BGO is MIA

A

am2023

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Mar 1, 2018
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I opened an application at USNA when I applied for NASS back in January, I have since been accepted and was expecting an email from my BGO at some point in the process. I emailed my Area Coordinator asking if I could get my BGOs contact information and he never responded, I then met my Area Coordinator at a college fair and the email address he gave me there bounced back. Does anyone know a way I can find out who my BGO is without going through my Area Coordinator?
 
Once your official application is open and you have a candidate # your BOGO and contact info will be listed on your portal
 
That's the right course of action.

In the grand scheme of things, meeting with your BGO for an interview is just one of the many items you need to do.
I am certainly not saying that a BGO interview is a minor thing, but at this stage of the process for the class of 2023, it is not all that pressing.
It is just simply one of the things you need to do.

Here's what will happen soon;
1. If you are a strong applicant, you will receive an ECandidate Packet Letter (EPL) in an EMail sometime this Month (last year's ECL went out on May 10th).
2. In the ECL, you will receive your official Candidate Number and login information (username and password) for the online Candidate Information System (typically referred to as the "Portal")
3. After you login to the online system - near the bottom of the page - you will see your assigned Blue & Gold Officer's name, EMail address, and home phone number listed.

That assigned BGO may actually be different than the contact your Area Coordinator gave you before. What you'll have now is his/her phone number.
Give them a call and just ask at which stage of this process they want to conduct your interview. Some BGOs will want your application to be 50% complete
before they meet with you, and some may want to meet with you right away.

BGOs are volunteers and they aren't all retired volunteers. They also take vacations like the rest of us and have lives. If it takes a little while to get back to you, be patient.
There is probably a good reason.
 
A few points to consider.

1. Your BGO doesn't yet have any information about you nor could he/she enter an interview write up if he/she wanted to. We don't get our new candidates in our system until around June 1.
2. Your BGO could well change. Every year at this time, Area Coordinators may shuffle their BGOs (i.e., assign them to new schools). This happens due to BGOs leaving the program and new BGOs starting, as well as changes in demographics such that one BGO has many candidates and a neighboring one has very few.
3. Thus . . . the BGO you think you have may not be sure at this point that you will be his/her candidate. And neither may the AC.
4. Unless you have specific questions that your BGO can answer, there is no need to make contact now.
5. BGOs are currently "closing out" the Class of 2022 -- presenting certificates of appointment, etc. Most aren't yet ready to focus on 2023.
6. Many BGOs (myself among them) will certainly talk to candidates early in the process. But we won't set up interviews until the candidate has completed a decent percentage of his/her package.
7. And, finally, at TH says above, BGOs have lives. We should (and most do) make USNA Admissions a priority, but it's not our full-time job. Some BGOs are more responsive than others but almost all are sufficient responsive.

Another way to find your BGO is to ask your school college/career counselor. BGOs are assigned by schools and generally make themselves known to this official at your school. If that fails, wait until mid-to-late June -- you should hear from your assigned BGO by then.
 
In prior posts, BGO's have often commented they wait until the applicant has completed at least 50% of their application before scheduling their meeting in order to make the best use of everyone's time. It is only May and you are apparently applying for next year so a long way to go in this process. There is no urgent need to be meeting with your BGO at this time.
 
Agree with everything here. A few additional items... a lot of your questions will be answered at NASS. Don’t ask questions that are found on the USNA website. Sure ask clarifying questions. So many candidates ask things that are easily available on the website. Do your research if you want to come across as well informed. I am more than happy to answer any questions a candidate has, but if it’s something that is easily found, I question things. BGOs aren’t there to spoon feed. Every year at this time ACs evaluate their BGO coverage, schools, etc. They can move BGOs around, so be patient and you will have one assigned.
 
Hoops and '85 are right on....be patient. While I applaud your initiative and desire to get the process started, always keep in mind that this is a marathon, not a sprint. (If you haven't been following this Forum long, go back and look at the threads where people are waiting for their Appointment in March /April after submitting their application in the summer). While timely completion and submission of the application is encouraged, there isn't a reward or benefit to being the first.

