These timelines have many of us concerned. My DS is also CPR for the USNA, but has an appointment to the USAFA that needs to accept by April 15th or it automatically be moved into a declined status.
He would be proud to accept the USAFA appointment, but hoping to hear from the USNA soon so that he a bit of time to properly assess his options.
This post is not personally directed at the OP... just my feelings regarding the subject. The OP's post is just the perfect example.
I keep holding my tongue but the anxiety of my DD being CPR is starting to get the best of me so here goes..... I do not understand applying to multiple academies EXCEPT your goal is to be a United States Military Officer regardless of the branch. If that is your goal and one of the academies offers you an appointment then take it and free up the spot at other academies for other people. My DD is only interested in being a Naval Officer so she did not apply to USMA or USAFA. The service branches have different missions, traditions, and service careers. To complain about having to wait to hear from USNA while having an appointment in hand from another Academy - in the USNA forum - is kind of insulting to those of us who put Annapolis on a pedestal. I probably wouldn't have posted this if it were solely my opinion but I've heard this sentiment from multiple USNA candidates or their parents. So I imagine there are anxious USMA and USAFA folks who feel the same. I personally believe there is a line of morality and ethics - if not a general sense of fairness - required to be a good officer and perhaps this is the first chance to examine this.
Go ahead and blast away at my post.... Again, it is not intended as a personal attack on the OP. The intent is to share the frustration myself and others may be feeling.
Go Navy! Beat Army and Air Force!
Ok. I'll blast away. Lol.
Everyone has the absolute right, legally, morally, and otherwise, to apply to whatever academies they wish to apply to, for whatever reason or prerogative; even to the extent that other applicants would rather the field had one less candidate competing for a spot. Kids are not obligated, morally or otherwise, to consern themselves with the possibility that some other person would rather not have them competing for the same academy spot, or would rather not have to wait so long before being awarded a spot of their own. Under what theory or principle of ethics or morality should a kid feel bad about applying to multiple academies?
Frankly, if a kid wants to serve his/her country, and lead in the armed services, that patriotic desire should apply regardless of the branch of service; but I get that one branch may be more attractive, for a number of reasons unique to each individual, just as one academy might be more attractive than another. Nevertheless, even if a kid has a favorite, there is nothing at all inappropriate with seeking an appointment to multiple academies, and then assessing which one he/she wants to accept, even at the last minute. If that's the case, he/she would have gone through the process for each of the academies, secured nominations, had good enough grades, test scores, leadership and athletic achievements, and fitness to win multiple appointments, and absolutely earned the luxury of choice, and even taking his/her time to chose.
My son would have loved even a single appointment to either USMA, USAFA, or USNA, and applied to all three. He had interviewed with three different MOC committees (three different days, along with 250 other kids for each), three different academy liaison officers, and met with admissions officers, as well as a ROTC interview. He had to satisfy all the requirements for each academy; separate essays, teacher assessments, letters of recommendation, etc.... all while doing all the other things like sports, work, studying for the ACT, and working out for the CFA. He was awarded appointments to USAFA and USMA earlier than most, but nothing from USNA until after he was committed to USMA, when he got the call from USNA only days before we left for R-day at West Point. Would he have liked the opportunity to consider USNA before committing to WP? Of course he would have. But someone else obviously earned the spot before him, and most likely waited until passing on it, or perhaps he was just next on the NWL. Either way, that's the way it goes, and fortunately for him he put himself is a position to have choices. He didn't take anything away from anyone else, and even if someone lost the opportunity to go to West Point because he got it, that's the way life works; and it is quite equitable, moral and fair in the truest sense. He earned each spot he got by competing hard for it and winning it over the others who applied, just as he earned the opportunity to choose.
I still don't understand how a 17 year old kid can figure out with any degree of accuracy what he/she will want to be doing the rest of their life. But everyone on these forums keeps saying their kid knows they want to be in one of the armed services but not the other. Really? I have been a judge for 8 years, and was a lawyer for almost 20 years before that because I could never figure out what I should do before that. Honestly. How many kids go to one academy, or enlist in one service or another, only to think about what they might be able to do if they were in one of the other branches of service, but realize there is no sense thinking about it, because they are already committed to the one they are in. There are great career options in all of them, and most career fields one service has the others have too. Navy has ships, so if you want that then don't do Army or Air Force. But you could still do Coast Guard. Most kids are in love with a vision they have. Usually a romantic vision, made for Hollywood, and they see themselves in a particular uniform. We all had visions of ourselves at that age, and with rare exception those visions or goals change because our interests and aptitude change as we experience things, mature, and grow.
Point is, I think it is unfair to disparage a young person for conceding he or she isn't sure what he/she wants, and just tries to open as many doors to becoming a military officer as possible. I encourage all kids to broaden there interests and options by applying to multiple academies.