What to do before end of school year?

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dlee96

5-Year Member
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Apr 11, 2012
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I'm currently a junior in HS and will be applying for the C/O of 2018 this summer.

I was wondering if anyone could validate what I have determined is necessary (or prudent, I suppose) to do before the end of the school year.

Here it is:

- Contact English, Math, and Science teachers and talk to them regarding SOEs and LORs for Congressional Noms (in order to avoid hassles during summer break)

- Talk to counselor to get transcript ready for application, inform him of his SOE (do counselor's fill out an SOE?), LORs for Noms, and validate extracurriculars?

- Talk to PE teacher to set up CFA (if not going to SLS, NASS, or AFASS)

Well, that's what I have in mind to complete before school gets out for me.

Any suggestions/advice (would be VERY much appreciated) :shake:

Thanks!
 
I would go through all of the stickies at the top of the USMA page. Buff81 has the admission process laid out in great detail and there are timelines so you can see what needs to be done and when.
 
dlee96 said:
I'm currently a junior in HS and will be applying for the C/O of 2018 this summer.

I was wondering if anyone could validate what I have determined is necessary (or prudent, I suppose) to do before the end of the school year.

Here it is:

- Contact English, Math, and Science teachers and talk to them regarding SOEs and LORs for Congressional Noms (in order to avoid hassles during summer break)

- Talk to counselor to get transcript ready for application, inform him of his SOE (do counselor's fill out an SOE?), LORs for Noms, and validate extracurriculars?

- Talk to PE teacher to set up CFA (if not going to SLS, NASS, or AFASS)

Well, that's what I have in mind to complete before school gets out for me.

Any suggestions/advice (would be VERY much appreciated) :shake:

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Yesterday I walked to one of my organizations great IT folks and asked her to burn a DVD of the orientation video we show all the new hires. I did that probably 15 minutes before the end of her work day. And, knowing that (and feeling bad about my timing), I told her that if it was too late in the day, I could just deal with it in the morning. But because she's so awesome, she did it there and then.

Remember this, your teachers and counselor get "summer break" too. So if you're rolling in just before school gets out for you, well, you're probably showing up about a week before school gets out for them. And they aren't paid to breath over the summer. Sometime tells me they won't be losing much sleep over "where do I stand of my preparations for dlees applications!?!

You've got time. Maybe mention it, but maybe not. I'm not sure what the benefit would be to hitting up your teachers just before their long awaited summer. I definately know it's hard to wait (which is why, according to my wife, I ruin giving gifts), but also remember you're going to depend on others too. A quick mention isn't horrible, sitting down to talk and iron everything out may be a bit too much at this point.
 
LITS, I hear what you are saying but I'm not sure I completely agree.

A year ago my DS approached the three teachers he wanted to ask for SOE's after May 1 (the college decision day for seniors) to ask them if they would be willing to write him a recommendation during the fall. He explained the academy application process, all that he had to do to be qualified, and asked them to watch for an email in the summer from the academy. In other words, he got them on board with his dream. They all submitted their SOE's before the end of July. I know those teachers and they are all highly supportive of my DS' pursuit of USMA.

So I would not discourage any Junior from approaching his teachers. I would agree with you not to do it haphazardly. I'd also agree that teachers have other things in the summer just like we all do, so don't expect them to immediately respond. Lastly I'd agree to not take up more time than a teacher is wiling to give, and just communicate the highlights if the teacher doesn't probe for more details. But I also think it is beneficial for applicants to respectfully ask their teachers for their support. It could be that this specific teacher isn't supportive of the military or believes in you; better to find that out early rather than late. The academy application process is unlike anything most teachers are aware of, and different than the typical 17 year old goes through.

Just my 2cents ...
 
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Keep this in mind as well - knowing well before the summer means that they may be able to "write" the recommendation part before they leave for the summer and have it ready. They are mainly doing this on their personal time anyway for every other student that needs a recommendation when they come asking in the fall. There is never a perfect time, but giving them flexibility is a plus.
 
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