Checking all the boxes so to speak

goarmy30 said:
I jumped 200 points on the SAT with the LearnSATmath YouTube channel. Way better than any other video breakdowns I’ve seen and I highly recommend for taking full advantage of the desmos calculator now interrelated into the SAT- it made the test feel like a game.
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Thanks for the advice. My son will be on campus Friday for SLE. He has opted to do the interview during SLE. He has put together a list of sample questions along with answers. Do you have any other advice for the interview?
 
I started applying after SLE already happened, but my interview practice (at a state college, I did a mock interview 1x a week for 8 months specifically for this interview and the congressional nomination interviews) taught me a lot.
Blunt and honest answers always beat the answer you think people will want to hear. In my house rep's interview, I told the board that I was a bum in high school and that as far as my high school extracurriculars went, showing up was all I really did, if even that. I was always at least 15 minutes late to band.
I then told them that the transcript describing high school me and the version of me in that room wouldn't even recognize each other and explained how my life changed later on a 2-year missionary service in Spain. I know this is not the congressional nomination interview, but I noticed very few differences between the two in my experience. I just didn't try to pretend to be what they typically see in high school aged students (I'm 21).

You also absolutely need to tell a time when you've failed hard and learned from it. Try your best to use the STAR method when answering interview questions, and end the R (result) of the STAR method explaining what you've become from that experience. Memorizing statements isn't going to help you at all, but have a good idea of what points you'll explain to help the interviewer see who you are and help connect your qualities with stuff that is compatible with core values of the Army.

At first I felt like I had very few stories in my life to share, but after reps and reps of this, I started to learn just how many good examples of learning from failure I had and began to get more out of my everyday life. It's not only helped me be an example of change but also understand other people in ROTC and help them do more. Really excited for y'all; hope the interview goes well. I've heard that the SLE interview is more of a chill one-on-one conversation than a formal interview with a field force rep.

This video might help:

Hope this helps, but maybe my fellow incoming plebes that did SLE can chime in too. Good luck!


Also, don't feel like you have to respond immediately to questions! I took plenty of time to think about the question and not spit out an undercooked answer, like upwards of 10 seconds!
 
He had the interview yesterday morning and said it went well. He also took the CFA. Here are those results: Basket ball throw 54 feet, pull ups 14, Shuttle run 9.63 seconds, sit ups 102, push ups 58, 1 mile run 5:57. He has always had trouble with the basketball throw and we practice that frequently. The shuttle run lacks in technique but I'm sure we can get that number down. The others were good and his mile run is typically under 5:20 but it was over 90° and 85% humidity so I would assume that played a role. All in all he got an average rating which he is not happy with. Seems to me like an easy fix. He gets home on Wednesday and resumes multiple act sessions everyday until he heads out for Air Force.
 
At least he passed it. If he gets an LOA, it doesn't matter what his score as long as he passed.

My comments: BB throw and shuttle run are subpar. Excellent run. Overdid it on situps; no reason to continue beyond the maximum of 95 - he is just wasting effort.

I don't know what the percentage is, but I want to say 80% get "average," and none are happy about it.
 
Congrats chadwoody. Your DS seems motivated and well engaged. The best thing you can do is likely let DS try, win/fail, fix it, win. If he drives the process, it will be his.

Nothing better than love and support from families, but there is no "we" until DS or DD has decided what works for them.

Rooting for your DS and your family!
 
There are many wonderful references on this site for testing options from free, to subscription, to concierge.

Sounds like DS is driven - well done!. If DS makes testing to achieve a specific score the goal - I bet DS meets/beats that goal.

Khan is great and free. PrepScholar works well for the self-motivated as it reminds you of actual vs planned effort and increases challenge levels based on user-input and analysis. Sounds like you have concierge in play.

Enjoy the site, read the forums, summarize for DS along the path as you enjoy the ride. The overwhelming majority here help in incredibly profound ways.
 
Yes, we have two tests services in play. One of them has a content based approach to shore up areas that need help and the other uses a strategy based approach. Strategy person is new but I really like what they have say and how they mapped out what he will be doing over the next few weeks. After test evaluations both independently put him over a 28. Who knows if that is to get us to pay the fee or if that's the truth but either way we went with both programs. We've got so much invested at this point with him going to a private military boarding school and him putting in the effort to regain his spot as valedictorian this last semester. He is definitely willing to put in the effort. I just hope it pays off!!!
 
Good luck to DS.

There are many rewarding routes to Ensign or 2LT. As the most experienced on this forum have gently advised - DS must keep all paths open if DS has a destination goal.

PACE (Primary, Alternate, Contingency, Emergency) planning before, during and beyond is likely to be rewarding.
 
Agreed. He has already reached out to the ROTC program and his first pick outside of service academies would be Texas A&M and their core of cadets. The military lifestyle seems to serve him. I believe his second choice is Embry-Riddle. Unfortunately I don't think the citadel or Norwich offer an aerospace engineering program.
 
chadwoody said:
Does it mean anything that West Point has already requested his DoDmerb?
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DoDMERB requests start in summer and can go into 2027. The process itself, if waiver decisions and extensive AMI requests are involved, can extend into June. They have to start DoDMERB at some point - there are thousands of applicants to wade through.

Now, if a SA sees that if a candidate is not at all competitive in the most minimal way, they will not initiate a DoDMERB medical review, and eventually close the file.

DoDMERB does NOT have to be complete by the candidate’s application submission deadline.
 
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