I'm freaking out!

Waiting is frustrating. It is impossible to know how many remaining appointments are available to offer. They will continue to offer right up until the start of BCT. My appointment came around 7 June.

1) Are there seats left - YES
2) There is an acceptance date approaching that will clear the deck and reveal where they are in building the class. Failure to accept by the prescribed date will become an auto-decline for the applicant.
3) As we get closer to BCT, language will escalate to applicants who have not yet been offered an appointment and push them towards Plan B.
4) Expect a round of negative communications coming around 15 April for anyone still on the National Wait List.
5) Someone who is told no, may ultimately receive a yes but the statistical odds are quite low.

We all seek certainty. Uncertainty for things outside of our control is hard. Best of luck!
 
If I understood you correctly, we may not get a definite answer? His 2nd choice is NROTC, so should we just commit now? Or just wait until April 15? I just want to be ready...
 
You’ll get a definitive answer one way or another. You can wait to accept an ROTC scholarship, at least until the ROTC commitment deadline. But even if you accept now and then get admitted to an SA, you can back out of the ROTC scholarship with no repercussions. Happens quite a bit.
 
By the way, @USAMom2021, try not to freak out, especially if you’re the parent. The stress and anxiety get passed on to DS/DD, which then raises their stress and anxiety. As the college counselor at my kids’ school says, the parents’ job in this process is “milk and cookies.” You mention “we” instead of “he/she,” so you’re clearly very invested. I’m sorry if this sounds preachy — I just know how a steady parent can in turn steady the kid.
 
I understand the anxiety - my DD got an appointment but a student of mine is still hoping to hear from the Prep School or the Falcon program. He really wants to go. I wish I knew how to get his film into a coach.
 
USAMom2021 said:
Someone please help!
When is the final slew of acceptances coming out? Has the 2025 class been selected? Do we still have a chance for acceptance? #worried and #stressed
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Parents

I apologize for the bombard of questions, but there are just so many things going on right now. Both of my parents are worried about me attending USAFA, especially my mom. She, unlike my father, does not have any military experience, so she is probably a bit more worried. They are worried that...
www.serviceacademyforums.com

Read what @Capt MJ said, it may not pertain to what you're worried about, but it should help.
 
Please take a look at last year’s appointment thread. You will see that they offered appointments all through April. March definitely had the bulk of appointments, but it’s not over until they tell you “no”. That said, it is prudent to secure your plan B.

USAFA Class of 2024 Appointment Thread

1) Weatherguy / Self / No LOA / 30-Oct-19 / Accepted / CT / Congressional / Direct Appointment 2) egb30 / DS / LOA / 30-Oct-19 / Accepted / SC / Congressional / Direct Appointment 3) FutureUSAFACadet / Self / LOA / 20-Nov-19 / Will Accept / WA / Congressional / Direct Appointment 4) Small_Goose...
www.serviceacademyforums.com
 
shiner said:
Waiting is frustrating. It is impossible to know how many remaining appointments are available to offer. They will continue to offer right up until the start of BCT. My appointment came around 7 June.

1) Are there seats left - YES
2) There is an acceptance date approaching that will clear the deck and reveal where they are in building the class. Failure to accept by the prescribed date will become an auto-decline for the applicant.
3) As we get closer to BCT, language will escalate to applicants who have not yet been offered an appointment and push them towards Plan B.
4) Expect a round of negative communications coming around 15 April for anyone still on the National Wait List.
5) Someone who is told no, may ultimately receive a yes but the statistical odds are quite low.

We all seek certainty. Uncertainty for things outside of our control is hard. Best of luck!
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How does one know if they’re on the NWL? I don’t believe DS has had any change in status on his portal.
 
FormerCTR said:
How does one know if they’re on the NWL? I don’t believe DS has had any change in status on his portal.
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The short answer is that if you are 100% complete in forms and medical at this stage of the competition - or admissions cycle, AND have not already received a TWE, you are almost certainly on the NWL. Even students without nominations can be in this category (I didn't have a nom until 7 June).

The lack of visibility within the process is one element that makes the waiting difficult. Just seeing a number like NWL position #2032 would give you just enough info to let you know you are not going to make it this year. When we are waiting in line, some places give you a line number and that is just enough to hold us over. We look at the sign and listen for "Now serving number..." and we are mostly content. We don't always understand what is taking so long, but we at least know where we are in the order.

I suspect there are far too many contributing factors surrounding Academy Admissions to publish a NWL rank order to applicants because as soon as they go out of order to pick up a candidate who fits a different demographic - the waiting room goes crazy. USCGA has a goal of 50% female representation within the next several years - per an in-person briefing by their Dir of Admissions. Initiatives like this are aimed at shaping the officer force for a branch to either guide or shape the force to be more representative of where their total force is today or where they want their force to be tomorrow. Situations like this mean they cannot focus 100% on the rank order of the NWL. To me, the NWL becomes a general guide as they look to match the other needs of the branch. Strength of candidate is one element, but not the only element in their decision making process. Many of us (me included) tend to prefer a binary, objective criteria in scarcity situations. Who gets the scholarship... Who gets the promotion... Who gets a pay raise. It is far easier for me (and many of us I suspect) to process mentally if there is a score that was derived at by the individual's own merit and "you are what your record says you are." Unfortunately, it is more gray than that.
 
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shiner said:
The short answer is that if you are 100% complete in forms and medical at this stage of the competition - or admissions cycle, AND have not already received a TWE, you are almost certainly on the NWL. Even students without nominations can be in this category (I didn't have a nom until 7 June).

