Nominations not in time

Smaker

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Sep 8, 2018
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My son got a call from Congress man asking why he hasn’t applied for academy? But we didn’t know he got nominated. He tried calling and emailed to follow up after interview but we never got any response back until today and Air Force Academy application deadline was Jan 6th and she mentioned he was one of the top candidate.
How should we approach this? This is so disappointing.
Please any help will be appreciated.

Thanks
 
If @brewmeist is correct in that your son was waiting to submit his USAFA application until he received notification of his nomination, then I'm not sure if anything can be done at this point - SA applications are intended to be parallel processes as MOCs have until January 31st to submit their slates. Not knowing how much of the USAFA application process your son completed leaves me with few suggestions other than having your son contact USAFA admissions to see what options are available.

Good luck.
 
If @brewmeist is correct in that your son was waiting to submit his USAFA application until he received notification of his nomination, then I'm not sure if anything can be done at this point - SA applications are intended to be parallel processes as MOCs have until January 31st to submit their slates. Not knowing how much of the USAFA application process your son completed leaves me with few suggestions other than having your son contact USAFA admissions to see what options are available.

Good luck.
He had started the application but it’s incomplete, we are contacting air Force Academy right now through email. We are praying something will work out, he has worked so hard for this.
 
@Smaker, why did DS stop the application process? Was he no longer interested in USAFA? Did the nomination suddenly change his mind? Please make sure he carefully considers his goals and motivations. It doesn’t sound like he’s fully committed to this path, and should he receive offer of appointment, he might be setting himself up for failure if he accepts it.
 
With all due respect, @Smaker, your headline is misleading. The issue is not that the nomination was “not in time” — the deadline for submitting slates to SAs is 1/31. The issue is that your DS left his application incomplete.

I hope things work out, one way or another. It can be a painful lesson learned — about attention to detail, clear goals, ownership of one’s decisions — but a lesson nonetheless.
 
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I am really confused about this post.

Is this the timeline?
1. Son opens application to USAFA
2. Son applies for nomination from MOC.
3. Son discontinues application process (essays, DodMerb, transcripts - whatever)
4. Son gained nomination from MOC despite incomplete application
5. Son scrambling to complete application.

January 6th was what cut off date? For noms in your district?

There are so many questions here:

Did son apply to congress rep and senators?
Why was the application not completed? (Did DS change his mind but didn't want to tell Mom and Dad bc they had their hearts set on not emptying their bank account?)(it happens)
And more but fencersmother is flummoxed.

For others who are somewhat loose about SA applications: At this point in your academic career, there is so little you can do to change ANYTHING. Late for SATs, ACTs, GPA upswings, sports commendations, job promotions, athletic prowess. But the one thing you CAN USUALLY control is the ATTENTION TO DETAIL, especially as regards TIMELINES AND DEADLINES. Again , I STRONGLY suggest a wall calendar, in a prominent location (kitchen table, PARENTS' and STUDENT'S desks, Family Room, etc), with ALL deadlines clearly marked. If you are working on Plans B,C,D, have separate calendars or at least separate colors for each college or SA. And I stress a BIG WALL MOUNTED CALENDAR, not just in everyone's phone or computer (though those too are good). Check the calendar at least once a week. EG: Every Sunday after supper, sit down with Junior and go over what is due the following week (LoR, transcripts, Essays, DVD of sports performance, coach's rec). Parents and students should KNOW what's expected, what's required, and what's optional.

Letting deadlines slide or slip away for a student who is doing well enough in high school to apply to an SA generally indicates the child (yes, he's still a child, though on the cusp) has lost interest in a SA, and is no longer interested in applying. Of course, a little honesty would have saved a great deal of stress, but kids are kids. There are any number of reasons for decline in interest: how about that new girlfriend? She's going to State U! Colorado is almost 1500 miles from my home! I really don't want to do THAT much math! Seriously - I don't want any classes before noon!! Who cares about student loans? (< my personal favorite, as was told to me by a very naïve 17 year old, who graduated from PSU with close to $75K in loan debt with his sociology degree)
 
he has worked so hard for this.
Evidently not on his application. Look, I get that the Service Academy application has more to it than the application to Whatsamatta U but it really doesn't take
THAT much effort. Certainly not more than can easily be accomplished in a couple of months of a few hours per week.

