New poster - "old" USNA mom

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kar57

5-Year Member
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Jan 20, 2012
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New poster here...but a long time (7 years is pretty long!) USNA mom with a question. My DD - plebe summer '05, USNA grad. '09, currently 1stLT USMC stationed at Camp Lejeune, deployed to Afghansitan last year for 7 months, married to a Navy SEAL last summer - is sister and inspiration to her brothers (she has 5), and to her middle two brothers - military inspiration. One of them was medically DQ'd in '10 (one eye not correctable to 20/20) and the other one, high school senior, is still in the hunt. My question has to do with notification from USNA this year regarding being "scholastically qualified." DD received her letter (I saved it!) Nov. of her senior year. But then it was from the Athletic Director, she was a recruited athlete. DS (the one now a sophomore Civil Engineering student at an in state university, originally an NROTC College Programmer recommended this past fall by his CO for a 2 1/2 Scholarship, but not given - budget problems we all know about - now days away from notification of PLC acceptance) received a "scholastcially qualified" letter from USNA in October '09 (saved that too!). Now DS, high school senior, medically qualified, nomination, Summer Seminar CFA qualified, but no "scholastically qualified" letter. :frown: Just wanted to hear from you all, did USNA send out those letters already? He's a great student, taking 4 AP classes this year, top 15% of his class, 4.0 GPA in one of the state's top-rated schools - in recent years has been TOP rated school. Anyway, back to the question - USNA "scholastically qualified" letters," in mailboxes this fall/winter?
 
Get HIM to call his BG officer

He can pull it up. My DS is triple q'd , according to his Blue and Gold, but never recieved a letter from the USNA. Just one of those things. Sometimes you get one sometimes you don't. At least that's what he was told.
 
Have to echo comment above. Some years, some candidates get them. I've never figured out a rhyme or reason. But, your BGO can tell you -- if it has appeared in the system.
 
DS received call from RD, but I don't think he ever received a letter about being scholastically qualified.
 
Ditto. USNA does an amazing job, achieved mostly by "temporary" employees, i.e. junior officers on an almost always "short" assignment, often as lame ducks about to surrender their commissions. It is not a "plum" or fast-track assignment for USN officers. Many, perhaps most are minorities, recognizing USN's top priority in recruiting potential officers, all of whom will have exceptional offers making loads more cash outside the Navy.

Now complement this core corp with a cadre of volunteer BGOs, all of whom have great desire and intention to serve and honor USNA in connecting with candidates with understandably, very mixed results. All volunteers are not created equally.

And remember ... unlike most highly selective institutions, this is a government run operation totally void of any real incentive to do it better than that which will be sufficient. After all, beyond securing and defending our nation and running up massive debt, what does government do better than private enterprise?

Now, against this reality, and recognizing the time-sensitive mountains of minutiae and details being processed, what one learns is that USNA's strong suit is not always complete, thorough, timely communication with each and every candidate about every detail. This is a chronic story, especially about the "Scholastically Qualified" and 3Q status notifications.

So don't sweat it. And don't take it personally. Most often not receiving notice means nothing beyond ... see above.:thumb:
 
Ha! This put me at ease. I've never received official confirmation of 3Q, but my BGO has told me not to worry about it. Was hard, seeing as it seems just about every other candidate on this website has been told every little bit of information they need to know.

Ach, well. Nothing to do but wait.
 
I've received two bits of paper from USNA so far. One was about Summer Seminar, the other was an LOA. They haven't been too communicative otherwise. I wouldn't be surprised if someone suddenly ended up with a BFE on their front step with no prior mailings from USNA.

If you really want to know the answer, I'd suggest making some calls to the Admissions Office. Someone there will know, or will be able to point you in the right direction.
 
A candidate should first check about their status with their BGO before calling Admissions. There is a reason why they setup the BGO program and gave us some access to that information. The Admissions Office, while they will answer any questions you call for, has a lot of things to juggle on their plate, help them out by lightening their load; some questions can be answered at a "lower level" and some might not.
 
I love this forum!! Great responses...helpful, insightful, and actionable! DS will be calling his BGO on Monday...at lunchtime. He has senior privilege of a long, off campus, lunch period which, BTW, has been a boon in this application/question asking/follow-up call making process! He comes home at lunch and makes calls, sends e-mails, in general takes care of business, and manages to squeeze in a bite to eat too (he has sports practices/games after school and work into the evening most days). So an answer is on the horizon! I'll keep you posted!
 
To complement Whistle Pig, consider that the RD's spend a good bit of their time on the road, especially during the Fall and into the Winter participating in the USNA information events that accompany appearances of the varsity teams, glee clubs, etc, all around the US. Further, the officer staff is small compared to the tasks assigned which include the admissions function, NASS, STEM, CVW's, etc. Thank God for the permanent support staff!
 
Whistle Pig said:
So don't sweat it. And don't take it personally. Most often not receiving notice means nothing beyond ... see above.:thumb:
Click to expand...

Very true! I do not recall USNA ever informing either of my sons that they were triple Q'd; yet, they both received LOAs.

In fact, we were not aware of (and, consequently, not expecting) such notifications.
 
USNA admissions and 7th semester grades?

DS left a voice mail for his BGO today regarding his "scholastically qualified" status. DS said he'll try contacting BGO again tomorrow. On another note, semester grades will be coming out soon - next week I think, DS is planning on having his hs guidance counselor forward the "7th semester" grades to USNA Admissions right away. To me, that sounds about right. But I'm not sure.
 
BGO - no longer able to look up "scholastically qualified" info?

