Any Way to Fix a Lost Opportunity?

Next Generation

Next Generation

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Jan 5, 2016
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Our MOC's office called and offered my DD nominations to any of the SAs she wished. She declined the USMMA because we hadn't researched it as much as other branches, but this weekend we had some time, and WOW, we were impressed. However, she contacted the MOC today and was told that he had already submitted his slate and could no longer nominate her.

Is there anything we can do about this lost opportunity? Should we contact the academy directly to see if there are alternate ways to procure a nomination, or is this opportunity lost forever?
 
What state do you live in?

Any representative or senator from your state can provide a nomination which is due January 31. Even if outside your district.
 
Next Generation said:
Is there anything we can do about this lost opportunity? Should we contact the academy directly to see if there are alternate ways to procure a nomination, or is this opportunity lost forever?
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Was your DD offered a NOM to any of the other SAs? If so, then not all is lost.

It seems to me her opportunity for USMMA is lost due to the fact that there are no Presidential, Vice-Presidential, military-affiliated, JROTC-honor unit, ROTC or Unit Commander, or Medal of Honor nominations permitted to the Academy and she declined the NOM to USMMA. She can either go to the other SA if she received a NOM and is appointed or try again next year. I am not surprised that they would not reconsider. They gave your DD first choice, she declined, and they gave it to someone else. A hard knock for sure, but other opportunities are always presenting themselves. I wish your DD wisdom in choosing her future.

For future academy applicant lurkers....do your research and look at ALL options, even if you think you are not interested. Minds are always changing during this period of your life. Apply to every Academy you think you might be interested in and strive to be well informed. It is a tough decision to make at such a young age and knowledge is power, and the more knowledge you have, the better decision you will make for your future.
 
FalconsRock said:
Was your DD offered a NOM to any of the other SAs? If so, then not all is lost.

It seems to me her opportunity for USMMA is lost due to the fact that there are no Presidential, Vice-Presidential, military-affiliated, JROTC-honor unit, ROTC or Unit Commander, or Medal of Honor nominations permitted to the Academy and she declined the NOM to USMMA. She can either go to the other SA if she received a NOM and is appointed or try again next year. I am not surprised that they would not reconsider. They gave your DD first choice, she declined, and they gave it to someone else. A hard knock for sure, but other opportunities are always presenting themselves. I wish your DD wisdom in choosing her future.

For future academy applicant lurkers....do your research and look at ALL options, even if you think you are not interested. Minds are always changing during this period of your life. Apply to every Academy you think you might be interested in and strive to be well informed. It is a tough decision to make at such a young age and knowledge is power, and the more knowledge you have, the better decision you will make for your future.
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You're preaching to the choir, brother...I couldn't believe she declined, and indeed, this will be a lesson well-learned.

Yes, she received NOMs to USNA and USAFA, but we are feeling intimidated and less hopeful...she is likely a "good" candidate, but with all these LOAs and Appointments, it is shaking her confidence. At this point, we are hoping she's among the 60% offered appointments by April 15...
 
west coast dad said:
What state do you live in?

Any representative or senator from your state can provide a nomination which is due January 31. Even if outside your district.
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We are in California. It seems unlikely she could scare up another nomination as it seems the MOC deadlines were all by sometime in November. I wouldn't even know where to begin...

Like FalconsRock said, this may be a hard knock, but it will be one of many over a lifetime.
 
There are 53 representatives in california, each can nominate 10, all it would take is for her to find one representative sympathetic to her cause. It would be a lot of phone calls for her but if she wants it bad enough perhaps she could get lucky?
 
Next Generation said:
You're preaching to the choir, brother...I couldn't believe she declined, and indeed, this will be a lesson well-learned.

Yes, she received NOMs to USNA and USAFA, but we are feeling intimidated and less hopeful...she is likely a "good" candidate, but with all these LOAs and Appointments, it is shaking her confidence. At this point, we are hoping she's among the 60% offered appointments by April 15...
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Next Generation, your DD appears to be jumping the gun about losing hope. It is still very early in the appointment process. In the grand scheme of things, there have been few appointments and LOAs given out. It may appear like many as the forum population is small compared to the thousands of applications that pass through admissions.

Her MOC found her deserving of two NOMs, so that says something about her credentials. It is not over until the TWE shows up in the post. She should keep her chin up and run the race with every ounce of courage that she has. She should keep securing plans B, C, and D and never forget the fortitude that got her here in the first place. It will not matter if she receives her appointment tomorrow or in May; when anyone shows up on I-day no one will care when or how they were appointed , they will just be honored to take their place in line. Aim High and Go Navy!
 
west coast dad said:
There are 53 representatives in california, each can nominate 10, all it would take is for her to find one representative sympathetic to her cause. It would be a lot of phone calls for her but if she wants it bad enough perhaps she could get lucky?
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We can contact and see if anyone hasn't submitted their slate yet, then see if they would add her. It's worth a shot!
 
