Just starting the process, looking for perspective...

H

Hopeful_Dad

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May 3, 2019
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Hello, thanks in advance for the help. Our son, who is finishing his junior year in high school, recently decided he wants to compete for an Appointment to USMMA. We are just starting the application journey, and hope we are not too far behind.

We’ve looked thru the forums and seen the profiles at the service academies of accepted students. They are pretty intimidating at their level and quality of accomplishments.

I’m trying to get a sense of how competitive our son will be, especially given that we are in a small rural area and school. We don’t have a lot of extracurricular opportunities, and the higher-level academic classes are somewhat limited.

It is sometimes difficult as a parent to honestly assess our own children or let that influence our perspective; but we think he will be somewhat competitive. We’d love the perspective and advice from current/past students and parents.

Our son is about to finish his junior year, and has a 3.9 unweighted GPA. His second try at the SAT was a 1360 (690 math, 670 reading/writing). No ACT yet. He’s about to finish AP Calculus AB with an A. He will be the only student in Calculus BC next year (no other junior is at that level in his school). Physics is only offered every other year, so he will take that as a senior. Athletics, 4 years in football with 2 as the varsity QB, and likely Captain next year. He’s training for the CFA test and should be able to score at/above the median. He was just selected as his school’s delegate to Boy’s State sponsored by the American Legion. He’s a member of the school’s honor society (we don’t have national honor society), and Future Farmers of America. He’s volunteered at senior homes, and co-ops. But that’s about it so far. We are looking for more leadership and other opportunities for him.

We've looked at our Congressional and Senate sites for their nomination procedures, which are also pretty intimidating...

Our concern is whether the lack of opportunities at his school, or being from a rural area will put him at a disadvantage. Does he have a realistic chance of getting in, given the high number and quality of applicants?

More importantly, what can we do at this point help him achieve his goals and dreams.

Thanks again in advance.

Hopeful Parents
 
He seems to have actually had a fair number of opportunities. If he's taking the toughest course load available with good grades then I wold say he is doing well. Captain would be great to land on the football team. Boy's state is good to have. Is he good enough to compete? Yes. Is he guaranteed a spot? No. All he can do his put together his best application and go for it. It sounds like everything is going in the right direction.

Regarding additional leadership, etc... They'll want quality, not quantity. Better to put effort into a few things he's interested in, as opposed to spreading himself too thin.
 
I think he has a great resume! As stated, ‘don’t know unless you try’. But imo, he looks good on paper. Standardized test schools will also be telling.

Go for it. To me, it doesn’t matter the school. Or rural. And YES it’s alllllll intimidating. He has to want it. And then tackle it piece by piece. Even if an appointment isn’t achieved, he will be a better, more confident young adult for going through it.

Ask this question: if he doesn’t try, Will he always regret that he didn’t?

Doesn’t matter his circumstance. He may be the one they want. Comparing oneself to others here is counterproductive. Present his best self, and let the academy decide. So exciting!!
 
Lots of questions here. Nobody can accurately say that your DS is competitive or not, without really knowing the specifics of the school, area, achievements, etc. And, don't post that info on here! But, from a general overview, it looks like you should be in the running. always trying to improve--work on the test scores. First, California is one of the top three or so competitive states at USMMA. So, get ready for the ride.

I will use "you" as a collective "you", meaning you and DS work on these things--understanding that it really is DS' journey. Go to all of the service academy days/presentations/etc as you can. If you are interested in other Academies, go to all of them. Get to know the people involved with the Academies from your area. They can be helpful in the process and even go to bat for you if needed.

In order to be successful, you first must be able to fulfill all the requirements for the applications. Each MOC/Senator will have a different application, and different application requirements. Each Academy will have different application requirements. Organize organize organize. Use excel spreadsheets with attachments, use folders in a file cabinet. Whatever it is, be sure you have a list of all requirements, set out for each application, and a calendar system as to when the items are due, and when your desired date of completion is. Beware, the dates for applications, when they open and when they close, are probably different for each Academy, and for each MOC/Senator?nomination source, and those dates are absolutes. Once you have a organizational and calendar system, the Herculaneum task of applying to 3, 4, 5 Academies, and at least three nominating sources will come into better focus.

Are you behind in that this is the end of Junior year--Not really, although you will probably have to make up some time.

What can you do to make yourself better--First, don't do anything stupid. Don't do stupid stuff.

Second, study study study. Don't let senior-itis get in the way.

Third, the fitness test is not a football test. it is a whole body test, and is taken more seriously now then in the past. WP requires it to be video taped to confirm it is accurate. Check out what median, and maximums are for the test, and work to be near the top scores,. Work out, work on pull ups, core strength, speed and agility.

At boys state, run for office, that requires a speech or something more than standard. Run for House, Senate, or further up the chain.

Take a course for the SAT/ACT. even if you believe the scores are good, or enough, etc., courses can help put you over the top.

Get familiar with Khan Academy as a study guide if you are not already.

heads up--Letters of recommendation and transcripts are often delayed by the people who are supposed to do them, so plan on doing that early. And, make sure you have a good idea of what the letter of recommendation is going to say before you have it sent in/ask someone to do one for you. Further, there are different letters, different formats, different transcripts required by the different Academies and nominating sources.

There is so much more, but, other questions will come to you.
 
Also, very important, is to pursue a strong plan B. And perhaps C....
 
