When to contact Congressmen?

Gianime

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Joined
Sep 6, 2015
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47
Hello all,
I'm a Junior applying for the class of 2021 - I was wondering if now was an appropriate time to contact my respective congressmen. I know many are still sending out their nominations and many of their websites haven't updated yet (The due date still says 2015). I want to contact them as soon as possible to start their application (I've already looked onto their websites and looked/printed out applications from last year for a frame of reference) but was unsure if contacting them now would be premature.
Thanks!
 
Contact the service academy coordinators for those offices. They will give you dates for informational meetings that will be held in the spring and such. It never hurts to build a good relationship with the coordinators (I stayed in contact with my constantly starting in April of 2015 and the coordinator was actually the one to call me about my appointment!). Make all the connections you can and get your face out there as soon as possible.
 
My local Congressperson updated the website when apps were available - this was in June, I believe. I would call the office, where a secretary will most likely answer, and ask for any information they might have on the process. The phone number for your Congresspeople should not be hard to find. My app was due October, I interviewed in November, and received a nomination in December, if you want a frame of reference.
 
+1 Jagger...
Most MOC's have a staff member in charge of the SA nomination process. It can't hurt to contact this person and either meet with them or have a extended phone call with them after this current cycle is done. This individual sets up the MOC's informational meetings, communicates with the interview panel members, sets up the interviews, gathers your info into a packet, and many other things, so he/she is quite busy!

My DS got to be known by our MOC coordinator and she was instrumental in helping my DS switch his nom from USMA to USNA.
 
That cleared up a lot of confusion I had - Thank you all! Do you know if the application that most congressmen have on the website is the same that they use every year (give or take the deadlines)? I would like to know so I can get a head start on filling it out and preparing the written responses.
 
Don't do that.. You want to wait until after the summer when you have gone to SLE and/or girls state to write essays and such. They give you PLENTY of time! Do not rush the process...
 
Something you can do now, is put together a resume (categories for leadership, extracurriculars, awards, community service, etc) and keep adding to it every time you do something or think of something you forgot. This will be very helpful for any and all applications.
 
Something you can do now, is put together a resume (categories for leadership, extracurriculars, awards, community service, etc) and keep adding to it every time you do something or think of something you forgot. This will be very helpful for any and all applications.
Ah okay, I understand. That's really helpful actually! Should I wait until my senior year to ask for letters of recommendation (in terms of the congressmen, not the USMA application)?
 
Don't do that.. You want to wait until after the summer when you have gone to SLE and/or girls state to write essays and such. They give you PLENTY of time! Do not rush the process...
I don't see how it would be disadvantageous to get the process started as soon as the application opens up.
 
Yes, I would wait. Often teachers and such will date their LOR's... You don't want to be dated 11 months in advance. You want them to be current and up to date with all of your most recent achievements put in them. Feel free to PM if you have questions about my personal experiences this past year!
 
Yes, I would wait. Often teachers and such will date their LOR's... You don't want to be dated 11 months in advance. You want them to be current and up to date with all of your most recent achievements put in them. Feel free to PM if you have questions about my personal experiences this past year!
I certainly will! Thank you for your help!
 
I don't see how it would be disadvantageous to get the process started as soon as the application opens up.

Sure, there is no problem with starting it now.. But experiences that happen at the end of junior year or during junior summer (i.e. SLE, girls state, missions trips, leadership camps, etc.) are all going to benefit the apps a lot. I'm not saying don't start now, but from my experience, there are still some big things that will help tremendously so maybe just wait to start the essay parts.
 
Ah okay, I understand. That's really helpful actually! Should I wait until my senior year to ask for letters of recommendation (in terms of the congressmen, not the USMA application)?
I waited until late August to ask for recommendations and it was a bit of a mistake. One of my teachers took a very long time to get her recommendation done for me and it caused a lot of unnecessary stress for me. I ended up not getting the recommendation until mid-December. Some teachers also just aren't very responsible and don't get recommendations done in a timely manner... If you wait till September your teacher is going to have 30 other students asking for recommendations at the same time for their college applications. Right now there probably aren't many people asking for recommendations. If I were to do the application process over I'd ask for my recommendations as early as possible. There are certainly advantages to putting it off like climbergirl said, but imo those advantages don't outweigh the disadvantages. That being saideach person is different and what works well for me may not work well for you.
 
I think @frenzymando made some really great points! As a middle ground, you could let your potential recommenders know now-the end of the school year what your plans and desires are, email these people periodically throughout the summer what you have been up to, and ask them to have LOR's for you by say September 1 (or whatever day you choose). Remember, this is a process, not a single task. You got this! Good luck!
 
I think @frenzymando made some really great points! As a middle ground, you could let your potential recommenders know now-the end of the school year what your plans and desires are, email these people periodically throughout the summer what you have been up to, and ask them to have LOR's for you by say September 1 (or whatever day you choose). Remember, this is a process, not a single task. You got this! Good luck!
That sounds like a great idea!!! I just wanted to make sure that my teachers had enough time to write their letters and not bombard them in September (I was planning to ask certain teachers to write letters for two or more congressmen. Most of them are aware of my plan to apply to USMA and I talk to them often).
 
All of my MOC's reiterated MULTIPLE times that you could use the same LOR's for all applications, maybe this is just an Ohio thing, but you should ask if that is okay. Ask several people for recommendations and then use the best three (or however many you need). Remember, your LOR's should not just restate your resume, so make sure you ask people that know you personally and you have a good relationship with.
 
I was tasked with getting 3 letters of rec for my nom app - 2 from either a science teacher, math teacher, or counselor, and 1 from a person of your choice. I chose two teachers I was in particularly good standing with, and managed to get a former mayor from my district to write my other letter. I asked for all of these starting in September, within the first week of school, and I had them all turned in to me with time to spare.
 
All of my MOC's reiterated MULTIPLE times that you could use the same LOR's for all applications, maybe this is just an Ohio thing, but you should ask if that is okay. Ask several people for recommendations and then use the best three (or however many you need). Remember, your LOR's should not just restate your resume, so make sure you ask people that know you personally and you have a good relationship with.
Will do! :)
 
I was tasked with getting 3 letters of rec for my nom app - 2 from either a science teacher, math teacher, or counselor, and 1 from a person of your choice. I chose two teachers I was in particularly good standing with, and managed to get a former mayor from my district to write my other letter. I asked for all of these starting in September, within the first week of school, and I had them all turned in to me with time to spare.

Former Mayor LOR is good so long as he/she REALLY knows you.

Most admissions people have reiterated that it is the quality and depth of knowledge conveyed in the letter, not the "big shot" factor.
They would rather see a detailed well written letter from your boss at the movie theater than one from a four star general who barely knows you.
 
Former Mayor LOR is good so long as he/she REALLY knows you.

Most admissions people have reiterated that it is the quality and depth of knowledge conveyed in the letter, not the "big shot" factor.
They would rather see a detailed well written letter from your boss at the movie theater than one from a four star general who barely knows you.
Good point to mention - yes, the mayor knew me, and was able to right a good letter of rec. (Well, good enough to get me a nomination! :D) Another thing to note - I did not read any of my letters, I asked for all of them in a pre-addressed envelope. This was asked for by my Congressman. you may not get the liberty of picking and choosing, so line up your top three, and an alternate!
 
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