Interview Tips

[hawk]

Originally Posted by scoutpilot

Candidates, IMHO, you NEED TO SEE WP AND CADET LIFE.

This is absolutely true, but also harder to do than some might realize. To my knowledge, USMA overnight visits are only offered to appointees or LOA holders. Which for many will be too late for congressional & malo interviews.

You can do a short admissions briefing & morning in classes without that, but there's not much time with the cadet. Certainly not like you get on the overnight, with meals & hall life.

In the summer when most can travel it's even more limited if I recall. We ended up paying for the bus tour, which stopped at the parade field & chapel.

But the overnight visit really opened my son's eyes. He was very impressed with the cadets in the company, and they really went out of their way to introduce him around. Even the company co stopped by for introductions & a chat. As parents, the behind the scenes look and info in the briefing answered many questions. But the biggest thing was that we saw that cadets still were college kids, had fun, laughed & joked, and had a level of commaradie many young adults never see.

While at the summer programs you see the facility & meet some cadets, it's really nothing like an overnight visit. So if you can, do both! :)

It was well worth the trip, and we are excited to have similar opportunity for USNA CVW. (And hopefully USAFA when that process starts)

[marciemi]

Originally Posted by WAMom68

Sorry to butt in but I do have to comment regarding visiting West Point. For those of us who are far enough away that we have to travel by air it can be a large expense (airfare, rental car, hotel) that not all families can afford. If a candidate cannot afford to go for a visit they should let the interviewer know that it isn’t about not wanting to go for a visit, but about the finances. Hopefully that won’t be held against them.

I wasn't at all saying that we held it against them - more trying to explain why our interviews took so long! I think there's a huge difference between someone who grew up in the NE and has heard about WP, the Army/Navy game, throughout their life and probably visited it at least as a tourist destination than a Midwest or West Coast candidate who has probably found out everything they know about it on their own. The reason it IS probably asked in every interview is not to judge whether they want to go or not, but to find a starting point in our conversation and knowing how much more info to try to give.

However, I do think at the MOC level, while it wouldn't directly be held against a candidate, having made a visit does give them a little bit of confidence that the candidate knows what they're getting themselves into. So not having visited (at least in this area or probably further west) wouldn't be a negative, but being able to talk to what they saw/experienced/felt on a visit COULD end up being a defniite positive.

[WAMom68]

Originally Posted by marciemi

I wasn't at all saying that we held it against them - more trying to explain why our interviews took so long! I think there's a huge difference between someone who grew up in the NE and has heard about WP, the Army/Navy game, throughout their life and probably visited it at least as a tourist destination than a Midwest or West Coast candidate who has probably found out everything they know about it on their own. The reason it IS probably asked in every interview is not to judge whether they want to go or not, but to find a starting point in our conversation and knowing how much more info to try to give.

However, I do think at the MOC level, while it wouldn't directly be held against a candidate, having made a visit does give them a little bit of confidence that the candidate knows what they're getting themselves into. So not having visited (at least in this area or probably further west) wouldn't be a negative, but being able to talk to what they saw/experienced/felt on a visit COULD end up being a defniite positive.

Which is why I am so grateful our Field Force out here does an excellent job of preparing our candidates for what they are getting into. I've been told Washington has one of the lowest rates for cadets leaving prior to cow commitment.

I didn't really think you would hold it against them. I just hope other FF reps don't either.

My son was in the position of having a nomination but no appointment or LOA when we went to visit. He only got the morning tour with a plebe, no overnight, but it was still worth the money spent to travel there.

[scoutpilot]

Originally Posted by WAMom68

Which is why I am so grateful our Field Force out here does an excellent job of preparing our candidates for what they are getting into. I've been told Washington has one of the lowest rates for cadets leaving prior to cow commitment.

I didn't really think you would hold it against them. I just hope other FF reps don't either.

My son was in the position of having a nomination but no appointment or LOA when we went to visit. He only got the morning tour with a plebe, no overnight, but it was still worth the money spent to travel there.

I don't hold it against a candidate. BUT, if a candidate tells me he is applying to USMA and USAFA, and then tells me he did the summer program at USAFA, has visited USAFA, doesn't plan to visit USMA, but swears that USMA is his first choice, it raises a flag.

I think a visit, even a day visit, paints a much better picture for a candidate than most AFF members can.

[marciemi]

Originally Posted by scoutpilot

BUT, if a candidate tells me he is applying to USMA and USAFA, and then tells me he did the summer program at USAFA, has visited USAFA, doesn't plan to visit USMA, but swears that USMA is his first choice, it raises a flag.

Exactly what I was saying in my first post. When someone tells me they went to USAFA SS, have always wanted to fly, and plan to major in Aero Engineering, then in the same breath assure me that although they're applying to USAFA, USMA is really their number one choice, I'm left wondering if they're A. Totally trying to BS me or B. Totally clueless on what each academy actually offers!

[Dixieland]

I realize that travel costs are a very real hardship and distances are great for many people, but I don't see how someone could select a college, traditional or service academy, and never go and actually check it out. You are going to spend the next four years there.

My cadet enjoyed sitting in the classes of his cadet tour guide and eating in the mess hall. It helped him picture himself doing those very things next year. It was extremely helpful for him to be able to ask the cadet questions one-on-one.

ETA: Our trips to West Point were bare bones--cheap flight (flew the weird hours no one else wanted), lucked up on a good off-season rate at a hotel, and found a cheap rental car by using a coupon from a silly, rip-off coupon book my son's baseball team sold. I think we ate at McDonalds. We visited when DS had a couple of days off because of teacher workdays.

[vampsoul]

Originally Posted by marciemi

Exactly what I was saying in my first post. When someone tells me they went to USAFA SS, have always wanted to fly, and plan to major in Aero Engineering, then in the same breath assure me that although they're applying to USAFA, USMA is really their number one choice, I'm left wondering if they're A. Totally trying to BS me or B. Totally clueless on what each academy actually offers!

Just putting this out there- I attended USAFA SS and NASS. I could not attend SLS due to school conflicts. Still, when it came time for the nom process, USMA was my first choice after visiting in a different capacity and (more importantly) deciding that the Army was the right branch for me. Perhaps the person simply just could not find a way to feasibly visit USMA. (also, what do they want to fly? That could be a determining factor).

[marciemi]

Originally Posted by vampsoul

Just putting this out there- I attended USAFA SS and NASS. I could not attend SLS due to school conflicts. Still, when it came time for the nom process, USMA was my first choice after visiting in a different capacity and (more importantly) deciding that the Army was the right branch for me. Perhaps the person simply just could not find a way to feasibly visit USMA. (also, what do they want to fly? That could be a determining factor).

Again going back to my spending 2 hours talking to each candidate! Trust me, we ask those questions and at a recent interview obviously my husband felt the same way because he ended up saying something like "okay, I'm a bit lost here because everything you're telling me seems to indicate you want USAFA, yet you're saying you want WP - why?!" Answering that question the way you did above is a lot different than answering it with an evasive answer or a vague "oh, I just think I want WP more" or similar.

[bdaMom]

My son is in the Army Reserves and ROTC as a freshmen in college. He has a 3-Year ROTC scholarship, but after joining the Reserves has decided to try for West Point. He has a congressional interview and I'm wondering if he should dress as a civilian (dress clothes), or should he wear his ACUs or dress uniform?

[KNP]

I definitely vote against ACU's as they are too casual for an interview. Also, I remember my issued ROTC uniform and how poorly it fit. If the ROTC uniform fits poorly and he has a suit or sportcoat which looks nicer, I think that would be appropriate. However, I am not implying that the uniform is wrong to wear.