C/O 2021 re-app question

anne99

anne99

Parent, Class of 2021 USNA
5-Year Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2015
Messages
196
DS is re-applying for 2021. On the preliminary application, it asks for the school that you are currently in. Well, that's still high school but he graduates in June. Should he be putting college in there? He wants to start the application process as early as possible but I'm wondering if he is supposed to wait until August.
 
anne99 said:
DS is re-applying for 2021. On the preliminary application, it asks for the school that you are currently in. Well, that's still high school but he graduates in June. Should he be putting college in there? He wants to start the application process as early as possible but I'm wondering if he is supposed to wait until August.
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My son reapplied last year. I will tell you that his BGO advised that he wait until the middle of his first semester in college before doing any of the essays. He was able to actually write from a different perspective as a college student. Remember the Dodmerb is good for two years. My son didn't receive a waiver last year but did this year! He received an appointment last month. Study hard, try to mirror USNA classes, BE INVOLVED and best wishes for a 2021 appointment. My son attending the university this year was such a great thing for our entire family. If you had asked me last year at this time I would have wished he had received the BFE for 2019. I now know USNA knew what was best.
 
Thank you! Yes, he plans to wait on doing the essay. he just wants to get all his nomination applications and other parts of the USNA application done before school starts so he can really focus on his grades that first semester since they are so important in the re-application. He had just started to fill out the prelim app for USNA and was already stumped when it asked what school. My first thought was to put that he is a college student, but he isn't yet. As far as I can tell, the prelim app is looked at before June and they tell you if you are an official candidate by June sometime.

Any advice on how to fill out the prelim app?
 
I actually don't think my son did the preliminary until late summer. After the TWE discussions about reapplying started later in the summer. I would say he could get the Congressional nomination packets completed. Wait on the rest for awhile. Just my opinion.
 
Hi, successful reapplicant here! I would say, wait to answer that question until you have your plans for next year squared away. It doesn't actually matter when you submit you application as a reapplicant, as they will not review your entire package until January, when first semester grades come out. It is certainly not a bad idea to get it done early for academic/mental health reasons, but waiting a few more weeks/months to submit will not hurt you.
 
My daughter was a successful re-applicant for this year. I concur with 2boymom that the college year was a great experience and I feel it helped my daughter's application. While I felt she was strong last year, I think the extra year of maturity and doing well in college really helped. You could probably start the preliminary app to get a candidate number once he is enrolled in college and maybe do the CFA, but a lot of the app will have to wait. He could see what the college has to offer for leadership. At ours, there were opportunities to tutor subjects like algebra, calculus, chem. You wouldn't know it from the forum, but there are a lot of college kids that need help in these areas and that would look great on an application. There are also tons of community service activities to participate in. And he could be checking out club sports too. Good luck to him!
 
2boymom said:
My son reapplied last year. I will tell you that his BGO advised that he wait until the middle of his first semester in college before doing any of the essays. He was able to actually write from a different perspective as a college student. Remember the Dodmerb is good for two years. My son didn't receive a waiver last year but did this year! He received an appointment last month. Study hard, try to mirror USNA classes, BE INVOLVED and best wishes for a 2021 appointment. My son attending the university this year was such a great thing for our entire family. If you had asked me last year at this time I would have wished he had received the BFE for 2019. I now know USNA knew what was best.
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Agree as well! Same story for us.
 
