Northwest Prep Question

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Gabe_

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Jun 6, 2018
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For those that attended NWP, where did you attend school for your spring semester? State university? Private university? Community College? Home state or nonresident state school? Did you return home and live there, or live on campus? If you could do it again, what would you do? Thank you in advance for your input and knowledge.
 
With the covid restrictions and mandates here in our state, our DS was required to do his college semester online. If we weren't in a pandemic he would have traveled out of state for a semester to experience a semester of the "college life". In the end, it worked out for the best. He is getting stellar grades and he definitely saved tons of 💰 staying at home and doing it online.
 
I personally attend my local community college. Living in California, it is all online. It does not matter if you attend a community college, private university, or state university, as long as you take what the Durbecks tell you to take. HOWEVER, if you are working to obtain an appointment to USNA, I believe that they want their students to have attended a 4-year school during the second semester. The course load you will have that second semester also varies slightly depending on the academy you choose.

To answer your question, yes, I would do it all over again and I highly recommend the program.
 
Hopeful Mid 2024 said:
I personally attend my local community college. Living in California, it is all online. It does not matter if you attend a community college, private university, or state university, as long as you take what the Durbecks tell you to take. HOWEVER, if you are working to obtain an appointment to USNA, I believe that they want their students to have attended a 4-year school during the second semester. The course load you will have that second semester also varies slightly depending on the academy you choose.

To answer your question, yes, I would do it all over again and I highly recommend the program.
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Hello, Congratulations on getting your appointment! Since you've successfully gone through the entire process, may I ask you a few clarification questions?

1. When the academy offered you the Falcon scholarship, did you receive any nominations from either Congress or Senators?
2. In your second attempt to get an appointment, did you apply for a nomination and did you receive one?
3. May I ask what was your GPA and SAT scores?

Last Friday (2/26) my son received the Falcon scholarship, he is still trying to figure out what to do next. To the best of my knowledge, he did not receive any nominations. Since you are from California, I assumed you already know how challenging it is to get any nominations.

Thank you and congratulations again!
 
Gabe_ said:
For those that attended NWP, where did you attend school for your spring semester? State university? Private university? Community College? Home state or nonresident state school? Did you return home and live there, or live on campus? If you could do it again, what would you do? Thank you in advance for your input and knowledge.
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My DS is attending Embry-Riddle online as a non-matriculated student. You can attend any school you want. There was some discussion early on among some of the NWP Falcon Scholars about attending a centrally located school as a group to experience it together, but covid was a major factor in killing that idea.
 
LV2021 said:
Last Friday (2/26) my son received the Falcon scholarship, he is still trying to figure out what to do next. To the best of my knowledge, he did not receive any nominations. Since you are from California, I assumed you already know how challenging it is to get any nominations.
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@LV2021 Congratulations on your son's selection for a Falcon Foundation scholarship! A nomination is not required to be selected for the FFS, however, he will definitely need one for an appointment. As a Falcon Scholar (FS) his application for nomination will stand out next year. He'll need to seek nominations from Congressional representative, both senators VP and President (if eligible). As a FS and candidate next year, if he doesn't receive a nom from any of those sources, there is the possibility of receiving a nom from the USAFA Superintendent (Supe), so don't let the competitiveness of a nom in CA concern you. He'll still have to compete, but will coming in with a stronger hand due to his experience with the process and his prep school curriculum. The FFS is referred to as a golden ticket. USAFA has sort of selected him as a top candidate for class of 2026. Think of it as a five year plan.
 
Dad_2024 said:
@LV2021 Congratulations on your son's selection for a Falcon Foundation scholarship! A nomination is not required to be selected for the FFS, however, he will definitely need one for an appointment. As a Falcon Scholar (FS) his application for nomination will stand out next year. He'll need to seek nominations from Congressional representative, both senators VP and President (if eligible). As a FS and candidate next year, if he doesn't receive a nom from any of those sources, there is the possibility of receiving a nom from the USAFA Superintendent (Supe), so don't let the competitiveness of a nom in CA concern you. He'll still have to compete, but will coming in with a stronger hand due to his experience with the process and his prep school curriculum. The FFS is referred to as a golden ticket. USAFA has sort of selected him as a top candidate for class of 2026. Think of it as a five year plan.
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Thank you for answering my questions.

