Interview

Heatherg21

USNA '24 Mom BGO Bacon Lover Dog Lover
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Our DS had his interview last night for West Point. It was scheduled at the last minute and they were awesome in meeting him in the middle in terms of driving distance. I expected to hear something from him after about an hour. He said the interview was awesome, tough questions, good conversation and after about an hour and a half they asked if would like to have dinner (they had met at a cafe) and they continued to talk for the next hour and a half. Great experience for him. USNA has always been on the top of his list. This has him thinking. I really appreciate all of those who participate as field officers, BGO's etc. Volunteering your time to do this and give wise counsel and guidance to young men and women is important and doesn't go without notice.
 
Our DS had his interview last night for West Point. It was scheduled at the last minute and they were awesome in meeting him in the middle in terms of driving distance. I expected to hear something from him after about an hour. He said the interview was awesome, tough questions, good conversation and after about an hour and a half they asked if would like to have dinner (they had met at a cafe) and they continued to talk for the next hour and a half. Great experience for him. USNA has always been on the top of his list. This has him thinking. I really appreciate all of those who participate as field officers, BGO's etc. Volunteering your time to do this and give wise counsel and guidance to young men and women is important and doesn't go without notice.

I am assuming the interview was done by a FFR.. is that right?

Anything to share what kind of questions in the interview?
 
I am assuming the interview was done by a FFR.. is that right?

Anything to share what kind of questions in the interview?

My DD’s FFR interviewed her in October 2018.

The one question I remember she said that was asked: do you know what a 2LT does in the Army?
 
I am assuming the interview was done by a FFR.. is that right?

Anything to share what kind of questions in the interview?

My DD’s FFR interviewed her in October 2018.

The one question I remember she said that was asked: do you know what a 2LT does in the Army?

I hope her answer was “Butter the PSG’s bread”
Lol
 
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Our DS had his interview last night for West Point. It was scheduled at the last minute and they were awesome in meeting him in the middle in terms of driving distance. I expected to hear something from him after about an hour. He said the interview was awesome, tough questions, good conversation and after about an hour and a half they asked if would like to have dinner (they had met at a cafe) and they continued to talk for the next hour and a half. Great experience for him. USNA has always been on the top of his list. This has him thinking. I really appreciate all of those who participate as field officers, BGO's etc. Volunteering your time to do this and give wise counsel and guidance to young men and women is important and doesn't go without notice.

I am assuming the interview was done by a FFR.. is that right?

Anything to share what kind of questions in the interview?
Yes, it was done by a husband and wife FFR. Lots of questions, the standard what academies are you applying to, what order are you ranking them, are you applying to ROTC branches, are you applying to civilian colleges. If ROTC, which colleges and why.

The questions got a little tougher then (mind you I wasn't there, he went solo so I am parapharasing).
*what major he was interested in and why
*how his experience at Boy's State and Nation had been.
*what was his favorite book that he had read in the last year and why.
*type of career he saw himself doing in the Army.
*how long he pictured himself serving in the Armed Forces
*why he ranked the academies they way he did
*had he visited any of them (he has visited 2 of the 4 he is applying to)
*what challenges he faced in the past and how he handled them
*if he could run one service project, what it would be and why?
*what 3 people he would have help him run it, from real life or history, and why he would select them

That's all I can remember. I know there were more. He has done a lot of interviews, and competes in interview. He felt really good about it. The last question threw him for a minute. He said it was a good one and not one he had been asked previously. He also was grateful that he had read a book in the last year (he earned 19 dual credits last school year with a 4.4 and with clubs and TKD he was busy) and remembered enough to talk about it. The gentleman told him that he had seen many kids attempt to answer the book question but when asked for further info on the book they mentioned it was obvious they hadn't actually read it. Being honest is a big deal. If you were too busy to read a book say so.
He really enjoyed it. He asked a lot of questions. He learned a lot about West Point and Army careers, all of which intrigued him.
They did discuss his Taekwondo and teaching classes. They asked about his teaching style and any challenges he faced with that. All in all he said it was really nice and he enjoyed it.
 
Yes, it was done by a husband and wife FFR. Lots of questions, the standard what academies are you applying to, what order are you ranking them, are you applying to ROTC branches, are you applying to civilian colleges. If ROTC, which colleges and why.

