Confussion after the TWE

AppMom2023

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Dec 10, 2018
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Our DD received the TWE on the 9th, we accepted the fact she was not going to West Point and were ready to move on. However, on the 10th, she received an email from a Parent Relations Officer wanting to schedule a meeting with her and even congratulated her. When our DD responded with the TWE news, the reply was basically, oh sorry I received your information prior to a decision being made.

The FFR in our area did send an email on behalf of our DD in response to the TWE, they wanted admissions to clarify since she is a strong candidate (which they all are at this point). The response back to the FFR was that she was just "okay" with academics. Our DD has had straight "A's" for the last three years and is currently in 5 AP classes for all core subjects, current GPA is 4.3. She had taken 2 AP classes last year as well. She had a strong interview and received 4 nominations.

We had accepted the TWE but things are just not adding up here. I am really confused and I am not sure if it is because this is my daughter and I am partial or if it is just not adding up. The person that did get the appointment from our area had a lower ACT score (our DD had a 32) and that person's high school does not offer AP courses.

I was really wanting some input from others who have been through the process and understand the situation much better than we do. Thanks for your help.
 
I feel your pain but know that

1. the bar is very very high
2. as all systems devised by man it's not perfect

Did she apply to ROTC for a scholarship?
 
She did not apply for ROTC. Her thinking is to get internship through the NSA, her major is very specific and was concerned that they only pull 15 graduates in her field from the ROTC program. This is all just very confusing for us to grasp, but, we will get there I am sure. Thanks for your response.
 
Our DD received the TWE on the 9th, we accepted the fact she was not going to West Point and were ready to move on. However, on the 10th, she received an email from a Parent Relations Officer wanting to schedule a meeting with her and even congratulated her. When our DD responded with the TWE news, the reply was basically, oh sorry I received your information prior to a decision being made.

The FFR in our area did send an email on behalf of our DD in response to the TWE, they wanted admissions to clarify since she is a strong candidate (which they all are at this point). The response back to the FFR was that she was just "okay" with academics. Our DD has had straight "A's" for the last three years and is currently in 5 AP classes for all core subjects, current GPA is 4.3. She had taken 2 AP classes last year as well. She had a strong interview and received 4 nominations.

We had accepted the TWE but things are just not adding up here. I am really confused and I am not sure if it is because this is my daughter and I am partial or if it is just not adding up. The person that did get the appointment from our area had a lower ACT score (our DD had a 32) and that person's high school does not offer AP courses.

I was really wanting some input from others who have been through the process and understand the situation much better than we do. Thanks for your help.

Her academics look strong to me. I’m sorry about the TWE.
 
I am sure it is difficult and hard to understand especially for such a strong student as your DD. Remember the admission process measures lots of elements beyond academics like leadership, athletics, class composition goals, etc. I think it is hard to know which appointments were charged where and why. I am sure your DD was an exceptional candidate and I know you are proud of her.
 
She did not apply for ROTC. Her thinking is to get internship through the NSA, her major is very specific and was concerned that they only pull 15 graduates in her field from the ROTC program. This is all just very confusing for us to grasp, but, we will get there I am sure. Thanks for your response.

If the end game is USMA I'd get some solid advice from official sources on this plan - would this internship be instead of college or in addition to it?
 
In addition to college. The class rank is lower because of a lot of kids from her class doing dual enrollment. DD did not go this route, she does AP classes, since the colleges she applied to would not accept the community college hours, AP tests are accepted. It is what it is. thanks.
 
The Cyber slots for ROTC will continue to expand over the next 4 years. Do not judge this as a lack of future opportunity for her.
However, it is competitive, not everyone who applies--who is a top candidate gets in. There are so many variables--and the needs of the Army are captured in admissions in ways that do not add up in the normal/civilian university admissions process.
I hope she is lined up with a wonderful university and a great ROTC program.
 
One of the Senior Military Colleges might be a path to where your daughter wants to go. They're all fine schools with rich history and traditions. They also offer a bit more flexibility to the student ...

https://www.stripes.com/senior-mili...er-skills-for-the-defense-department-1.570356

The University of North Georgia, Texas A&M University, The Citadel, Virginia Tech, Virginia Military Institute and Norwich University make up the nation’s six senior military colleges, as designated by meeting specific requirements of the Title 10 U.S. Code in their ROTC programs.



