RC for USMA...thoughts?

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jllera1

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My DD recently improved both her SAT scores to 1290 (ENG 650 & MATH 640) from 1190 (ENG 650 & MATH 54P). Her ACT went up to 31 (READ 35, ENG 32, MATH 27, SCIE 28) From 28 (READ 30, ENG 32, MATH 24, SCIE 28). She reached out to her RC, which had told her to take them again. Once she received her new scores she reached out to him and he asked for her log ins to both and to send pdf to someone specific at USMA. She then asked him her chances and this is what he sent her:

" You have done an amazing job on improving your file. You have obviously put in hard work and are very determined. I hope that it works out to where you are able to earn an appointment this year since I think you will make a solid cadet and great officer for the Army. I will continue to vouch for you and hope it can help result in an offer. I don’t know at this time for sure but I think you have a 50/50 shot right now. Have a great day."

My DD has never recieved a 3Q letter or been told anything about NWL. Can anyone weigh in on this? Who actually makes the decisions of an appointment and does the RC vouching help? If so, how much?
 
jllera1 said:
My DD recently improved both her SAT scores to 1290 (ENG 650 & MATH 640) from 1190 (ENG 650 & MATH 54P). Her ACT went up to 31 (READ 35, ENG 32, MATH 27, SCIE 28) From 28 (READ 30, ENG 32, MATH 24, SCIE 28). She reached out to her RC, which had told her to take them again. Once she received her new scores she reached out to him and he asked for her log ins to both and to send pdf to someone specific at USMA. She then asked him her chances and this is what he sent her:

" You have done an amazing job on improving your file. You have obviously put in hard work and are very determined. I hope that it works out to where you are able to earn an appointment this year since I think you will make a solid cadet and great officer for the Army. I will continue to vouch for you and hope it can help result in an offer. I don’t know at this time for sure but I think you have a 50/50 shot right now. Have a great day."

My DD has never recieved a 3Q letter or been told anything about NWL. Can anyone weigh in on this? Who actually makes the decisions of an appointment and does the RC vouching help? If so, how much?
Click to expand...
My son has similar numbers. Our RC told us at one point " he has a very nice profile." This week we called him bc he has not had an update on his file yet. He told us he has not been reviewed and his chances were slim on getting in due to very competitive slate. He said problem was he only had boys state as extracurricular. Well he's a 4 year varsity athlete with 2 years capt. Plus 2 other varsity sports and volunteer work. My point being who the hell knows. We do know he has not yet been reviewsed. Still hopefull and accepting ROTC until we hear otherwise.
 
I believe the RC is very important. However, either your daughter is battling another competitive applicant for a MOC slot, or that slot has already been filled and she is on NWL. There is a RC for each region, and each RC has a number of kids in their region who they would like to see get an appointment. I believe it is the admissions director who makes the call on those, but someone more knowledgeable can chime in if I am wrong.

We spoke with my sons RC last year, and when he told my son he was receiving an appointment he advised that the director needed to officially finalize it, or something to that effect, but she was out of the office that day. That was early January, and that was a different situation, but I think the committee meets and qualifies files after the RC puts them together, then the RC gets the files back and makes recommendations, and the director makes the decision; particularly on close calls.
 
The selection process is complicated and held closely, but here is just a taste. Every Tuesday, at minimum of three RC will get together. One RC will present competitive completed files that are 3Q'd and have completed their DoDmerb. (or close to it if they are a file they really want. ie athlete being pushed by a coach, as an example.) The RC will present the file and the other two will vote yes or no. They both have to come to an agreement. If both RC are in an agreement, the file is passed on to admissions for consideration with class composition goals in mind. The files are collected and once approved will be given the opportunity for an appointment if their NOM is qualified (ie principle, presidential etc). Now they count backwords, because they have to account for USMAPS, NWL, athletes, females, civil prep, those who have high academics then direct admits to complete goals.

Rolling admissions, which is no longer followed, handed out appointments every week. Now its in two big waves then trickles to fill in class goals.

Since this is a complicated process there is much speculation to the process and the debate begins. Which is fine and needed to clarify the process .

