Been lurking on this forum for a while - great info and very helpful to those of us very new to the process. Thanks to everyone that manages and contributes to this forum.
As my DS is now officially pursuing 2024 SA appts, at what point does timeline become clear? Contacting BGO? CFA? Applying to MOCs? Prelim app? Letters of Recoms?
Completed Summer apps for USNA, WP and USAFA. Do we need to relax for now or GO?
My DD was in the same shoes last year as your DS. She was successful in the application process for the USMA, USAFA, and USNA. Since you posted this in the USNA forum, I'll try to concentrate on making this a USNA-specific gouge.
1) One of my bosses was a USMA grad. His wife was a USMA grad. Three (or maybe 4?) of their kids went to USMA. One of the many advice he gave to me was to have my DD look into Girls State. He said it's a positive discriminator for SA selection. Take a look at the Boys State website. IF your DS thinks the week will be worthwhile for him, then he should be applying for Boys State around this time. Don't do Boys State just to add to an application. Do it if it'll be value-added in your DS's development. My DD applied and was selected for Girls State. I think the American Legion Auxillary informed her in late Feb/early Mar of her selection. She didn't get as much out of Girls State as compared to SLE.
2) I colleague of mine had a ton of skill badges on his uniform. One of them was the President's Hundred badge which is a sharpshooting award. I asked him what he did to get it. He said something along the lines of, "You'd be amazed at what you can accomplish with some practice."
So there you go...
- the SAs superscore ACTs/SATs. Your DS should be practicing taking the exams by looking at lots of questions in a time-limited setting. Take the exams multiple times. If you have to, have your DS consider one a practice ACT/SAT. My DD took the ACT 4 times.
- CFA. My DD got accepted to SLE in maybe early Feb? At that point, she put a mark on the calendar on when she will take the CFA during SLE. We knew the CFA is done the Sunday of SLE so she had a target date. The reason she wanted to do the CFA at SLE is because USMA requires a video of the push-ups and pull-ups. We thought it would be a PIA to take the video, upload, etc... Even if she were to take the CFA at the USNA NASS and USAFA SS, USMA will not accept unless there is a video of the 2 events. If she took the CFA at SLE and did well, then she knew she can send the scores to USNA and USAFA. The reverse (eg USNA NASS to USMA) isn't true though unless a video was done. She started to practice all the events (less the 1 mile run) in April. She looked at the CFA videos on YouTube for techniques. We met at the gym after her track practice starting in April. On the weekends, we practiced in front of the house. When I couldn't be there for her practice, she did it on her own. She did well enough on the CFA at SLE and had the results sent to USAFA and USNA. Done! That was early June. No worries about doing a CFA for the rest of the summer. No more throwing a basketball from your knees. In this whole "exercise", she got a chance to hone her backwards planning skills.
3) Triggering the DODMERB exam. My DD doesn't like to miss classes or meets/games/practice for her in-season sport. She wanted to finish her DODMERB exam before the summer was done. Unlike the USAFA application, she didn't know how to trigger an exam by the USNA. The USAFA app said if she completed 3 (or it could have been 4) requirements, then a DODMERB exam can be scheduled. She didn't get that type of guidance from the USNA app. Sources on this forum say finishing 2/3 or 3/4 of the requirements will trigger the DODMERB exam from USNA.
I say this because the USNA app opened for her in early May. Some of requirements were things she was able to do before school let out for the summer. One was a recommendation from a math teacher from junior or senior year. She talked to her pre-calc teacher when the portal opened and gave him heads up about a recommendation. He agreed to do one for her. I think he got that done in mid-June. Another requirement is HS transcript. As soon as school let out, she sent a request to her GC to submit her 6 semester transcripts to USNA. That got done in mid-June also. If your DS is lucky enough to have a good junior english teacher, then he/she can complete the english teacher eval even before the end of junior year.
When it was all said and done, her DODMERB exam was triggered in late June. She made appointments right away and everything got sent to DODMERB by late July.
4) Noms. Apply for all that your DS is eligible. If I recall, the app for our junior senator opened in March so my DD worked on that early. Our senior senator nom app didn't open until June. Our rep nom app didn't open until 1 Aug. Fortunately, none of her MOCs were due for a re-election. Actually, our rep was due for a re-election but our district is so in one direction she won with 60%+ of the votes. I discuss re-election because it can throw a curveball (or a Max Scherzer slider) later in the fall if the MOC doesn't get re-elected.
She called the staff at our rep's office before school let out (app not available until Aug) and asked if the requirements for the nom will be the same. The staffer said the requirements will be the same. With that knowledge in hand, she began to grease the skids with 3 of her teachers/coaches that she will be asking for LORs later in the summer. The app required a picture too. When she took her senior year pic during the summer, she made sure she ordered a 4x6 pic to include with the rep nom app.
The app for our senior senator wasn't open until June, so she did the same thing in May. She called the staffer in charge of noms and asked if the requirements would be the same.
So I guess my point here is even though the nom apps may not be open until later, your DS can use the current app on the MOC website to give him a general idea of what will be required. He can start working on the requirements when he comes up for air (we need to realize our kids are still in school and studying for standardized exams as juniors) and NOT have to start when apps are actually open for the current cycle.
5) LORs/Statements of Evaluation. I got this idea from this forum and made a recommendation to her. She made the final decision on this piece. When she sent her request to the teachers for LOR/SOE, she sent a bio (3/4 page), CV/resume, and her answers to the essay prompts. I think it helped the teachers craft a nice LOR/SOE for her with the additional info in hand. It helped also that my DD is well-known in the school as star XC and long distance track athlete and in a handful of impactful leadership positions, so the teachers had that knowledge from which to draw. I think (I don't know because I didn't read the emails) she even sent her essay from the Common App to her teachers to add another data point for their input.
6) Lawnmower parent. I didn't know what this is until I googled it. I know what a helicopter parent is and I am guilty to a certain degree of being one. I am also guilty of being a lawnmower parent to a certain degree too. I thought I was just setting the conditions for my DD to be successful in life. Crossing the line though can be a lawnmower parent. Try not to be a helicopter or lawnmower parent.
Not once did I contact the RC. Good thing too. I heard my DD's RC will take an email or call from a parent once. After that one contact, the RC will tell the parent to have the DS or DD make the contact. My DD was the only one to contact the MOC staff too. I did teach her to put "Very Respectfully" or "VR" after every email. Make your DS request transcripts to be sent. If transcripts aren't sent, make your DS ping the GC (or whoever is supposed to send the transcript). I made my DD troubleshoot things if she got stuck or run into a roadblock.
HOWEVER, there could be a time where your DS may make an error that is difficult to overcome or remedy (maybe even prevent admission to a SA for this cycle). It is those situations that you have to use your judgement that more assistance from you is needed BEFORE the error is made.
Hope this helps a bit.
