Liaison officer interview. Help.

davidhwang

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Jul 14, 2013
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Hi, I have a 1 on 1 interview with a Captain, and he said it will be an 1.5 hr long interview. I honestly dont know what to expect from the interview! Any advice to help me prepare for a long interview would be greatly appreciated... Cuz im so nervous already since Ive only done interviews twice from previous experiences.
 
Hi, I have a 1 on 1 interview with a Captain, and he said it will be an 1.5 hr long interview. I honestly dont know what to expect from the interview! Any advice to help me prepare for a long interview would be greatly appreciated... Cuz im so nervous already since Ive only done interviews twice from previous experiences.

Take deep breaths. They know you're a high school kid who hasn't interviewed much and is probably nervous. No need to be though. Just answer thoughtfully and honestly. I'm sure a fair amount of time will be "educating" you. One more word: Listen!
 
As Kinnem said - deep breaths and I'll add RELAX!

He wants to get to know you, your goals, and why you want to go to the academy. As a liaison, he'll likely want to make sure you know the process and the expectations should you attend. I'm sure there will be a variety of questions but when you realize they all are getting to these reasons, you should do fine.

Get to use to answering such things because the interviews are likely just starting!
 
How valuable, or detrimental can the interview be for the admissions board decision?
 
My cadet's MALO talked to him about finishing his senior year strong, got caught up on his activities and awards, but the majority of the time was spent talking about West Point and serving in the Army. The MALO shared some personal experiences that were very helpful to my cadet. (My cadet shared all of this with me later because parents were not included in the interview.)
 
How valuable, or detrimental can the interview be for the admissions board decision?

A bad interview can be very detrimental.

What would make a bad interview are giving bad answers to "why West Point" and "Why do you want to become an Army officer."
 
Asking for a little clarification, “Captain”, who? Captain of the football team, Captain America, Army Captain, a Captain who assists your RC, or retired Captain who is your FFR? This is a vague question soliciting a wide spectrum of answers.

If this is your FFR, maybe a retired Captain, who wants to sit down and talk with you. He just wants to basically attach a name with a face and get to know you and offer assistance. Will the interview make or break an appointment? “No.” Can they make recommendations to your RC? “Yes.” Lets put some water on the fear and intimidation fire here. There are many areas where an FFR is not available to interview an applicant and they make it into WP. Depending on the FFR, they may request an interview with the whole family to answer any questions they may have about the military, life at WP, rules about interaction if the applicant is accepted, gauge if the family supports the applicant or see if the applicant is a hardship applicant. (More on this later). Sometimes they just want to meet with the parents and the applicant or just the applicant themselves. It’s just a matter of personal preference the FFR may feel comfortable with.

In a very populated area were there is several high schools an FFR may be assigned the responsibility to monitor one or two high schools and other FFR split up the other areas. When you start an application, the FFR is given the opportunity to see how far you are progressing in the process. When the applicant-say-completes 80% of his applications that may be the FFRs trigger point to realize this applicant is worthy. And may reach out to make contact and advise the applicant. He may advise the applicant, for example, you need more leadership, start a club at school, your ACT scores need to be improved, etc. As apposed to an applicant who started a file with his name and it never progresses for months.

When the FFR meets with just you, you and your parents or family, he looks for clues. When he asks a question who answers it, the parents or the applicant? There are many times parent’s pushes their son/daughter into this direction because they don’t have to pay tuition. They look to see if the applicant is hesitant and confident attending a service academy or maybe the family is not supportive. In a few cases, the applicant may have had to work during high school; support the family because of a hardship and through all this maintained a perfect GPA, high SAT/ACT scores. This demonstrate good character and work ethic.

Other cases, a sport coach sees value to his program, and wants this student to apply. The coach has the authority to establish contact through the RC, offer an LOA and send a message to the FFR to interview the student and encourage them to apply or invite them for a visit. If the applicant has low ACT/SAT scores he can be offered USMAPS to sharpen up their academics to succeed. This is the path for many recruited applicants.

Bottom line they want to meet you and encourage you to complete your application, apply for a nomination and offer what ever advice they can.

Good Luck

Push Hard, Press Forward
 
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