FalconsRock said:
Next Generation, your DD appears to be jumping the gun about losing hope. It is still very early in the appointment process. In the grand scheme of things, there have been few appointments and LOAs given out. It may appear like many as the forum population is small compared to the thousands of applications that pass through admissions.

Her MOC found her deserving of two NOMs, so that says something about her credentials. It is not over until the TWE shows up in the post. She should keep her chin up and run the race with every ounce of courage that she has. She should keep securing plans B, C, and D and never forget the fortitude that got her here in the first place. It will not matter if she receives her appointment tomorrow or in May; when anyone shows up on I-day no one will care when or how they were appointed , they will just be honored to take their place in line. Aim High and Go Navy!
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Thank you, it is nice to receive encouragement. I am so proud to have her follow in the footsteps of her grandpa (28 years Army) and wish he were still hear to witness all this. Nothing would make us more proud than having her serve her country, and I know any of the SAs will provide experiences that will surpass any traditional college. Yes, we must keep our courage. Thank you.
 
Next Generation,
Here's a little about our DS's journey to USAFA.

He was an average applicant. I mean to say, his scores WERE the average of previously accepted classes. Right down the line.

He held the average leadership positions.

Not a peep from USAFA. He turned everything in, then all was quiet.

We saw all of the LOAs come out, some applicants were getting update requests, CFA retake requests, but him? Nothing....

On the day of the mass acceptance, we opened his portal together, and there it was. Just waiting to be accepted.....

As a former Marine, I had doubts about USAFA, but watching his journey there, what they actually do vs. what I imagined they did, the level of maturity I've seen in his classmates (even though they're all 19 & 20), is impressive. The level of academics that goes on, is amazing. They let them hold a BRAIN!! Let them fly, jump out of planes, and solve quantum equations.

Plus, I like to tease it's a 'Gated College' with world class fitness facility and miles of nature trails

Your Dd could do a lot worse than The Little Engineering school in the Rockies:)
 
USMC_Ordie said:
Next Generation,
Here's a little about our DS's journey to USAFA.

He was an average applicant. I mean to say, his scores WERE the average of previously accepted classes. Right down the line.

He held the average leadership positions.

Not a peep from USAFA. He turned everything in, then all was quiet.

We saw all of the LOAs come out, some applicants were getting update requests, CFA retake requests, but him? Nothing....

On the day of the mass acceptance, we opened his portal together, and there it was. Just waiting to be accepted.....

As a former Marine, I had doubts about USAFA, but watching his journey there, what they actually do vs. what I imagined they did, the level of maturity I've seen in his classmates (even though they're all 19 & 20), is impressive. The level of academics that goes on, is amazing. They let them hold a BRAIN!! Let them fly, jump out of planes, and solve quantum equations.

Plus, I like to tease it's a 'Gated College' with world class fitness facility and miles of nature trails

Your Dd could do a lot worse than The Little Engineering school in the Rockies:)
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That is awesome! Your DS doesn't sound too "average" to me if he's flying, jumping, and solving quantum equations! But then again, isn't that why these kids are doing SAs instead of traditional colleges? These aren't average kids, they are kids who are intrinsically motivated to challenge themselves and work for a greater good. And that's what my DD felt at both SAs she visited - that she was surrounded by kids like her, that she "fit," and that she wanted to be like the senior officers she met. Oh, it would be wonderful to open that portal and see and appointment! Thanks for sharing your DS's journey!
 
I don’t understand the need for immediate gratification in today’s world. Its not like this year is DD’s one and only chance to get into US…A.

If after careful consideration your DD feels that KP is a better place for her, then simply decline any appointments offered to her and apply for a nomination next year. Unless DD has passed her 25th birthday, before 1 July of the year of admission, then she will remain eligible in future years.

I myself and many of my classmates did not attend KP immediately after High School. Clearly our opportunities were not “lost”.
 
KPEngineer said:
I don’t understand the need for immediate gratification in today’s world. Its not like this year is DD’s one and only chance to get into US…A.

If after careful consideration your DD feels that KP is a better place for her, then simply decline any appointments offered to her and apply for a nomination next year. Unless DD has passed her 25th birthday, before 1 July of the year of admission, then she will remain eligible in future years.

I myself and many of my classmates did not attend KP immediately after High School. Clearly our opportunities were not “lost”.
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Yup, and while I DID attend right after high school (with that 6 week summer vacation. . . ) I was similarly nominated to all of the service academies by my congressman. . . and while my original intention was to go to Colorado Springs, I did some research and saw that the USMMA was a more interesting option. . . and never looked back or had any regrets about NOT attending the USAFA. While I haven't sailed for many years, I still do work in the maritime business (although mostly in the offshore side of the world these days) and enjoy coming in to work just about every day. . .
 
