College Re-applicants 2021

We might be confusing academically qualified with the best qualified candidate. Getting a 3.75 in your first year of college will definitely have you meet the minimum requirements. What you do not know is how your competition fared in their grades. This is still a competition and you are ranked against those that have the same nomination source. College re-applicants had to have first semester transcripts in before they could be evaluated and qualified so there offers will be a little behind the high school applicants. They also need to be completed before competitive slates can be resolved.

I would also suggest that not having a schedule that is a 100% match to a plebe schedule will hurt your WCS. As long as you took challenging classes ane preformed well, you will be fine. The academies want to make sure you can handle the load. My DD didn't take English or History in her first semester since you tested out and replaced with two biology classes.
 
Hey guys, I am currently a college re-applicant from Oregon. I applied last year but didn't get accepted. I received a MOC nomination and am still medically qualified from last year. The CFA didn't go so well but everything else is in order. I took English and Physics with Calculus but the college I am currently attending forced me to go into PreCalc because of an issue with my Schedule. I am now in English, Chemistry, Calculus, and History. First semester I achieved a 3.35GPA at the same time as working fairly often and being very active in my church community as a counselor for our Jr. High and High School ministries. I am currently in the process of waiting and praying and am really hoping to receive an appointment this year.
 
Thrilled to add another college re-applicant to the appointed list! DS received the happy news yesterday. It has been a long 2 year process for him and I am so proud of his perseverance to see this through. I am grateful to have had all the words of advice and support on this forum. Best of luck to everyone still waiting.....it can happen!
 
USMA 1994 said:
We might be confusing academically qualified with the best qualified candidate. Getting a 3.75 in your first year of college will definitely have you meet the minimum requirements. What you do not know is how your competition fared in their grades. This is still a competition and you are ranked against those that have the same nomination source. College re-applicants had to have first semester transcripts in before they could be evaluated and qualified so there offers will be a little behind the high school applicants. They also need to be completed before competitive slates can be resolved.

I would also suggest that not having a schedule that is a 100% match to a plebe schedule will hurt your WCS. As long as you took challenging classes and preformed well, you will be fine. The academies want to make sure you can handle the load. My DD didn't take English or History in her first semester since she tested out and replaced with two biology classes.
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I meant to say that having a schedule that is a 100% match to a plebe schedule will NOT hurt your WCS as long as you took challenging classes and preformed well. The academies want to make sure you can handle a challenging academic load. DD carried 18 hours including chemistry, biology, two labs, and ROTC. We discussed this with her field force rep and he covered the testing out of Calculus , History and English in his interview. Her first semester GPA was a 3.25 and she received her appointment on Monday. I cannot say it enough, the WCS really values the whole person. You do not have to be perfect at everything, just pretty good at most things.
While she was accepted to USMA, who would want to be a squid anyway, all three academies look at candidates in the same basic way.
 
GoBigRed88 said:
Thrilled to add another college re-applicant to the appointed list! DS received the happy news yesterday. It has been a long 2 year process for him and I am so proud of his perseverance to see this through. I am grateful to have had all the words of advice and support on this forum. Best of luck to everyone still waiting.....it can happen!
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Congratulations to DS and your family. BZ!
 
GoBigRed88 said:
Thrilled to add another college re-applicant to the appointed list! DS received the happy news yesterday. It has been a long 2 year process for him and I am so proud of his perseverance to see this through. I am grateful to have had all the words of advice and support on this forum. Best of luck to everyone still waiting.....it can happen!
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I can imagine the long process and getting the good news. Congrats.
 
Sweating out DD first attempt but listening in here for the 2nd applicants for advice just in case. It comes around so quickly after a denial it seems that the whole process almost seems like one endless cycle. Looking for encouragement and advice on how to keep DD's hopes and motivation up after bad news 1st time. Also - what about the second time around on the essay? She will barely have any time at her college NROTC upon which to reflect before the statement is due? Or, recycle the first one? Do they look at your first application in considering it the second time? Sorry for all the Q's and a hearty good luck to you all on this round - sounds like a great bunch of young men and women.
 
NavyLady64 said:
Sweating out DD first attempt but listening in here for the 2nd applicants for advice just in case. It comes around so quickly after a denial it seems that the whole process almost seems like one endless cycle. Looking for encouragement and advice on how to keep DD's hopes and motivation up after bad news 1st time. Also - what about the second time around on the essay? She will barely have any time at her college NROTC upon which to reflect before the statement is due? Or, recycle the first one? Do they look at your first application in considering it the second time? Sorry for all the Q's and a hearty good luck to you all on this round - sounds like a great bunch of young men and women.
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This is true. It does seem like an endless cycle. For DS it was 11 months from denial to appointment. I view the extra year as a blessing in disguise. He is much more mature, more prepared, has taken a year of Plebe classes already which we would hope yields an easier transition. The 11 months seems like a blink of an eye looking back now. I know when the TWE comes in, that extra year seems like forever.

The key is if you get the TWE, reach out to your admissions coordinator and find out where the improvement is needed. Ask them to candidly assess what needs to be done to be successful the next cycle and do as much of it as possible. For DS, his USMA RC told him to not spend a lot of time on essays. Tweak them but get them done and get the ball rolling on rest of his file.
 
