How long do I have to accept an appointment

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Benchpress123

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Oct 4, 2023
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Hi,

I was just appointed to USMA, and it is my first choice and I want to accept the appointment. But my mom wants me to wait until the other two academies let me know about their decisions, just so I have options to which branch I want to serve in. Does anyone know how long I have until I can accept the offer of appointment to USMA, I can’t seem to find it anywhere on the portal.
 
Benchpress123 said:
Well yes I am ready to accept it right now and most likely will, but out of respect for my mom who helped me so much I think I should wait because she wants me to.
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The instructions that came with my son’s offer gave clear instructions. But that was USNA.

In the past it was April 15 for USMA. Don’t know if that changed.
 
Benchpress123 said:
Hi,

I was just appointed to USMA, and it is my first choice and I want to accept the appointment. But my mom wants me to wait until the other two academies let me know about their decisions, just so I have options to which branch I want to serve in. Does anyone know how long I have until I can accept the offer of appointment to USMA, I can’t seem to find it anywhere on the portal.
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In the letter sent out by the Superintendent, it states to accept no later than May 1, 2024. Congratulations and I hope to see you at USMA!
 
BubbaCool12 said:
In the letter sent out by the Superintendent, it states to accept no later than May 1, 2024. Congratulations and I hope to see you at USMA!
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Was this letter in the BFE? I still am waiting for West Point to send me mine, assuming it will contain more information than on the portal.
 
Even if you accept now, and then change your mind, you can decline later. It’s still only November. You can let the offer marinate while you await other decisions right up to the deadline.
 
Capt MJ said:
Even if you accept now, and then change your mind, you can decline later. It’s still only November. You can let the offer marinate while you await other decisions right up to the deadline.
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Last year DS accepted appointments to USAFA, and USMA. (Also got offered USCGA late in the game, and declined immediately). After torturing himself for 6 weeks or so with the decision, he finally respectfully declined the USAFA appointment. It was still well before deadline, and pretty sure USAFA didn't skip a beat filling his spot without any issues.😉 He's currently battling through Plebe year at West Point, successfully so far.
It's my understanding that this happens EVERY year. The Service Academies know it, and factor the well predicted # of dual appointments in to their #s.
So long as you do due diligence in communicating your final decision in a timely manor, then no harm, no foul.
My advice to you would be to go ahead and accept your USMA appointment, and start taking care of all the items you'll need to complete. It's extensive, and you'll be better off getting in front of it best you're able to. Congratulations!
 
Jetbill said:
Last year DS accepted appointments to USAFA, and USMA. (Also got offered USCGA late in the game, and declined immediately). After torturing himself for 6 weeks or so with the decision, he finally respectfully declined the USAFA appointment. It was still well before deadline, and pretty sure USAFA didn't skip a beat filling his spot without any issues.😉 He's currently battling through Plebe year at West Point, successfully so far.
It's my understanding that this happens EVERY year. The Service Academies know it, and factor the well predicted # of dual appointments in to their #s.
So long as you do due diligence in communicating your final decision in a timely manor, then no harm, no foul.
My advice to you would be to go ahead and accept your USMA appointment, and start taking care of all the items you'll need to complete. It's extensive, and you'll be better off getting in front of it best you're able to. Congratulations!
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The lists of appointments have a ton of undecided applicants for a reason!
 
Keep your options open as long as possible. Keep learning about the other services and their corresponding SAs. You may learn something new and consider a new path. DD had USNA in her sights since middle school, but came close to accepting USMA’s offer instead. Decisions and preferences can look different once offers are in hand.

And don’t worry about “keeping a spot” from someone else. That’s not at all the case. The SAs make appointment decisions with a certain yield in mind — about 85% are expected to accept their offers — so you’re not denying any other deserving candidates. Use all the time you’re given.
 
Mom of current plebe here. I want to echo Jetbill's comment about tons of stuff to do, so it's good to get ahead of it. I think, if you want to accept now, that the "getting ahead of the avalanche of stuff to do that is going to be coming down on you in three waves" is the persuasive argument to give to your mom. It's figuring out gear (low quarters shoes are especially annoying to figure out), getting a police records check which causes various people problems every year as local offices don't always know how to do it, and just a huge amount of paperwork. I'm so glad we got on it as it really dragged out longer than I thought it would.

Also, you have to accept before she can get onto Facebook's West Point Moms group. I joined Facebook just for this group, and it really helps the moms understand what is going on, and help them onboard their plebes.

You can have her message me if you like. Congrats on your appointment!
 
This is your choice. Not your mother’s choice. Accept it now. You can turn it down later if you change your mind. But you won’t.
 
Monikat said:
Mom of current plebe here. I want to echo Jetbill's comment about tons of stuff to do, so it's good to get ahead of it. I think, if you want to accept now, that the "getting ahead of the avalanche of stuff to do that is going to be coming down on you in three waves" is the persuasive argument to give to your mom. It's figuring out gear (low quarters shoes are especially annoying to figure out), getting a police records check which causes various people problems every year as local offices don't always know how to do it, and just a huge amount of paperwork. I'm so glad we got on it as it really dragged out longer than I thought it would.

Also, you have to accept before she can get onto Facebook's West Point Moms group. I joined Facebook just for this group, and it really helps the moms understand what is going on, and help them onboard their plebes.

You can have her message me if you like. Congrats on your appointment!
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Yes! The WP Moms page…a tremendous resource. I am an admin. If she has questions or you can give her ‘The West Point Moms Survival Guide’ for Christmas.
 
OP, thank you for this question. I also feel the same way about my DS. He wants to smash that accept button if a WP appointment is offered. I told him he should wait to see about the other SA. So just to confirm....if my DS does receive a WP offer, he can accept and that won't stop the other possible SA offers of appointment? I am fine with WP being his first choice, he has just worked so hard on the other apps, I would like to see if he gets offers from them.
 
Even if you accept your WP appointment, you are still not 'obligated' to go. You can still change your mind. Each SA determines who to offer appointments independently and accepting one has nothing to do with what offers you may get from other SA's. The one thing I would not do is accept offers of appointments to multiple SA's. At the very least once you have made up your mind where you want to go, you should decline any other open offers from the other SA's
 
Texark147 said:
OP, thank you for this question. I also feel the same way about my DS. He wants to smash that accept button if a WP appointment is offered. I told him he should wait to see about the other SA. So just to confirm....if my DS does receive a WP offer, he can accept and that won't stop the other possible SA offers of appointment? I am fine with WP being his first choice, he has just worked so hard on the other apps, I would like to see if he gets offers from them.
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The service academies and ROTC programs do not talk to one another. Your child should accept if he or she wishes to accept--but he or she should NOT accept if going to West Point is NOT what they want to do. So, no rush. One of my boys was accepted to another academy early in the process--and that appointment came with a decide-by date. He spent a lot of time soul searching before hitting 'accept.' We then spent time preparing and learning more about the USAFA experience (we are truly a West Point/Army family). When West Point sent the BFE in very late April, my kid did not run upstairs and hit accept for USMA. He had been sincere in his decision to USAFA...and instead he spent a few days looking at the website, talking to people, reading about the different majors and opportunities. I tried to stay out of his decision making loop--because it is his life. A few days later he declined his USAFA appointment (they made him confirm his choice three times)...and accepted his USMA appointment.

We have no doubt that another hopeful high school senior was offered that slot at USAFA--and is maybe out there flying jets as an Air Force officer right now.
 
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