The lack of visibility within the process is one element that makes the waiting difficult. Just seeing a number like NWL position #2032 would give you just enough info to let you know you are not going to make it this year. When we are waiting in line, some places give you a line number and that is just enough to hold us over. We look at the sign and listen for "Now serving number..." and we are mostly content. We don't always understand what is taking so long, but we at least know where we are in the order.

I suspect there are far too many contributing factors surrounding Academy Admissions to publish a NWL rank order to applicants because as soon as they go out of order to pick up a candidate who fits a different demographic - the waiting room goes crazy. USCGA has a goal of 50% female representation within the next several years - per an in-person briefing by their Dir of Admissions. Initiatives like this are aimed at shaping the officer force for a branch to either guide or shape the force to be more representative of where their total force is today or where they want their force to be tomorrow. Situations like this mean they cannot focus 100% on the rank order of the NWL. To me, the NWL becomes a general guide as they look to match the other needs of the branch. Strength of candidate is one element, but not the only element in their decision making process. Many of us (me included) tend to prefer a binary, objective criteria in scarcity situations. Who gets the scholarship... Who gets the promotion... Who gets a pay raise. It is far easier for me (and many of us I suspect) to process mentally if there is a score that was derived at by the individual's own merit and "you are what your record says you are." Unfortunately, it is more gray than that.
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Thank you very much for your insight - this is our family’s first foray into the SA application process. The waiting is indeed the hardest part, especially these final weeks. DS told us back in 5th grade this was the path he wanted to take, hoping and praying he gets an appointment.
 
I am medically DQ'd and havent heard a word from usafa regarding a waiver. Is it too late for waivers now and should I just move on to plan B?
 
Falcongrouper_12 said:
I am medically DQ'd and havent heard a word from usafa regarding a waiver. Is it too late for waivers now and should I just move on to plan B?
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In general, USAFA will only evaluate the waiver if you are under consideration for an appointment and not before. There would be a significant amount of wasted effort if they went through the entire Medical DQ que outside of context on whether the candidate is competitive for an appointment. While the order of operations is not clear to those of us outside of the admissions panel discussions --- it does seem as if they first evaluate the candidate for competitiveness, decide if they want to offer an appointment and then either provisionally offer a conditional appointment or make the waiver decision prior to offering the appointment. Both scenarios do happen.
 
USAMom2021 said:
If I understood you correctly, we may not get a definite answer? His 2nd choice is NROTC, so should we just commit now? Or just wait until April 15? I just want to be ready...
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I felt a similar way last year. Early decision, Early action, Service Academy, ROTC scholarships, civilian applications and acceptance, civilian scholarships....in my opinion the system favors the institution over the kids as I think an institution can adapt to some kids changing their minds a lot more easily than a kid making a life changing decision....but enough of that.

Our son was notified of his appointment late January so he knew the direction he wanted to go, but we still had to prepare for alternate plans. He received and accepted an AFROTC scholarship and was admitted into a civilian school he was interested in and accepted that as well. Why? Because even though in his mind he was committed to USAFA, USAFA wasn't really committed to him. An injury was our biggest concern and had read how some kids were denied I-day because of an injury. He was a Rugby player so an injury in the Spring was possible. But, having been in the USAF ourselves, my wife and I know things can change so we did not rule out the possibility of some other uncertainty that could arise and throw a wrench into his plans.

So we made sure we had a full Plan B to protect him. We even paid the deposit to the university and did not notify them until after we got back from dropping him off at USAFA. We trust people in the USAF, but we don't trust bureaucracy and didn't want our son to get caught out on something. COVID happened, so no Rugby, but what if he shows up with COVID? Could he be turned back? We did not know and info was changing rapidly back then about BCT etc. so we were glad we preserved his options. Everything turned out as it should and everything is going well for him. But, we saw Plan B as an insurance policy that we ended up not needing - which was a good thing. AFROTC knew he was applying for USAFA which is fairly common so they deal with this all the time and account it for it in their projections. The university also know a certain number of kids will not show up each year and account for this as well.

Every year when you pay for insurance on your house or car, you are happy to not use it. You could look back and say that the insurance premium was a waste of money, but the reality is that it was prudent to have insurance. So, work your Plan B and even Plan C if Plan B has risk to it. I would preserve as many options as you can for as long as you can until you are confident they are no longer needed.
 
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ALWAYS move on to plan B....
 
DS was medically DQ'd and 3 attempts at waivers failed. Getting that letter from USAFA on Mar 17 was sad for DS but he also felt relief. Being able to go forward with plan B instead of sitting in limbo took some of the sting out. Day after the letter appeared in his portal, he signed up for his plan B school, we went through a virtual visit last week, today he reserved a room in the dorms and next week will register for classes with the help of an online advisor. Boom, boom, boom. I wish he was going to USAFA but I am also thrilled to have him following through with plan B. What was best about this whole application thing was watching him take the controls and pilot this thing to its current destination. It's a win-win. hang in their parental units!
 
Folks...here's the "skinny" as I know it...which means...well, not a ton...

I am an ALO and I know the BIG "slug" of offers was sent out. Now, does that mean if you weren't made an offer that you're done? Probably but not actually.

Until the class is filled; that means offers are accepted to the point that the class is complete, there is a "chance" that other offers will go out. It's simple math: 100 offers go out, 12 are rejected, then USAFA must make another 12 offers...and so forth until they fill the class.

So...is there still a chance? Yes. Is there a GOOD chance...probably not.

Keep the faith, but start looking at plan B...

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
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