Best of luck on your efforts. In my opinion, your DD has a better than average advantage. Since the class goals for females is 20% her chance is better.

Push Hard, Press Forward
 
jllera1 said:
My DD recently improved both her SAT scores to 1290 (ENG 650 & MATH 640) from 1190 (ENG 650 & MATH 54P). Her ACT went up to 31 (READ 35, ENG 32, MATH 27, SCIE 28) From 28 (READ 30, ENG 32, MATH 24, SCIE 28). She reached out to her RC, which had told her to take them again. Once she received her new scores she reached out to him and he asked for her log ins to both and to send pdf to someone specific at USMA. She then asked him her chances and this is what he sent her:

" You have done an amazing job on improving your file. You have obviously put in hard work and are very determined. I hope that it works out to where you are able to earn an appointment this year since I think you will make a solid cadet and great officer for the Army. I will continue to vouch for you and hope it can help result in an offer. I don’t know at this time for sure but I think you have a 50/50 shot right now. Have a great day."

My DD has never recieved a 3Q letter or been told anything about NWL. Can anyone weigh in on this? Who actually makes the decisions of an appointment and does the RC vouching help? If so, how much?
Click to expand...
There is really no way to look inside the admissions "black box", but you should take the response from the RC as very encouraging.

It is still early enough in the process and possible that your daughter's file has not gone before the admissions board for 3Q. You should already know the status of 2 of the Q's, medical and physical. The response from the RC likely means that he believes she will achieve the 3rd Q, academic, if she has not already done so.

As far as how an appointment will be determined, once the WCS score is calculated, it is very objective until they get past the first 150 on the NWL. Then the primary focus is on meeting recruiting goals. It is possible that the district winner has not yet been determined or has not yet accepted the offer. Sometimes the probable district winner is still clearing medical remedials or waiting for a waiver into April. In short, it is time to sit, wait, and keep your fingers crossed.
 
tug_boat said:
The selection process is complicated and held closely, but here is just a taste. Every Tuesday, at minimum of three RC will get together. One RC will present competitive completed files that are 3Q'd and have completed their DoDmerb. (or close to it if they are a file they really want. ie athlete being pushed by a coach, as an example.) The RC will present the file and the other two will vote yes or no. They both have to come to an agreement. If both RC are in an agreement, the file is passed on to admissions for consideration with class composition goals in mind. The files are collected and once approved will be given the opportunity for an appointment if their NOM is qualified (ie principle, presidential etc). Now they count backwords, because they have to account for USMAPS, NWL, athletes, females, civil prep, those who have high academics then direct admits to complete goals.

Rolling admissions, which is no longer followed, handed out appointments every week. Now its in two big waves then trickles to fill in class goals.

Since this is a complicated process there is much speculation to the process and the debate begins. Which is fine and needed to clarify the process .

Best of luck on your efforts. In my opinion, your DD has a better than average advantage. Since the class goals for females is 20% her chance is better.

Push Hard, Press Forward
Click to expand...
Tug is pure gold!!
 
@brovol thanks but its not gospel.....

One more thought for the readers. The importance of completing your file early. Your file can be reviewed multiple times, week after week. Update your file asap when you have improved your score such as ACT/SAT, semester grades, class rank, achievements and such. The more you improve and it will be noticed, the better your chances.

Push Hard, Press Forward
 
tug_boat said:
@brovol thanks but its not gospel.....

One more thought for the readers. The importance of completing your file early. Your file can be reviewed multiple times, week after week. Update your file asap when you have improved your score such as ACT/SAT, semester grades, class rank, achievements and such. The more you improve and it will be noticed, the better your chances.

