Is it OK to put all your eggs in one basket?

[USCGA_2018]

DS received a verbal confirmation of his pending appointment at CGA from both his coach and AO. That was a couple of weeks ago and there has been no receipt of a BFE. CGA is absolutely DS's first choice.

DS contacted USMMA soccer coach within a day of his news to alert him of his decision to attend CGA. The coach reminded him that he could attend MMA and still be an officer in the CG afterward. He also told DS that he would likely receive his appointment from MMA in November.

Yesterday, DS received a letter confirming his MOC interview on Nov. 22nd. He has also applied to USMA. The interview date conflicts with the first game of an out of state soccer tournament. DS and I talked about his options...

- Miss game 1 of the CASL Tournament (Not a huge issue)
- Contact the MOC's office and request an earlier interview (If they had a morning vs afternoon time slot he could do both)
- Notify the MOC that he is accepting an appointment to USCGA and he no longer requires the nomination (This essentially ends any chance of attending another SA)

DS wishes to notify the MOC that he no longer is pursuing the nomination. I am skittish about him giving up on those contingency plans without any "official" paperwork from USCGA.

What is customary in these situations? Do most candidates see all the applications thru to the end regardless? What would you recommend?

 

[USNA02]

Tough Decision

Dear USCGA_2018,

My DS also got that same letter yesterday from that MOC and his first, OK maybe his second, thought went to your DS. He spoke about it at dinner wondering how your DS was going to approach this.

There are others on here with much more experience that will be able to chime in with better advice, but I will tell you my gut reaction was to see the process through as if that verbal commitment had not been presented. IOW, keep on executing Plans B, C, D, etc. with Plan B being interview with the MOC and keep that USMMA option open.

Just a thought from another newbie to the process.

Take care and see you around!

 

[LineInTheSand]

After leaving the Coast Guard, I joined a small PR firm in D.C. I hated it. After about 5 months, I started looking elsewhere. I applied for positions and interviewed during lunches. At the same time, I was contacted by a few other places in the city.

Eventually I worked out some terms for a very very good opportunity. On a Tuesday I had a filling fixed, and took the day off to have it done. While I was at the dentist, I got a nasty gram from a senior person from a decent size consulting firm my firm was subcontracted to. There was increased friction between the two firms, but my firm had decided the contract was more important than the welfare of the individual employees (something I would have respected more if my firm had been honest with itself).

The next day I met with my boss to discuss the nasty gram. She was unhappy with the treatment of our firm, but I knew I was going to leave soon, and was only waiting for the letter. Well, we talked for, maybe an hour, and at one point I got a message on my phone that my offer letter was ready to be signed.

I asked my boss if we could talk later. I left the office, signed my letter, returned to my office, asked my boss to talk and gave her my two weeks notice.


NEVER do anything until you have the letter in hand. Even if your pissed off and hating your job or your situation, until you have something to point to to say "see, I agreed to this move".... you have nothing.

Don't start cutting those cords until you have your CGA offer letter. There is PLENTY of time for the other schools to use his/her spot for someone else... in fact, there is an assumption than some people won't use nominations or offers. What you don't want to do is cut everything else off. I don't know how many times I thought my application process was complete and then DODMERB walked back into my life to crush my spirits.

This is not to say that CGA hasn't told you the right thing, or that what you heard isn't true. His time to be selfless and part of a team is in the near future. Through the application process, this is about HIM and ONLY HIM. He should do what he needs to do to give himself the most number of options and once he has the final acceptance paperwork, notify other schools of his decision. Those schools will have plenty of time and interest in finding others (possibly on waitlists) who can use his spot.

So my advice (and I'm not expert), make those notifications when the acceptance letter comes, but not before.

 

[kinnem]

Totally +1 to LITS on this. As he says, there will be time enough to graciously decline the other opportunities when the paperwork is in hand.

 

[grevar]

Agree with LITS and Kinnem. Always great advice from them two!

DS has LOA's to CGA and USNA, and also NROTC Scholarship. Only official word so far was the NROTC Scholarship. Waiting on the BFE from the CGA, and he has two more MOC interviews. While we are very confident he will get the nom (only 18 applicants to ALL service academies in our district this year), he still has to go through the process as if he is competing for the only slot.

While he appears to be leaning heavy towards CGA, he isn't willing to cancel the MOC noms or withdraw his USNA application just yet. He always says he hasn't "officially" made up his mind yet, and during his first MOC interview, he told the staffer he was 50/50 between USNA and CGA. He did apply to USMMA, but withdrew his application in September after deciding that route wasn't for him. The USMMA lacrosse coach was very supportive of him and his decision not to go that route.

I am a firm believer in "you never know what can happen", so I would suggest NOT putting all your eggs into one basket just yet.

In fact, DS accepted the NROTC Scholarship, and plans to deposit at the school "just in case". I've read horror stories about kids getting hurt on the way to I/R Day. A 200.00 deposit at the school seems a small insurance policy. I know that there will probably be some flames because of the whole "taking someone else's slot" at the school, but I believe he earned the right to make that choice and do what's best for him. Besides, even the NROTC folks we've spoken to have recommend that. They plan on a percentage of scholarship recipients doing just that, and make the awards accordingly.

 

[Packer]

LITS's advice is spot on. Wait until you have it in writing and have read the fine print.

 

[Packer]

In fact, DS accepted the NROTC Scholarship, and plans to deposit at the school "just in case". I've read horror stories about kids getting hurt on the way to I/R Day. A 200.00 deposit at the school seems a small insurance policy. I know that there will probably be some flames because of the whole "taking someone else's slot" at the school, but I believe he earned the right to make that choice and do what's best for him. Besides, even the NROTC folks we've spoken to have recommend that. They plan on a percentage of scholarship recipients doing just that, and make the awards accordingly.

No flames here. I think your approach is the smart one. This is what we did a couple of years back. He earned the right to make these decisions and he is not "taking someone else's spot".

 

[USCGA_2018]

Thanks for the fast and informative responses. I will have DS read these posts and am certain that he will do the wise thing and continue with his MOC interviews.

To think, a couple of weeks ago we were ready to claim victory and depart the field...

The momentary elation has been replaced with persistence, determination and a bit of consternation.

 

[Objee]

DS wishes to notify the MOC that he no longer is pursuing the nomination. I am skittish about him giving up on those contingency plans without any "official" paperwork from USCGA.

I won't comment on your son's decision whether or not to accept his appointment and abandon all other college plans, but the first round of notification letters were published yesterday so that "official paperwork" should be available now if he logs in to his application homepage.