While I would expect the AC/BGO to respond to your inquiry (if in fact they received it .. having an email "bounce back" suggests some sort of communication error), BGO's don't get info on the next class until late May/early June (please don't construe this as a "deadline", its really when Admissions is ready to make the cutover from 2022 to 2023). At that time, BGO's get notice of the new candidates and should be reaching out. It may or may not be assigned by school.... my state only has a handful of BGO's for the entire state, so with the exception of a few assigned schools, Candidates are assigned based upon geographic proximity.

I wanted to emphasize 'Hoops suggestion -- do your own research first, and have specific questions. Ever year I have someone (candidate, or parent) call and ask "How do I apply..." or "Can you help me get in....". I have adopted CAPT MJ's advice about reading about reading everything on the Admissions website (every drop down and link etc) as my standard response. BGO's are here to help, but its not our job to hold your hand or to "get you in".

Finally, if you have a question that simply can't wait a few weeks...you should feel free to contact the AC. Perhaps reminding him/her that you met at the XYZ event, and telling him /her that the email address for the BGO that they gave you bounced back.

Best of luck...
 
Like others have said, it's still very early, and many BGOs won't set up an interview until you've completed much of the rest of your application, and some won't respond to any attempts to contact at all until then, at least from my experience. I blame the admissions webpage for the confusion because it says that you should contact your BGO very early in the process, even when there's not much purpose for it and they might be too busy to respond. In the mean time, once you become a candidate your admissions counselor will be able to help you if you still can't reach your BGO.
 
+1 to Hoops, Old Navy BGO, and others. Do your research. Were I a BGO I would definitely be a bit disappointed by a candidate who had not done so. After all, they're looking for leaders who can take the initiative. Perhaps you've already done all this, but if not, get on it sailor.
 
Ummm....I think the OP demonstrates unquestionable initiative. OP applied for NASS and was accepted - research implied in this process. OP knows what a BGO is and has spoken to an Area Coordinator - research also implied.

Sometimes, this place is strange. :biggrin:
 
DS's current experience:

My DS met his soon-to-be BGO during a school recruiting visit last fall. BGO told him then that he is looking forward to working with him but will wait until summer, when his application is in progress. BGO explicitly told DS not to take any lack of responsiveness on his part as any sign of lack of interest or neglect and that there will be a time for everything. Then he made sure DS understood that Marines really look to see multiple CFAs and improvement each time. That's been it. No one here is worried.
 
^^^Exactly the same experience my son had. BGO told my son that he was tracking him, and would make sure all the gates were met on time. No issues.
 
Sometimes, once again, ignorance is bliss. My DS was chosen for NASS in early May of 2016, reporting less than 4 weeks later to Session 1. At that point in time, I had no idea what a BGO was! Neither of us had ANY clue how important the CFA was, nor how to "prepare" or "practice" for it. We didn't even know you could apply for more than 1 nomination until after his BGO interview and it was too late to apply for the others! I LOVE these forums, but continue to believe if I had found them before he went to NASS, I'd be committed somewhere. When I did find this forum, it was only a few short (agonizing!) months (weeks?) before he was Appointed to the USNA class of 2021. The wisdom of the "greats" on this forum is invaluable. My words of advice, let things happen as they will. There is a reason for everything.
 
Soldiergriz said:
Ummm....I think the OP demonstrates unquestionable initiative. OP applied for NASS and was accepted - research implied in this process. OP knows what a BGO is and has spoken to an Area Coordinator - research also implied.

Sometimes, this place is strange. :biggrin:
Click to expand...
Never said he didn't demonstrate initiative. I was simply making a point about research. It's clear he researched who the BGO was. It's not clear whether he has/or hasn't read through the USNA website for his "next level" of research. Just trying to encourage the OP to ,make sure that research gets done, if it hasn't.
 
Immediate gratification for all... It's 2018
 
kinnem said:
Soldiergriz said:
Ummm....I think the OP demonstrates unquestionable initiative. OP applied for NASS and was accepted - research implied in this process. OP knows what a BGO is and has spoken to an Area Coordinator - research also implied.

Sometimes, this place is strange. :biggrin:
Click to expand...
Never said he didn't demonstrate initiative. I was simply making a point about research. It's clear he researched who the BGO was. It's not clear whether he has/or hasn't read through the USNA website for his "next level" of research. Just trying to encourage the OP to ,make sure that research gets done, if it hasn't.
Click to expand...

Sure thing.
 
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