Help from Mentor ALO

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h22882

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Jan 14, 2023
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Have anyone here gotten any help from your montor during your application porcess?

My son applied both USMA and USAFA and he recieved LOE in Oct and LOA in Dec from USMA. His local liasion montor who is a retired US Army veteran and also a West Point graduate was great helping with setting up meetings with a West Point graduate or with current cadets. Also the regional admission officer from West Point was there to answer whenever my son had questions.

My son finished everything including medical exam and cfa, got two nominations, and is waiting to get a result from DodMerb right now, but we have not heard anything from his ALO or AFA Admission office and he didn't receive LOE or LOA either yet. When my son sent an email to his mentor to introduce himself, his ALO basically said, "Thanks for letting me know.". That was it and he had never contacted him since.

I'm wondering what kind of experience you had (are having) with your mentor AOL. Should I be concerned for not hearing anything back?
Thank you!
 
I was contacted by my mentor ALO within 30 minutes of sending my candidate questionnaire in. Emails were responded to quickly, and I received helpful support throughout my application/ interview processes. I asked a lot of questions that get asked on these forums, however, my ALO was able to give answers regarding my application directly and that was very valuable.

After completing my entire checklist - pending dodmerb - I waited two weeks before I was assigned an Eval ALO and he contacted me in the first 30 minutes I was assigned. The interview was scheduled and conducted in about 36 hours.

-Personal experience only. My liaison officers from other SAs were less involved, but they still did their job very well.
 
Apollo 8, thank you very much for sharing your experience. Wow, it sounds like he/she was a great mentor!!
 
Based on my ds's experience last year, it is dependent on the person assigned. My ds heard from his FFR for USMA once in response to a question and the answer was not very helpful. His introduction email and other questions went unanswered. He began directly asking his RC and got a lot more (and accurate) help. He was also able to meet with a USMA admissions officer which was extremely insightful during the process.

He heard little from his USAFA ALO but I got the impression that he was new and was still learning how to help candidates. He was also trying to launch a for-pay business helping candidates so that was interesting. His response to my ds when sending the intro letter was, "Good luck and I hope you play a sport." Any questions he sent to his admissions team were answered promptly over e-mail despite the issues they were having with the new admissions platform. He had no trouble scheduling and conducting his interview with his evaluator ALO and really enjoyed that process.

We totally understood that ALOs, BGOs, and FFRs are volunteer posistions and you get what you get. Some have more time, enthusiasm, and experience to offer. Honestly, ds didn't need his ALO or FFR much. They could have added to his admissions experience, but didn't take away from it, either. I'm optimistic that ds #2 will have a more engaged ALO/FFR/BGO with a bit more guidance but I feel confident that his process won't be hindered either way.

Also, ds #1 didn't pursue USNA with much vigor and didn't end up finishing his application for medical reasons (he knew being colorblind would be too limiting for him), but routinely received correspondance from the USNA regional admissions officer. He never reached out to his BGO so it makes sense that the BGO never contacted him. It left a good impression on me overall.
 
h22882 said:
Have anyone here gotten any help from your montor during your application porcess?

My son applied both USMA and USAFA and he recieved LOE in Oct and LOA in Dec from USMA. His local liasion montor who is a retired US Army veteran and also a West Point graduate was great helping with setting up meetings with a West Point graduate or with current cadets. Also the regional admission officer from West Point was there to answer whenever my son had questions.

My son finished everything including medical exam and cfa, got two nominations, and is waiting to get a result from DodMerb right now, but we have not heard anything from his ALO or AFA Admission office and he didn't receive LOE or LOA either yet. When my son sent an email to his mentor to introduce himself, his ALO basically said, "Thanks for letting me know.". That was it and he had never contacted him since.

