Quality over quantity

Hopeful2025

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How does admissions see ECs that you truly are invested in over ones where you merely hold a namesake? For example, what if you are president of one club and are very involved and put a lot of work into running it as compared to being on the board of 5 clubs but really dont do much within the club? How will admissions be able to differ between the two?
 
I would say one is a resume builder and the other a leadership role. You could write about what you contributed to that club in an essay, explain concisely in an interview what role you played and how you successfully lead others and or implemented positive changes to the club. Box checking for the sake of box checking is evident in interviews when asked questions about the impact you made in that list of clubs.
 
I would say one is a resume builder and the other a leadership role. You could write about what you contributed to that club in an essay, explain concisely in an interview what role you played and how you successfully lead others and or implemented positive changes to the club. Box checking for the sake of box checking is evident in interviews when asked questions about the impact you made in that list of clubs.

Ok so after all that would admissions be able to see the difference between one persons quality leadership in one club as opposed to another who isn't involved but has 5 "leadership" positions?
 
I think this is where LORs, essays, and interviews really come into play. I don’t believe titles make someone a leader. So during their BGO interviews I always dive into this specific item and provide a full picture of it in the write up. I think this is where candidates have to learn how to explain what they have done, accomplishments, etc.
 
I think this is where LORs, essays, and interviews really come into play. I don’t believe titles make someone a leader. So during their BGO interviews I always dive into this specific item and provide a full picture of it in the write up. I think this is where candidates have to learn how to explain what they have done, accomplishments, etc.

What a vital role for admissions. Are most BGOs like this?
 
I think many are. It also depends on the BGO and their load of candidates. I live in an area where we each have 2-8 candidates. There is another area a few hours from me who has 50 candidates each year with one BGO. Only a percentage of them finish their apps, but even 10 is a lot to handle on top of college nights and other items with a full time job, family and he also has reserve duty.
 
I think many are. It also depends on the BGO and their load of candidates. I live in an area where we each have 2-8 candidates. There is another area a few hours from me who has 50 candidates each year with one BGO. Only a percentage of them finish their apps, but even 10 is a lot to handle on top of college nights and other items with a full time job, family and he also has reserve duty.

I didn’t communicate with my son’s BGO. I might have talked to him once at a Congress SA night. They met at his mother’s home.

I did send a thank you to him for helping my son. My son loved him. And iirc he covered a large area.
 
Some BGOs treat this as their full-time job, because for some it is. They may call and email candidates frequently, may conduct interviews that last hours, may send reminders, may attend many local events, etc. As noted, others have FT jobs, FT child care, may have to care for elderly parents, etc. They may have much less contact with candidates but still meet all of their BGO requirements.

Rest assured that the amount of time your BGO spends with you has no relationship to the likelihood of your receiving an appointment. An experienced BGO knows what to ask/discuss and knows how to write up the interviews well. Also, whether your BGO likes you (personally) has no bearing on your receiving an appointment.
 
Admissions relies on BGO's to get the real time interview feel and report back. All candidates are asked the same questions. As with any human interaction someone who is "bsing" their way through a process is going to light up the resume builder warning light. The interviews our son had this late summer and fall were serious and focused and would have detected a lack of authenticity. Again. Can only speak based on what our DS experienced.
 
What a vital role for admissions. Are most BGOs like this?

Admissions relies on BGO's to get the real time interview feel and report back. All candidates are asked the same questions. As with any human interaction someone who is "bsing" their way through a process is going to light up the resume builder warning light. The interviews our son had this late summer and fall were serious and focused and would have detected a lack of authenticity. Again. Can only speak based on what our DS experienced.

As I have said before...one data point doesn't make a rule. The truth is, while all BGO's have the same initial training, some are more conscientious, more responsive, and /or more qualified than others. Yes, USNA gives us an outline for interviews, but frankly I haven't looked at it for years, and developed my own long ago (and realistically, have done this so many times I rarely even refer to it!). Thus, we don't "all ask the same questions" (and no two interviews are exactly the same ). While we are supposed to evaluate and comment on the same characteristics, we certainly don't evaluate the candidates the same way. We all have our biases and preferences. I think I have a pretty good BS detector, and am pretty good at distinguishing the kid who is really committed to an activity , and one who is collecting tickets because they look good on an application.

I echo '85's comment about the time/quality of a BGO relationship. I've had plenty of successful candidates that I've interviewed and never really heard from again (except for Presentation of Appointment-- I make a point of doing that !). I've had a handful who've kept in touch while at USNA and after.
 
A couple of ways:
1) Indicate the hours you spend per week on the activity
2) Indicate the accomplishments

so President of Chess Club

vs President of Chess Club, 5 hours per week, 30 weeks per year. Successfully organized 5 inter-school chess matches with a total of 120 players, increased membership 50% over 2 years, organize weekly intra-mural chess matches, led 2 trips to nursing homes
 
To f/u on Bopper's comments, it is helpful to come to the BGO interview prepared to discuss your "resume." Be able to describe what you do in your key activities. If you're passionate about something, let it show.

I can't tell you how many candidates I've interviewed who are team captains or club/class officers. When I ask what they do in that role, they look at me blankly and then respond with "uh, not much" or "well, I guess I help inspire my team" or other vague comments. I try to help them with additional questions -- "Do you help raise funds? Do you recruit new members? Do you organize meetings?" Still, often time there's nothing which tells me the person is perhaps popular but isn't making the most of his/her opportunities. Conversely, I've had candidates without a lot of "leadership" on their CVs who are able to describe exactly what they do, how they contribute/improve their organization, etc.

I always give my candidate an open-ended question, "Is there anything else you'd like USNA to know about you?" or similar to ensure they get a chance to mention something if (in the rare instance) I haven't already covered it.

If you don't get this question from your BGO, you're almost certain to get "Do you have any additional questions for me?" You can use this to say, "no questions (if none), but I'd like to tell you about X, which is very important to me."
 
I did alumni interviews for my alma mater. I had a student that didn’t appear to have many ECs at all, much less leadership. But we were talking about that…and it turned out that he watched his little brother after school, so he couldn't do traditional after school activities. It turns out his parents were getting divorced and he started to notice his brother falling through the cracks. So he started making sure he did his homework, and also signed him up for a baseball league. He took him to practices and games.

So not only did he babysit his brother, he showed leadership in making sure his brother had opportunities and support.
 
Bopper..and that is an example as what I view as the principal benefit of the BGO interview process.....picking up on those things that aren't adequately addressed in the rest of the application. I had a candidate not long ago that struggled his Freshman year because one of his best friend passed away, and have had several candidates over the years that had to be big brother in single family households.
 
I had one whose house burned to the ground and had been living out of a hotel for 6 months. Parents spoke no English so candidate did all the comms with the insurance companies, etc.

Understand that most candidates have "normal" lives . . . but for those who have something unique and important, the BGO interview is a great time to share it.
 
How does admissions see ECs that you truly are invested in over ones where you merely hold a namesake? For example, what if you are president of one club and are very involved and put a lot of work into running it as compared to being on the board of 5 clubs but really dont do much within the club? How will admissions be able to differ between the two?
Definitely ones you are truly invested in. I’ve talked with Midshipman that have gone to my school and one volunteered with pretty much one organization, but he had 1,000+ hours of community service with it, they liked that kind of dedication
 
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