Pima; you know I love you too kiddo. Lets also clarify the clarifying. 1st, let me apologize for getting ready to write a book.
Pima is totally correct that once you get your WCS, you basically have your score. Assuming you made it to the very 1st board review, there will be some scores that may be worthy and considered for an LOA. Possibly, if you have a presidential nomination, considered for an immediate appointment. Same with other nominations. And those individuals who were offered an LOA or an early appointment may be pulled out of the remaining list. Your score, while not necessarily improved unless you add additional info to your packet, will numerically be HIGHER on the list for if no other reason, than because some of the applicants on the list have been removed because of offers of LOA or Appointments. And with the NEXT board reviewing the next week, your score on the list could actually be one of the highest currently. Not that there is any guarantee that it will mean anything, but it could. And while you've all heard me tell applicants who ask what their chances are, that they have a 0% chance of getting an appointment if they don't apply; well you have a 0% chance of any consideration for anything, if your application isn't reviewed by the board. Which means the subsequent reviews and re-posturing of your scores with the current remaining applicants, can't happen if it's not there.
However; we have to look at 2 probable scenarios. (I mentioned this in my last post)
1. You are the "average" applicant. (Not average applicant who necessarily gets an appointment). 1800-1900 SAT; 3.70gpa; top 10% class ranking; basic sports; basic ec; etc... You probably are going to be considered during the general pool of applicants, unless you can pull of the #1 slot on your representative's slate of nominees. (Which if you are the #1 on your representative's slate, you're probably NOT an average applicant). Either way, if you are the "average", then you probably won't benefit from having your application in for the 1st board and subsequent weekly reviews. Nothing wrong with this. The vast majority of appointments are issued in March.
HOWEVER WHAT IF:
2. You are the "above average" applicant. You have the 3.95-4.0gpa; 2100+SAT; 32+ACT; top 1% of your class ranking; multi-sport varsity letter; captain; multiple EC; etc.... If for whatever reason, you were not given an LOA/Appointment during the first week of board reviews, because there were others HIGHER than you, you probably have just become one of the HIGHEST scores remaining after removing any LOA/Appointments. That can mean a whole lot in the next week or two. But, if you aren't in the board review system yet, you can not be considered for anything.
And this is exactly the system I believe my son fell into. If you go back and look, you will see that some people received an LOA towards the end of October of 2007. Some also received an appointment. (Different nominations). But my son didn't receive anything at that time. However, he was in the first review board. I know that for a fact. However, 2 weeks later, November 6th; his on-line application changed to "APPOINTMENT OFFERED". That was a big HMMMMMMMMMMM?????? 4 days later, he received the actual appointment offer letter; also known as the BFE (Big Fat Envelope) in the mail. People had been receiving LOAs and Appointments for 2-3 WEEKS prior to my son. And the academy obviously used his presidential nomination eligibility, because he hadn't even met with our state's rep or senator yet.
So, did he receive his early appointment on the 1st board review??? I don't believe so. If so, he probably would have received an LOA/Appointment in the 3rd/4th week of October, when others started receiving them. It was obviously after the 2nd or 3rd review that a decision was made by the review board. And yes, he was a 4.0gpa, class rank #1, All IB classes, 29 ACT, 2000 SAT, multiple varsity sports letters, captain, class officer, etc..... Maybe it was the not "Stellar" ACT/SAT that initially held him back??? Maybe after the first week/round of boards, when those names were removed with LOA/Appointments, maybe my son was the highest on the list????? Maybe not. And maybe out of all the presidential nominees, he was the highest???.... You never know???
But there are 4 truths that can not be argued under any circumstances.
1. If your application isn't completed 100%, it WON'T be reviewed by the board.
2. My son would NOT have received an appointment on November 6th if he had not had his application completed and submitted.
3. His application WAS in the first review board, yet there were some who were offered LOA's/Appointments weeks before his.
4. His WCS must have meant something during following review boards for him to receive an appointment weeks after the first batches.
And I have to say, that the CFA is the ONLY THING that could possibly hold up the application from being 100% that is of the applicant's responsibility and choice. I.e. If they are waiting on teacher's recommendations, transcripts, ALO interview, etc... those are things that you as a applicant can't really control. But the CFA is. I won't even mention the rest of the online application which includes the essays and such. ALL of that can be done the first weekend. "Whether you do it or not is up to you, but it's a very simple procedure". But it seems that the people who HOLD OFF in submitting their application, are doing it because of the CFA. Well, you're probably going to fall into one of three categories.
a) No problem with the CFA. You might not max all the scores, but you did real well in practices. You have no reason to hold off. You are NOT going to gain any decent additional points by holding off. Submit it.
b) Average scores with the CFA. Again, if you passed it, and are involved with other sports/varsity/etc... then submit it. You can't make any major gains in points because you can do 2 extra pull ups if you wait a month or two. But you do risk lack of possible exposure without a completed application. The CFA is NOT THAT IMPORTANT as long as you can pass it.
c) Below sat scores on the CFA. Well DUH!!!! You don't want to submit failing scores. This is a reason to hold off on submitting your application.
There is no other reason to hold off submitting your application. No matter what your gpa, class rank, SAT, ACT, etc.... that will only change and become significant when you update it. And you are allowed to update it. But you don't get penalized because your initial application was a couple points lower than when you added information to it.
Anyway; you have 3 years worth of academics, sports, ec, volunteer, etc... that you are submitting. You can't wait until the 1st semester of senior year is over. (It's too late then to apply or get a nomination). So, what is the advantage of submitting an application in November instead of August????? There is only one area that you have ANY CONTROL OVER. And that's the CFA. And as I mentioned above, 2 out of 3 circumstances, you gain so little towards your WCS because you can now do 2 more pullups or 3 more pushups. The only reason to hold off an application is if you CAN'T PASS THE CFA. But, the moment your application is in the system, which it can't be until it's submitted, your odds just improved from 0%. And yes, each week that it is in the system, your odds change. Any low point, it would have been that way early or late. However, you can be at some HIGH POINTS in the numeric system if you are ranked among LESS PEOPLE. Do it any way you want. It's cool. I've been doing this for 6 years. Steve (Flieger) and some others have definitely been doing it more in-depth a lot longer. I have directly helped quite a few individuals apply to air force, army, and navy. Including my son who I used as an example. Not everyone I've helped has gotten in. Obviously it's their application, not mine. But I've spoken with numerous ALO's as well as the academy counselors. They all agree that the earlier and longer your application is in the system, the better your odds are. Again. sorry for the book. Mike.....