I'm wondering what kind of experience you had (are having) with your mentor AOL. Should I be concerned for not hearing anything back?
Thank you!
Click to expand...
I'm not an ALO but can speak to how USNA Blue and Gold Officers operate.
Typically, I get in contact with kids in my high schools just once or twice - a welcome when they come onto my portal as an applicant and
one to schedule an interview when most of their application has been submitted. At times, I will reach out for other reasons but I do not routinely contact the applicants through the cycle.
 
DS mentor ALO has been useless. To the point I will follow up with USAFA. It didn't hurt him because this is our second time but a lack of a useful mentor ALO could be devastating for some kidsm
 
So are mentor ALO’s supposed to coach a student though the process? Is that the expectation? I know SA’s have different set ups.

My training, is that we (ISNA BGO’s) are a resource as much as we can be/are asked questions of. But not to ‘hand-hold’ through the process. Or ‘coach’ through the application. Some students ask a lot of questions. Others? Don’t.

Interesting thread!
 
A lot of "mentor" ALOs will wait until the candidate reaches out to them as it is an indicator of how serious the candidate is about applying to USAFA. Having said that, it isn't the way I work. I will contact the candidate multiple times depending on their level of interest. If they are not completing the application process in a reasonable amount of time after my encouragement, I stop. I don't want to waste my time.

Always try to reach out to your mentor ALO if you don't hear from them first. If you have questions, reach out to them, don't wait on them to check up on you.
 
justdoit19 said:
So are mentor ALO’s supposed to coach a student though the process? Is that the expectation? I know SA’s have different set ups.

My training, is that we (ISNA BGO’s) are a resource as much as we can be/are asked questions of. But not to ‘hand-hold’ through the process. Or ‘coach’ through the application. Some students ask a lot of questions. Others? Don’t.

Interesting thread!
Click to expand...
Mentor ALOs are there to answer questions and offer guidance -- no hand holding (though some may do that).

However, I recommend reading the Candidate Handbook first. Its frustrating when asked questions which are answered in the handbook.
If the ALO can't answer a question, they will often guide the candidate to ask the Admissions counselor. For instance, ALOs don't know the status of submitted items.
 
h22882 said:
Have anyone here gotten any help from your montor during your application porcess?

My son applied both USMA and USAFA and he recieved LOE in Oct and LOA in Dec from USMA. His local liasion montor who is a retired US Army veteran and also a West Point graduate was great helping with setting up meetings with a West Point graduate or with current cadets. Also the regional admission officer from West Point was there to answer whenever my son had questions.

My son finished everything including medical exam and cfa, got two nominations, and is waiting to get a result from DodMerb right now, but we have not heard anything from his ALO or AFA Admission office and he didn't receive LOE or LOA either yet. When my son sent an email to his mentor to introduce himself, his ALO basically said, "Thanks for letting me know.". That was it and he had never contacted him since.

I'm wondering what kind of experience you had (are having) with your mentor AOL. Should I be concerned for not hearing anything back?
Thank you!
Click to expand...
No, nothing to worry about.
ALOs have no view into the application status. We are not part of "the board" that reviews and appoints.

I realize that you've been seeing LOE/LOA on this board. To be honest, they are really relatively rare (often given to recruited athletes who may be picked up by other universities). The vast majority of appointments will be made in the March timeframe.

The waiting is really the hardest part.
 
When I was eleven I asked my parents to help me learn about going to the USAFA, my dad is a Desert Storm veteran. My mom contacted the mentor ALO for our region and he invited us to a grass root Christmas party and informed us of in person and online informational meetings about the Academy. He gave us a lot of advice and guidance- like I transferred to a school with A-G curriculum starting in junior high, attended a soccer camp at the Academy, joined CAP, took all the advanced and honors classes that I could and would gave me tips on how to interview well.

I would email him my big accomplishments like becoming the squadron commander in CAP, being a flight commander in Encampment, getting on the Olympic Development Program, my SAT score etc.

He is a big part of my application process, since 2016! If I get in the USAFA for c/o 2027, he will be one of the first persons I will thank!
 
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