Big Admission Update

Jarhead1775

5-Year Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2012
Messages
147
Rat here,

Yesterday I just got the official word that my congressman is nominating me. At the interview, the committee basically nominated me on the spot and said "we're going to do everything we can to get you there." And I know that they were talking about maybe switching up the way they did nominations last year and making me the principal nomination. I got an email the other day from the head rugby coach at USMA (I play rugby here at VMI) who told me that rugby is now a varsity sport at West Point and that they have a pull in the admission process. I filled out the questionnaire he attached and haven't heard back since. Got my fingers crossed on that.

At VMI, I'm the platoon leader (nominated by my brother rats) for my platoon and am doing exceptionally well in ROTC (based off of peer reviews, awards) all while looking at a 3.0+ this semester.

For reference, I was fully qualified and nominated last year but not selected. What do you think my chances are right now? (I know that question is frowned upon, but I'm getting excited for West Point)
 
sounds good, I'm fairly positive you will get in from the looks of it!:thumb:
 
There is a great unknown with reapplicants. DS has been told he "looks good" for this year. But what has changed? He is in ROTC in a SMC and took a course load that was similar to a plebe (calc, comp, chem, et al..). The only thing that is different is that he's a reapplicant and in ROTC. Grades are solid, as they were in HS. Yet, even before last year's cycle was over, he was told he'd be an excellent reapplicant. There are no "bonus" points in WCS for reapplying, so the whole thing is a mystery. I hope you both get in. :thumb:
 
As you know, nothing is guaranteed but I do think you have reason to be very hopeful. My DS is now a yuk and was a re-applicant who received a nomination from his senator. The senator said he respected that DS got
back up and was trying again. He even made a point of chasing him down after the committee interview to say how proud he was of the commitment DS had to serve. Later while having some application problems the RC encouraged DS to cross the finish line as "you've come highly recommended from Senator _____". The senator used the competitive nomination so technically DS was just one of 10 nominees. Bottom line, I believe admissions highly values the opinion of the nominating source. So while there may not be any specific points for reapplying, the fact that your congressman is pulling for you is significant.
 
There are not specific bonus points for reapplying; however, admissions will reward a candidate with extra points if they demonstrate successful college performance based on the course load and GPA.
 
There are not specific bonus points for reapplying; however, admissions will reward a candidate with extra points if they demonstrate successful college performance based on the course load and GPA.

This is very good news for DS, who has some pretty great first semester grades. Thanks!
 
So my college work is just extra? It doesn't count towards my qualification? Was that all done in high school?

Your college work can either add to your WCS, do nothing, or disqualify you. I don't see how you would expect it to add/count towards your qualification (qualification is binary - either you are or you aren't).
 
Jarhead, great to hear about the Nom. Been following your progress on this board. Best of luck. I hope it all works out. And definitely have my respect for doing Rat year then a Plebe year too.
 
Jarhead, great to hear about the Nom. Been following your progress on this board. Best of luck. I hope it all works out. And definitely have my respect for doing Rat year then a Plebe year too.

Thanks for the support! I appreciate it! From talking to my cousin (2014 grad) and my buddies who are plebes, plebe year is gonna look like day care compared to this place! Either way, I don't want to underestimate the challenge. First I need to get there. I'll keep y'all updated on what ends up happening. My exams end tomorrow. Fingers crossed.
 
Thanks for the support! I appreciate it! From talking to my cousin (2014 grad) and my buddies who are plebes, plebe year is gonna look like day care compared to this place! .

Oh my. Some upperclassman will save your post, figure out who you are, and make it his mission to prove you wrong. Good luck with that.
 
Oh my. Some upperclassman will save your post, figure out who you are, and make it his mission to prove you wrong. Good luck with that.

I hope they get the chance to. Thanks for the kind words and support!
 
I had a few buddies who made this transition. They said that the Plebe stuff was easier than at VMI or Citadel, but the academics were tougher and the military knowledge was tougher. So I think its all a matter of perspective and what you find to be harder/easier. If you are accepted, I think the biggest thing to remember is no one cares where you came from, what your GPA was, what your SATs were, that you were team captain, that you were an all star at whatever sport, what kind of appointment you had once you walk in the doors to any SA. I am sure it is that way at VMI too.
 
I had a few buddies who made this transition. They said that the Plebe stuff was easier than at VMI or Citadel, but the academics were tougher and the military knowledge was tougher. So I think its all a matter of perspective and what you find to be harder/easier. If you are accepted, I think the biggest thing to remember is no one cares where you came from, what your GPA was, what your SATs were, that you were team captain, that you were an all star at whatever sport, what kind of appointment you had once you walk in the doors to any SA. I am sure it is that way at VMI too.

Oh I know the academics will be the hard part for me. I'll do what I need to do to be successful. At VMI it was similar, we all were equally worthless. We still are... At West Point, we will be equally worthless. I'm no better than anyone else.
 
DS said it was interesting. For some, the physical gets them. For others, the outdoor stuff (some have never camped, pitched a tent, jumped off a cliff), for some the constant memorization...there's something designed to break everyone. Most important thing to pack is a good attitude; number two is a sense of humor.
 
DS said it was interesting. For some, the physical gets them. For others, the outdoor stuff (some have never camped, pitched a tent, jumped off a cliff), for some the constant memorization...there's something designed to break everyone. Most important thing to pack is a good attitude; number two is a sense of humor.

Very similar deal here. We're constantly broken down, majority of folks break just due to the cadre and RDC. I wouldn't call it hazing, but you certainly wouldn't see it anywhere else. That gets most people. The object of it all: build yourself back up.
 
Academics and memorization were the hard part for me. I think having a year of college under your belt will help tremendously with the class stuff. Memorization I got better at. I think its actually one of my strengths today, Navy definitely changed me on that. I had an MOS where memorization was huge, none Academy guys worked much harder to memorize the stuff and deal with the pressure of it in exercises and training. Myself and another Academy buddy memorized in about 5 minutes and always had the highest scores and qualified the fastest with any of that stuff. So in the end, Plebe year helped me out!
 
Update: was just nominated by Senator Portman! Hooah!


Sent using the Service Academy Forums® mobile app
 
Update: was just nominated by Senator Portman! Hooah!


Sent using the Service Academy Forums® mobile app

Congratulations, Jarhead. You are brave to go through rat year and then seek to go through beast.
 
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