Admissions Consultants

Beware of Military Academy Consultants

Having gone through and graduated from USMA myself, the concept of someone paying for "admissions help" from recent grads of Service Academies is ridiculous. Someone asked me to look into some firms and I came across a website and service called Military Academy Consultants.com and it looks to be a bunch of junior officers who just graduated claiming they can help high school students and parents get admissions and they claimed to have an 85% success rate. I wonder how they came up with that number especially since they can't control Academic performance, SAT/ACT scores, class rank, which accounts for 60-70% of the admissions criteria? Even more astounding is that they have claimed to help students for several years and when you do the math, it wasn't even possible because according to their graduation date, they were still in school when they claim that they were professional consultants. Last I checked and it's been awhile since I was at WP, we weren't allowed to have "other jobs."

Just be careful who you talk with and who you get advice from because it appears some people are just out for themselves. :mad:
 
Totally agree that these "Consultants" for the most part are a major waste of money. They have no control over whether you get an appointment or not. Nothing they tell you can help you get an appointment. Same with most of the books written on the subject. They are ALL a waste of money.

Now; can you learn more about the "Process"? Yes, but you don't need a consultant for that. In that case, a book could come in handy. But remember, we are discussing this subject among forum members. Such a book is only useful to an individual who doesn't come to the forums, like this one, to learn. So if you have a friend who's son/daughter is interested in the academies and they won't visit the forums, maybe a book can help them understand the process. Other than that, they are a total waste of money. You can come to this forum and some others and get first hand experience of life at the academy, life in the military, the application/nomination process, etc...

In order for one of these consultation services to be of any use to an applicant, they would have to be hired starting when you are in the 7th grade. And I have had individuals ask me to help them with their kid's goals for college. In 7th grade, it could be beneficial to have someone help you with choosing classes, extra curricular activities, and other prep things. (Much of what a guidance counselor does, but many don't provide that much attention to the kids).

But an individual who is starting their junior year, is either already prepared for the academy and high end universities or they aren't. You can't decide when you're 16 that you're NOW going to start preparing for the academy, Harvard, Yale, or any decent college.

That is probably the #1 thing I did for my kids while they were growing up that I am most pleased with. I taught them from the time they started Kindergarten. It's all about "Options". There's nothing wrong with having an education and WANTING to work at Burger King. It's another thing to not have an education and HAVE to work at Burger kind. So, I groomed my kids to have the best grades possible. To be well rounded. Kept them socially active in sports, clubs, etc... I prepared them for MIT, Harvard, Yale, etc... This included the IB program. I said: "If later you choose to go to MIT, Harvard, etc... you'll be prepared for it.". "If you choose to go to State University or Community College; you'll breeze through it". "If you choose to work a job that the degree isn't required for, it open doors later for advancement". And that's exactly what happened. Both my kids were accepted to basically any place they wanted. My daughter chose State U where she finished her Bachelor's degree in less than 4 years. While her friends were staying up late studying and doing assignments, you was enjoying life. My son also turned down multiple options and went to the air force academy where he succeeded quite well.

Point is; the only way some sort of consulting service can help, is if they are involved when the kid is 12 years old and stays involved. If a kid is 16 or 17 and academically, socially, athletically, etc... prepared themselves for schools "LIKE" the academies, harvard, stanford, yale, etc.... it's a little late by that point. Not saying they shouldn't apply. They should. Your competition in your district/state could be in just as bas of shape and you may receive the appointment afterall. Remember too: There's a lot of 3.5-4.0 high school GPA students at the academy who wind up on ACPRO. Academic Probation. There's a lot of levels of 4.0gpa in high school. Depending on the classes and the teachers.

So, if you're reading this post, then you are reading this forum. SAVE YOUR MONEY!!! Don't buy any service. It's a waste of time and money. Buying a book to understand the process a little better is ok, but most of your questions can be answered right here. No one can control whether you get an appointment or not. And if you haven't prepared yourself over the last 4 years, there's no much you can learn from some consultant. Either way, do your best and apply.
 
