Admissions contact

Regional Commander? My guess is "absolutely not". That's just a gut feeling, though.
Normally, a candidate wouldn't be contacting anyone higher up in the chain than O-1.

Is he applying to USMA as a direct admit from High School or from an active AROTC unit at a college somewhere?

If he is an "official candidate", he should have an Admissions Counselor listed as a contact in his online interface (West Point Candidate Portal).
That's the person to contact about anything admissions-related.

If he's in AROTC, he could talk to his Recruiting Operations Officer (ROO), or contact Admissions Counselor (as stated above). Dealer's choice.
 
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He is direct out of high school and is an official candidate. There isn't an admissions counselor listed on his portal, just liaison officer. For what he needs, I am 100% certain it needs to be at USMA and not his ALO.
 
Strange.
I am more versed with the USNA way, but I would have bet that he had an Admissions Counselor.

According to the USMA Admissions page:
https://www.westpoint.edu/Admissions/SitePages/Contact.aspx
Assuming that you are in the Great Lakes Region, it would be admissions.gl@usma.edu
And general questions go to: admissions-info@usma.edu

He should use his candidate number when contacting them, so that they know he's not just some guy off the street.
That's probably obvious, but I thought I would add it. :)
 
jrwork said:
DS needs to email his admissions contact and asked me to check with the brain trust...

Is the Regional Commander on the admissions page the correct person? It's not a technical issue. DS just wants to make sure he sends it to the right contact.

https://www.usma.edu/admissions/sitepages/Great Lakes.aspx
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Yes, the Regional Commander (RC) is the correct person to contact. The RC is the admissions officer responsible for a specific geographic area and building the WCS score for candidates in that region.

Just as would be done when applying to a civilian college, a serious candidate should contact the RC for their region (email is usually the best first approach) to introduce themselves and express their interest in USMA in a polite, professional, and concise manner.
 
Wow. I would have never guessed that a candidate should be contacting an O-4 with an admissions question.
Thanks for setting me straight, @jl123
 
THParent said:
Wow. I would have never guessed that a candidate should be contacting an O-4 with an admissions question.
Thanks for setting me straight, @jl123
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Well I doubt the O-4 is answering the phone. I'm sure they have minions.
 
Thank you! DS emailed the Regional Commander. Appreciate everyone's help!!
 
RC's are normally more senior O-3's or recently promoted O-4's and have a couple of enlisted or civilian persons for administrative support. Each region also has a diversity officer, but I am less familiar with how they operate.

USMA is somewhat upside down compared to the "real" Army. At USMA you get used to seeing a lot of senior officers - 3 General Officers on one fairly small post. Many LTC/COL's and far more Captains and Majors than 2nd and 1st LT's.
 
jl123 said:
RC's are normally more senior O-3's or recently promoted O-4's and have a couple of enlisted or civilian persons for administrative support. Each region also has a diversity officer, but I am less familiar with how they operate.

USMA is somewhat upside down compared to the "real" Army. At USMA you get used to seeing a lot of senior officers - 3 General Officers on one fairly small post. Many LTC/COL's and far more Captains and Majors than 2nd and 1st LT's.
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Exactly correct.
 
That was the biggest shock when I got to my first unit. We interacted with so many field grade officers we had no idea that a Captain was a pretty important person in the real Army.
 
USMA 1994 said:
That was the biggest shock when I got to my first unit. We interacted with so many field grade officers we had no idea that a Captain was a pretty important person in the real Army.
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Truth. I got so immune to field grades and GOs briefing them at school regularly, I probably don’t always have the nervousness and way more confidence they’re expecting from a LT. Good way to get yourself in trouble if you aren’t careful
 
Anyone know how long it typically takes to get an answer from the RC? I know they must get hundreds of emails every day but I want to give DS a timeframe to expect an answer so he 1) doesn't just let it sit forever or 2) doesn't annoy the crap out of the RC.
 
I would contact your FFR and explain the question you have and when you emailed the RC. If the FFR truly can't answer your question, they are likely to have a direct line to the RC that will speed the process.
 
cptenca said:
I would contact your FFR and explain the question you have and when you emailed the RC. If the FFR truly can't answer your question, they are likely to have a direct line to the RC that will speed the process.
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I will suggest this to DS. I hadn't thought of that and don't know if DS did either. Thanks.
 
jrwork said:
Anyone know how long it typically takes to get an answer from the RC? I know they must get hundreds of emails every day but I want to give DS a timeframe to expect an answer so he 1) doesn't just let it sit forever or 2) doesn't annoy the crap out of the RC.
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They travel a fair amount. Sometimes a few days between E-Mail responses. This is the busy season.
 
jrwork said:
Anyone know how long it typically takes to get an answer from the RC? I know they must get hundreds of emails every day but I want to give DS a timeframe to expect an answer so he 1) doesn't just let it sit forever or 2) doesn't annoy the crap out of the RC.
Click to expand...

Depends on how busy they are and what else is going on. If not within in a week, a tactful reminder should work.
 
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