Christcorp
15-Year Member
- Joined
- May 21, 2008
- Messages
- 5,381
I guess I’m not sure of what type of “outreach and interaction” some people are looking for. For both my kids, one applied to Air Force and 4 other schools, and the other kid just applied to traditional schools. Other than the occasional email they sent to admissions ensuring they received certain paperwork sent; e.g act scores, recommendations, etc. they didn’t have any outreach or interaction. They applied to the schools/academy and waited for acceptance or rejection. If my son had a question, he asked his ALO and got an answer. Sometimes right away, sometimes the Alo needed a couple of days to get the answer.
What kind of “outreach” were we expecting? None actually. We didn’t expect admissions to call and try and sell us the academy or particular school. It was actually a very non-eventful process. And we didn’t really expect anything differently. A very basic business transaction. Kids researched the schools they were interested in, applied, verified applications, and waited. What more was there to expect? Nothing as far as we were concerned.
I will say that during the previous year, junior year of high school, our state MOCs had a parent student town hall type of meeting. Similar to when colleges come to the high school. Answered questions about the nomination process, Alo answered some questions, etc. that was it.
Now, if some want to complain that their Alo was not very good, didn’t help answer questions, didn’t follow up with the application process, etc. then that’s a valid gripe. Some alo’s are better than others and some are more involved. I know some alo’s like in my State, and others like a Flieger (on this forum) are very involved with their applicants. So I can understand if some people were disappointed with their Alo. I’m just not understanding this “outreach and interaction” people are expecting. Again, other than some email correspondence, my son didn’t get any “outreach” from Michigan State, Tulane, USC, Washington, or other schools. We researched schools, the kids applied to schools, couple of emails to verify everything was on track and answer some basic questions, and then we waited. As USAFAmom eluded to, what kind of “outreach” are you expecting? We sure weren’t expecting any “outreach”. We weren’t expecting a school to call us and try and sell us on anything. We weren’t expecting any touchy-feely interaction. We expected what we got, a basic business transaction.
Sorry if I’m minimizing the experience. I just can’t for the life of me understand what people were expecting. Ok, navy and army admissions were more involved with you. That’s nice. Maybe they are more desperate for qualified applicants. Maybe they have more personnel and time to expend on checking back with applicants. That’s all fine and dandy. But that’s not something I expected. And if that “outreach” is something you and/or your child needs to feel better about which academy to choose, then good for you. Choose one of those other academies. My son did his research and knew which academy, and more importantly, which branch of service he wanted. He didn’t need the academy to shmooze him or sell him on applying or accepting. But if some need the emotional feeling involved prior to applying and accepting, then that’s fine too. Go with what “feels” better. When I go to buy a new car, I don’t want a salesman trying to sell me anything. I research and know what I want. I go to the dealer, say what I want, what I’ll pay, and they say yes or no. If it’s no, I go to another dealership. I don’t buy a car from a dealer because they contact me, provide me coffee and scones. I buy because of their product, price, and the service they’ll provide after the fact.
If you need the more personal touch that one academy gives vs another, and it makes you feel better in applying there, then apply there. I wish you the best of luck. I hope you get an appointment and that you academy and military experience is everything you are hoping for. If you don’t need the emotional feeling of an academy or school outreaching and interacting with you, and you have researched which branch of service or civilian school meets your needs, then apply to those. And best of luck in whichever choices you make.
What kind of “outreach” were we expecting? None actually. We didn’t expect admissions to call and try and sell us the academy or particular school. It was actually a very non-eventful process. And we didn’t really expect anything differently. A very basic business transaction. Kids researched the schools they were interested in, applied, verified applications, and waited. What more was there to expect? Nothing as far as we were concerned.
I will say that during the previous year, junior year of high school, our state MOCs had a parent student town hall type of meeting. Similar to when colleges come to the high school. Answered questions about the nomination process, Alo answered some questions, etc. that was it.
Now, if some want to complain that their Alo was not very good, didn’t help answer questions, didn’t follow up with the application process, etc. then that’s a valid gripe. Some alo’s are better than others and some are more involved. I know some alo’s like in my State, and others like a Flieger (on this forum) are very involved with their applicants. So I can understand if some people were disappointed with their Alo. I’m just not understanding this “outreach and interaction” people are expecting. Again, other than some email correspondence, my son didn’t get any “outreach” from Michigan State, Tulane, USC, Washington, or other schools. We researched schools, the kids applied to schools, couple of emails to verify everything was on track and answer some basic questions, and then we waited. As USAFAmom eluded to, what kind of “outreach” are you expecting? We sure weren’t expecting any “outreach”. We weren’t expecting a school to call us and try and sell us on anything. We weren’t expecting any touchy-feely interaction. We expected what we got, a basic business transaction.
Sorry if I’m minimizing the experience. I just can’t for the life of me understand what people were expecting. Ok, navy and army admissions were more involved with you. That’s nice. Maybe they are more desperate for qualified applicants. Maybe they have more personnel and time to expend on checking back with applicants. That’s all fine and dandy. But that’s not something I expected. And if that “outreach” is something you and/or your child needs to feel better about which academy to choose, then good for you. Choose one of those other academies. My son did his research and knew which academy, and more importantly, which branch of service he wanted. He didn’t need the academy to shmooze him or sell him on applying or accepting. But if some need the emotional feeling involved prior to applying and accepting, then that’s fine too. Go with what “feels” better. When I go to buy a new car, I don’t want a salesman trying to sell me anything. I research and know what I want. I go to the dealer, say what I want, what I’ll pay, and they say yes or no. If it’s no, I go to another dealership. I don’t buy a car from a dealer because they contact me, provide me coffee and scones. I buy because of their product, price, and the service they’ll provide after the fact.
If you need the more personal touch that one academy gives vs another, and it makes you feel better in applying there, then apply there. I wish you the best of luck. I hope you get an appointment and that you academy and military experience is everything you are hoping for. If you don’t need the emotional feeling of an academy or school outreaching and interacting with you, and you have researched which branch of service or civilian school meets your needs, then apply to those. And best of luck in whichever choices you make.