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- May 13, 2020
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Tips for class of 2026 applicants—
I recommend that for each application you are doing, make a separate folder (on your computer or on paper) or make a separate tab in a binder, or maybe make an excel sheet if you prefer that. Make some type of organizational system to keep each application separate. Your applications may include one or more service academies, congressional nominations, ROTC, civilian colleges, etc. Make a separate checklist for everything that is required for each application, including due dates. (As others have said, the due dates for congressional nomination applications are often in September, so please keep this in mind.)
Whenever you request something (for example a recommendation from a teacher or a request to submit a transcript), note the date on your checklist when you requested it, and then monitor it to make sure it is turned in. If it hasn’t been turned in after a reasonable amount of time, then (very politely and respectfully) remind the person to turn it in for you.
You may want to research and compile a list of all the recommendations you will need for all your applications. Then decide which teachers you will need to ask for each one. Then when you ask one of your teachers to write you a recommendation, you can explain what to you will need them to do for you from the outset. For example, you may want to contact your math teacher this summer and explain that you will need recommendations for SA1, SA2, ROTC, and civilian college ABC, with the following due dates. Ask if he/she would be willing to write these for you and if this would be possible. Personally I think giving the teachers this type of notification far ahead of time is a more respectful way to ask rather than just continually emailing them with more and more requests throughout the year.
I recommend that for each application you are doing, make a separate folder (on your computer or on paper) or make a separate tab in a binder, or maybe make an excel sheet if you prefer that. Make some type of organizational system to keep each application separate. Your applications may include one or more service academies, congressional nominations, ROTC, civilian colleges, etc. Make a separate checklist for everything that is required for each application, including due dates. (As others have said, the due dates for congressional nomination applications are often in September, so please keep this in mind.)
Whenever you request something (for example a recommendation from a teacher or a request to submit a transcript), note the date on your checklist when you requested it, and then monitor it to make sure it is turned in. If it hasn’t been turned in after a reasonable amount of time, then (very politely and respectfully) remind the person to turn it in for you.
You may want to research and compile a list of all the recommendations you will need for all your applications. Then decide which teachers you will need to ask for each one. Then when you ask one of your teachers to write you a recommendation, you can explain what to you will need them to do for you from the outset. For example, you may want to contact your math teacher this summer and explain that you will need recommendations for SA1, SA2, ROTC, and civilian college ABC, with the following due dates. Ask if he/she would be willing to write these for you and if this would be possible. Personally I think giving the teachers this type of notification far ahead of time is a more respectful way to ask rather than just continually emailing them with more and more requests throughout the year.