The questions got a little tougher then (mind you I wasn't there, he went solo so I am parapharasing).
*what major he was interested in and why
*how his experience at Boy's State and Nation had been.
*what book he had read in the last year was and why.
*type of career he saw himself doing in the Army.
*how long he pictured himself serving in the Armed Forces
*why he ranked the academies they way he did
*had he visited any of them (he has visited 2 of the 4 he is applying to)
*what challenges he faced in the past and how he handled them
*if he could run one service project, what it would be and why?
*what 3 people he would have help him run it, from real life or history, and why he would select them

That's all I can remember. I know there were more. He has done a lot of interviews, and competes in interview. He felt really good about it. The last question threw him for a minute. He said it was a good one and not one he had been asked previously. He also was grateful that he had read a book in the last year (he earned 19 dual credits last school year with a 4.4 and with clubs and TKD he was busy) and remembered enough to talk about it. The gentleman told him that he had seen many kids attempt to answer the book question but when asked for further info on the book they mentioned it was obvious they hadn't actually read it. Being honest is a big deal. If you were too busy to read a book say so.
He really enjoyed it. He asked a lot of questions. He learned a lot about West Point and Army careers, all of which intrigued him.
They did discuss his Taekwondo and teaching classes. They asked about his teaching style and any challenges he faced with that. All in all he said it was really nice and he enjoyed it.

Thank you for sharing. I understand FFR interview is not required. Which state is this in if you can answer?
 
Yes, it was done by a husband and wife FFR. Lots of questions, the standard what academies are you applying to, what order are you ranking them, are you applying to ROTC branches, are you applying to civilian colleges. If ROTC, which colleges and why.

The questions got a little tougher then (mind you I wasn't there, he went solo so I am parapharasing).
*what major he was interested in and why
*how his experience at Boy's State and Nation had been.
*what book he had read in the last year was and why.
*type of career he saw himself doing in the Army.
*how long he pictured himself serving in the Armed Forces
*why he ranked the academies they way he did
*had he visited any of them (he has visited 2 of the 4 he is applying to)
*what challenges he faced in the past and how he handled them
*if he could run one service project, what it would be and why?
*what 3 people he would have help him run it, from real life or history, and why he would select them

That's all I can remember. I know there were more. He has done a lot of interviews, and competes in interview. He felt really good about it. The last question threw him for a minute. He said it was a good one and not one he had been asked previously. He also was grateful that he had read a book in the last year (he earned 19 dual credits last school year with a 4.4 and with clubs and TKD he was busy) and remembered enough to talk about it. The gentleman told him that he had seen many kids attempt to answer the book question but when asked for further info on the book they mentioned it was obvious they hadn't actually read it. Being honest is a big deal. If you were too busy to read a book say so.
He really enjoyed it. He asked a lot of questions. He learned a lot about West Point and Army careers, all of which intrigued him.
They did discuss his Taekwondo and teaching classes. They asked about his teaching style and any challenges he faced with that. All in all he said it was really nice and he enjoyed it.

Thank you for sharing. I understand FFR interview is not required. Which state is this in if you can answer?
I can't speak to whether or not it is required, but his admissions counselor at WP said he needed to get it done, that his file looked good and he was far enough along in the process to need to have the interview. We are in the FarWest Region
 
I had an interview with my FFR as well. I was at my school's college fair and my FFR agreed to meet me there, since he had a booth for USMA. I wasn't expecting it at all but apparently I did well.

I had absolutely no idea there was a FFR interview. :p
 
My understanding is that there are not enough FFR's to cover every part of the U.S., so that is the reason the FFR interview is not required.

However, some areas have plenty of coverage and so if an FFR is available, it is best to move forward with the interview.

Here in the Bay Area of California, FFR's seem to be reasonably well staffed.
 
A change with this year's admissions cycle is that interviews are now required for LOA's and offers of appointment. Due to the limited number of Field Force reps, candidates will need to have a competitive file and will need to have shown action on their file to be contacted for an interview. That being said, candidates can keep working on their file to improve it but if you receive an email from either an RC or a Field Force member about an interview, I would make sure to follow up.
 
Candidates from my district and I completed our FF interviews this past June, before the main application had even opened. I believe interviews depend on each area and each state's FF.
 
Our son's liaison let him know his file was promising and that in order to receive an LOA he would need an interview. Then she really worked magic in 18 hours to schedule it last minute. It was a good experience for him. Actually this whole process is. One thing that they said stood out to them as unique was that he ranked West Point his 2nd choice and yet was 90% done with his application and medically qualified very early in the process. She said that they don't see that often, typically 1st choice gets finished and the others drag on late into fall and early winter. You cannot ever say applying early is an advantage but maybe you make an impression by doing so and showing commitment to finishing the process.
 
You cannot ever say applying early is an advantage
I know many BGOs and people who are deeply involved in the admissions process who will tell you over and over again that they strongly recommend getting it done early. I don't know how to say this any clearer. From what I've seen most of the people who will tell you otherwise are parents or applicants whose personal experience was different.
I'll say it again, for the highly qualified (or great) candidates that I've seen over decades of being involved in academy admissions those who are done early in the process seem to have better results.
 
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