I think i screwed up my Nom interview?- I really need help :(

ikijunot

5-Year Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2010
Messages
8
Hi guys/girls, sorry for asking about this (it's kinda long), but do you think I actually stand a chance of getting a nomination or even a LOA?
I live in CA dist 40, which, i've been told, is apparantly very competitive. >.<

BIG PROBLEM= nomination interview wasn't so good, am i screwed now?
*I really want to join the Army and help our country, I'm really want to go towards the Medical Corps so I can help the injured instead of injuring others. My Cong. Rep. said that it's a bad thing to want to do this, considering alot of the people i'm "fighting" for noms with want to be army officers. I'm really scared that since I told her this and she said it wasn't good that I won't be able to get a nomination. My mom even yelled at me after my interview that I shouldn't have mentioned wanting to be a doctor.
It's not that I don't want to be an army officer, I've wanted to be one since I was really young (one uncle is was a general in the Korean army(passed away :frown:), and one uncle is a retired US airforce mechanic) I was very influenced by them,then as I got older I started to explore the medical field. I know that it'll be really hard to be accepted as a medical student after graduation, and that I'm ok with. If that happens then I'm going to go to med school after I come back from service.
I'm really stuck here, how do I persuad my Rep that I'm WP material?

-here's my current profile-
I'm currently a Junior in high school.(Korean female)

My school have no "no ranking" policy. But i'm pretty sure I'm in the top 10%.
GPA: 3.5 unweighted (i think)
SAT: V-580 M-630 W-530 (planning to raise these to atleast 650s)
PSAT: V-60 M-65 W-50
ACT: (taking it in June)

JV Basketball 1 year
Treasurer for Junior class
Red cross: 1 yr
3yrs+ Band
Police explorer: rank Corporal, head colorguard member
400+ volunteer hours
Taekwondo RedBelt (had to quit for financial reasons, hope to start again)
Fluent in Korean
O.K. in Japanese, took lil over 2 years of Japanese school (was in advance class)

Other than that, I don't think I really have anything that makes me stand out. I moved to a christian private school this year that doesn't offer sports and is very limited in activities i can join, though I hope to create an environmental club soon and join the Orchestra.

I tried to asses myself for the CFA and I got 0-pullups, 54-situps, 48-pushups, 8~9 min mile, ?BB, ?shuttle. (i'm working out alot so i can do better, especialy pullups.)

Is there anything I should start to do/join to make me a more competitive candidate?

Oh, and i didn't make it to the SLS, I think probably b/c i signed up a couple days ago and my SAT scores aren't so good.

Thanks for helping!!! I really feel as if I ran myself into a corner :(
 
Stop beating yourself up. Your stats look great. It was admirable of you to state that you want to assist the wounded. Naturally, you understand that there is fighting going on, why else would you need to assist the injured? You were honest. Send your interviewer a note thanking them for thier time. You can then reitterate that you are willing to fight for your country. Then, wait. There is alot of waiting to do. Good Luck. It's far from over.
 
They have already done nomination interviews for juniors? That doesn't sound right...
 
They have already done nomination interviews for juniors? That doesn't sound right...

That's what I wondering. I thought that intervirews were done starting in the fall of your senior year.
 
My son didn't get his first MOC interview until November of his senior year.
 
It sounds like this was probably not the official nomination interview - these happen in the fall of your senior year. Could it perhaps have been a conversation/meeting with the Congressional rep.? I did a search for California 40th district MOC and see that he (Ed Royce) doesn't have his 2010 nomination application information on his website yet, just information for various Academy Nights for those interested in the academies.
http://www.royce.house.gov/ConstituentServices/academies.htm

The MOC nomination applications usually become available in the spring/summer and typically require the completion of a form, one or more personal essays (based on a given topic), recommendation letters, SAT/ACT scores, and your school transcript. There is a very clear deadline for all items to be submitted by and then the nomination staff sort through all the applications and decide who will be called in for an interview (sometime between Oct. and Jan.). You are notified that you have been selected for an interview via phone call or formal letter. Most people report that their interview occured with a board of at least 2 people (in my son's case there were 4 or 5 people on each board) and neither the senator nor the congressman is present for the nom. interview. All contact my son had was with the various nomination liasons (both senators and rep.), who were very helpful with any questions he had.

