Feeling Undeserving of Appointment

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zeno

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I've accepted my appointment for the Class of 2021, but for some reason I can't kick the feeling that I don't deserve it. I've known for a while that I wanted to be in the military, but I started the process later than most people. It wasn't until the beginning of my senior year that I decided I wanted to apply to the Academy. I'm a fairly mediocre student, just slightly above the average GPA & ACT of appointees. I was barely involved in my school - I didn't play any sports during high school, I was only involved in 3 extracurricular activities, and a leader in only 1 of them. For the most part I went to school, and left for work right after. I'm not the most physically fit; I barely scraped by in the CFA (1 point away from being DQ'd).

I've been reading this forum for a solid amount of time, and seeing all the students here that are much more qualified than I am being turned down makes me feel a little guilty for being accepted. Don't get me wrong - I am extremely blessed to have this opportunity, and I am fully committed to being to the best officer I can be. I just can't help but feel a little alienated from the majority of people here.
 
Being able to look at yourself and point out the flaws is a positive trait. The academy wants kids that have these qualities that cannot be shown on paper. I'm not going to validate/invalidate your concerns, you still have time to try and push past any physical limitations before BCT. Just always keep in mind, if you want to be an officer, then you have been granted a fantastic opportunity. Also keep in mind that many of the people on the forum are parents/applicants that are VERY concerned and involved in the process. Which does not always mean they are the top applicants, but usually they are the same people who have been preparing their application for years. Even if you think you are not as qualified, there are probably many others feeling the same way as you. If this is what you want to do, go for it.
 
Congratulations on your appointment! Hopefully as you get closer to BCT, you'll feel more confident that you were given an appointment for good reasons. You worked while you went to school and still got an above average GPA and ACT score and participated in extra curricular activities, and that's admirable. You also say you're fully committed to being the best officer you can be, and that likely showed in your essays and your ALO interview, and other aspects of your application. You also recognize areas you could work on and aren't going into it thinking that you have no room for growth as a leader and a person. It doesn't really matter when you decided to apply. You did it and you did it well. I think your appointment shows that the admissions process looks at the whole person and that's a very good thing. Congratulations again and I wish you the best in pursuing your goal of being the best officer you can be!
 
I think you're going to be just fine. There are people who see potential in you, and you're just not seeing it yet. In these teen years, that's very common. When DS gave his 8th grade promotion speech, his principal said she saw him becoming a true leader and inspiring others. He looked at her like she had three heads. As it's been 3 years since, he is thankful people encouraged him based on what they saw.

Stay in touch around here when you can! You'll get great encouragement from everyone here, we believe in you!
 
I'm not going to point to the MANY threads about this subject, go look them up. But I will jump straight to the point.

What makes you THINK someone else, who didn't receive an appointment, is MORE QUALIFIED THAN YOU? Because your gpa, act, and cfa weren't at the max? I can point to plenty of 4.0gpa and 36ACT applicants that didn't receive an appointment. And guess what???? They WEREN'T MORE QUALIFIED than you. This is not Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, or even the University of Whereverthehellyoupick. This is one of 5 Military Academies. We care about so much MORE than just your gpa and ACT scores.

If you were given an appointment, then YOU ARE QUALIFIED. Forget who was MORE or LESS qualified. That's like saying you are MORE PREGNANT than someone else. Sorry; but there's no logic there. You ARE PREGNANT..... or you're NOT PREGNANT. You can't be SORT of Pregnant. Same for the academies. You ARE QUALIFIED or you're NOT QUALIFIED. You're not Sort of qualified.

Now, how does the selection process decide, WHICH QUALIFIED PERSON to give an appointment to? There are many facets to this. Some of them are here:
1. National Citizen Diversification: That's my coined phrase. Basically, that means that generally, every citizen in the country pays taxes. The taxes go towards the academies and the military. As such, each state and congressional district, should be equally represented with academy cadets that are funded by tax dollars. This is why half the class is chosen from the MOC slates of your congressional representatives and senators. This makes it a FAIR dissipation of appointments throughout the country of tax paying citizens.

2. Military Appreciation: Another of my coined phrases. In appreciation to the men and women who have served in the military; active duty, Reserve, etc. As well as those who's military parent lost their life in service to our country. And military parents who may have been POW's, Medal of Honor recipients, individuals involved in ROTC in college, and military families in general who had to travel the world every 3-4 years, couldn't have a stable community environment for their family, and sacrificed so much; in appreciation for all those military members.... The academy hold an additional 100-125 or so appointments for them

