Accepting Appointment

I am a long-time "lurker" and our family has appreciated all of the questions and information provided on this forum.

This morning, our DS (need to get the abbreviations down) received an email notifying him that he had received an appointment to USAFA. Needless to say he is beyond excited and feels blessed to be selected. He is eager to "accept" the appointment (the letter states he has until 3/15), but I was wondering if there are any advantages to waiting? He is in the process of applying to his plan B/C/D schools, but now the motivation is going to be lacking to get those done. This is our first time down this road. Thank you.

Congrats! He can accept, and still change his mind if his plans change. There is no benefit to accepting now, except you can begin preparing for USAFA. The offer is contingent upon lots of things though, so it's prudent to keep working hard and don't let up.

There is no downside to waiting either. If he got an actual appointment offer it will still be there on March 15. He needs a nomination though. Does he have one? Presidential?

KTMDad said:

I am a long-time "lurker" and our family has appreciated all of the questions and information provided on this forum.

This morning, our DS (need to get the abbreviations down) received an email notifying him that he had received an appointment to USAFA. Needless to say he is beyond excited and feels blessed to be selected. He is eager to "accept" the appointment (the letter states he has until 3/15), but I was wondering if there are any advantages to waiting? He is in the process of applying to his plan B/C/D schools, but now the motivation is going to be lacking to get those done. This is our first time down this road. Thank you.

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One never knows what might happen to preclude your DS from attending USAFA: an accident or injury, prior medical history or maybe even something you were unaware of. It's important to keep the push up for plans B, C, and D. I know it will be hard and people always think it will never happen to me, but...

Congrats on the appointment! A recent Air Force Academy grad spoke about his Service Academy experiences when I was at nomination interviews this weekend. He said after he got his appt, he "sat on it" for a few weeks to make sure it was truly going to be the best decision, and then he accepted the appointment. Also, to echo the above posters, make sure he still applies to Plab B/C/D schools! Congratulations once again, and best of luck to your son in his future!

KTMDad said:

I am a long-time "lurker" and our family has appreciated all of the questions and information provided on this forum.

This morning, our DS (need to get the abbreviations down) received an email notifying him that he had received an appointment to USAFA. Needless to say he is beyond excited and feels blessed to be selected. He is eager to "accept" the appointment (the letter states he has until 3/15), but I was wondering if there are any advantages to waiting? He is in the process of applying to his plan B/C/D schools, but now the motivation is going to be lacking to get those done. This is our first time down this road. Thank you.

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Hello KTMDad...from one Dad to another, congrats! Can you share a few more details for us please? Did your DS actually get an appointment or an LOA? If an appointment, I assume he had a Presidential nomination already in hand? Also you mentioned your son received an email, was the USAFA portal also updated reflecting his appointment? Finally, if you can, please share a bit of your DS' resume (SAT Scores, GPA, Classes, EC's, etc). Thanks so much...I know several of us eagerly await your response!

Juvat said:

Hello KTMDad...from one Dad to another, congrats! Can you share a few more details for us please? Did your DS actually get an appointment or an LOA? If an appointment, I assume he had a Presidential nomination already in hand? Also you mentioned your son received an email, was the USAFA portal also updated reflecting his appointment? Finally, if you can, please share a bit of your DS' resume (SAT Scores, GPA, Classes, EC's, etc). Thanks so much...I know several of us eagerly await your response!

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Thank you for the information. It sounds like good advice to take a few weeks to let everything digest (it is still surreal) and continue to work on a few options.

I am new to posting so if this is in the wrong place, I apologize....

In response to Juvat's question, below are a few of our DS's stats:

He received an email very early this morning stating he had a message in his portal regarding his appointment.
He did/does have a Presidential Nomination so unless we are misreading his letter, he has an Appointment.
SAT's 1,400 (split almost evenly)
4.0 GPA calculated by USAFA (actually higher on transcripts)
Many A/P & Honors classes (I think 10 through 11th grade)
Volunteered as a tutor for under privileged kids every week since a freshman. Took on more leadership roles at the charity.
Leadership roles on Speech/Debate team, plus competed at state/national level.
Blackbelt - plus instructed.
National Honor Society
Was not a Varsity athlete, as Speech/Debate was a year around program.
CFA - some events were above average and a couple we just below average.
Application was complete including DoDMERM in early September.

I know our family (like many) was like Snoopy over the dog bowl (I think this is Pima's quote from prior posts) even though we did not think we would hear until January, this came as a total surprise as the email came around 2:00am.

I hope this helps.

KTMDad said:

Thank you for the information. It sounds like good advice to take a few weeks to let everything digest (it is still surreal) and continue to work on a few options.

I am new to posting so if this is in the wrong place, I apologize....

In response to Juvat's question, below are a few of our DS's stats:

He received an email very early this morning stating he had a message in his portal regarding his appointment.
He did/does have a Presidential Nomination so unless we are misreading his letter, he has an Appointment.
SAT's 1,400 (split almost evenly)
4.0 GPA calculated by USAFA (actually higher on transcripts)
Many A/P & Honors classes (I think 10 through 11th grade)
Volunteered as a tutor for under privileged kids every week since a freshman. Took on more leadership roles at the charity.
Leadership roles on Speech/Debate team, plus competed at state/national level.
Blackbelt - plus instructed.
National Honor Society
Was not a Varsity athlete, as Speech/Debate was a year around program.
CFA - some events were above average and a couple we just below average.
Application was complete including DoDMERM in early September.

