Firecracker070403
Member
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2020
- Messages
- 53
Hey everyone so I am about to start my candidate statements. Can y'all give me some tips before I start?
Thank you in advance!!
Thank you in advance!!
Need some tips
- Thread starter Firecracker070403
- Start date
Take your time on them. Don't rush to finish them, the quality matters.
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2008
- Messages
- 20,744
- Know if there is a character count, and if it includes spaces, and plan accordingly.
- Tell the story only you can tell about yourself, not what you think they want to hear.
- Be familiar with USMA missions and officer career paths so you don’t make avoidable errors if you are describing your goals.
- Don’t regurgitate what USMA can do for you and how they do it. They already know that. Think about how your talents, skills, interests, goals, attributes, align.
- Avoid hyperbole. “All my life, I have wanted to be an infantry officer.” I always get this mental picture of one rather odd toddler wearing body armor. Better - did you meet someone, hear their story, have a relative who served, who inspired you to service as an officer? “An Army Command Sergeant Major in uniform came to speak to my church youth group, and she made such an impression on me that I...”
- Write clearly. If you did well on your SATs, they will know your vocabulary is decent. If the nickel word is the better one to use than the dollar word, use it. Watch out for space-wasters such as “in order to,” when “to” will do.
- Edit, edit, edit for grammar, spelling, punctuation, parallel construction, syntax, tone. Let it rest a day. Do it again. Ask an English teacher for a critique. Read it aloud to a good friend or a sibling. If they start laughing or rolling their eyes, you will know your tone is over the top.
- Be sure you ATFQ. In military speak, Answer The Full
Question.
- Tell the story only you can tell about yourself, not what you think they want to hear.
- Be familiar with USMA missions and officer career paths so you don’t make avoidable errors if you are describing your goals.
- Don’t regurgitate what USMA can do for you and how they do it. They already know that. Think about how your talents, skills, interests, goals, attributes, align.
- Avoid hyperbole. “All my life, I have wanted to be an infantry officer.” I always get this mental picture of one rather odd toddler wearing body armor. Better - did you meet someone, hear their story, have a relative who served, who inspired you to service as an officer? “An Army Command Sergeant Major in uniform came to speak to my church youth group, and she made such an impression on me that I...”
- Write clearly. If you did well on your SATs, they will know your vocabulary is decent. If the nickel word is the better one to use than the dollar word, use it. Watch out for space-wasters such as “in order to,” when “to” will do.
- Edit, edit, edit for grammar, spelling, punctuation, parallel construction, syntax, tone. Let it rest a day. Do it again. Ask an English teacher for a critique. Read it aloud to a good friend or a sibling. If they start laughing or rolling their eyes, you will know your tone is over the top.
- Be sure you ATFQ. In military speak, Answer The Full
Question.