Principal Fully Qualified

proudmom1231

Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2015
Messages
20
My son had an LOA and has been notified that he received all 3 congressional nominations that he applied for. His status has changed to Principal Fully Qualified. Does that mean his BFE will be on the way soon?
 
Welcome to the family. Your son has made the right choice in joining us on our journey to greatness. We are not 'A' service academy, we are 'THE' service academy: Coast Guard, Annapolis, West Point, Air Force. Nothing else even comes close.
 
Congratulation!What state are you from?My son has his LOA and has done his interviews so now we are waiting to hear about his nominations.The waiting is harder on the parents than the kids
 
Congratulation!What state are you from?My son has his LOA and has done his interviews so now we are waiting to hear about his nominations.The waiting is harder on the parents than the kids
We are from Ga. DS interviewed mid November for Senators and just before Thanksgiving for MOC. Received all 3 nominations between Thanksgiving and last week.
 
Now comes the hard part. . .

I don't really agree with this (at least for the first 6 months, sea projects/license etc sound like a real challenge). I'm far from a genius and definitely not the most physically fit. The indoc cadre screwed with me, and I just learned to tune it out. The academics (1st tri) are not difficult at all if you are somewhat smart. The physical training is also very lax, although there is a rare occaision when someone wants to PT you till you break.
 
My son had an LOA and has been notified that he received all 3 congressional nominations that he applied for. His status has changed to Principal Fully Qualified. Does that mean his BFE will be on the way soon?

Yes your DS will be getting a nice envelope - Congratulations and your home should be a Happy time for Christmas and New Years. DS will still need to do his best and be intelligent with choices - and in my humble opinion, as cmakin said, this was the easier part and the hard part will come next year. Welcome to the KP family!
 
I don't really agree with this (at least for the first 6 months, sea projects/license etc sound like a real challenge). I'm far from a genius and definitely not the most physically fit. The indoc cadre screwed with me, and I just learned to tune it out. The academics (1st tri) are not difficult at all if you are somewhat smart. The physical training is also very lax, although there is a rare occaision when someone wants to PT you till you break.

It's GREAT that you're doing well and not struggling! Most college freshmen struggle at least moderately, and some a LOT, with the transition to college. Many are not used to being in charge of: their time, what they do to study and learn, planning effectively, and adjusting their plan "smartly" when it's not working. Of course these multiple competing demands on one's time is amplified at the SAs and SMCs, with additional physical and military obligations. I also think (and research is beginning to emerge) that NCLB (No Child Left Behind) has really hurt kids and young adults. Skills like solving messy problems, writing creatively (meaning, non-formulaically), making decisions with incomplete information, working collaboratively with people who are very different from you, evaluating and making arguments backed by evidence (etc. etc.) are more and more just not found in college freshmen. Plus, it's still true of not all, but a lot of freshmen at very selective colleges, including the SAs, that they didn't have to work very hard in HS for mostly As. So, some of your classmates didn't even know what strategies worked to help them learn.

In short, your experience is really an exception for most of your plebe classmates. But it's really great you're fitting in!
 
I'll agree with the sentiment that plebe year isn't the hardest part of the four years. The nice thing about plebe year classes is that you can usually recover just about any hole you dig into, there are quite a few graded events, and so generally it is possible to recover from one bad ding. I was an a-splitter and found 1/C year most challenging, working indoc, turning in 8 months of sea projects, and then trying to juggle classes where if you fail one graded event it could be the end of the road. Third tri prepping for license was probably the most time consuming part of the four years.
 
If anything, I think that the regimental system HELPS teach first year students very quickly to take responsibility for and manage time, just by the amount of work required. . . it sure taught me how to prioritize my time between classes, drills, Plebe knowledge, cleaning stations, etc. . . . not sure how license fits in with the trimester system, but on the quarter system, that third quarter of 1st class year was a bear, what with finals a week or so after license. . . about the most enjoyable (was going to put "easiest", but Sea Year was anything but easy) times of the whole experience for me were Sea Year (hard work, but a real chance to see what the lifestyle was like) and fourth quarter, 1st class year. . . license passed, free gangway. . . spring time. . . yeah. . . . .
 
Back
Top