Candidate Essays

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DO20

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When do the essay prompts for the class of 2028 application appear in the candidate portal? The email received with tons of info from admissions said to start working on these while working on the essays for political nominations. It also said submitting the essays trigger other things. Is there a set date those drop or are they in the portal already and am just missing them? Thank you!
 
It's been indicated to me that the essays come out with the second-step kit-- per the 2028 Instructions for Applicants, the SSK is released for competitive applicants on 1 June. From what I've read on the forum and heard from my FFR, at least one of the prompts usually asks about why the candidate wants to attend USMA. Your congresspeople might have similar essay questions (mine do), so you might be able to reuse essays with some revision.
 
Just wanted to confirm since a lot of the email information is circular/conflicting and says not to wait to submit. It looks like many of the prompts from prior years are reused so I guess I can start drafting ideas but not fully write until it opens June 1st. Thank you for your quick reply!
 
USMA has used the same prompts over the last fews years. I've listed them below (and, by the way, each response was limited to 2500 characters). But clearly, they may be adjusted or changed this year.
  1. Explain why you want to attend the United States Military Academy and serve on active duty as an Army officer.
  2. Think of some things in the past that were difficult for you. Pick one and discuss what steps you took to address it. Include whether you turned to anyone, the role that person played, and what you learned about your character as a result of this challenge.
  3. West Point and the Army are committed to the idea that respect for others and an understanding of diversity are important leadership traits. Why will you be successful in working with leaders, peers, and subordinates of a gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and/or religion different from your own?
As noted previously by Charlie W, a number of the Senators and Representatives have published their nomination application essays at this point in time. One of the most popular is the "why" question just like USMA's first prompt. It makes sense to start on the essays that you can confirm now, plus you may identify some repeated questions, which will allow you to reuse some of your responses later in the process. Happy writing!
 
Thank you so much!!! This is incredibly helpful. Trying to take advantage of spring break to get ahead of the essay writing as June 1st is finals week and then off to SLE. Really appreciate this advice!
 
There is nothing else to submit at this time beyond the initial Candidate Questionnaire that was also the gateway to SLE. If Admissions deems the applicant's initial information qualifying, he or she will have access to the Second Step Kit beginning in June. That portal will have the links to your essay submissions and every other aspect of the application. Additionally, you will be expected to submit a number of components in the application process before Admissions will then initiate the medical exam process through DODMETS/DODMERB.
 
Specifically for USMA, concentrate on a concise, well organized, grammatically correct essay. The topic is not nearly important as the quality of the writing. Unless you have some incredibly unusual experience (not applicable to 99.99% of candidates), or write something incredibly stupid, the content will neither help nor hurt your application.

Directly from an RC: "Do not delay submitting your application trying to come up with the perfect essay. The admissions committee wants to know if you can write a grammatically correct essay."
 
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