I had one of my (college) students pull that one on me when he appealed his grade of F from me a couple of weeks ago:
Student: "But Professor, I get that I missed some classes and didn't do my final presentation but I need this class to graduate this semester"
Me: Mr X, you missed 16 out of 28 class meetings which gives you an automatic 0 on class participation (20% of your grade). Actually, missing 8 or more classes unexcused is a zero for that so you weren't even close. The presentation that you skipped doing is 25% of your grade and you also missed the preliminary discussion of your topic which was another 5% so the total for that assignment was 30% of your grade. Thus, that MAXIMUM that you could earn for the semester was 50 out of 100 assuming all of your other work was perfect which it was not.
.
Please don't tell me how hard you worked on this class because your performance and effort displayed does not show it.
 
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My son got a call from Congress man asking why he hasn’t applied for academy? But we didn’t know he got nominated. He tried calling and emailed to follow up after interview but we never got any response back until today and Air Force Academy application deadline was Jan 6th and she mentioned he was one of the top candidate.
How should we approach this? This is so disappointing.
Please any help will be appreciated.

Thanks
I'm not sure why you stopped the application process. I don't believe the admissions board will do anything about extending the process deadline date. If you see it from the admissions point of view, over 10,000 applicants apply each year and if all those people can finish their application on time then there is no excuse for someone to not be able to finish the application. Out of the 10,000 other people who applied why would they even consider someone who can't finish the simple task of finishing the application? If you apply next year, you can work on the application while also waiting for the congressional nomination.
 
Hi y'all,
Please realize that many people are NOT as familiar with the whole process as many of you are and don't assume ignorance equals lack of effort or ability. I consider myself pretty knowledgeable and yet there were many times my DS had some really close calls due to misinformation (from those who were supposedly "in the know") or misunderstanding. Even if it's a life lesson to be learned, I can understand how someone might think a nomination was something on the checklist (it is) that needed to be completed before submitting/finishing the application (it doesn't). Seriously, it's not that crazy of a thought (if that's what happened)! That said, life is going to throw you curveballs, strikes, and, yep, a few may even knock you out. Encourage each other to learn from the lesson, get up, and try again!
 
A nomination is technically not a requirement to apply. Do you need to get one to get admitted, yes, so you better apply. It sounds like the OP’s son waited to see if he got a nom before completing his app. I am not familiar with the USAFA admissions portals, but guessing the due date is called out. USAFA is unique because it has rolling application deadlines unlike USNA and USMA that have one deadline. This is a tough lesson to learn but one that could of been cleared up with a question to his ALO, admissions or even on this board. There are lots of people ‘in the know’ with great intentions who give bad advice. Always contact an official source for these kinds of questions. This board is pretty good at giving advice and if bad gouge is given, corrected, but at the end of the day, even if a BGO or ALO is on here, we are not acting in an official capacity.
 
There are lots of people ‘in the know’ with great intentions who give bad advice. Always contact an official source for these kinds of questions. This board is pretty good at giving advice and if bad gouge is given, corrected, but at the end of the day, even if a BGO or ALO is on here, we are not acting in an official capacity.

Absolutely! In our case, it was actually FFRs who were unfamiliar with a few changes. Thankfully, DS followed-up with info he'd been given at SLE.
 
Absolutely! In our case, it was actually FFRs who were unfamiliar with a few changes. Thankfully, DS followed-up with info he'd been given at SLE.
EDITED: Correction! It was misinformation he'd been given at SLE and his RC found it and notified him. We're all human, so good to double-check if in doubt.
 
Hello. I have already completed the candidate portal requirements. My only issue is getting the nomination. I partly messed up because by the time I requested one for congress, they had already filled them up, so I went for the vice presidential nomination. Unfortunately, he is taking his sweet time by not answering any email or call I send him, but I NEED the nomination soon. Someone who went to the Air Force Academy before, though, told me that because my father is an Air Force officer, I could automatically get a presidential nomination spot, so how does that work? Is it too late being almost the end of January. I am kicking myself because this seems so easy to get yet time consuming.:confused2::(
 
Hello. I have already completed the candidate portal requirements. My only issue is getting the nomination. I partly messed up because by the time I requested one for congress, they had already filled them up, so I went for the vice presidential nomination. Unfortunately, he is taking his sweet time by not answering any email or call I send him, but I NEED the nomination soon. Someone who went to the Air Force Academy before, though, told me that because my father is an Air Force officer, I could automatically get a presidential nomination spot, so how does that work? Is it too late being almost the end of January. I am kicking myself because this seems so easy to get yet time consuming.:confused2::(


The deadline for military affiliation noms is 31 Jan 19.

