Blue and Gold Officer Interview

Hello, I am writing here last minute because I don’t know what else to do. I have completed my whole application for USNA with noms and everything, but I don’t have the Blue and Gold Officer interview done yet. I have emailed my area coordinator, my admissions officer, and even called USNA but I have gotten no response. I have been emailing my area coordinator for two months with no response and I don’t know how I’m going to get it done it time. Any ideas?

Work the phones, at least once a day, up and down the line of contacts you mentioned. Double-check your phone contact information. When you need something done quickly always work the phones and not email. Also make sure you're the squeaky wheel.

First off deep breathe. Ensure you have a log of all your contact attempts. Also, double check your spam folder in email. This will not prevent your package from being completed. They will review a file regardless of the interview. Keep calling and emailing though as due diligence. The interview can help you, especially if you have unique areas of you app that could use some explanation. The Area Coordinators and BGOs get lists of interviews lacking, they also have their own portals, it’s not a mystery to them who needs one.

catherine638 said:

Hello, I am writing here last minute because I don’t know what else to do. I have completed my whole application for USNA with noms and everything, but I don’t have the Blue and Gold Officer interview done yet. I have emailed my area coordinator, my admissions officer, and even called USNA but I have gotten no response. I have been emailing my area coordinator for two months with no response and I don’t know how I’m going to get it done it time. Any ideas?

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What State/Area?

Also, I agree with the take a deep breath. The Admissions Board will review your record even if you don't have a BGO interview so in most cases,m this would not disadvantage you.

I second the advice to use the phone...if Admissions, your BGO and the AC have not been responding for two months, there is a breakdown in communication somewhere.

Don't worry , as long as you have been diligent in submitting your application, and trying to contact the BGO, AC, and Admission, this is not a reflection on you. Admissions will review your application without a BGO interview if necessary, and they will also accept an interview that is submitted after the Application deadline. Finally, it is rare that the BGO will make or break an application, and frankly, I have often wondered myself how much impact the BGO really has. (My unofficial observation is that it has most impact at the extremes ...mostly helping the very good candidate, but raising flags about the very weak candidate).

Our BGO was MIA for 6-8 weeks. He never contacted my DD even after multiple attempts, notice to Admissions & area coordinator.
Can't reveal how we eventually got his attention, but when we did, he contacted her the very next day at 8am after he likely received an interesting contact the night before. He was pleasant enough when he came to our house. And, he filed his report timely with USNA Admissions.

PS. He claimed he was out West with no cell phone service or internet access. Hmmmm?????

MoSwimmer66 said:

Our BGO was MIA for 6-8 weeks. He never contacted my DD even after multiple attempts, notice to Admissions & area coordinator.
Can't reveal how we eventually got his attention, but when we did, he contacted her the very next day at 8am after he likely received an interesting contact the night before. He was pleasant enough when he came to our house. And, he filed his report timely with USNA Admissions.

PS. He claimed he was out West with no cell phone service or internet access. Hmmmm?????

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Believe it or not there are large areas of the country outside of cities and away from the interstate without cell service or internet service. Welcome to rural America. My in-laws are only 45 minutes from me but no cell service there.

Yes, but what BGO disappears during Admissions season for weeks on end?

It can happen. We work, have families, lives, vacations. Admissions season runs from late summer until the end of January, there is no reason for us to put out entire lives on hold for that time. We do interviews, meet with candidates, school visits, college nights, MOC days, etc. All things we volunteer for and are happy to do. Now this BGO, for whatever reason, should of covered their basis and reached out prior to going off the grid for that long. I am surprised the AC didn’t respond either. That shouldn’t of happened.

catherine638 said:

Hello, I am writing here last minute because I don’t know what else to do. I have completed my whole application for USNA with noms and everything, but I don’t have the Blue and Gold Officer interview done yet. I have emailed my area coordinator, my admissions officer, and even called USNA but I have gotten no response. I have been emailing my area coordinator for two months with no response and I don’t know how I’m going to get it done it time. Any ideas?

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I went through all the same hoops and never got ahold of my BGO... but, my application says it’s complete and I never had the interview. I think as long as your application does not say on the top “complete BGO interview” or something along those lines, you should be good

catherine638 said:

Hello, I am writing here last minute because I don’t know what else to do. I have completed my whole application for USNA with noms and everything, but I don’t have the Blue and Gold Officer interview done yet. I have emailed my area coordinator, my admissions officer, and even called USNA but I have gotten no response. I have been emailing my area coordinator for two months with no response and I don’t know how I’m going to get it done it time. Any ideas?

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I went through all the same hoops and never got ahold of my BGO... but, my application says it’s complete and I never had the interview. I think as long as your application does not say on the top “complete BGO interview” or something along those lines, you should be good

Yes, but what BGO disappears during Admissions season for weeks on end?

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First of all, no BGO or AC should "disappear" for weeks on end.

That said, as Hoops points out, we get our candidates around June 1 and the deadline is Jan. 31. That's 8 months. We aren't paid to be at the beck and call of each of our (up to 25) candidates for that entire time. We aren't actually paid at all.

Most BGOs have full-time jobs. Most have families. Both of those take priority over a volunteer job. We travel for business. We or our families get sick. We attend weddings and funerals. We attend events for our kids. We help our kids apply to college. Our parents get sick or need us to help them move. We take vacations where we want to be "off the grid." And on and on. IOW, we have full lives outside of our volunteer BGO service. Not in any way an excuse for failing to respond, but an explanation for why it can and does happen. [And a few BGOs are probably just plain "bad" in terms of fulfilling their responsibilities.]

