Appointed - Next Step?

sonsofapollo

sonsofapollo

5-Year Member
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Dec 20, 2015
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I recently received an offer of appointment to USNA. My CIS portal now has a link to read a document for upcoming plebes and a link that says "accept offer." I was wondering: does anyone know what happens if you press the link? Are there further prompts with confirmations and more info or does it just say "thank you for accepting the offer" and send you paperwork in the mail? I am not totally clear on everything that happens after this point. Any information would be helpful.

P.S. I have seen some people ask questions about timelines so I thought I would share mine:
11/2014 - Candidate Visit Weekend
06/2015 - Summer Seminar
08/12/2015 - Completed online application
12/08/2015 - Nomination from Congressional Representative (email)
12/14/2015 - Letter of Assurance (CIS update and email)
12/22/2015 - Medical waiver (snail mail)
12/23/2015 - Offer of Appointment (CIS update and email)
12/30/2015 - Package with official certificate (snail mail)
 
Basically that's what will happen if you click the accept. Your status will change to accepted appointment, and it will give you links to PDF files that you need to complete and one for the police.
 
What if you accept the appointment, whether it be to USNA, USMA, or USAFA, but then get an offer for appointment to another Academy and want to accept that one instead? Can you switch to the other school?
 
Question along the same line. Do the other SAs know that you've accepted the other offer and does that make them less likely to offer an appointment? DS has an offer of appt to NA and wants to see if he gets an offer from AF, then revisit both before he makes his final decision. He's afraid to accept the offer to NA until he hears from AF. He does have a senatorial Nom to AF.
 
Coach62 said:
Question along the same line. Do the other SAs know that you've accepted the other offer and does that make them less likely to offer an appointment? DS has an offer of appt to NA and wants to see if he gets an offer from AF, then revisit both before he makes his final decision. He's afraid to accept the offer to NA until he hears from AF. He does have a senatorial Nom to AF.
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Coach, I don't know if it's the same for USNA, but the USAFA gave my DD until May 1st to accept or decline her appointment. Does your DS have the same option? I would imagine they operate in a similar manner. It should say so on his portal or at least in his congratulations letter. If so, then he can put off his decision until then. They will not give his appointment away if he waits until the deadline to accept it.

As far as each SA knowing and keeping track of who has been offered/accepted an appointment to other Academies, it is highly unlikely. It is like any other college in that acceptance offers are sent out and you have a certain date to accept or decline and most colleges in the nation use May 1st as the date. If an offer is not accepted, they give it to someone else on the list. I hope your son hears from USAFA soon.
 
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I'm not sure I understand the problem. Candidates are not required to accept appointments to May 1st. If a candidate is waiting to hear from multiple SAs/colleges or is afraid that other SAs might find out (which I think is highly doubtful) of an appointment acceptance, then don't accept until (a) ready or (b) May 1.

^^^ Exactly what FalconsRock said.
 
Thanks to both of you. That's what I thought. There's no problem per se, just two minor concerns. One is that we didn't know if it could be rescinded if he didn't accept right away. Two was his BGO seemed a bit disappointed he didn't accept right away. The guy went out of his way to help my DS and no doubt was instrumental in his LOA.
 
Coach62 said:
Thanks to both of you. That's what I thought. There's no problem per se, just two minor concerns. One is that we didn't know if it could be rescinded if he didn't accept right away. Two was his BGO seemed a bit disappointed he didn't accept right away. The guy went out of his way to help my DS and no doubt was instrumental in his LOA.
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Coach, your BGO may be disappointed, but it is a huge decision for your DS that will change his life forever. His decision should be based on what is best for him and him alone. BGO and ALO are instrumental in assisting candidates and they do a lot of work often for nothing, and we are grateful for all their efforts, but the decision is the candidate's and they should not be offended if another Academy is accepted. It should not be a hasty decision.
 
FalconsRock and usnabgo are spot on. I'm only weighing in here as someone who's DS went through same experience in the hope that it helps.

Early appointments to both WP and USNA then sat back to begin the very thoughtful examination on what that choice would be. Waited almost four months, and well into April before ultimately coming to a decision that he was 100% confident and comfortable with. (To anticipate your next question about "does this not take away from a deserving candidate by waiting to push the button?" The answer is no, it does not.)

During that time, WP FFO, a wonderful man of great integrity, tried along with others in the WP community, to "persuade" him to go WP in a most positive and encouraging way. In the end, he chose USNA and explained his decision to him. Yes, he was disappointed but also very supportive. No offense was taken to be sure.

Your DS has now been afforded the greatest gift of all.....time. Time to evaluate and consider, time to take the long view, time to weigh options and opportunities, time to look into the future. Take the time! There is no hurry or urgency to take any action at this juncture. Consider the blessings of this opportunity and use it wisely.

I wish you well .
 
Thanks to both of you, that's of course what we'll do.

DS was caught off guard mainly, so was I. He was excited and texted his BGO with the good news. BGO started with the "positive persuasion" as you put it so well. He was expecting a simple congrats and wasn't prepared for that response.

He asked me what to do and I of course just said to tell him the truth.

I would say that it was probably an important lesson that all candidates need to be prepared for, I'm sure it's common.

So if you're a candidate holding out for multiple appointments, be prepared for the immediate "positive persuasion". Don't get caught off guard like we did.
 
To the OP,
What happens when you click accept is it takes you to a confirmation page where you certify you haven't been injured or become seriously ill, and certify that you acknowledge the commitment you are making, and I think certify one other thing but I forget what it is. Once you do that you return to the CIS portal as it was before, except now your status is listed as offer accepted and there are 3 documents provided under instructions which you will need to complete and mail to USNA. One is a proof of citizenship, one is a tattoo/body alteration statement, and the last is a request for your local police to send USNA a copy of your criminal record if you have one.
As for the paperwork in the mail you mentioned, that is the permit to report package. It contains a whole bunch more things you have to do before I-day (if you want details, I believe there are probably threads about them). Those, however, are not distributed as appointments are offered. They are all mailed at once in April.
 
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