Hello Hopeful Parents. Your DS looks like a good candidate. I would advise him to stay on the track he is on. It is great to have supportive parents who help give perspective to their kids during the application process. But make sure your son is doing the heavy lifting.

Three of my four kids applied for multiple ROTC's/academies and were successful (including USMMA classes of 2013 and 2021). What worked for us during the application process was a weekly check-in and planning session with mom/dad. It was usually pretty quick, but it helped my kids stay on track. Just asked them what tasks they accomplished that week and what they planned to accomplish the coming week. Setting small weekly goals made the whole application/nomination process much less intimidating. The hardest part was to get teachers to complete required recommendations. If teachers and counselors are not familiar with the service academy application process, your son may have to sit down with them and explain his goals.

Try to get the bulk of the application process completed before school starts in the fall. It is especially important to get the DoDMERB appointments scheduled as soon as possible so that you have time to resolve any issues/waivers that may come up unexpectedly.

Help your DS find what makes him stand out among his applicant/peers, all of whom have great grades, test scores, athletic accomplishments, etc. He is a membet of FFA and Honor Society. Has he held any leadership positions in those clubs? He should be able to demonstrate accomplishments rather than just memberships/titles. Any leadership in church, scouts, or other similar group? We are from a rural area as well, but there are plenty of opportunities for your DS to make for himself. Can your DS start a mentoring program for elementary school kids? Visitation program for housebound senior citizens? You say he already volunteers with seniors, but how much better it would be if he got more of his peers involved by scheduling visits, getting work crews organized for helping seniors with work projects that they no longer able to do, etc. These are examples of community service and leadership that go beyond merely being a team captain (which is good too-don't get me wrong). Yes, I know he is busy, but the high achievers he is competing against will be busy too. Admissions looks favorably on students who have good grades while still being able to demonstrate essential time management skills. What about an after school (off season) or summer job? My kids buck hay all summer which made the CFA and INDOC a breeze physically.

Definitely do Boys State which gives your DS a ton of leadership points.

Keep taking SAT until he gets a score of at least 1400. Lots of free online prep available.

Is he interested in playing football at USMMA? Have him contact the coach and arrange a visit if possible. Classes at USMMA start in July, so he could arrange a summer visit and not miss time during his own football season.

Congratulations on raising such a high-achieving young man and for being there to help him reach his future goals. Let us know here if you have more questions along the way, or feel free to pm me once you have 5 posts. And pretty high on my list is to remember to treasure this last year you have with your amazing son. The clock will start speeding up from here.
 
Wow, thanks for all the great info!! Definitely helps put this daunting task into perspective. It is good to have forum like this to share. Thanks again!
 
Be aware of timelines. My son's Congressional Representative nomination application deadline was Sept 28th of his Senior year. Our senators' deadline was Oct. 1st. The high school requests 30 days to process official transcripts. He had to ask for three sets of transcripts his first day of school. He also had to ask for letters of recommendation over the summer.
 
Hopeful_Dad said:
Hello, thanks in advance for the help. Our son, who is finishing his junior year in high school, recently decided he wants to compete for an Appointment to USMMA. We are just starting the application journey, and hope we are not too far behind.

We’ve looked thru the forums and seen the profiles at the service academies of accepted students. They are pretty intimidating at their level and quality of accomplishments.

I’m trying to get a sense of how competitive our son will be, especially given that we are in a small rural area and school. We don’t have a lot of extracurricular opportunities, and the higher-level academic classes are somewhat limited.

It is sometimes difficult as a parent to honestly assess our own children or let that influence our perspective; but we think he will be somewhat competitive. We’d love the perspective and advice from current/past students and parents.

Our son is about to finish his junior year, and has a 3.9 unweighted GPA. His second try at the SAT was a 1360 (690 math, 670 reading/writing). No ACT yet. He’s about to finish AP Calculus AB with an A. He will be the only student in Calculus BC next year (no other junior is at that level in his school). Physics is only offered every other year, so he will take that as a senior. Athletics, 4 years in football with 2 as the varsity QB, and likely Captain next year. He’s training for the CFA test and should be able to score at/above the median. He was just selected as his school’s delegate to Boy’s State sponsored by the American Legion. He’s a member of the school’s honor society (we don’t have national honor society), and Future Farmers of America. He’s volunteered at senior homes, and co-ops. But that’s about it so far. We are looking for more leadership and other opportunities for him.

We've looked at our Congressional and Senate sites for their nomination procedures, which are also pretty intimidating...

Our concern is whether the lack of opportunities at his school, or being from a rural area will put him at a disadvantage. Does he have a realistic chance of getting in, given the high number and quality of applicants?

More importantly, what can we do at this point help him achieve his goals and dreams.

Thanks again in advance.

Hopeful Parents
Click to expand...
work on that sat
 
Hopeful_Dad said:
thanks! what is the best way to find a KP Liaison?
Click to expand...

We were lucky enough to find one through one of my fraternity brothers who introduced us to one. I’d ask KP admissions to see if they can give you the name of one in your area, or I’d ask MOC if they know of one that works them on Nominations and they might be able to help find one. Lastly our MOC has an informational meeting and had all the SA represented and there were alumni there to share info about their SA
 
The other thing that you can do is read in detail the stickies at the top of the forum pages for information.

Additionally, every bit of info in the SA’s website.

Good luck!!
 
I came from a pretty rural area of California and really didn't have too many issues. Of course back then, we had to large air force bases where I did a lot of the required testing and so forth. Follow the instructions here, and also wouldn't hurt to look at the other academies, either.
 
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