Don't ever quit. Although it was in the dark ages I received my appointment to USMA and got hurt a month before report date. Sat out a year and did it all over again. Great deal for me because it allowed another year of mental and physical maturation. My daughter is being boarded as I write this. She will be graduating this spring from college in only three years and will, if accepted, be going to either usna or Usmma next year. No rule says you have to go to an academy right after high school graduation. By the way most academies look upon college courses much more favorably than hs courses. Good luck.
 
I consider a nomination a requirement, but never an obstacle to a candidate that the school wants. If the academy wants to enroll your daughter and she wants to attend, I'm sure a nomination can be arranged for her. There are 53 Congressmen in CA. Among them there will be nominations unused that can be applied to your daughter if needed. A nomination is worthless to someone who isn't accepted or going to enroll.
 
Thanks, friends, for the informative posts - I learned a lot.

So it is not unheard of to decline an appointment. By various sources, we've been told that if she gets an appointment to any of the academies, she'd better take it. Further, if she doesn't get an appointment this year, she will likely not get one the following year (which is why she'd better take any appointment she can get this year). It sounds like she may be able to take the risk of waiting another year if that is the way it plays out. Although I think she would do fine if she went this year, my gut feeling is that she would do even better with another year of maturity and leadership development under her belt. This is all a huge relief.

Also, KP Eng corroborated what I hoped/suspected - that the school may be able to work with her. The USMMA having their application deadline so far after the other academies is not useful when the MOC deadlines have passed so much earlier (likely to accommodate the other SAs' earlier deadlines). Shame on us for not having made a more thorough investigation of the USMMA earlier in the game, but I'm sure we're not the only ones who've made a late discovery.

Thanks for your wisdom! All in all we are feeling more encouraged and less stressed. The waiting can shake one's confidence and resolve...
 
Next Generation said:
Thanks, friends, for the informative posts - I learned a lot.

So it is not unheard of to decline an appointment. By various sources, we've been told that if she gets an appointment to any of the academies, she'd better take it. Further, if she doesn't get an appointment this year, she will likely not get one the following year (which is why she'd better take any appointment she can get this year). It sounds like she may be able to take the risk of waiting another year if that is the way it plays out. Although I think she would do fine if she went this year, my gut feeling is that she would do even better with another year of maturity and leadership development under her belt. This is all a huge relief.

Also, KP Eng corroborated what I hoped/suspected - that the school may be able to work with her. The USMMA having their application deadline so far after the other academies is not useful when the MOC deadlines have passed so much earlier (likely to accommodate the other SAs' earlier deadlines). Shame on us for not having made a more thorough investigation of the USMMA earlier in the game, but I'm sure we're not the only ones who've made a late discovery.

Thanks for your wisdom! All in all we are feeling more encouraged and less stressed. The waiting can shake one's confidence and resolve...
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Many appointments are turned down for a variety of reasons. I remember that one of my high school classmates went through the Academy process, received and appointment to Colorado Springs, but ultimately turned it down. Because of the competitive nature of getting into an Academy, there are lots of "alternates". In fact, way back in the day when this process was carried out via snail mail, I first received a letter saying that while I was not an appointee, I was way high up in the "alternate" list (first in CA and third in the US, or vice versa) and that an appointment was likely. My next correspondence was a letter giving my orders to attend Indoctrination in July. . . THEN I got a letter telling my that I was appointed to KP. . . typical government stuff. . . Alternates were appointed very close to the start of Indoc. although I can't say how close. . . I do remember on that first day, we were all lined up with our fresh haircuts (that were still too long) and our names were called out and we went to tables to first pick up our name tags. . . the alternates had Dymo labels on theirs, but the initial appointees had their names etched in the tags. . .
 
If she hasn't done so already, she MUST submit part 1 of the app on line today and part 2 as quickly as possible. Then call each MoC in your state. Even if they submitted their slate, you'd be surprised how many districts have less than 10 applicants. Explain your situation - it is not unique. Many applicants to other SA find out about KP from their MOC or late in the process. Just make sure when they look on the portal, they see you are well into the application process, so they know your interest is sincere.
 
Mman5247 said:
If she hasn't done so already, she MUST submit part 1 of the app on line today and part 2 as quickly as possible. Then call each MoC in your state. Even if they submitted their slate, you'd be surprised how many districts have less than 10 applicants. Explain your situation - it is not unique. Many applicants to other SA find out about KP from their MOC or late in the process. Just make sure when they look on the portal, they see you are well into the application process, so they know your interest is sincere.
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Yes, we are moving along on the application process just in case we are able to get her a nomination. She is also taking her PFE tomorrow morning. Tomorrow afternoon and this weekend will be busy!
 
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