Nomination interview

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Worriedparent2

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Oct 22, 2019
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DS had a nom interview today. Felt it went well apart from it maybe being too short and not too many questions on leadership and service capability. He feels as if the questions toned down once he mentioned having received NROTC. Is stating rotc a bad thing? Is it a bad sign that not too many crazy questions were asked?
 
DD also had her interview today. Said many of the questions were focused on what she would like to do AFTER the academy.
 
No it’s not a bad sign. I mentioned it a few times, I sat on a board a few weeks ago. 15 minutes per candidate. Not a lot of time except to ask the standard questions and dive into maybe 1 area. I wouldn’t overthink it.
 
DD’s Senatorial interview was disturbingly short, and she figured it meant the end of the road. When she received the nomination she then thought perhaps they had already made up their minds before they met with her. Her’s was towards the end of the interview day. They may have relied heavily on the applications for decisions.

Congressional interview was much longer and she felt great about it when she left, "well they certainly know who I am after that interview. If I'm not who they are looking for then I'm not who they are looking for"
 
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NavyHoops said:
No it’s not a bad sign. I mentioned it a few times, I sat on a board a few weeks ago. 15 minutes per candidate. Not a lot of time except to ask the standard questions and dive into maybe 1 area. I wouldn’t overthink it.
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What type of questions do you normally ask in interviews? On top of that, what answers do you think are best?

Of course, a lot of them vary such as why do you want to serve. However, I'm more than certain there are some answers from some that are much better than others. What are some DOs and DONTs when answering certain questions during the interview?
 
Take a look at the nomination thread and there are lots of posts regarding this. The best answer is the honest one. A panel will read through and find holes if you try to find the right answer versus the right answer for you. Show you have done your research, are confident, and answer the question asked. Practice. What do you think they will ask? That is probably 90% of what they will ask.
 
+1 to @NavyHoops, and ask yourself if you want an honest-to-goodness “good fit “ to be at a SA... so tell the truth 100%. It’s hard but you have to trust the process 😇😇
 
Worriedparent2 said:
DS had a nom interview today. Felt it went well apart from it maybe being too short and not too many questions on leadership and service capability. He feels as if the questions toned down once he mentioned having received NROTC. Is stating rotc a bad thing? Is it a bad sign that not too many crazy questions were asked?
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Our DS did 3 interviews, all were timed. One 15 minutes, one 30 (went 40,he was the last before their lunch) and another 30. All asked about Plan B, he told them he was awarded a 4 year NROTC. They all smiled and made positive remarks. They then asked which school, they were also pleased with his reply. They commented that to have an app done and awarded by 1st boards was an accomplishment along with 4 SA apps all completed. All in all I think it is viewed positively and shows you are willing to serve and commission even though it is a different path. Good luck to your DS.
 
Heatherg21 said:
Our DS did 3 interviews, all were timed. One 15 minutes, one 30 (went 40,he was the last before their lunch) and another 30. All asked about Plan B, he told them he was awarded a 4 year NROTC. They all smiled and made positive remarks. They then asked which school, they were also pleased with his reply. They commented that to have an app done and awarded by 1st boards was an accomplishment along with 4 SA apps all completed. All in all I think it is viewed positively and shows you are willing to serve and commission even though it is a different path. Good luck to your DS.
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Thank you! DS had mentioned his scholarship is at a rival school of one of the board members which sparked a couple jokes but I think it's all in good fun!
 
The interviews are unpredictable. My son had his yesterday and they got on him right off the bat for declining the USNA Summer Session offer he had. He then came back with the fact that he had gone to USNA Summer Stem the summer prior and that he chose the USCGA Summer AIM over the USNA Summer session because it was more realistic depiction of academy life with meal squaring, morning PT, etc. They then got on him because he submitted his nom application "late" (it wasn't past the deadline, just not immediately upon the application being available), and he calmly explained that he wanted to have the best scores and resume possible (he was waiting for his wrestling captaincy and student government elections so he could have those on his resume), which is an answer they actually liked. Then it got even stranger, when they said he was a solid candidate but that he should apply to West Point. He was like "huh"? They pushed really hard on this WP thing. He stuck to his guns, and explained his desire for USNA #1 and USAFA #2. After 20 minutes, all four on the committee shifted to small talk with Luke to wind down the 30 minute interview. My son felt like it all went well, and I trust his judgement as he is a pretty solid kid. And for perspective, I went through this two other times with my other son, who got the nom his first time but ended up going to prep school and then got the nom when he came through again.
 
I learned long ago that it was never good to look back and discuss tests with classmates and peers, All it does is lead to self-doubt and worry. The grades will be out shortly, and you will often be surprised and do better than you thought.

Interviews are the same....its done, move on ! DS either did well, did poorly, or somewhere in the middle.....but there is nothing you can do about it today but worry. All interviews are different...even with the same interviewer. If you like telling and hearing stories about others interview experiences, by all means go for it...but frankly, nothing here is going to tell you how an interviewer (or panel) will react to DS.
 
^^ I agree. For those still in h.s., the MOC interview is likely one of their first significant interviews, so to try to assess how it went probably is a waste of time. Even in the civilian world, you can have an interview you thought didn't go well and still get the job or vice versa.

Each MOC runs their own process, so there isn't any value in trying to determine how things went by how long the interview was, what types of questions were/were not asked, etc.
 
I didn't have too many questions either. About a 10 minute interview, maybe less. I received that nomination.
 
No ROTC is not a bad thing. It’s a positive as it shows your commitment to all options. Most interviews are that short
 
bt18 said:
He said mid January. He also said there were 11 applying and they only had one opening to give, does this mean only one spot per academy for a nom?
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No he meant that 10 people are getting a nomination and that the academy could choose any of those ten
 
talltrees said:
No he meant that 10 people are getting a nomination and that the academy could choose any of those ten
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Oh I guess I misinterpreted what he was saying. So from what it sounds like 1 person isn’t getting it.
 
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