I would expect that most BGOs respond to candidates within a reasonable timeframe. Some do not. But, at the end of the day, the failure of a BGO to get the interview done and submitted will NOT harm a candidate. So, while annoying to the candidate and his/her family, it's not detrimental to the chances for an appointment.

I wonder which of the five responses these BGO excuses would fall under. Sad.

I wonder which of the five responses these BGO excuses would fall under

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Last time I checked, BGOs aren't plebes.

I really don't understand the "BGO-bashing." BGOs are volunteers who take time out of their busy lives to answer emails, visit schools, attend college fairs, interview candidates (often involving substantial travel time), write up interviews, attend BGO training, etc. This work is usually done on nights, weekends and holidays. Some BGOs are assigned upwards of 25 candidates each cycle. It adds up.

BGOs are not paid. They get no tangible benefits. No one even covers their out-of-pocket expenses (e.g., gas). Most do it b/c they love USNA, they love working with great young people, they want to help get the best and brightest to USNA, etc. As with most volunteering, it is a labor of love. Too many candidates and parents seem to forget that -- they expect, even demand, immediate gratification.

In a perfect world, every BGO would be super-responsive. They would answer emails/calls within 24 hours. They'd set up interviews within a week of the candidate meeting the interview threshold. They'd turn in their interview summaries within 24 hours of the interview. The fact is that most BGOS likely meet or exceed these goals, but not all.

In a perfect world, USNA/the DOD would have the funds to assign active duty military folks as BGOs or pay reservists/civilians to do it. This would be their job and, if they didn't do it well, there would be consequences. Instead, USNA has to rely on a group of volunteers with varying levels of skill and commitment. In some areas of the country, it's hard to find anyone willing/able to fill the BGO role and, if the person they find isn't very good, there aren't a lot of alternatives.

The world isn't perfect. Neither are BGOs.

If yours isn't perfect (or even adequate), you can complain here and there and everywhere. Or you can take steps to mitigate the situation.

My DS had the same problem. BGO wouldn't respond to emails for 3 months (fortunately he was persistent and started early). This is unprofessional and puts unnecessary stress on kids trying to navigate a complicated application process.

I understand people have other commitments. However, if you are too busy to respond to an email or schedule an interview within a reasonable time frame, perhaps you shouldn't volunteer for the job.

However, if you are too busy to respond to an email or schedule an interview within a reasonable time frame, perhaps you shouldn't volunteer for the job

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No disagreement on that point.

In such cases, it makes sense to contact the Area Coordinator to let him/her know. If this is a repetitive problem, the BGO might well be terminated from the program. If a candidate is worried about alienating the BGO during the process, the "complaint" can be made at the end of the cycle.

As to why "bad" BGOs stay . . . as noted above, in some areas of the country, it is incredibly difficult to recruit BGOs. This is a particular issue in rural areas where a BGO may have to cover literally hundreds of square miles and there is NO ONE who is interested in doing the job. So, the choice is a bad BGO or no BGO. Neither one is great for candidates, is it?

catherine638 said:

I have emailed my area coordinator, my admissions officer, and even called USNA but I have gotten no response. I have been emailing my area coordinator for two months with no response and I don’t know how I’m going to get it done it time.

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As I noted above, something else is wrong if none of 1) Admissions, 2) the AC, or 3) the BGO have responded. OP was a first time post, and hasn't responded. Probably not the best example to start bashing BGO's.

That first-post-ever, throw-the-grenade-into-the-middle-of-the-room-and-leave thing happens with some regularity around here.

Agree with 1985... not sure why bad BGOs stay. I live in an area where we have plenty of BGOs. But there is a major area a few hours from where I live that has one. He usually has 20-30 candidates who start the process. He is married with 3 young kids, reserve officer and works full time. He always responds, but will not interview kids until they are 100% complete. He has to do this because of the load of candidates. We do our best to help him and sometimes send folks his direction to help out with MOC days and other items. But it’s a 4 hour drive for us, but we do it. Those are tough to do with one person, but then again we are a well coordinated state and have a fantastic AC. I took on another BGO’s candidates this year in December. The other BGO... his son (in college) had a major accident that required Mom and Dad assistance. We adjusted and the candidates did, but it took some comms and a few weeks to get it all worked out.

NavyHoops said:

It can happen. We work, have families, lives, vacations. Admissions season runs from late summer until the end of January, there is no reason for us to put out entire lives on hold for that time. We do interviews, meet with candidates, school visits, college nights, MOC days, etc. All things we volunteer for and are happy to do.

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At one point of my time as a BGO, I went to the Persian Gulf on my Annual Reserve Training and "stuff" happened and we got extended out there a bit. This was before 24/7 connectivity but this kind of thing happens and sometimes the BGO is really not contactable in the short run. I would expect that the Area Coordinator would help here but I do recall serving with an Area Coord who was also a Reservist in on of my units so them being available is also not a certainty.

My DS is convinced that his BGO died some time after he came to the house for the interview. He tried contacting him for over a month after the interview (when it hadn't been posted) and got nothing. No response to phone calls or EMails. After a while, they assigned some other BGO to my DS (the name and contact information changed online) and the BGO interview automagically changed to a new made-up completed date. He never has been able to contact that original BGO, to this day.