DS did call his BGO...odd response IMO...he could no longer "look it up" was the response and he just didn’t know...hmmmm...I don't want to be a "negative nelly" here..but that surely doesn't sound very promising. CGPA: 4.01 (weighted) 7th semester GPA (just came out this week): 4.03 with 4 AP classes while maintaining a typical busy hs senior life with 1 fall varsity sport this year, 2 winter varsity sports (one as captain), 2 after school jobs, “service at home” kid helping care for his 2 younger brothers with Down syndrome and elderly, bedridden grandmother who lives with us in addition to being the “man of the house” since DH travels A LOT in his job…the big question mark in this equation is DS’s not stellar ACT – 25…standardized testing not his strong suit… He has been accepted to the five universities he applied to, in Aeronautical Engineering in his #1 school for NROTC and AROTC – uh oh, I think I’ve wandered off the track a bit…to reiterate my concern regarding his USNA status and his BGO’s evasive response to DS’s inquiry about his being scholastically qualified. How should that be interpreted? The other Q’s – medical and physical – are good and he has a Congressional nom. for USNA on a very short slate – he is one of 3 on the slate for 2 openings. So he could be close, or completely out of the running – depending on the third Q. I understand it's really not advised for DS to call his Admissions Counselor at USNA about this matter, especially at this crazy-busy time of year, but the BGO route didn’t pan out.
 
Like each candidate, your DS has a uniquely interesting portfolio and set of circumstances. Nothing of value or insigh to offer, but promise to share "the rest of your story" as it plays out in the coming days. And despite the illusion of time stsnding still, it will. Best wishes for best blessings.
 
Our DS received Principal Nom to USNA 2016 class. MOC's office said LOA is coming (haven't received it yet). Your scores are better, CFA & class rank, too. DS was 3'Q and we just received verbal confirmation of that from MALO, ALO and B&G officer b/c we asked. So no letters go out that say any of that. I believe the scholastically qualified ranking is the "minimum" to attend the academy.

I believe they have closed outside access to the applications b/c our NROTC app is inaccessible but we were told it's still in play, too.

Did he retake the ACT to raise his scores? I believe they superscore so it's worth it. I know it made a difference with our DS, multiple ACT/SAT's.


Good luck.
 
warning: wordy post!

chiromed0 said:
Did he retake the ACT to raise his scores? I believe they superscore so it's worth it. I know it made a difference with our DS, multiple ACT/SAT's.


Good luck.
Click to expand...

Multiple test taking?! A definite UBETCHA ANSWER to that for DS!! His BGO interview last July came after a few go-rounds with both SAT and ACT (… 6 go-rounds total– yikes:eek:), which BGO noted during the interview. BGO first commended DS and then warned him about the results at that point. BGO commended DS on his perseverance so far, BUT…even DS’s“best of” scores at that point could be more competitive. DS asked for guidance on improving scores, what kind of review courses might BGO recommend, etc. and BGO was helpful in recommending the Princeton Review course that his own DD had taken years before which had dramatically improved her scores.

Immediately following the interview last July, DS began researching such courses and settled on an interactive on-line course for ACT, picking the schedule that had the last class just 2 or 3 days before the 9/10/11 test – “so everything will still be fresh Mom!” After registering for the class and the test, along comes a wedding invitation of very dear, but not so near, friends for that same exact day (it was one of those situations where we were all pretty much obligated to attend). So DS requested – in time – that the test site be in the wedding city.

In the meantime, DS was very diligent and “attended” all classes and did all the homework and was very successful in the practice tests. Day before the test came, a Friday, of course, and after school and after DS’s cross country practice we set out on the 5 ½ hour journey to the hotel room we had reserved, 2 states west of us (while sun was still up, DS looked over practice questions). Everything worked out pretty well, DS got a good night’s sleep in the hotel, a great breakfast at the “free breakfast” nook in the lobby, time to review in the car on the way the night before – we were a bit late for the 2 pm wedding since DS had to change out of his “test” clothes and into “church wedding guest” clothes in the somewhere in between hotel room, but all in all it worked out. Even the resulting “best yet” scores. DS even parlayed the whole SAT/ACT good score quest into one of his university application essays.

It starts out …”The first time I took the ACT standardized test I had high hopes of getting a stellar score. None of my friends or older siblings ever seemed to have stressed about their score plus it was just a normal high school thing most everyone is required to do. So after a few weeks had passed, I received my ACT scores in the mail. When I first saw the envelope my heart was pounding and I was excited to see what I had gotten. I was hopeful. I tore the envelope open, pulled out the results and my heart began to sink. It sank pretty far. I looked up and down the page many times. I let out a disappointed sigh and I wondered how a test could do such a poor job on reflecting my abilities. At that point I realized that I had two options. I could either wallow in my disappointment or I could fight back with a vengeance. I picked the second option.” Further on he writes, “I remember receiving the scores to my most recent ACT test and I was more nervous than the first time I got my scores. I opened up the envelope and I was glad to see my improvements. My perseverance, goal setting, and hard work had paid off. That and my never quit attitude that I’ve had for so long that I can’t remember quitting anything even when the odds were stacked against me. Getting things handed to me on a silver platter is not what I know – what I know is working hard and persevering.” And finally, “Wallowing is never a good idea. Zeroing back in on the goal, making a plan of action, and then seeing it through- that’s what it takes.” :thumb:
 
Great story ... make that stories. Doesn't always work that way, but when it does ...

Nice going to your son!
 
Well some are Ferrari's and some are bull dozers; either way you get past the mountain. Keep at it.

As for standardized tests they are an enigma. Our DS (given all the prep materials I could buy) wouldn't do anything but the prep classes at school. Nothing on his own time but yet, he knows himself well, scored well and consistently. As a parent I could only think, "yes, but if you practiced more you could have done even better!". Well, given his results I think he knew more than I did.

Yet, I have personal experience that standardized tests are a stumbling block for some very smart, bright people...like ME! So I empathize.

Good luck and thanks for the story.
 
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