Push Hard, Press Forward
Click to expand...
That is what my son did, and he definitely got noticed.
 
usarmy87 said:
My son has similar numbers. Our RC told us at one point " he has a very nice profile." This week we called him bc he has not had an update on his file yet. He told us he has not been reviewed and his chances were slim on getting in due to very competitive slate. He said problem was he only had boys state as extracurricular. Well he's a 4 year varsity athlete with 2 years capt. Plus 2 other varsity sports and volunteer work. My point being who the hell knows. We do know he has not yet been reviewsed. Still hopefull and accepting ROTC until we hear otherwise.
Click to expand...
My DD hasn't been reviewed yet either. She has oodles if leadership, but little sports. She is going to meet him person next week and see if anything else she can do. She also received AROTC scholarship and accepted already to The Citadel. She was invited to an overnight "pre-knob", which she is also going to next week.
 
brovol said:
I believe the RC is very important. However, either your daughter is battling another competitive applicant for a MOC slot, or that slot has already been filled and she is on NWL. There is a RC for each region, and each RC has a number of kids in their region who they would like to see get an appointment. I believe it is the admissions director who makes the call on those, but someone more knowledgeable can chime in if I am wrong.

We spoke with my sons RC last year, and when he told my son he was receiving an appointment he advised that the director needed to officially finalize it, or something to that effect, but she was out of the office that day. That was early January, and that was a different situation, but I think the committee meets and qualifies files after the RC puts them together, then the RC gets the files back and makes recommendations, and the director makes the decision; particularly on close calls.
Click to expand...
I am not sure about the MOC slate. They have all been super tight lipped about it. I do know someone from my MOC has already gotten in, but she said she was a recruited athlete when I reached out to her. Not sure if that is it for my MOC, since he only had one slot open...???
 
tug_boat said:
The selection process is complicated and held closely, but here is just a taste. Every Tuesday, at minimum of three RC will get together. One RC will present competitive completed files that are 3Q'd and have completed their DoDmerb. (or close to it if they are a file they really want. ie athlete being pushed by a coach, as an example.) The RC will present the file and the other two will vote yes or no. They both have to come to an agreement. If both RC are in an agreement, the file is passed on to admissions for consideration with class composition goals in mind. The files are collected and once approved will be given the opportunity for an appointment if their NOM is qualified (ie principle, presidential etc). Now they count backwords, because they have to account for USMAPS, NWL, athletes, females, civil prep, those who have high academics then direct admits to complete goals.

Rolling admissions, which is no longer followed, handed out appointments every week. Now its in two big waves then trickles to fill in class goals.

Since this is a complicated process there is much speculation to the process and the debate begins. Which is fine and needed to clarify the process .

Best of luck on your efforts. In my opinion, your DD has a better than average advantage. Since the class goals for females is 20% her chance is better.

Push Hard, Press Forward
Click to expand...
Feeling a bit more hopeful. She only received an MOC nomination and not sure if it was principle, as they have been super tight lipped about that. I do know a recruited athlete from her MOC already got an appointment, but not sure how that works, since her MOC only had 1 slot. Her RC said her file hadn't been reviewed about 10 days ago, but then he asked her to send pdf with her new scores to a specific person at USMA.

My DD is also a minority, so hoping that will help to. She had lots of leadership, but lacks in sports. Passed CFA and Dodmerbs already. Now we just wait...
 
jl123 said:
There is really no way to look inside the admissions "black box", but you should take the response from the RC as very encouraging.

It is still early enough in the process and possible that your daughter's file has not gone before the admissions board for 3Q. You should already know the status of 2 of the Q's, medical and physical. The response from the RC likely means that he believes she will achieve the 3rd Q, academic, if she has not already done so.

As far as how an appointment will be determined, once the WCS score is calculated, it is very objective until they get past the first 150 on the NWL. Then the primary focus is on meeting recruiting goals. It is possible that the district winner has not yet been determined or has not yet accepted the offer. Sometimes the probable district winner is still clearing medical remedials or waiting for a waiver into April. In short, it is time to sit, wait, and keep your fingers crossed.
Click to expand...
She has her fingers crossed. She has already passed CFA and Dodmerbs. She doesn't know about MOC slot, but a recruited athlete from her MOC is already in. As of 10 days ago RC said hadn't been reviewed. He did ask her to send new scores directly to someone specific at USMA. She is also a minority, so hopefully that will help too. She has oodles of leadership with very little sports, which is her main issue.
 
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