I know our family (like many) was like Snoopy over the dog bowl (I think this is Pima's quote from prior posts) even though we did not think we would hear until January, this came as a total surprise as the email came around 2:00am.

I hope this helps.

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This does help! "While past performance is no guarantee of future results", my DD has a very similar resume. Presidential Nom, 1440 SAT, 4.0 USAFA recalculated GPA, AP, Honors, NHS, tons of volunteer hours, tutoring, Captain of Varsity Cheer/Competition Cheer, Varsity Track, DODMERB complete and CFA OK. Thanks for the info...very helpful!!!

One more question....what does his on line application show as his status? Has it changed from :candidate" to "Appointment Offered"?

Juvat said:

One more question....what does his on line application show as his status? Has it changed from :candidate" to "Appointment Offered"?

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Good luck to your DD in her journey.......

Our DS's Application Status did change and now reads:

Your Status: Appointee
Status: Appointment Offered

Congrats for your DS appointment. My son is C4C and loves it there. It is a school filled with like minded men and women with similar goals. I suggest accepting the appointment so that he doesn't miss on sponsor families or any other information. The sooner you can finish the paperwork for the appointees the better. The paperwork can be frustrating. Accepting the appointment also alleviates a lot of stress. My DS received his appointment in April and we waited because he was hoping to get a Navy appointment. Because he waited he now doesn't have a sponsor family and being so far away makes it difficult. But he was able to adapt and tags along with other classmates to their sponsor family. If you have any other questions about their first year go ahead and ask me.

808DAD said:

Congrats for your DS appointment. My son is C4C and loves it there. It is a school filled with like minded men and women with similar goals. I suggest accepting the appointment so that he doesn't miss on sponsor families or any other information. The sooner you can finish the paperwork for the appointees the better. The paperwork can be frustrating. Accepting the appointment also alleviates a lot of stress. My DS received his appointment in April and we waited because he was hoping to get a Navy appointment. Because he waited he now doesn't have a sponsor family and being so far away makes it difficult. But he was able to adapt and tags along with other classmates to their sponsor family. If you have any other questions about their first year go ahead and ask me.

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Thank you for the feedback. Good points as AFA is his first choice.

My daughter got a LOA on Thursday and now awaiting nomination. Hopefully LOA will help with Nomination. Is anyone know how many cadets will join USAFA in 2015?

I just went through this process last year and would advise against accepting the appointment so early. You are really going to need to push him to finish up and actually try on his other scholarship/college applications because injuries happen. I knew of several people that were disqualified weeks before In-Processing. Most of them were fine because they had gotten accepted to other good colleges and explained to them the situation, so they were despite deadlines.

I concur with what others have said about plans B,C, & D. A few years back there was a CC on this site who tripped getting off the bus on Rday...messed up his knee and was sent home. Knee was never right again. You think it won't be you, but you never know.

I can't recall a year here on this forum that at least one cadet at one of the SAs don't finish BCT, some by choice, some medically.

The poster with the DS that injured their knee actually was turned back twice. They spent a year rehabbing and when they returned on I Day and was given the final medical exam there for in processing they sent him back again.

There was also another cadet a yr or two ago that contracted Guillaume barre syndrome within the first few days. She was sent back home within days because the prognosis was she would not be able to complete BCT. I believe she was recruited for swimming. If I recall due to the seriousness of the condition she was never given a DoDMERB clearance again.

The running joke has always been congrats and get them wrapped in bubble wrap, especially if they play sports.
~ Think about it, let's say they do spring track, long jump. Last match is May 22nd. A Bad jump and break their ankle which needs to be casted for 6-8 weeks. They can only miss 8 days of BCT (if I recall correctly) That means they will not be healed enough and a turn back before he even graduates high school. Had he not continued to move forward with back up schools and ROTC scholarships he could be looking at scrambling for the fall.

This is why people will pay the school deposit and accept the ROTC scholarship.

Everyone hopes that it isn't them, but statistically someone usually is. 5% will not complete BCT. Look at having plan B like car insurance. We hope never to use it, but if we have to at least we are still moving forward.

Good advice. Advice we did not heed, as the local CC was the backup plan. Not glamorous, but it certainly would do the trick if push came to shove. Just another perspective

We had over 100 basics (out of 1600) not finish BCT. For various reasons; sometimes you get to the AFA and find out you don't like people telling you what to do. You'd be surprised of the required mental strength you need to get through BCT, let alone the first year.


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Govtrade said:

We had over 100 basics (out of 1600) not finish BCT.

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1600? It's been awhile since you reported for I Day.

Did your DS send in three recommendation letters?

SkiesToConquer18 said:

I just went through this process last year and would advise against accepting the appointment so early. You are really going to need to push him to finish up and actually try on his other scholarship/college applications because injuries happen. I knew of several people that were disqualified weeks before In-Processing. Most of them were fine because they had gotten accepted to other good colleges and explained to them the situation, so they were despite deadlines.

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if he knows he already wants AFA, why not accept the appointment but still work on plan B,C,D,ROTC etc as fall back? we know a few cadets who have no sponsor families presently, not that it's a really big deal because a lot of sponsor families will "adopt" that cadet when they tag along with the sponsored ones. i personally think that these kids (well most) have type A personalities that will keep them focused and motivated to get all the other stuff done without getting "pushed." just my $.02 as a cadet parent.