3. The remainder of the appointments are given to all those in the first two categories that I just posted, but didn't receive an appointment FROM those two categories. This is the National Pool. All of those remaining qualified individuals will be in this group, and their applications will be scored and ranked to come up with the remainder of appointments necessary to fill the class. And just like the scoring in the previous 2 categories, the scores are made up of NUMBERS and ACTIONS. The scores however can and will be weighted. The weighting will be based on so many things. The numbers; meaning gpa, class rank, etc. will be weighted based on the classes you had available, what classes you took, the scores you made, etc. E.g. A 3.8gpa in an ALL IB or ALL AP curriculum will be weighted MUCH HEAVIER than a 4.0gpa in a Mandatory School Minimum curriculum. ASSUMING: That all the classes were available and you CHOSE either the harder IB/AP classes or you chose the minimum required. Those who's school ONLY HAVE the minimum required and NO AP or IB or Honors, etc. classes, will NOT BE PENALIZED. Same goes with all other facets. Extra Curricular, sports, clubs, leadership, work, etc. WHAT DID YOU HAVE AVAILABLE, AND WHAT DID YOU DO WITH IT????

On top of all 3 of these categories, the academy also includes what I call "Life Experience and Diversity". You are given consideration in these areas also. The goal of the academies is to recruit and train FUTURE MILITARY LEADERS. These leaders, will be leading an ENLISTED CORP of very DIVERSE individuals. Every race, color, gender, religion, economic background, suburbia, ranch, farm, inner city, single parent, traditional family, orphan, first member of family to apply to college, and the list goes on. The academy wants, and rightfully so, and officer corp that represents those they are leading. That's why it's so important to present an application that makes you stand out; shows your diversity; shows how you WILL FIT INTO the organization; etc.

Take all of what I just wrote, and you can see that there is NO WAY THAT YOU..... Can determine if someone else is MORE or LESS QUALIFIED than you. There's a lot of applicants who don't receive an appointment and probably believe they should have. Some who will believe they were MORE QUALIFIED. The problem is..... You, nor THEY, can say if you/they are MORE or LESS QUALIFIED than someone else. You simply do not know that answer. In the end; there are going to probably be between 2500-3000 100% QUALIFIED individuals in the final cut for an academy appointment. That's out of approximately 10,000-12,000 initial applicants. ALL of those 2500-3000 applicants are indeed qualified and can get an appointment. But the academy can only give approximately 1,200 of them an appointment. 500-550 (about half) are dedicated to each congressional district/state in the country. So yes, there may be some that get an appointment from their state, but had they lived in a different state, might not have received an appointment. And another 100-125 are going to go to applicants who have an IMMEDIATE Military Family Background. This is one of the FEW things we can do to honor those men and women who have sacrificed so much for us. And the remaining 1500-2000 are going to have to compete for the remaining 500-600 slots. ALL are qualified; but we simply can't give all of them an appointment. This isn't a WORK PROGRAM or a SCHOLARSHIP program. It's the military.

So don't doubt for a second that you aren't QUALIFIED. You definitely are; or you WOULDN'T HAVE RECEIVED an appointment. As for feeling there are some others who are MORE QUALIFIED than you, who DIDN'T receive an appointment..... Well; you don't know that. You can think that, but you don't know that. There is ALWAYS someone MORE QUALIFIED at something than we are. But that's in INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITIES or AREAS. When you look at the WHOLE PERSON, there is no way you can say that someone else, who didn't receive an appointment, is MORE QUALIFIED than you.

So, there's your lecture. Don't want to hear any more about it. Realize how good you are; that the academy saw how good you are; accept the challenge; rise to the occasion; and APPRECIATE the opportunity you have been given.

And if you want to PROVE TO YOURSELF that you are WORTHY, then realize that out of the 1,200+/- appointees that are with you at basic training at the end of June; that approximately 200 of them WILL NOT MAKE IT and be there 4 years later. Want to PROVE you are WORTHY? Be one of the 1000 that DO GRADUATE and become a COMMISSIONED OFFICER and serve your country.

Best of luck
 
zeno said:
I've accepted my appointment for the Class of 2021, but for some reason I can't kick the feeling that I don't deserve it. I've known for a while that I wanted to be in the military, but I started the process later than most people. It wasn't until the beginning of my senior year that I decided I wanted to apply to the Academy. I'm a fairly mediocre student, just slightly above the average GPA & ACT of appointees. I was barely involved in my school - I didn't play any sports during high school, I was only involved in 3 extracurricular activities, and a leader in only 1 of them. For the most part I went to school, and left for work right after. I'm not the most physically fit; I barely scraped by in the CFA (1 point away from being DQ'd).

I've been reading this forum for a solid amount of time, and seeing all the students here that are much more qualified than I am being turned down makes me feel a little guilty for being accepted. Don't get me wrong - I am extremely blessed to have this opportunity, and I am fully committed to being to the best officer I can be. I just can't help but feel a little alienated from the majority of people here.
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What state are you from?