Working together for funding
Together, these universities are lobbying for further support and funding – primarily to expand their offerings and create more scholarships for students.

“Our intent was to work with the Department of Defense, so they could help us take that next step,” said retired Col. Sharon Hamilton, director of liaison and military operations at the University of North Georgia’s Institute for Leadership and Strategic Studies.

Five of the six senior military colleges already have cyber programs with aligned curriculum as recognition of academic excellence by the National Security Agency. The allocation requires they meet very specific criteria and include certain areas in curriculum such as cryptology, network defense and cyber security principals. It also makes students eligible to apply for scholarships, internships, and grants through the Defense Department.

image.jpg
 
Just a reminder she can reapply next year & it has been said on this forum that the SA's look favorably on re-applicants. Also may want to consider the AFA if interested in Cyber. Lastly, if she can do at least 1 pull-up on the CFA may be a tiebreaker...who knows??
 
The person that did get the appointment from our area had a lower ACT score (our DD had a 32) and that person's high school does not offer AP courses.

Sorry to hear about the confusion. Not fun at this point in the game to lack clarity. But please don’t assume that your kid is a superior candidate just because the other kid had a lower test score and no AP classes.

This is not a rack-and-stack process based on those criteria only. You have no idea of the other candidate’s athletic accomplishments and leadership impact and CFA scores. For all you know, that candidate is superior as a “whole person” if not as a student.
 
The person that did get the appointment from our area had a lower ACT score (our DD had a 32) and that person's high school does not offer AP courses.

Sorry to hear about the confusion. Not fun at this point in the game to lack clarity. But please don’t assume that your kid is a superior candidate just because the other kid had a lower test score and no AP classes.

This is not a rack-and-stack process based on those criteria only. You have no idea of the other candidate’s athletic accomplishments and leadership impact and CFA scores. For all you know, that candidate is superior as a “whole person” if not as a student.
FYI, a student from a high school that does not offer AP courses is assessed differently than a student from a high school that has a ton of AP classes, and the student doesn't take any. "Was the student taking the most rigorous courses his/her school offers?"
 
We found out that it was her class rank. Since she does AP classes rather than dual enrollment, she has a lower rank at her high school. The dual enrollment kids get two credits for every class they take and she only gets the one. It is all good. Plan B is a great school and she is really looking forward to her new adventure. Thank you everyone for the advice, knowledge and support throughout this whole process. Good luck to you all.
 
We found out that it was her class rank. Since she does AP classes rather than dual enrollment, she has a lower rank at her high school. The dual enrollment kids get two credits for every class they take and she only gets the one. It is all good. Plan B is a great school and she is really looking forward to her new adventure. Thank you everyone for the advice, knowledge and support throughout this whole process. Good luck to you all.

I’m curious how you know that the single reason is ‘class rank’? I’ve not heard of a candidate being told by admissions of one specific reason for non-offer. Generally, it’s a more universal ‘take Plebe classes and work to improve scores/grade/PRT’ kind of response from admissions.

A student scheduling their senior year, and deciding between taking AP or duel enrollment is a big decision for many reasons. So it’s important to not give out incorrect/unclear information, if this is indeed the case here (decision to not offer is solely due to class rank).

If that was ‘the reason’, from admissions, then it’s great info!
 
To begin I get it @AppMom2023 a TWE is a punch in the gut and you and DD will be looking for answers. Why did I get a TWE? IMHO there is possibly more to this story than meets the eye. @AppMom2023 you mentioned her GPA (this can be misleading), class rank - not a huge indicator. The most important factor for academics is ACT/SAT score because this is the only way to compare candidates from the entire country. Yet, the academies also look at the school attended, which other kids have attended the academy, how did they do once at the academy... graduate, struggled, DOR. They are a lot of factors I have not even touched on. Remember the best candidate does not always gain the appointment. This year I had a candidate offered an appointment and he was the least qualified of my group. :bang::bang::bang: He was the #1 ranked candidate by the MOC. The others on the slate were screwed because MOC made the choice. IMHO the wrong choice but that is MOC's legal right to rank their slate. Did your MOC rank their slate or was it competitive?

I am curious why she did not apply for ROTC?

If she has a strong resume I would highly suggest she apply again next year. The academies LOVE candidates who reapply. Again, I understand your disappointment. In the class of 2019 @USNA we have one Mid who received a TWE reapplied and will be commissioning next month and is in the top 100.
 
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