See http://cga.edu/admissions2.aspx?id=81&terms=dodmerb. "The names of applicants deemed competitive for an appointment to the Coast Guard Academy (or one of our preparatory school programs) will be provided to DoDMERB once they have completed the application process."
Appointment Question
- Thread starter Mackinaw
- Start date
See http://cga.edu/admissions2.aspx?id=81&terms=dodmerb. "The names of applicants deemed competitive for an appointment to the Coast Guard Academy (or one of our preparatory school programs) will be provided to DoDMERB once they have completed the application process."
So sorry to hear. Stay positive. My DD is a freshman in college. I remember all too well the extreme disappointment the fall of her senior year. One rejection after another. One thing I know for sure, once it all sank in, she accepted admission to a really great college, she was able to move on. This fall she decided to apply to three SA. We too,are waiting to hear form USCGA and Navy. Like many have said on this forum, this is a tough time for students. Hang in there and work your child to stay positive, pick a great college and find the joy in that decision. They all land where the are meant to be. Good luck and perhaps your child will consider reapplying next year.
jacksonthepilot
USCGA 2021
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2017
- Messages
- 9
If you don't mind me asking: What state are you applying from? I've heard that some states are more competitive simply in terms of number of applicants than others.
These are the hard times as parents. My DD was all of this last year her senior year in HS. She was rejected from all of her first choice schools. Georgetown, Tulane, Notre Dame, and wait-listed to several others. She was #5 in a class of 500. She too was absolutely crushed. I work in the admissions office at a competitive college in the south. The competition is very tough with colleges and small colleges have it the toughest. Most applicants look the same on paper these days. Students are better prepared now with all the AP's offered in HS and the ACT/SAT prep classes. When you have thousands of applications and hundreds of spots this is how it goes. Most who apply to USCGA are top students. Almost all students who apply to my college have a 1350 or better on their SAT and a 30 on the ACT. We tortured ourselves last year trying to figure out "who is better than you?" One piece of advice, don't do that. Have your DS commit to the best college that accepts him-get involved-take hard courses. Work hard to get great grades and then reapply in the fall. There was a lot of growth/maturity for her this past fall. My DS looks at this last year of college as her Prep school.
We are waiting for Navy and USCGA and she received an appointment to USAFA on 2/25/17. Stay positive and help your DS plan out the next year. Good things will happen-you just have to accept them if they come in a different package. Stay positive!
As a wise admissions person told us : It is a match to be made, not a prize to be won. It's tough when you are SURE the school that rejects you was IT, but it often works out for the best.
Our oldest son was recruited for a sport and was crushed when his #1 pick didn't come through with an offer after the coach spent months leading him to believe they would. Luckily, he kept the door open at his backup choice and the coach offered him a spot on his visit there and he couldn't be happier. The cherry on top was beating the other school in his very first event and setting a school record.
Just keep those doors open!
Our oldest son was recruited for a sport and was crushed when his #1 pick didn't come through with an offer after the coach spent months leading him to believe they would. Luckily, he kept the door open at his backup choice and the coach offered him a spot on his visit there and he couldn't be happier. The cherry on top was beating the other school in his very first event and setting a school record.
Just keep those doors open!
That's called karma. Love it!
What did your DD's freshman year in college with academics, leadership, sports, etc, etc look like? Any wisdom to share?
Happy to share. She took challenging courses in college and got to know her professors. Really was engaged with them, went to office hours and sought them out on how to improve her work. With that she as able to get some really good letters of rec. She was not an athlete in college but did get involved/leadership roles in several clubs that raised money for charity. She studied and left there with a 3.75 GPA. which I believe made her a strong candidate.
Her essay was about how she grew in that year and discovered she really wanted to be with a group of peers who had a common goals, team building, challenging academics and focus. She spoke of her desire to study National Security and the best place to do that was USNA in her opinion. She was coming from a school that had a great program.
Bottom line is the leap in maturity in just a few months really helped her and it came across in her application. Best of luck to you and please let us know if we can help. I am sure my DD would be happy to help and coach along the way. Her journey to USNA was not conventional and she loves to share it if it can help anyone.
LongAgoPlebe
10-Year Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2010
- Messages
- 493
As a college professor I cannot echo this strongly enough! I know that many of you starting college this fall - whether a SA or a college or university - show up feeling intimidated by your professors. You think that when we list office hours, it's because the college makes us, and we're just doing it to check a box because we don't like students anyway.
The truth: For the most part, we really like teaching. We enjoy interacting with students. We sit in our offices during office hours hoping - yes, hoping - that students show up and ask questions. We wish we could make students come to office hours so we could interact individually and personally with you. Yes, there are exceptions. There's "dead wood." But it's rare.
Get to know your professors and let them get to know you. Ask questions. Accept their mentoring. Practice setting aside your emotional reactions and instead ask, "Is this instruction/mentoring helping me learn something?" You must learn to cultivate professional relationships, and this is just as important, if not more, than your coursework or your major. Then, when you need a recommendation that's going to set you apart from the bazillions of other stellar students with 3.8 GPAs and leadership and volunteer hours and earnest passion and shiny white teeth, we can write about how you did poorly on your first exam and came to office hours every week with focused questions. How you asked for extra practice problems, then pulled a 92 on your next exam. How you didn't slack off, but kept coming to office hours and earned an "A" in the course, and by the way, became quite a generous leader in the small-group work in class, too. Those recommendations practically write themselves!