Per my understanding, with the NWP program the student would only be attending the first semester there, the second semester the student will go back to their other regular school. If I am not mistaken, most of the school's semesters here don't end until late June. The academy's start date is in early June. This would mean our students would not have enough time to successfully complete the second semester. Wondering how we address this issue? Thank you.
 
LV2021 said:
Hello, Congratulations on getting your appointment! Since you've successfully gone through the entire process, may I ask you a few clarification questions?

1. When the academy offered you the Falcon scholarship, did you receive any nominations from either Congress or Senators?
2. In your second attempt to get an appointment, did you apply for a nomination and did you receive one?
3. May I ask what was your GPA and SAT scores?

Last Friday (2/26) my son received the Falcon scholarship, he is still trying to figure out what to do next. To the best of my knowledge, he did not receive any nominations. Since you are from California, I assumed you already know how challenging it is to get any nominations.

Thank you and congratulations again!
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Sure, I'm happy to answer questions. I'll just reply to them in the order they were asked.

1) Last year, I applied to both Navy and Air Force, and my congressman only gave me a nomination to Navy. I was not offered a nomination by either of the California senators as well.

2) Yes I did, my congressman gave me a nomination to Air Force. I also received a nomination from (then) Senator Harris.

3) In high school I had a 4.5 GPA, and a 1230 SAT.

If you have any more questions about NWP feel free to PM me :)
 
Dad_2024 said:
USAFA I-day (inprocessing day) is typically the 4th Thursday in June. This year it is on the 24th.
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Thank you for answering my questions. I would assume the academy aware of when classes are ended for most colleges. That said, I don't think schedules would change from year to year. Wondering why the change from 6/4 to 6/24? Thanks.
 
LV2021 said:
Thank you for answering my questions. I would assume the academy aware of when classes are ended for most colleges. That said, I don't think schedules would change from year to year. Wondering why the change from 6/4 to 6/24? Thanks.
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To clear it up, he said the fourth Thursday in June and not the fourth of June. Also, I think most colleges end around mid-May. But that might be a regional thing.
 
Hopeful Mid 2024 said:
I personally attend my local community college. Living in California, it is all online. It does not matter if you attend a community college, private university, or state university, as long as you take what the Durbecks tell you to take. HOWEVER, if you are working to obtain an appointment to USNA, I believe that they want their students to have attended a 4-year school during the second semester. The course load you will have that second semester also varies slightly depending on the academy you choose.

To answer your question, yes, I would do it all over again and I highly recommend the program.
Click to expand...

Hopeful Mid 2024 said:
I personally attend my local community college. Living in California, it is all online. It does not matter if you attend a community college, private university, or state university, as long as you take what the Durbecks tell you to take. HOWEVER, if you are working to obtain an appointment to USNA, I believe that they want their students to have attended a 4-year school during the second semester. The course load you will have that second semester also varies slightly depending on the academy you choose.

To answer your question, yes, I would do it all over again and I highly recommend the program.
Click to expand...
We are also in CA, and it's very impacted. Based on what I am hearing, it's practically impossible to sign up for classes midway or for the Spring semester. What happens if the student failed to sign up for classes? Automatic disqualification>
 
LV2021 said:
We are also in CA, and it's very impacted. Based on what I am hearing, it's practically impossible to sign up for classes midway or for the Spring semester. What happens if the student failed to sign up for classes? Automatic disqualification>
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You have to take courses during the spring semester after NWP. Are you saying you cannot sign up for those classes right now?
 
Hopeful Mid 2024 said:
You have to take courses during the spring semester after NWP. Are you saying you cannot sign up for those classes right now?
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Potentially. Schools here are very impacted. I fear that by the time the student returning from NWP, there might not be space available for classes the student needs to sign up.
 
