SA 'Finding' a nomination

Agree with @Heatherg21 post #30! I repeat, completely agree!

My DD got an email from the area BGO that she was one of the 10 area-wide candidates furthest along with her USNA application, that email was in JUNE. (Class of 2024 USNA & USMMA apps opened 05/01). Her LOAs were between 09/24 and 10/14. All SAs are commenting essentially on your motivation and true interest as well as your competitiveness. The most measurable way is by what you DO, not what you SAY, and DOING means the date of a 100% complete application, TO include FULLY UPLOADED SOES/Recs, CFA, DoDMERB (at least the exams taken, initial qualification result).

Also agree with planning your SAT/ACT window as a rising junior. Take exams in summer and early fall, spillover is it helps with the PSAT. I strongly believe DD was in testing mode and that is how she was National Merit Commended. You will also have your scores for USAFA SS, NASS, SLE, AIM. This may be TX specific but....get your learner's permit as soon as you turn 16, so you make sure you have 6+months, and then get your license right before junior year starts. It's not about the driving, it's just to get one more thing off your plate so you can focus on school, ECs, and college applications.
 
I know that a lot of folks are thinking "But the school counselor said. . . about when to take the SAT" or "Our school schedules the SAT for ___".
As a BGO, whenever I get to speak with candidates and parents EARLY - before the applications start in the spring of Junior Year, I tell them to start the testing early and when they tell me what the counselor said, I advise them that the School Counselors rarely have real experience with Service Academies or for that matter, with elite schools/programs. What they are generally focused on is getting the average to good student into the average to good college/university. I faced this as a candidate myself and saw it as a parent.
Some may not consider it "fair" but I can't help with that except to give advice when I can.
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As for getting the applications done early, as a BGO, I reach out to my candidates as soon as I get notified of their candidacy and that is usually by the first week of May. My welcome email ALWAYS advises them to start getting the recommendations before school is out for the year (June in the Northeast) and work the rest of it in the summer. My expectation for a serious candidate that gets a candidate number in May is to see them mostly done with the application elements by September. The motivated candidates seem to find a way to do this. As far as I am concerned, my mental target date for completion is the START of Admissions Board meetings at the end of the summer. Feel free to disagree with me all that you want or point out special circumstances for candidate X but my point is that when the Admissions Board STARTS, there are 1200 open "slots" in the class and that number drops as they go along. And yes, some applicants start later but if motivated, still are able to get the application elements done in 6 weeks or so.
 
Some thoughts on the issues in this thread.

First, candidates have until Jan 31 most years and Feb. 28 (for USNA at least) this year to turn in their applications. Turning your stuff in on the last day may be good enough for the SA. However, it may not be good enough in competitive MOC districts.

Here's why. MOC committees that interview usually do so in Nov or Dec. They typically ask the status of the candidate's application (and have means to verify what was said). Candidate A says she's 100% complete (other than maybe medical). Candidate B says he isn't complete and eventually acknowledges he's submitted only 3 items (of 9 for USNA). The committee may well wonder where Candidate B has been in June, July, August, Sept. . . . goes to motivation and interest. They may also worry that B will NEVER complete his application and thus their nom is wasted on him. No such concerns re A.

Second, there are consequences for prioritizing your noms, so you must do it wisely. I do NOT understand a candidate, such as the OP, who puts a SA as his / her #1 choice, gets a nom to that SA, and then complains about not getting a nom to another SA. In the end, you can only attend one SA. If you have a preference, especially a strong one, put that SA #1 for every MOC. Go further -- tell the MOC you won't accept a nom to any other SA. There's risk of getting no nom, but you've made your choice very clear.

If you're more ambivalent and truly would be happy at more than one SA, then prioritize different SAs with different MOCs and hope you get at least one nom. If you do, don't complain you didn't get more or a nom to a different SA. If you really have a preference for one SA, reread the paragraph directly above.

As for SAs "finding" noms . . . it's rare and, when it does happen for USNA, usually involves an LOA candidate or a HIGHLY desirable candidate who for some (legitimate) reason entered the application process too late to secure an MOC nom.

For the OP . . . the fact that you didn't complete your USNA application until end of December suggests it's wasn't a high priority for you. Be thankful for the USAFA nom and hope the appointment comes through or reapply next year and focus exclusively on USNA (or whatever SA you really want to attend).
 
My DS found a loophole to take the SAT since he was originally scheduled for the test and later found out his MOC interviews weee the same day.
We went to our parish and requested that he be allowed to take the test on Sunday instead of Saturday for religious reasons. Never even knew that it was possible but my DS searched and found an answer to his problem. He took his last SAT at a local Jewish high school on the Sunday after his interviews.
Where there’s a will there’s a way.
 
Agree with @Heatherg21 post #30! I repeat, completely agree!

My DD got an email from the area BGO that she was one of the 10 area-wide candidates furthest along with her USNA application, that email was in JUNE. (Class of 2024 USNA & USMMA apps opened 05/01). Her LOAs were between 09/24 and 10/14. All SAs are commenting essentially on your motivation and true interest as well as your competitiveness. The most measurable way is by what you DO, not what you SAY, and DOING means the date of a 100% complete application, TO include FULLY UPLOADED SOES/Recs, CFA, DoDMERB (at least the exams taken, initial qualification result).

Also agree with planning your SAT/ACT window as a rising junior. Take exams in summer and early fall, spillover is it helps with the PSAT. I strongly believe DD was in testing mode and that is how she was National Merit Commended. You will also have your scores for USAFA SS, NASS, SLE, AIM. This may be TX specific but....get your learner's permit as soon as you turn 16, so you make sure you have 6+months, and then get your license right before junior year starts. It's not about the driving, it's just to get one more thing off your plate so you can focus on school, ECs, and college applications.
Our son was so nervous for his BGO interview. His BGO is head of our state BGO’s and told our DS during his August interview that he was his first of the cycle. DS didn’t think that was a good thing as he could be the baseline all others were viewed against. If he nailed it, good. If he bombed it ....dang. But, I still stick to if you want this, put your best out there ASAP. Quality, quality but early quality.
 
FYI, I don't think it matters when your BGO interview is in terms of how well you come across. Most BGOs have been doing this for awhile. Thus, we don't just view a candidate in terms of others that year but rather generally across all candidates -- and also vs. the "ideal." Also, we do NOT rank candidates against each other.

Having done this many years, I know that the first candidate of the cycle may be the best . . . or the worst. I don't hold back on "higher" scores b/c I may see a better candidate. If I have an exceptional candidate in August, my comments will reflect that just as much as they would if that person showed up in December. So I don't see showing up early as a disadvantage. (As an aside, BGOs can update / modify their interview summary after it's submitted, but I've never had a need to do it).

Conversely, showing up late can be a disadvantage. As I've posted previously, when someone doesn't complete their packet until very late (and especially if the candidate wants me to do an interview in January with the packet STILL not complete), I'm going to ask why the delay. In my experience, 95% of the time, it's due to lack of motivation or interest. Usually I find that the kid's parent(s) want him / her to apply and, finally, at the end, to get the parents off his / her back, the candidate begrudgingly completes the application. Most of my lower evaluations go to candidates who interview very late in the cycle -- although I have had a few standouts at the end.
 
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