NavyLady64 said:
Sweating out DD first attempt but listening in here for the 2nd applicants for advice just in case. It comes around so quickly after a denial it seems that the whole process almost seems like one endless cycle. Looking for encouragement and advice on how to keep DD's hopes and motivation up after bad news 1st time. Also - what about the second time around on the essay? She will barely have any time at her college NROTC upon which to reflect before the statement is due? Or, recycle the first one? Do they look at your first application in considering it the second time? Sorry for all the Q's and a hearty good luck to you all on this round - sounds like a great bunch of young men and women.
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I'm a 2nd-time college applicant waiting to hear a decision. The 2nd time completing the app I felt much more comfortable since by now I know the process like the back of my hand. For the essay, yes they will look at your old app. I had a meeting with the dean of admissions after I got my TWE last year, and he told me to possibly write about what I have learned and how the adversity does not waver my confidence. They want to see progression from the 1st app (essay, CFA, etc). I was only in college for 3 months at the point that I wrote my 2nd essay, but the transition from high school to college is so apparent that your DD will definitely have something to write about. It is only 500 words and the hard part is containing this experience into such a short word count. Hope this helped
 
NavyLady64 said:
Sweating out DD first attempt but listening in here for the 2nd applicants for advice just in case. It comes around so quickly after a denial it seems that the whole process almost seems like one endless cycle. Looking for encouragement and advice on how to keep DD's hopes and motivation up after bad news 1st time. Also - what about the second time around on the essay? She will barely have any time at her college NROTC upon which to reflect before the statement is due? Or, recycle the first one? Do they look at your first application in considering it the second time? Sorry for all the Q's and a hearty good luck to you all on this round - sounds like a great bunch of young men and women.
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My AO from the CGA told me that this year for re- in eapplicants they will assess both the old and the new applications side by side and look for improvements. So don't recycle your essays, try to improve in every area that you can. Retake ACT, SAT, physical fitness tests, keep your grades up and participate in EC's at your plan B school. As jebdad said reach out to your admissions coordinator and get as much feedback as you can. Then, focus on improving your package. Good Luck!
 
fearthegoat17 said:
I'm a 2nd-time college applicant waiting to hear a decision. The 2nd time completing the app I felt much more comfortable since by now I know the process like the back of my hand. For the essay, yes they will look at your old app. I had a meeting with the dean of admissions after I got my TWE last year, and he told me to possibly write about what I have learned and how the adversity does not waver my confidence. They want to see progression from the 1st app (essay, CFA, etc). I was only in college for 3 months at the point that I wrote my 2nd essay, but the transition from high school to college is so apparent that your DD will definitely have something to write about. It is only 500 words and the hard part is containing this experience into such a short word count. Hope this helped
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How did you get a meeting with the Dean if I might ask? That sounds particularly helpful. For my DD, she has had good communication with her admissions counselor but her BGO was not good. Frankly, it was awkward since her BGO had a DS as a candidate at the same time (who already got his LOA and appointment in December)- seemed like she should have recused herself for conflict of interest? Anyhow, too late now but basically, getting answers to questions has not been easy. Good luck to you and thank you very much for the insights!
 
None of us sit on the admission board so no one really knows the exact answers. There are many reasons why individuals get appointments and those that do not. Your RC can give you a good idea how competitive you were this year and where you can improve but they cannot predict the future. Next year you will be competing against a different group of candidates. If you were close this year and got beat out by a super candidate, there is not much you can change. Go off to college and keep doing the same things, take hard classes, get good grades, stay active in ECs and seek leadership roles. If you were below average in some areas, you will need to spend extra time improving those areas.

There will also be many different opinions about essays. Some say they met the standard the first time so don't change them while others will suggest that they should all be rewritten. My personal opinion based on feedback from admissions is somewhere in the middle. One of the essays always deals with overcoming adversity. Getting the TWE, moving on to Plan B and reapplying is a better example than most would have with only high school experiences but the essay about diversity probably doesn't change much after just a few months.

Make sure you understand how the WCS is developed and focus on what would have the greatest impact. The first semester of college will be an adjustment and your DD will be pretty busy. They will not have the time to try and do everything possible. There is a document floating around here called the RAND report that gives some insight on how activities are scored.

The academic portion of the score is weighted the most and unless you had a perfect GPA and test scores is where you should spend the most time. If you were competitive this year, then successfully completing a semester of college with a challenging schedule will give the biggest increase possible to the WCS. You do not necessarily need a 4.0, but should strive for solid performance.

The most difficult part is going through the nomination process. Many things for the academy carry over but the MOCs typically do not keep the information from year to year. You have to send new copies of test scores, new essays and letters of recommendations. I would treat these these as the others. They met the standard once so do not spend months worrying about updating them for the MOCs. Being away from home complicates the process of getting new letters of recommendations. MOCs have deadlines early in the fall so you need to start early.

You will also have to get two new SOEs from college instructors. Your DD will have to make an effort to develop an early relationship with some professors so they can provide an accurate evaluation. Your ROTC instructor is on obvious choice but you still need to find another.
 