That sounds like a plan. There are so many that say get the re-app totally complete except for the essay before they head to college. My DS plans to do triathlon, maybe tutoring and possibly doing something with a scout troop. All that would really add to his resume and he's excited about the opportunities. He wants to take care of the CFA before he leaves but I'm not sure who administers that as a college student. He won't have a true PE teacher. Does his PE teacher from high school do that again? He has a goal of maxxing that out.
 
anne99 said:
That sounds like a plan. There are so many that say get the re-app totally complete except for the essay before they head to college. My DS plans to do triathlon, maybe tutoring and possibly doing something with a scout troop. All that would really add to his resume and he's excited about the opportunities. He wants to take care of the CFA before he leaves but I'm not sure who administers that as a college student. He won't have a true PE teacher. Does his PE teacher from high school do that again? He has a goal of maxxing that out.
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My son actually had a college coach do his CFA. Very convenient and he was so happy to help! And it wasn't even a coach he dealt with. When he received his appointment he sent this coach another thank you for helping him complete his app. He went to the athletic Dept to coordinate. Very simple :)
 
If son wants to get CFA done before college, I would think HS PE teacher could do it if he's available. Might want to check with a BGO.
 
The answer is yes you can fill it out now and would select "college," if that where your DS is heading.
There is no advantage to doing it early, other than receiving access to the application. In all honesty, there should be more than enough time to complete it in the fall semester.

The one thing I would start doing towards the end of the school year is getting contact information for senior year teachers and guidance counselors (need this for H.S. transcript). I recommend having the college professors fill out the teacher recommendations unless the class size is really big, to the point that the professor doesn't know your DS. This is why you might need the contact information of senior year teachers. As others have said, it is possible to start working on nomination applications.
 
Thank you bgo08. Yes, he just wants to get the prelim app done so he can get the USNA app open and going. Since he used his senior English teacher on the first round, he now has to use his college English teacher - which will be tough. He's going to a large school and I suspect there will be over 200 kids in the class. He will have to put his face in that professor's office as often as possible without being a pest. Math teacher can be his senior AP Calc since he used his junior teacher last year. He has requested nomination packets from MOCs. We just know that he will do better on his nomination essays without the pressure of classes - and all the nomination apps are due in October anyway.

One question though - what is a good tack to take on nomination essays? He thinks everyone uses the first year turn-down as fodder and wants to be different.
 
Does the CFA not carry over? Also if we retake the CFA, is it possible to have a BGO in the surrounding area of our college administer it? Or does it have to be our issued BGO? Sorry to hijack btw
 
The CFA does not carry over, unfortunately. I believe you can arrange to have a BGO from your college area administer the test. You can also ask a coach/gym teacher at your school as well.
While we're talking about BGO's, it might be in your best interest to switch your BGO to someone closer to your college. This way you get a new set of eyes on you for the interview and it makes things easier logistically. Just a thought. Best of luck!!
 
:):)
Yes, he just wants to get the prelim app done so he can get the USNA app open and going. Since he used his senior English teacher on the first round, he now has to use his college English teacher - which will be tough. He's going to a large school and I suspect there will be over 200 kids in the class. He will have to put his face in that professor's office as often as possible without being a pest
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Once he's in college and knows the situation for certain, he might reach out to his RD and ask how to proceed. They might accept the Sr. Engligh teacher rec again -- based on a new year of information. Or might want the Prof. Or maybe something else. If you believe/suspect the English teacher didn't give a terrific rec then I'd go for the college prof even if the situation isn't ideal.

He might also explain the situation to his Prof (i.e., I'm reapplying to USNA; need an English prof rec; know this is a huge class; is there anything I can do so that you know me well enough to write a substantive rec?, etc.). Probably not the first day:) but certainly within the first month.
 
To clarify the CFA question, any BGO or PE teacher (not just a coach...MUST be a PE teacher...a coach, who is also a PE teacher, is fine) is acceptable.

For the teacher recommendation question, below is copied directly from the USNA Admission's site for previous candidates:
Adhere to the following rules for your math and English letters of recommendation (this is extremely important and failure to adhere to these rules will delay your application in being reviewed):
  • If you are a re-applicant and you used your senior year teacher last year, you need to use your college professor this year.
  • If you are a re-applicant and you used your junior year teacher last year, you may use either your senior year teacher or your college professor.
  • If you are a first time college applicant who graduated high school last year, you may use your senior year teacher or your college professor.
  • If you are a college applicant who graduated from high school more than one year ago, you need to use your college professor.
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