Medical Exam - Will an honest answer hurt.

[Memphis9489]

Is there a point where answering "yes" crosses a line from being honest to being, maybe, somebody we don't want at the Naval Academy?

@Memphis9489, with all due respect, I’m a reasonably smart person, but I’m struggling to understand the post and this quote in particular. Don’t know what being sanctimonious has to do with anything — again, I don’t understand the post — but I do know that how one chooses to answer questions such as these while in pursuit of an academy appointment reveals a lot about one’s character. Now, how others choose to judge said character is up to them.

Anyhoo....

There are white lies. My wife gets her hair cut, comes home, asks me if I like it and I say, "It looks great!". Actually, I do not like it. But why should I make her feel bad? Her hair will grow back. This is no time for "honesty".

A young high schooler who wants to attend the Naval Academy took a few puffs on a joint at a party one night. Dumb! He knows it. But now he's being asked if he's ever smoked marijuana during the application process.

If experimenting like this is such an innocuous event - why ask the question in the first place? Even if there are follow-up questions and the candidate says, "I just took a few puffs one time at a party", he is now placing his admission in the hands of somebody he hopes believes him.

Answering in the affirmative to questions like these do not reveal the character of the applicant because the interpreter of those answers could conclude either of two things:
1) "We don't want a candidate who has abused alcohol or smoked marijuana. They have no character."
2) "We need midshipmen who are honest enough to admit that they abused alcohol or smoked marijuana. They have character."

So, you're not controlling the "character" aspect of it - they are.

 

[Memphis9489]

@Memphis9489... as long as the candidate is remorseful and promises to never do it again, that candidate can lie about it on an SA application because if that helps them receive appointment, it will be easier for them to transgress no more since they will turn their life around at the SA. Got it!

They can turn their life around anywhere, whether at the United States Naval Academy or the University of Whatever.

 

[THParent]

I don't know. I could answer "yes" to all of those, and I grew up in the 60's.

I meant "no". I don't know how that came out as "yes". Must be that touch of Mad Cow I have.

Have you ever taken a drug that requires a doctor's prescription for which you did not have a prescription? NO.

Have you ever stolen anything? NO.

Have you ever committed a crime for which you were not caught? NO. I got stopped for speeding once, but no ticket. And no, I don't speed now.

Have you ever cheated on a test, quiz, homework or a project while in school? NO.

Never smoked pot, either. That's why I thought it was important to say I grew up in the 60's.

 

[Memphis9489]

I am sure the answers matter but I have to imagine the scope of the action makes a difference.

Hopefully, the candidate will be provided the opportunity to elaborate on these issues. But, maybe not.

It would seem to make sense that it would matter if the candidate was a habitual marijuana smoker or simply took a few puffs one time at a party. If it's the latter, I'd question whether it's really worth answering "yes", because you may never get the opportunity to explain yourself. Further, offering an unsolicited explanation makes one seem a bit too eager to explain.

This reminds me of something funny I heard a long time ago from a stand-up comedian, talking about going in for a job interview.

The comedian suggests to the audience, "Whenever you go in for a job interview, my advice is that you review your resume one more time to remind yourself of all the great things you did."

Employer: "I see here that you won the spelling bee when you were in 8th grade."

Applicant: "I did?"