I would encourage you to call the MOC's office and ask when the nomination application information will be available for the Class of 2015 - this will put your mind at ease that what you had was not your offical interview. You could also write a letter to request a nomination package when it becomes available.
 
A few quick points to consider:

Spend some time reading this forum. Understand the different terms used. Your interview could not have been a nomination interview this early in your high school career. It will be useful for you to know the different phases of this process, so you can be sure to complete each phase completely.

Be careful using terms like "screwed". Speak and write efficiently and effectively.

There are timelines available at the academy websites, and those can help you understand the process. Simply put, it is a two track process. One for the academies, and one for the MOC's. Make sure you know the deadlines and timelines for each.

Keep working hard in school, and with your volunteer work. Good things will happen.
 
Ah sorry about my use of language potentialparent, I know my situation doesn't call for writing like that. I'll try to be more efficient.

Oh and for the nomination interview, You guys are right, it was just a regular interview to say that I was interested in going to WP. What I'm afraid of is that my first impression was a bad one, especially since my Rep said that It was a bad thing to want to be a doctor and go to WP.
I guess the real thing i need help with is, Do you have any advice to make a better impression on my Rep so she knows how I truely feel about going to WP?

Thanks for your help so far. You've all encouraged me more. :D
 
No need to apologize, just offering some advice. Always remember your best weapon is your resume and academic statistics. The interviews are important, and you will have a few more as you go through the process, and those will be more important than your last interview. BUT your resume is what will get you in the door.

If your dream is to be a doctor, then be a doctor. This is a link to the WP website talking about the limited number of medical school slots that are available. http://www.dean.usma.edu/departments/Chem/Courses/MedicalSchoolOption.htm

This would explain the statement made at your interview. ROTC is another path to consider, if a medical career is really what you want. My nephew went ROTC to Washington University in St Louis, is currently in the Army, did a tour in Iraq, and is now studying medicine in Bethesda, MD. Research the statistics about ROTC students that go to medical school.

If WP is really your dream, you will need to go into it understanding the reality that only a few top students get to medical school straight from graduation.

Final thought is to get your SAT scores up as high as you can. Make it a priority to take a class, and study practice tests. Make it impossible for them to say no to you!
 
There are many paths to Medical Officer in the active duty military - try searching some threads on here for insight.

The majority of military medical officers do not attend a Service Academy. Speaking very generally, they usually come in via a Direct Commission, meaning they've been through college and medical school, and are commissioned into the Medical Corps directly.
Some do serve on active duty in one branch as an officer, having gone through an SA, ROTC or OCS/OTS but eventually apply for transfer to go the medical officer route.
Some are enlisted medical corpsmen or other enlisted specialities who got their college degree and applied for a medical commissioning program.
Some come out of college ROTC programs and get one of the medical officer slots, going on to civilian or military medical school.
Some attend the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), the "military medical school." http://www.usuhs.mil/ They start right out of their civilian college, getting commissioned immediately before starting med school.
Some take advantage of the military Health Professional Scholarship Program for medical school, offered by Army, Navy and Air Force. (I think Coast Guard uses USPHS medical officers or Navy, but I'm not entirely sure. Marine Corps uses Navy medical staff.) This is a great program, and I have many friends who took advantage of it for medical school, nursing school (BSN) or other health provider specialties. http://www.goarmy.com/amedd/medical/corps_benefits.jsp

Information is power. Think through whether your ultimate goal is to be a military medical officer first and foremost, or to attend an SA and take your chances for a shot at medical school afterwards, understanding there is potential for a career path that has nothing to do with medicine.

Keep asking questions, keep reading and researching, keep thinking about how you see your life unfolding. Good luck.
 
That's great that you want to be a doctor. Especially in the army. I see no reason why it's a bad thing. Remember, always be honest and supportive of your dream - even if it doesn't sound like a good idea to some people. The fact that you want to be an army officer is what I feel matters.


Keep working and making your file more impressive. Starting an environmental club is a good idea - that shows leadership. Look around for some activities to do. You may find some that you will like as well as use for resumes. Also, if you havn't already, found out as much as you can about West Point (And other commissioning routes).