In the back of the candidate handbook, there is a template for requesting a Presidential nom based on your father being in the service. I am assuming he has served at least 8 years of continuous active duty.

Use that template to request for the nom. You will also have to submit proof of your father's active duty service, so that may take some time. Once you get the actual nom request memo done and proof of service, send to the USAFA. My DD got a presidential nom posted on her portal about 2-3 weeks after she sent off the request.

Who are you trying to call for the VP nom? If I recall, my DD went on the VP website, filled the info online, and hit submit.
 
Hello. I have already completed the candidate portal requirements. My only issue is getting the nomination. I partly messed up because by the time I requested one for congress, they had already filled them up, so I went for the vice presidential nomination. Unfortunately, he is taking his sweet time by not answering any email or call I send him, but I NEED the nomination soon. Someone who went to the Air Force Academy before, though, told me that because my father is an Air Force officer, I could automatically get a presidential nomination spot, so how does that work? Is it too late being almost the end of January. I am kicking myself because this seems so easy to get yet time consuming.:confused2::(

Please see https://www.academyadmissions.com/admissions/the-application-process/nominations/ - although there are "unlimited" Presidential nominations, but only up to 100 appointments available annually in this category. So no, you should not assume that a Presidential nomination will assure an offer of appointment. Also, the Vice President cedes the selection of his limited number of nominations to each service academy, so continuing call/send email will probably not produce positive results (assuming you have submitted an application for this nomination).
 
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I'd advise anyone confused about the process to go read everything at academyadmissions.com again.

...because surely when trying to get a 4-year, full-ride appointment worth several hundred thousand dollars, you would read their "how to" website!
 
I guess I am viewing this differently. Ask your DS why now he wants to go to USAFA? Is it only because the MoC said he was one of their top picks.
~ Being one of their top picks is different than being their top pick, i.e. principal.

Since he has applied to other SAs (my assumption), than what stopped him from completing the USAFA application? Did he decide that he didn't want to serve 5 yrs ADAF? Is he now changing his mind because he is thinking short term and wanting that SA lifestyle?
~ If my DS got that call he would have had the answer immediately. No offense, but my DS thought it out from the long term aspect. He only wanted to fly in the AF, and if not flying than Intel or whatever they chose for him. On all of his nom apps he only placed USAFA. He never opened a USNA, USMA, USCGA, USMMA packet. In his eyes he would only serve in the USAF.

4 yrs., be it at an SA or Timbucktoo U in ROTC is not the same as AD life. You got to choose which SA/school, you got to choose your major and where you live. They are owned by that branch for 5 yrs 24/7/365 days a year. If the AF says you will live at Canon AFB in NM and a PA officer for the next 4 yrs would he be happy over going NROTC and getting his dream pick of SWO?

To me many get caught up in the illusion of an SA life without thinking about the true payback. People constantly bring up it is a free education and their desire for that military lifestyle at college. It isn't free. You owe 5 yrs to them and they own you. You need to be sure impo before you ask USAFA to assist you and tweaking this for him that he is willing to take the very worst option they can throw at him upon commissioning.
~ As I stated DS wanted flying and every SA has that option. Yet, he never wanted to be at sea....out goes USNA and USCGA. He never wanted rotor (helo) or drive tanks, jump out of perfectly good airplanes....out goes USMA. Hence, the only SA he ever applied to was USAFA. FWIW at his MoC interviews they asked why he didn't apply for a nom to other SAs. His answer was simple...I will commission as an AF officer.

In the end of the day this is not 4 yrs, but 9 yrs tied to that service, and that is on a good day. 4 at the SA and 5 AD. Basically a decade of their life.
Just my opinion and with $2.07 cents you can get a small cup of coffee.
 
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I assume your son has other options for college....he could always go to another college, mimic the SA freshman year, and then apply again to USAFA if still interested.
 
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