NavyLady64 said:
How did you get a meeting with the Dean if I might ask? That sounds particularly helpful. For my DD, she has had good communication with her admissions counselor but her BGO was not good. Frankly, it was awkward since her BGO had a DS as a candidate at the same time (who already got his LOA and appointment in December)- seemed like she should have recused herself for conflict of interest? Anyhow, too late now but basically, getting answers to questions has not been easy. Good luck to you and thank you very much for the insights!
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I received an email after the TWE saying that he would be in some locations and available for meetings to discuss how to better your app. There was 2 other candidates there as well. If your DD does not get in and would like to apply again, I would suggest emailing and inquiring about having a meeting. Thanks
 
Hello everyone! I am a college re-applicant and wanted to share that I received an LOA on Feb. 10. Haven't been on the forum in a while so this is my effort to connect to people. Last year, I was wait-listed for USNA but was pulled off mid-April because I required surgery for a torn ACL I suffered while playing ball. After surgery, I went through 6 months of physical therapy. First semester at college, I did not do NROTC cause my knee was not ready by the beginning of the semester and I did not receive a scholarship. Instead, i became president of my residence hall and took 19 credits including calc, Chem, physics, Expository writing, Chem Lab, MATLAB, Microeconomics and did good not great overall in those classes. Received nom from same congressman I received one from last year. It's been a long process for my family and I and it still isn't officially decided since I'm still waiting on DODMERB to approve a waiver for my knee. But keep the hope alive. No matter what happens, can't thank the academies enough for bringing out the best in me throughout this process, and none of this is possible without the full support of the parents. So to all parents here, keep up the faith cause on the days where we are asked to register for classes for next semester and find a living arrangement for next semester but can't give a definitive answer cause our dreams are in the hands of a review board, we rely on parents. I hope all the best for all and hope to get to know you all. Beat Army! - Jake
 
NavyLady64 said:
Sweating out DD first attempt but listening in here for the 2nd applicants for advice just in case. It comes around so quickly after a denial it seems that the whole process almost seems like one endless cycle. Looking for encouragement and advice on how to keep DD's hopes and motivation up after bad news 1st time. Also - what about the second time around on the essay? She will barely have any time at her college NROTC upon which to reflect before the statement is due? Or, recycle the first one? Do they look at your first application in considering it the second time? Sorry for all the Q's and a hearty good luck to you all on this round - sounds like a great bunch of young men and women.
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DS is a college re-app NROTC scholarship MIDN who did receive an appointment this year. This was due in large part to his amazing BGO (who had also been a re-app MIDN). BGO told him this:
1) Hold off on your Personal Statement until the bitter end. USNA wants to see growth, and mastery of your freshman first semester. Since your app will not be reviewed until after Jan 31, wait until Christmas break to review your college experience and write about it. If you go NROTC, you will have many lessons learned to fill up many essays;
2) Get outstanding grades in rigorous classes just like the Plebes will take. You will need to be crushing Calc and English by midterms anyway if you want those profs to give you positive evaluations;
3) Get involved on campus, NROTC will take care of this;
4) Work hard at NROTC. You need your CO's recommendation letter for a nomination and the USNA admissions board;
5) Max out the CFA. If you are in NROTC, this will come naturally because you are already busting your tail to get top PRT scores.
DS was grateful to have such a great BGO who offered such great advice.
Good luck!
 
DS is a re-applicant that just received his appointment. Immediately after his turndown last year he contacted his BGO to begin the process again, even before they Academy assigned his BGO (turned out to be the same guy anyway). He called admissions to ask where he could improve his application, although he waited until mid-summer when things died down a bit. He made a trip to Annapolis and spoke with admissions again. He worked on his CFA over the summer and waited until Christmas break to take it again (after he had a semester of Corps PT under his belt). He improved quite a bit, but did not max it out.

He waited until very close to the deadline to submit his essay. He totally re-wrote it from the year before and had many more people look over it for content and errors. He wanted input on what kind of information to include. I remember that on the academics page of the application, he wrote some very candid words in the Additional Remarks section about how being in the Corps of Cadets and NROTC at his college had affected and prepared him for the Academy. His schedule mirrored the Plebe schedule pretty closely, but he ended up with all B's. So it's not 100% about grades, but they sure must be important. He didn't do anything outside of the Corps and NROTC, there just wasn't time. So he concentrated his remarks on what he learned from that experience.

He was CPR from Feb 1 through March 27. It doesn't sound like long, but it felt like it to him. He had lost hope and then got the phone call. Sort of took him for a loop since he had resigned himself to staying at his Plan B college for the duration. Now his whole life has made a 180 and he's spinning. It's a good thing though.

In my opinion, his essay and remarks are what helped him the most, although I can't prove that. He really spoke to what he learned in the Corps/NROTC and how it solidified his desire to serve. Good luck to everyone still out there and to those that will begin the re-applicant process this year!

EDIT: He also received a nomination from his NROTC source and I believe he received a stellar recommendation from him. That's the beauty of going for that nomination source, they get to include a letter of recommendation that speaks to their accomplishments for the first semester of college.
 
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