USMAgrad said:
Having gone through and graduated from USMA myself, the concept of someone paying for "admissions help" from recent grads of Service Academies is ridiculous. Someone asked me to look into some firms and I came across a website and service called Military Academy Consultants.com and it looks to be a bunch of junior officers who just graduated claiming they can help high school students and parents get admissions and they claimed to have an 85% success rate. I wonder how they came up with that number especially since they can't control Academic performance, SAT/ACT scores, class rank, which accounts for 60-70% of the admissions criteria? Even more astounding is that they have claimed to help students for several years and when you do the math, it wasn't even possible because according to their graduation date, they were still in school when they claim that they were professional consultants. Last I checked and it's been awhile since I was at WP, we weren't allowed to have "other jobs."

Just be careful who you talk with and who you get advice from because it appears some people are just out for themselves. :mad:
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Sounds like perhaps the whole honor concept just didn't sink in. Perhaps I shouldn't be so judgemental.:thumbdown:
 
I'm not sure that junior officers, only a few years removed from a SA, are the best people to provide guidance on how to gain admission.

Certainly, they would be great folks to discuss what life is like at their SAs, what they considered in making their decisions, things they saw at the SA that make people more/less successful, and what they personally did to get admitted.

However, unless things have changed considerably, mids/cadets don't run around discussing with their fellow mids/cadets HOW they got in -- IOW, what they did to gain admission. You're in, that's all that matters.

Thus, these junior officers likely only know what worked for them. Unless they've actually worked in a SA Admissions Office or as a BGO/ALO or MOC committee rep, they haven't seen any packet other than their own. They haven't seen anyone do a BGO/ALO or MOC interview other than themselves. That's a VERY limited basis from which to provide advice.

Not to mention that I HOPE they are spending most of their time learning their craft -- being the best pilot, ship driver, engineer, etc. that they can be and also leading the men and women who serve under them. I doubt they have the same time to devote to SA admissions consulting as someone who does it as a profession. As an aside, I believe military personnel may have outside jobs, within certain constraints.

I don't want to suggest that there is no benefit a legitimate counselor with the proper credentials could bring to the process, espeically for those unfamiliar with the military or SAs. I would only say that those looking for such services exercise the same caution as you would in seeking to hire any other service professional/provider.
 
MilitaryAcademyConsultants.com - Unethical or Dishonorable

The honor code instilled in me reads "A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do." Maybe that only applies to cadets and not junior officers. Unethical and Dishonorable is the same thing in my book, it's a lie! These Lts. (Lt Hutchins, Lt Yu, Lt Mosby, Lt Buckingham, Lt Miller, Lt Taghen, Lt Solvite, Lt Chavez, and Ensign Warner should be ashamed of themselves!!!

I wonder what their commanding officers would say if they knew what was going on. I agree with USNA1985 that they should be learning their craft and their profession instead of "unethically" picking up a new gig. Must be the softer military these days.

Just stay away from Militaryacademyconsultants.com. I would have expected better from fellow Alumni.
 
I just checked out the site. That's real lame. Like, REAL LAME.

I also was curious about the one USNA guy's tag of "Marine Aviator," since it usually takes much longer for Marines than 2 years out past graduation to get wings. As awkward as it is to explain all the time that I'm in training and not a pilot yet to people who don't really get it, it would be dishonest to describe myself in that way, so I wanted to see how far along he was in the pipeline.

...Zero results for his last name on MOL. I triple checked spelling on the website to make sure I wasn't wrong, and then did a couple test runs with my own name in or friends' to make sure personnel locator is working.
Unless it's a pseudonym...that's kinda weird. Even our class president frittering away his 2ndLt-dom at Oxford is in MOL.
 
^^ That website has a place where you can submit a question so it might be interesting to email them and tell them what you found. If they are legit, they should reply back with an explanation. If not.....well, further evidence you should avoid that site as a source of reliable application information.

Most of the materials they are selling indicate a publication date of 2011, so I assume they wrote them shortly after graduation. A bit strange to me that those just starting the miltary career are apparently also moonlighting as "consultants" as implied in their website. They use a lot of mumbo jumbo and puffery to make it sound like they can provide some secret inside track to getting an appointment which is total nonsense along with their claimed 85% success rate.

TALKING with current mids and recent graduates is a great way to learn about USNA and exactly what it is all about. PAYING someone who runs a consulting business claiming their information will somehow increase your chances of getting an appointment are making promises they can't keep.
 
time2 said:
^^ That website has a place where you can submit a question so it might be interesting to email them and tell them what you found. If they are legit, they should reply back with an explanation. If not.....well, further evidence you should avoid that site as a source of reliable application information.

