Parent Works at West Point

USMA17

5-Year Member
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Jan 17, 2012
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I understand that I am competing for an open slot that my congressman has at the Academy. There is no primary candidate on the slate my congressman just simply allows the Academy to decide who they want. I feel more qualified than any of the other candidates, but I have recently found out that one of the candidates has a parent that is a professor at the Academy. Does this candidate have a greater advantage than me of getting the open slot because of this? I just do not want to lose my chance to gain appointment to the Academy (which I have worked so hard to do) due to the fact that another candidate just has a parent that works at the Academy.
 
I understand that I am competing for an open slot that my congressman has at the Academy. There is no primary candidate on the slate my congressman just simply allows the Academy to decide who they want. I feel more qualified than any of the other candidates, but I have recently found out that one of the candidates has a parent that is a professor at the Academy. Does this candidate have a greater advantage than me of getting the open slot because of this? I just do not want to lose my chance to gain appointment to the Academy (which I have worked so hard to do) due to the fact that another candidate just has a parent that works at the Academy.

USMA17, first of all no one really knows how they stack up against others on a slate of nominees. The admissions folks have their own ways of weighing each candidate and no one but them really have any idea what they are looking for. Second, one has to assume that the admissions folks take their responsibility seriously and the idea of favoritism is not fair to them. That said, it is not unthinkable, that having a parent as a professor their might allow them more favorable treatment, however one must assume that there are some protocols in place to ensure that the admissions staff select the best candidate. Good Luck and try not to overly concern yourself with things you cannot control.
 
If there are WCS points awarded to those who have connections at WP, then yes, they would have that advantage. But - I think it is unlikely that a candidate receives WCS points because a parent teaches at WP.
Is it possible that this other candidate has a Presidential nom?
 
I feel more qualified than any of the other candidates


Wow, that is quite the statement! You must be a superstar.

I never felt more qualified than the other candidates (except one guy I saw at a Congressional interview who I had met at Boys' State just before he was kicked out for pouring a cup of urine on someone's face at night... who also asked me "West Point is Army, right?" in the waiting room).
 
I pondered over that likelihood too buff. In other words, it's likely that persons parents served in the military which earn the other cand a pres nom. Also, there's an areas on the portal that asks about academy grads in the family. I'm paraphrasing but I know it's there--and whatever that implies.

If your'e qualified based on stellar merits, please don't get caught up in these theories. They do more harm than good. I like to believe the honor system is for everyone so........ fo-geta-boutit. :)
 
It is a civilian professor. Thus, the nomination is coming from either a Congressman or Senator in this case. I apologize if I am over thinking this whole situation. It is just that you work so hard for so long to get to this point, and you would hate to lose to favoritism.
 
There's nothing you can do about it at this point, so as hard as it sounds, you just have to forget about. If it does turn out that you don't get an appointment this year, you will be much better off to reapply and get in if your mindset is "What can I do to improve myself" rather than "I didn't get in because someone else's parents/gender/race etc."
 
Oh, dear, I'm in your district too. I got a nomination from our Congresswoman as well, even though it was super competitive.

I'm really hoping the National Waiting List will pull through for me, and I think you should too. There are a lot of very, very qualified kids on the same slate as us, no matter how good you may be.

Hurray from being 40 minutes from the school of your dreams! XD
 
I don't think we are in the same congressional district. I have a congressMAN not congressWOMAN, and I do not live in a competitive district.
 
USMA17-It is not possible that you knw exactly how you are ranked with the other candidates. There are many factors that are weighted in determing the WCS. Saying you are the best candidate can not be based on factual information because you are not in a position to see the complete files of the other candidates.
I do not believe that having a father who is on the faculty - especially a civilian faculty - gets you any points. I personally know of several cases where the sons of Army Colonels (WP grads) did not get admitted. I suspect that sons and daughters of WP grads might be a slight factor in the case of a tie - but it is not a factor that you should be concerned about.
That connection can get a Presidential nomination but these people must compete with hundreds of other Presidential nominees for the 100 slots authorized for people with Presidential nominations.
If you are really the best you will get an offer.
 
this is a gut read on this --- anything short of an active O7 will have zero influence on the Admissions committee.
 
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