LV2021 said:
Potentially. Schools here are very impacted. I fear that by the time the student returning from NWP, there might not be space available for classes the student needs to sign up.
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The classes may still be online by the time your student would return from NWP (hopefully not though). But living in California, I was able to sign up for the classes with no problem, they are just online. Just make sure you sign up for the classes as soon as you are able to, and the Durbecks will repeat that phrase time and time again during the NWP semester.
 
Hey @Gabe_ ! I attended NWP last Fall-Winter as a free agent and I really loved it. Since it was all online, I was at home during NWP and stayed at home, and attended my local community college in VA. I was thinking about attending a state university, but it simply didn't make sense financially to attend the university for a single semester. Also, if you are trying to go to a private or state university, be aware that some universities only have intro/freshman level classes in the fall and you would be entering in the spring semester. Of course, contact your local community college/university prospects to see if this applies to them and to see if they offer the classes that NWP requires (if you're a falcon) or recommends (if you're a free agent). Also, it all comes down to which academy you're trying to enter—I know navy has some different requirements. I hope this was helpful! I really hope that you are able to attend NWP in person next fall! As legend has it, it's much better in person and much easier to stay motivated by your fellow classmates. If, unfortunately, you are unable to attend in person, make sure to set up some sort of communication between the entire class. We used GroupMe and it worked amazing! Stay in constant contact with your class and help each other out. To answer your second question, I would totally do NWP again! I can't recommend it enough, even if it's online! Best of luck to you in your future endeavors!
Nathan
 
so7 said:
Hey @Gabe_ ! I attended NWP last Fall-Winter as a free agent and I really loved it. Since it was all online, I was at home during NWP and stayed at home, and attended my local community college in VA. I was thinking about attending a state university, but it simply didn't make sense financially to attend the university for a single semester. Also, if you are trying to go to a private or state university, be aware that some universities only have intro/freshman level classes in the fall and you would be entering in the spring semester. Of course, contact your local community college/university prospects to see if this applies to them and to see if they offer the classes that NWP requires (if you're a falcon) or recommends (if you're a free agent). Also, it all comes down to which academy you're trying to enter—I know navy has some different requirements. I hope this was helpful! I really hope that you are able to attend NWP in person next fall! As legend has it, it's much better in person and much easier to stay motivated by your fellow classmates. If, unfortunately, you are unable to attend in person, make sure to set up some sort of communication between the entire class. We used GroupMe and it worked amazing! Stay in constant contact with your class and help each other out. To answer your second question, I would totally do NWP again! I can't recommend it enough, even if it's online! Best of luck to you in your future endeavors!
Nathan
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Thank you!!! This is excellent info. Thank you for taking the time. The question is from me but for my DD. I have a DD at USNA and now a DD which was been offered a Falcon Scholarship (Yes, I'm proud). My Mid was direct, so we have no idea about Prep. I saw NWP was one semester, so I was curious what past NWPters had done for second semester. DD will be doing her own research, as well, but this is helpful for dear old dad. Thank you for all of the insight and advice. Good luck to you on an appointment. We will be pulling for you. Best!
 
Gabe_, DS was a NWP 2020 as well. He's attending our local community college now. As so7 pointed out, some classes are not available to freshman second semester. Just make sure that you clear it with the Durbecks and as Hopeful said do as early as possible in the fall. Another cool idea from one of DS's NWP classmates is they took online classes from Embry Riddle this semester, from states away. Many options available and as the kids learned these past few months...another day in which to excel. Best of luck and congratulations
 
Hi Gabe, My daughter attended NWP as a self prep and applied to all academies. She was pre-covid so actually spent her time on the mountain. It was a great year for her and we will be forever in grateful to the Durbecks for what they do every year with the prepsters. They really do prepare you for the life as a cadet/mid. Meanwhile you make lifelong friends that will be of major support during your academy years. We are from a small state and our daughter had most of her nomination applications done before leaving for NWP. Just had to add to her essays about her choice to attend NWP and her experience up to that time when they were due. After NWP she came home and attended our local university and lived at home. She had talked briefly about going to florida and attending a community college but as a self prep Durbecks recommended going to a regular 4 year university and taking plebe like classes. Feel free to contact me via message if you have any other questions. She is class of 2022 at USMA.
 
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