Insurance at Local U

[23Lt]

I don’t think it is wrong to accept a SA appointment and not withdraw applications from other colleges/SA. You have until May to notify them. My son wanted to know if he would get accepted to all the schools he had applied (especially West Point & few Ivy schools).

I somewhat agree. However I have already officially accepted USNA at this point. @MidCakePa @Blessedmom, am I correct in saying this: if I happened to get another appointment and decline it right away, wouldn’t my spot go to another candidate anyways?


This may sound “selfish” to a few, but I would really like to know my outcome to the other academies. Since 9th grade I have wanted to attend one of the three, and have always wondered to which I would be accepted.

I know there is a policy about not accepting to two schools, but is there such a policy of waiting for all your decisions after you have already officially accepted one?

 

[THParent]

Absolutely not. Offers of Appointments don't work that way. The Offer is yours to do with how you please. Accepting it won't keep someone else from getting in, and declining it won't pave the way for someone else to "take your spot". That "spot" is earmarked for you, and only you.

I did read in another thread (from a respected long-time member who is a BGO) that in one instance to which he had first-hand knowledge, a candidate waited until the very last moment (May 1st) to accept his offer, and that BGO commented that "his candidate" (a candidate he was a BGO for) did not get in because of it. From everything I have read and absorbed about how this process works, that is most certainly NOT what usually happens. USNA tenders Offers of Appointment to a set number of candidates in excess of the number for with they have "spots". They assume that some will decline, some will be injured before I-Day, and some will accept and not show up for I-Day (yes, that happens too). They make enough offers so that they have the right amount of Plebes in the new class - but most importantly - so that they have enough officer candidates ready to commission in four years, to satisfy the needs of the Navy and Marine Corps.

 

[Old Navy BGO]

I happened to get another appointment and decline it right away, wouldn’t my spot go to another candidate anyways?

--The textbook answer is NO. USNA makes more offers of appointments than they expect acceptances, the result is "Yield", and is usually very high.

I did read in another thread (from a respected long-time member who is a BGO) that in one instance to which he had first-hand knowledge, a candidate waited until the very last moment (May 1st) to accept his offer, and that BGO commented that "his candidate" (a candidate he was a BGO for) did not get in because of it.

> As I have often said here , there are always exceptions to the rule , and appeared (at least to me) to be that exception. Candidate 1 had an early offer, but didn't decline until a day or two before the deadline (he acccepted USAFA). Meanwhile, Candidate 2 had an offer to USAFA, but was CPR for Navy for longer than I have ever seen .... beyond the April 15 target for notification and well after all the other candidates were declined. I don't monitor on a daily basis, but it appeared to me that Admissions was holding out declining Candidate 2 until they heard from Candidate 1-- I've never seen that before, or after, and there may of course be other explanations, but I live in a state where the applicants are easy enough to distinguish, and these two stood out well above the pack. I imagined that Admissions faced was holding the spot for Number 2 if Number 1 declined, but simply ran out of time. (Interestingly, Number 2 declined USAFA, went NROTC and successfully reapplied the next year). Perhaps there was another reason for the delay ...no one will ever know, and this was certainly an anomaly in all the years I have been a BGO.

This may sound “selfish” to a few, but I would really like to know my outcome to the other academies. Since 9th grade I have wanted to attend one of the three, and have always wondered to which I would be accepted.

My story above is not intended to encourage any candidate to make a spot decision on which Service Academy you want to attend. If you are accepted to all three, you have earned the right to take your time and make the decision that best suits you. However, if a Candidate accepts (emphasis added) an appointment at one Service Academy, I do think its selfish to continue your application at another Service Academy (or other college) purely for the purpose of bragging rights.

 

[jl123]

The legally mandated admissions process and high yield of service academies confuses this issue when compared to a civilian college.

When an applicant to a civilian college declines an offer, the spot does not automatically go to the next in line. The admissions office works with yield calculations and when percentages fall below a specified level they will send out new offers. That is why they have a rule against double commitments. If one person does it, the damage is minimal. If a thousand do it, some kid is losing an opportunity.

When a service academy candidate declines an appointment, that spot may or may not go to a specific person next in line depending on appointment category, WCS scores, and timing. For example, once a slate winner declines an appointment, the academy is not required to offer that spot to the next in line in that district, but that is often what happens. Also, high yields combined with relatively small entering class sizes mean that a small number of declines can generate new appointments.

 

[OldRetSWO]

Be very careful with keeping the Plan B school on the hook by use of the deposit. When my daughter was applying to college, she ended up accepted at two
of her choices and we sent deposits to both while she figured out which she wanted to attend. We figured that we were going to lose one of the deposits but
that was not a big problem for us. Well, the major state university that was her second choice (and the school she did NOT attend) proceeded to bill her
for the full tuition and room/board even though she was a "no show". My daughter had actually notified them via email that she was not going to attend but
they claim that they were never told and that they saved a spot for her in the dorm and classes and proceeded to bill her and then sent the bill to a collection agency.
They refused to speak with me about it from the beginning because I'm not her and in any case they have managed to wreck her credit and now, nine years later,
it is still a problem. It was Arizona State University.

 

[MidCakePa]

@23Lt, my comment has nothing to do with taking a spot from someone or messing with USNA’s yield. It has to do with being classy and responsible, instead of stoking your ego. Let’s be honest: You want to be able to say, “I got into three academies.”

Nothing technically wrong with that. It’s your world. I just personally find it distasteful. Our social media-centric world stokes this kind of narcism and I’m just a cranky old dude paddling against the tide.

In the end, let your conscience be your guide. And once at USNA, your fellow plebes will not give a diddly whether you got into three SAs. They just won’t.

 

[Stealth_81]

The key is to not use a school as a back-up and give them deposit without discussing your other plans with them. After my son accepted his appointment he contacted some of his plan B schools and discussed his appointment and keeping another school as an option up until classes started. Two of the schools (Rice and Northwestern) said no to the idea. The third (MSOE) was happy to take the deposit and be a back-up. MSOE is not is the same league as the other two, but it would have been a solid school to take classes for a reapplication. After he contacted MSOE in August to tell them that he was not coming there, they wished him luck and even refunded all but $100 of the deposit. Communication is very important.

Stealth_81

 

[23Lt]

@23Lt, my comment has nothing to do with taking a spot from someone or messing with USNA’s yield. It has to do with being classy and responsible, instead of stoking your ego. Let’s be honest: You want to be able to say, “I got into three academies.”

Nothing technically wrong with that. It’s your world. I just personally find it distasteful. Our social media-centric world stokes this kind of narcism and I’m just a cranky old dude paddling against the tide.

In the end, let your conscience be your guide. And once at USNA, your fellow plebes will not give a diddly whether you got into three SAs. They just won’t.

I put great thought into this yesterday: I am going to USNA at this point, so I will be withdrawing my applications this week to USMA and USAFA. My thought process: I would much rather afford my spot to another candidate than keep my applications open for bragging rights. You are right, it would be very selfish of me to keep them open. Thank you all for the advice and guidance.

Our social media-centric world stokes this kind of narcism

I am fully on board with you here. I have no social media and do not plan to ever sign up. I personally think it ruins peoples lives.