work without acknowledging or ascribing credit to the original source. I don’t see it as plagiarism if you submit your own essay to two different recipients. If I give a sermon at my church one Sunday and a month later give the same message at another church’s retreat, that’s not plagiarism. Or if write an article and submit it to two different publications, that's not plagiarism. It’s plagiarism if I use someone’s sermon or article and pretend that it is my own.

In nearly all colleges and even most high schools it IS plagiarism. Its not an opinion on this. Kids are suspended and expelled for this.

Im saying that the gray area here is because it is not graded, perhaps it isnt although you are turning it in to be scored or weighted in some way.

I'm confused. If it is plagiarism, then what does "not being graded" have to do with it. Isn't plagiarism wrong all the time?????
 
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I'm confused. If it is plagiarism, then what does "not being graded" have to do with it. Isn't plagiarism wrong all the time?????

It being graded for the second time is the circumstance upon which it becomes plagiarism. I dont fully understand why it does either, im just stating a wide spread policy.
 
Write with emotion and write with good reasoning and you will be good.
 
pla·gia·rism
ˈplājəˌrizəm/
noun
  1. the practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own.

The truth is the truth. If 3 different people ask you to put on paper why you want to attend Academy "X"; why wouldn't your answers/ essays be almost identical?
 
The more I look at this issue, the more complex it gets.

The University of Texas states on their website that plagiarism occurs when you fail to cite the earlier work, even if it is your own! But this is in an academic/scholarly submission. Do application essays qualify as the same thing? Proper citations are very important in academia, but I don't think it is expected by your MOC or the admissions department of an SA.

My DS did use the essence of his same essay for the MOC and the SA, and I don't think it was unethical. But if he were to use the same work for two separate classes and fail to cite the prior work, I think that WOULD be unethical.

Check out this website:
http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/acadint_multsub.php
 
The issue with essays and papers for academia is "original work." I don't think that's the issue here. I absolutely agree with USNA 19 Dad and gokings814.
 
As I said before, just be weary of the situation. I did NOT state this is plagiarism. I simply gave a word of caution.
 
We had this debate a few weeks ago in our house as far as taking the straight approach and answering the essay question in a straight forward answer or approaching it from a more creative writing standpoint. DS is a good writer and took the stance that most everyone approaches the prompt in a straight forward fashion and he wanted to take a more creative writing approach to get his point across. I don't think there is a right answer but I am hardly a creative person so my thought was his approach was risky. Thoughts?


There is hardly going to be anything that a candidate can put in their statement that the committee hasn’t seen before.

“I have always wanted to serve my country and be the best officer I can possibly be…..”

“Hearing my grandfather’s stories of WWII has inspired me to a life of service…..”

“I went to my first Army football game when I was seven and ever since then…..”

Seriously, can you even imagine having to read essentially the same thing over and over again and again? Hardship stories will certainly stand out and make the statement unique. If a kid is truly a great creative writer, I would say go for it. Give the committee something unique to talk about in their boring, long a$$ meetings.
 
Our MOC had two word for word identical prompts as one of our state Senators. Maybe this is plagiarism.
 
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