Most of the materials they are selling indicate a publication date of 2011, so I assume they wrote them shortly after graduation. A bit strange to me that those just starting the miltary career are apparently also moonlighting as "consultants" as implied in their website. They use a lot of mumbo jumbo and puffery to make it sound like they can provide some secret inside track to getting an appointment which is total nonsense along with their claimed 85% success rate.

TALKING with current mids and recent graduates is a great way to learn about USNA and exactly what it is all about. PAYING someone who runs a consulting business claiming their information will somehow increase your chances of getting an appointment are making promises they can't keep.
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I checked in the 2011 Lucky Bag*this morning and they just spelled his name wrong on the website (professional!). He's a USNA grad and Marine SNA. Still lame, but legit.

*Before anyone accuses me of not having a life, doing this and checking on MOL took me less than five minutes all together.
 
Hurricane12 said:
I checked in the 2011 Lucky Bag*this morning and they just spelled his name wrong on the website (professional!). He's a USNA grad and Marine SNA. Still lame, but legit.

*Before anyone accuses me of not having a life, doing this and checking on MOL took me less than five minutes all together.
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I thought the mere fact your at TBS in Quantico indicated THAT! :shake: Hang tough Hurricane! :thumb:
 
kinnem said:
I thought the mere fact your at TBS in Quantico indicated THAT! :shake: Hang tough Hurricane! :thumb:
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Thankfully I am far away from the Quantico highlands and get to spend my days sunning myself on the beach.:biggrin:
 
Packer said:
Misleading by saying "several years"? Is that a lie?

Where I come from unethical is dishonorable.
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Then you come from an area that uses "unethical" fairly liberally. Maybe it's like "hero" these days... as in communities calling underperforming children "heroic" when they get their scores up. News flash... that aint heroism.


Misleading statements would be, in my opinion, and attempt to decision, which is an honor issue. It would then not only be unethical but also dishonorable.
 
USMAgrad said:
The honor code instilled in me reads "A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do." Maybe that only applies to cadets and not junior officers. Unethical and Dishonorable is the same thing in my book, it's a lie! These Lts. (Lt Hutchins, Lt Yu, Lt Mosby, Lt Buckingham, Lt Miller, Lt Taghen, Lt Solvite, Lt Chavez, and Ensign Warner should be ashamed of themselves!!!

I wonder what their commanding officers would say if they knew what was going on. I agree with USNA1985 that they should be learning their craft and their profession instead of "unethically" picking up a new gig. Must be the softer military these days.

Just stay away from Militaryacademyconsultants.com. I would have expected better from fellow Alumni.
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I'm sure the Navy and Marine Corps would LOVE to know. If they're currently officers, and this is a possible money-making venture, and it has not been cleared by their commands, the little JOs could be SOL very quickly.

My recommendation... if it offends you, call it in. If it really offends you, visit your Congressman. That congressional office will have a staffer request info from the Marine or Navy liaison, who will route it through the "powers that be" and likely at the end of all of that... someone will be spanked. And come on, who isn't OK with a little JO spanking now and then. Keeps em fresh!
 
And yes, now that I see a USCGA grad on the "consultant" list, I just emailed the "Warner" it may be from the class of 2011, and the next step from there is a call to his CO.
 
LineInTheSand said:
If they're currently officers, and this is a possible money-making venture, and it has not been cleared by their commands, the little JOs could be SOL very quickly.
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My memory is admittedly foggy but I have to agree with LITS. I didn't think you can work another "job" as an active duty military officer.
 
My memory is also foggy but I think you can IF it doesn't interfere with or present a conflict with your military duties.

I believe . . . someone correct me if I'm wrong . . . that USMA and USAFA use either AD or reserve officers as MALOs/ALOs, as opposed to USNA which uses volunteers who may or may not be currently in the military. I would think that having AD officers providing info that could be inconsistent with what paid officers (paid by the US gov't) are providing could be an issue. But, maybe not.:rolleyes:

If they've informed their chain of command of what they're doing, they're probably ok. If not, there could be some issues.
 
Certainly the draw to the website is the pedigrees of the "consultants." It also appears to involve "profit."
 
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