If you are minimally qualified, you are still qualified. These appointments are a blessing for even the most accomplished applicants, and no one should look a gift horse in the mouth. If this is your goal, then celebrate it. Nobody cares what your admissions numbers were once you start. Seize the moment and opportunity, and don't think twice about whether you "deserve it" or not. If you got it, you deserve it. And thank you for the commitment to serve.
 
Zeno, Congratulations! You deserve this opportunity. Just cast those doubts aside and focus on physical fitness between now and June 29th. Being "just slightly above the average GPA & ACT of appointees" puts you above over half the appointees. That's Awesome! And don't discount the value of working while going to school and earning great grades. As for activities, the quality of contributions are what matters more than the quantity. Be proud of what you have accomplished! You have earned this opportunity!
 
Congratulations on your appointment. As long as you are confident that you want to pursue a career as an officer in the USAF I wouldn't be too concerned about the statistics of others. Remember there is generally a broad distribution around most of the statistics they report. There are appointees who are used to being a big fish in a small pond who struggle once they get to the Academy. It's probably better to not have an over inflated view of oneself.

However, now is certainly a good time to reflect upon what you wish to pursue and if you are fully committed. The CFA may be your biggest issue. You really want to be fit for BCT and you do have enough time. If you can't motivate yourself to get fit, that should be something you factor into your decision.
 
zeno said:
I've accepted my appointment for the Class of 2021, but for some reason I can't kick the feeling that I don't deserve it. I've known for a while that I wanted to be in the military, but I started the process later than most people. It wasn't until the beginning of my senior year that I decided I wanted to apply to the Academy. I'm a fairly mediocre student, just slightly above the average GPA & ACT of appointees. I was barely involved in my school - I didn't play any sports during high school, I was only involved in 3 extracurricular activities, and a leader in only 1 of them. For the most part I went to school, and left for work right after. I'm not the most physically fit; I barely scraped by in the CFA (1 point away from being DQ'd).

I've been reading this forum for a solid amount of time, and seeing all the students here that are much more qualified than I am being turned down makes me feel a little guilty for being accepted. Don't get me wrong - I am extremely blessed to have this opportunity, and I am fully committed to being to the best officer I can be. I just can't help but feel a little alienated from the majority of people here.
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You control how you feel about things.

Resolve to finish strong academically, do your best to fully participate in your activities and in the area of physical fitness - that's something you can feel better about TODAY.

Do some browsing on here throughout various forums about getting in shape for a Service Academy first summer. Get yourself a routine and commit - running, sit-ups/crunches, push-ups, pull-ups, planks, grip strength, weight training to improve overall strength. Track your progress. Today. Do it. Action, not reaction, always makes you feel better physically and mentally. You have time between now and your report date to make some real progress and head out knowing you buckled down (today, don't think, today, just go) and improved your fitness. Don't say "I'll start tomorrow."

Your appointment is a fact. The SAs have been choosing new cadets and mids for a long time. Trust them and believe in yourself. At this stage, there is nothing to gain about comparing yourself to people on an Internet forum.

Look forward, be strong, and get out there and PT today. I blew off my AM cardio, so I am headed out on a 5 mile loop with the dogs right now. I could thing of many alternate things to do and let it slide, but I have put myself in "just go" mode. Box up your uncertainties and stick it on a shelf in your mind.


For something to provoke thought, and understand how being able to focus on what you can control and not invest energy in what you cannot can be a core skill of a successful officer, read this:

https://www.usna.edu/Ethics/_files/documents/Stoicism2.pdf
 
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Congratulations on your appointment!!! What congressional district and state are you from bc so many are still waiting to hear for an appointment?
 
Trollish post perhaps? ChristCorp really went to bat for you. I'm sure that there are lots of forum members that will shake their heads in wonder if it is a genuine post.

Good luck if it is genuine. You can't control whom the admissions selects. You're a male, and one seemingly without remarkable stats in any area.

Why do YOU think you got the nod over kids with higher scores, more leadership, & sports? If they want you, they want you. Something made them pull the trigger. Now you're job is to make them right!
 
From a current waitee for appointment, I want to say congratulations!!! You went through the appointment process and you EARNED that appointment. Don't let your doubts get you down. You have a bright future ahead of you, one that won't care about how you got into the Academy, just that you did. So smile, and hold that head up high! I hope to be joining you soon!!! :)
 
Maplerock said:
Trollish post perhaps? ChristCorp really went to bat for you. I'm sure that there are lots of forum members that will shake their heads in wonder if it is a genuine post.

Good luck if it is genuine. You can't control whom the admissions selects. You're a male, and one seemingly without remarkable stats in any area.