I apologize because I have no idea about the CFA for girls.
 
That's great that you want to be a doctor. Especially in the army. I see no reason why it's a bad thing. Remember, always be honest and supportive of your dream - even if it doesn't sound like a good idea to some people. The fact that you want to be an army officer is what I feel matters.


Keep working and making your file more impressive. Starting an environmental club is a good idea - that shows leadership. Look around for some activities to do. You may find some that you will like as well as use for resumes. Also, if you havn't already, found out as much as you can about West Point (And other commissioning routes).

I apologize because I have no idea about the CFA for girls.

It's a bad idea because she would have to wait until her time in the military was up until she went to med school. The SA's don't offer any medical degrees to my knowledge.

So (assuming you would enter the Academy when you are 18):
4 years college
8 years military
4 years med school
4 years residency/internship
 
Hey! I'm actually from the CA 40th district! I can tell you for sure that what you went through wasn't the official nomination process. That starts september/october with forms and recommendation letters and all this other stuff.

What you did was just a simple overview of your competitiveness and stuff for her own office files. No worries.
 
They do send kids to medical school. I am almost positive. It is an extremely selective process though. I think 4 kids or some ridiculously small number like that are doing it currently.
 
I remember on the USMA home page it had a cadet working and the description said that he was going to branch in the medical corps as an army doctor.

http://www.usma.edu/HomeArt/
It's a little bit down, it's titled "West Point aids amputees".
 
Try doing a search - there have been a lot of threads about this in the past. I know that in general the sum of the conversations have been that of the academies, WP is the one most likely to get you to medical school. However, it's a long shot. I believe they say they have around 20 slots, but rarely do they get filled. WP does not offer a "pre-med" track, and with the amount of obligations you have, plus class requirements, it is very difficult to get the classes and grades to need to successfully compete against students across the country also applying. And as said, you would incur a very long commitment. You should be 100 percent committed to being an Army officer and realizing that the odds of med school are low. But it's a possibility that you can strive for! Definitely look into it more if you're really serious about med school though because there are better options.
 
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Whoa----

There is a program for West Point (and ROTC) cadet to attend medical school directly after graduation. In fact, West Point actively encourages Cadets who want to attend medical school by providing opportunities for shadowing and mentoring.
I don't think the odds of attending med school from WP are lower than from a civilian college. If you have the ability, drive, gpa and MCAT score you will probably go.

I don't think it's your desire for med school that is giving pause.
*I really want to join the Army and help our country, I'm really want to go towards the Medical Corps so I can help the injured instead of injuring others.
I think the "instead of injuring others" is the operative statement here.
You need to fully understand that as an Army doctor you are also a soldier. You will learn to shoot. You will be caring for those who "injure others". Mostly though, if you go to West Point and do not become a doctor, you will still be a soldier.
Think about this long and hard and possibly refine your statement with more clarity.
 
I think a key thing for the nom interviews for you is to be truthful in your desire to be in the medical corps, but emphasize your overall drive to be an Army officer, no matter what career field you end up branching.
 
I'll say this about getting into any service academy...there is no secret formula. This year and the next few years will be some of the toughest. I attribute three key factors that set in motion a major shift in application volume.
1) The Economy, 2) Forbes article, 3) End of War within sight.

These three factors sparked an increase in overall interest in West point.

Just a few years ago I read where the number of top notch applicants had declined and a majority of West Point graduates had done their 5-years and left the army. The war has made attending West Point lackluster. Many of these combat veterans have been very public about their opinions of the war. But now the US government has a plan to withdraw and end the war, the economy sucks, and Forbes proclaimed WP #1. West Point got what it wanted this year...a bumper crop of highly qualified candidates, so large that many "sure bets" were denied.
 
I don't think the odds of attending med school from WP are lower than from a civilian college. If you have the ability, drive, gpa and MCAT score you will probably go.

Four years to get that GPA, MCAT, and course load does make it significantly harder. I think it might be the only fault of the SA. I think being forced to graduate in four years does push a lot of kids away from harder degrees and career paths like med school. But you are right. If you are motivated and want it by no means can you not achieve it. Kids do go to med school directly from West Point like me and others have said.
 
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