Son Received the BFE

USMAZoo98 said:
Very excited that my son received his formal certificate of appointment (the BFE) today. Good luck to everyone still waiting. Exciting and tense times ahead as June 28, 2021 (R-Day) approaches.
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Our sons were notified around the same time. Hopefully, he'll see his BFE soon.
 
I remember that day last year. It was a really nicely presented offer of appointment. Congratulations to your son in his achievements and I am grateful for his willingness to commit to service of our great nation.
 
foxtailsean said:
Did he have an LOA? Or was his 7th semester transcript submitted before December?
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He did not have an LOA and his 7th semester transcript has not been submitted yet because his high school just closed the book on their first semester grades. That will be submitted in the next couple weeks.
 
USMAZoo98 said:
Very excited that my son received his formal certificate of appointment (the BFE) today. Good luck to everyone still waiting. Exciting and tense times ahead as June 28, 2021 (R-Day) approaches.
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Congarts!!! June 28 is R Day??
 
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USMAZoo98 said:
He did not have an LOA and his 7th semester transcript has not been submitted yet because his high school just closed the book on their first semester grades. That will be submitted in the next couple weeks.
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Interesting. My West Point state coordinator said my file will not even be reviewed by the admissions board until I have my 7th semester transcript submitted.
 
foxtailsean said:
Interesting. My West Point state coordinator said my file will not even be reviewed by the admissions board until I have my 7th semester transcript submitted.
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I think it proves there is not always rhyme or reason to how selections are made. That's why every year some applicants with seemingly very high scores don't get in and some other applicants who are lower on the scale get in. All part of the class profile building. Based on all of the knowns, my son was a competitive candidate. I am sure having the two service connected nominations in his pocket helped since those are not widely available nomination options.
 
USMAZoo98 said:
I think it proves there is not always rhyme or reason to how selections are made. That's why every year some applicants with seemingly very high scores don't get in and some other applicants who are lower on the scale get in.
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I respectfully disagree. There in fact is a rhyme and reason to SA admissions, in the form of the Whole Candidate/Person Score. There are clear criteria and an evaluation system with unambiguous weightings for the key elements. To be sure, there are subjective aspects to the process. But the criteria and assessment process are uniformly applied — first at the local level, then at the national level — even if hidden from the public.

Many people say there’s no rhyme or reason because they associate appointments strictly with GPA and SAT/ACT. Not saying this is your take — just a general observation from much engagement in SAF. Yes, someone with higher grades and scores may get a TWE while someone with lower grades and scores may get a BFE. But that reflects about 60% of the rubric — leaving out leadership and athletics, not to mention medical — and often doesn’t account for regionality (remember, SA appointments are initially a local dance-off).

Saying there’s no rhyme or reason dilutes the achievements of those who won offer of appointment by virtue of their “wholeness.” And it unnecessarily — even if unintentionally — casts shade on those with “lower” academic numbers who were otherwise stellar in the areas that account for nearly half of the assessment. They checked off all the boxes, not just the most-discussed ones. If the SAs were strictly “rack and stack” institutions using only GPA and SAT/ACT, they’d be more akin to many state universities. And to borrow the USNA-associated slogan, we all know the SAs are N*OT COLLEGE.
 
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MidCakePa said:
I respectfully disagree. There in fact is a rhyme and reason to SA admissions, in the form of the Whole Candidate/Person Score. There are clear criteria and an evaluation system with unambiguous weightings for the key elements. To be sure, there are subjective aspects to the process. But the criteria and assessment process are uniformly applied — first at the local level, then at the national level — even if hidden from the public.

Many people say there’s no rhyme or reason because they associate appointments strictly with GPA and SAT/ACT. Not saying this is your take — just a general observation from much engagement in SAF. Yes, someone with higher grades and scores may get a TWE while someone with lower grades and scores may get a BFE. But that reflects about 60% of the rubric — leaving out leadership and athletics, not to mention medical — and often doesn’t account for regionality (remember, SA appointments are initially a local dance-off).

Saying there’s no rhyme or reason dilutes the achievements of those who won offer of appointment by virtue of their “wholeness.” And it unnecessarily — even if unintentionally — casts shade on those with “lower” academic numbers who were otherwise stellar in the areas that account for nearly half of the assessment. They checked off all the boxes, not just the most-discussed ones. If the SAs were strictly “rack and stack” institutions using only GPA and SAT/ACT, they’d be more akin to many state universities. And to borrow the USNA-associated slogan, we all know the SAs are N*OT COLLEGE.
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Clearly my comment touched a nerve, when it fact it was not meant to. Being an academy grad myself, rest assured I would not "dilute the achievements" of anyone who is offered an appointment. I understand the difficulty and great achievement completely and far better than most. I was simply trying to explain away how my son received his appointment so early, knowing he did not get a 1400-1500 on his SAT, which is a qualifier that too many people focus upon. I know he was very well rounded and likely scored high in the other areas of the application. He also is in one of the toughest congressional districts in America and had not actually received a congressional nom, although he did have two other noms already. And yet, because of our surprise for his early offer, we could not clearly explain it.
 
USMAZoo98 said:
Clearly my comment touched a nerve, when it fact it was not meant to. Being an academy grad myself, rest assured I would not "dilute the achievements" of anyone who is offered an appointment. I understand the difficulty and great achievement completely and far better than most. I was simply trying to explain away how my son received his appointment so early, knowing he did not get a 1400-1500 on his SAT, which is a qualifier that too many people focus upon. I know he was very well rounded and likely scored high in the other areas of the application. He also is in one of the toughest congressional districts in America and had not actually received a congressional nom, although he did have two other noms already. And yet, because of our surprise for his early offer, we could not clearly explain it.
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I think the original point you were making is wrong.

You stated that “I think it proves there is not always rhyme or reason to how selections are made.”

Of course there is a rhyme or reason how selections are made. What is more accurate, perhaps, is outside of admissions, people don’t necessarily know the rhymes or reasons.

Congrats to your son!
 
A1Janitor said:
I think the original point you were making is wrong.

You stated that “I think it proves there is not always rhyme or reason to how selections are made.”

Of course there is a rhyme or reason how selections are made. What is more accurate, perhaps, is outside of admissions, people don’t necessarily know the rhymes or reasons.

Congrats to your son!
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Fair enough. I know that there is clearly a method to their madness. I am well aware that the academies don't just arbitrarily pick prospective candidates. I guess the point I was trying to make having followed these forums for a few minutes is the hyper focus on standardized tests, which makes some sense given their weight in the WCS, when in fact there are many other factors that weigh in an offer. My son was the perfect example. Average SAT scores, but outstanding in leadership and physical. And yet, we were still shocked he seemingly got such an early offer. This coming for a guy (me) who got a very late in the process offer many years ago and never took that opportunity for granted.
 
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