Why do YOU think you got the nod over kids with higher scores, more leadership, & sports? If they want you, they want you. Something made them pull the trigger. Now you're job is to make them right!
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You may be correct Maplerock. And most people know I rarely, if ever, reply to a post that is a person's 1st post. Too many trolls. But it is that time of year for appointments, and a lot of discussions about "More Qualified". Looked like an opportune time to post. We usually start getting a lot of urinated-off parents and applicants who didn't receive an appointment; and think they are "More Qualified" than others that did.
 
zeno said:
I've accepted my appointment for the Class of 2021, but for some reason I can't kick the feeling that I don't deserve it. I've known for a while that I wanted to be in the military, but I started the process later than most people. It wasn't until the beginning of my senior year that I decided I wanted to apply to the Academy. I'm a fairly mediocre student, just slightly above the average GPA & ACT of appointees. I was barely involved in my school - I didn't play any sports during high school, I was only involved in 3 extracurricular activities, and a leader in only 1 of them. For the most part I went to school, and left for work right after. I'm not the most physically fit; I barely scraped by in the CFA (1 point away from being DQ'd).

I've been reading this forum for a solid amount of time, and seeing all the students here that are much more qualified than I am being turned down makes me feel a little guilty for being accepted. Don't get me wrong - I am extremely blessed to have this opportunity, and I am fully committed to being to the best officer I can be. I just can't help but feel a little alienated from the majority of people here.
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Maybe what they saw was humility. Lack of arrogance. A leader who will not only lead the way but leave nobody behind. They saw in you what you are capable of becoming. Congratulations! Be humble. Be grateful. Be strong. Be a leader.
 
First off, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who's responded so far. I wholeheartedly appreciate the advice given, and will take it to heart. To address the general concerns, no, this post was not meant to troll. I was genuinely looking for words of inspiration to pull myself out of this funk. I think I've found that - thank you especially to Christcorp and Capt MJ. From this point forward, I'm going to focus on rising to the occasion and making the most out of the opportunity I've been given. This will be my first and last post. Thank you again to everyone.
 
Why your last post? Just as you have gained insight into the appointment process, and soon will gain insight first hand of basic training and the academy, you would be an asset and source of knowledge for those coming after you. This forum is as helpful and beneficial as it is, because of the combined knowledge and input of all the posters. You wouldn't have received this help and this forum wouldn't exist, if people asked one question and never returned.

PAY IT FORWARD!
 
Christcorp said:
Why your last post? Just as you have gained insight into the appointment process, and soon will gain insight first hand of basic training and the academy, you would be an asset and source of knowledge for those coming after you. This forum is as helpful and beneficial as it is, because of the combined knowledge and input of all the posters. You wouldn't have received this help and this forum wouldn't exist, if people asked one question and never returned.

PAY IT FORWARD!
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Insightful response, thank you again. You're truly an invaluable resource.
 
Are you really pondering the question of you deserving it or are you pondering if you can keep up with the rest you think are more qualified? Are you worried you may be the weak link? Do you have second thoughts about committing to this?

If that is really what it is that is quite a normal feeling. Remember, sometimes the straight A super star doesn't make it through 4 years...just do your best and make sure you want to be there.
 
I truly doubt that this was a troll post, but I'll bite. I have no idea of any demographic of the poster except he is a male, so my comments are general. He cannot see any outstanding characteristics in himself that would make him in that top 12-17% (depending on your source), so the unsaid underlying assumption is that he got in on something other than merit. Laying aside the arguments of fairness to the non-recepients of this selection system, this post demonstrates one glaring downside to the recipients: the inevitable self-doubt that arises. Unlike the unusually self-reflective response of this poster, the more usual response to self-doubt is defensiveness. Being defensive generally does not lead to cohesiveness with those around you and can lead instead to a chip on one's shoulder which is an inherent disadvantage in entering an institution that emphasizes cohesiveness.
Many arguments that have defended the non-merit based aspects of the selection process have emphasized leadership representing the diversity of the troops led. However, which diversity? Does gender trump religion? Does race trump sexual orientation? And, is the endpoint diversity or representation? Although it would be hard to fish up the Wall Street Journal article supporting this assertion, a bigger percentage of enlisted are from rural areas and by percentage of population more likely to come from southern states. I doubt that academy admissions represent those numbers.
Above posts emphasize (mainly for altruistic reasons) the seeming omniscience of academy selection committees in selecting the best candidates for future officers. However, an independent study posted on this forum of some of the academies, which the Air Force Academy participated in, showed that the academy's committee scores was the least indicative indicator among many of future success as an officer. This fact is really not surprising as the academy states it is evaluating the "whole person," but for the vast majority of candidates the committee has never met them in person. Certainly hard to evaluate the whole person from a distance on paper, unless the whole person concept is malleable based upon the demographics the academy wishes to pursue any particular year.
Again, these comments are not specific to this poster. I think, like those above, that the very humility the poster is demonstrating will more than compensate for any deficiencies in numbers. I just think the Academy selection committee would be hard pressed to know this on the information they receive. I am sure they got it right this time, though.
 
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