Good advice for juniors applying to the SAs

[Antoinette]

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2009/apr/14/finding-theright-match/

When looking at colleges, consider the school's "personality"

Martha Seal is a field admissions officer for West Point U.S. Military Academy. She said the said the service academy recommends students start the admissions process in their junior year.
"We make sure it is not a last-minute decision," Seal said. "I recommend they start the admissions process after Christmas of their junior year. The process is a lot different for a service academy than for a regular college."
Seals' job is to make sure the students are on track in their admissions process, as well as meeting with them for a face-to-face interview.
"The service academy is very competitive and the process is very rigorous," she said.
Seal said students applying to West Point must be physically fit, academically strong and they look for leadership skills.
"You say you have leadership skills? Well how do we know? You can't just become a sports team captain or an officer in a club by jumping in at the last minute during your senior year. So we look at those kinds of things," she said.
Applying to college, and especially a military academy, is a lot like applying for a job. The schools require references or letters of recommendation, and they check them too.
"We are looking for a well-rounded person," Seal said. "We ask for references from people like a church pastor or past employers."
Not only are there differences in the admissions process between a military academy and a regular college, the differences don't stop there.
"There is a military obligation after graduation," Seal said. "You choose your branch in your senior year."
Students, known as cadets at West Point, can be sent home all the way through to their junior year. Seal said just because they make it through the admissions process and gain one of the coveted spots at West Point doesn't mean they can stop performing to their best ability.
"They can and will be sent home if they don't continue to meet all the requirements," Seal said.
Seal and Rusk both work with potential students to make sure they are the right fit for the schools they work for.
"We don't want them to make the wrong choice," Rusk said. "But if they visit lots of schools and really do their homework, they won't make the wrong choice."
If they do make the wrong choice, Rusk said students can transfer without much problem during their first two years of college.
"After that, when they really start getting into their major, we don't recommend transferring," Rusk said.
Colleges all over the country offer college tours and special visit programs all through the summer Rusk said.
"Families can make a whole week's vacation out of visiting colleges over the summer between the student's junior and senior year," he said.
But past the college visits, he suggested that parents take a step back and let the students make the decision about what school they will attend.
"Kids look to their parents, more than anyone else, for advice, but smart parents will ultimately let the final decision belong to the student."

 

[M19]

Great advice! Thanks for sharing.

' "Kids look to their parents, more than anyone else, for advice, but smart parents will ultimately let the final decision belong to the student." '



Now to show this to my parents...

M19

 

[Just_A_Mom]

Antoinette - thanks for posting this.
Some very good points are made here about "fit" and of course allowing the student to decide.
Each candidate and parent should read this.

I particularly like this quote:

"You say you have leadership skills? Well how do we know? You can't just become a sports team captain or an officer in a club by jumping in at the last minute during your senior year. So we look at those kinds of things," she said.

 

[popeyesmom]

Absolutely - I frequently see those questions coming from candidates, "What can I do to make me "look" like a leader? Should I try to be captain of this or President of that?" Somewhere along the line, I hope and believe that admissions officers discover whether this is something the candidate is doing for their resume or is the leadership a natural progression of their interest and dedication to a sport or club. For example, did a student just join the chess club and become president in one year or did they have a long interest in chess club and move from membership coordinator to Vice President to President, etc. Do they take on leadership roles regardless of whether that leadership role has a title attached to it?

 

[Antoinette]

I think West Point Admissions is doing a great job getting their message out to propsective candidates.

Glad you guys are finding the article helpful!