TWEs will be sent this week

I am so sorry to hear about all the TWE's. Reading all the posts conjures up a memory of seeing my 2 y/o child fall down, skinning her knees, crying crocodile tears looking up to me for comfort. What do we do? We pick them up, brush them off, clean them up, put a band aid on their "boo boo", not forgetting to kiss it, and shove them off to play. I know it is such a disappointment, but all of the candidates are top notch and deserving. You have what it takes to pick yourself up and get to the next task. It's okay to be down today, but tomorrow, if you want to reach your goal, you've gotta get up and go and never give up! NEVER!!

It's great to hear of the plan Bs and other options. I have no doubt you will all be successful no matter where your path takes you this next year. And for those re-applying, that letter states exactly what you have to do to make yourself stand out even more. And USAFA loves re-applicants, so if that is your dream, go for it. I wish all of you success.


Another tough day at the office . . . those dang TWEs. To add to FalconsRock’s post, every candidate who received a TWE today is disappointed, but consider this:


“Son, I closed my eyes for a moment and suddenly a man stood where a boy used to be. I may not carry you now in my arms but I will always carry you in my heart. You have given me so many reasons to be proud of the man you have become, but the proudest moment for me is telling others that you are my son. I love you now and forever.”


This sentiment applies equally to daughters.


Disappointed candidates, your parents are proud of you. Keep your chin up and move forward with your alternate plans. “How a man handles himself in defeat is more important than how he handles himself in victory.” – T.A. Uner
 
My son got his TWE shortly after I posted earlier. The hardest part is not that he got one, but not knowing why. I realize they don't have time to show what is lacking, but he is left not knowing where things went wrong and what specifically he can do if he does decide to reapply.

Not sure they have an answer? Only they know, For instance, there were four from our school, one, (not my DD) is valedictorian, over 2000 in his SAT high ACT's active in sports, team captain, lots of community service, took state two years in a row in band.

Only one of the four got an appointment a great kid, but not active this year in a sport, not ranked as high in school as above student or my daughter (who just found out today moved up from 10th to 7th place)... The only thing to the obvious that put him above was Legacy. Which I understand and find no fault in.

Bottom line is for our house, the scripture says the steps of a believer are ordered of God no man and can open or shut our doors so for now the path He has chosen for DD is different than what her desire was. As we prayed, it's always "not our will, but Yours be done"

Many on this forum have said it, these are stellar young people who will go forth and do great things!
 
From the info on letter, is there still chance for Falcon Scholarship consideration? I'm thinking just the prep school is out.[/QUOTE
From the Foundation website https://www.usafa.org/FalconFoundation/:
"Young people are automatically eligible for a Falcon Scholarship by first applying to USAFA. The USAFA Office of Admissions then identifies potential recipients of the Falcon Foundation scholarship from a pool of direct entry applicants who are qualified, but not competitive for entering the next class at USAFA. Those applicants who are deemed qualified but not competitive are rank ordered and contacted for consideration of a Falcon Foundation Scholarship."
When do they normally send out these offers?
 
I am so sorry to hear about all the TWE's. Reading all the posts conjures up a memory of seeing my 2 y/o child fall down, skinning her knees, crying crocodile tears looking up to me for comfort. What do we do? We pick them up, brush them off, clean them up, put a band aid on their "boo boo", not forgetting to kiss it, and shove them off to play. I know it is such a disappointment, but all of the candidates are top notch and deserving. You have what it takes to pick yourself up and get to the next task. It's okay to be down today, but tomorrow, if you want to reach your goal, you've gotta get up and go and never give up! NEVER!!

It's great to hear of the plan Bs and other options. I have no doubt you will all be successful no matter where your path takes you this next year. And for those re-applying, that letter states exactly what you have to do to make yourself stand out even more. And USAFA loves re-applicants, so if that is your dream, go for it. I wish all of you success.
True Story. We were told by the Director of Admissions at USAFA--after DS received his TWE--that 30% of the incoming class were re-applicants. So if this is your dream, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and go for it.
 
They said that's it for today no more, so if you didn't already get it your still in for the next round! :)
But did they do like A-L today and M-Z tomorrow?? I haven't heard anything yet- portal stills says "Candidate" & I am freaking out!
 
But did they do like A-L today and M-Z tomorrow?? I haven't heard anything yet- portal stills says "Candidate" & I am freaking out!
I don't know, try to hang onto your hope... I am truly sorry you have to go another day.. Maybe tomorrow will be more appointments and not TWE's hard to imagine that they would only do half.
 
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It may also be TWEs that go out tomorrow are for the candidates still being considered for Prep/Falcon.
 
Or maybe both today's and tomorrow's TWEs recipients will be considered for Falcon Scholarships.
 
There is not a certain day that you get a TWE that results in being considered for a FF scholarship. While I know it's easier to say rather than do (because I've done both), it really is best not to over-analyze the situation. Tossing around ideas in your head for hours can drive you mad.
 
First, I agree that re-applicants are very favored by the academies. We were told both at West Point and at USNA that they love re-apps, and that they have an advantage over equally qualified first apps. And the numbers reflect that, as I am sure that the vast majority of applications for any class are first-apps, but if 30% of those admitted are re-apps, the re-apps really do well.

The other thing I wanted to suggest, and probably with some others objecting, is for kids to apply to multiple academies, rather than applying only to their dream academy. If you want to lead in the defense of America, there are a lot of avenues to get there, and there are actually five academies specializing in training men and women to become great leaders. Each of these academies is a fantastic place, and will provide its graduates with countless opportunities. I understand that many believe these 18 year old kids should determine right now what he or she wants to do for potentially the rest of his/her life, and then select the specific service to do that in, then choose that services academy. Respectfully, I think that is putting a lot of trust in the long and short term foresight of people who are most often not even out of their parents nest. Moreover, it limits the opportunities to attend one of these great and historical institutions.

My son didn't really ever contemplate attending an academy until about a year ago. He got a decent ACT score, and at that moment figured West Point might be a reachable dream, so he decided to pursue an appointment. He talked to me, and we both researched what had to be done, and realized that both USAFA and USNA had virtually the same admissions processes, and also offered the same high level education and opportunities. A little more investigation led to the conclusion that the ROTC options were a different experience, but also a terrific commissioning source; and a heck of a good deal. And although the application process was a little different, it was still very similar. Most of the processes were exactly the same for each of the academies and the ROTC scholarships, and you have to seek nominations regardless, so might as well seek them for multiple academies. CFA only needs to be done once, and the next day you do the ROTC fitness tests. Training is the same for all.

My son applied to USMA, USNA, and USAFA, as well as AROTC. He took the ACT many times, studying with two different ACT study books, and improved his super-score each time he retook the test. He took a few days to write essays for each academy and for ROTC, as well as the MOC applications. He got a group of teachers, school administrators, and coaches, as well as others to write letters, which were modified only slightly for each academy, MOC and ROTC. He followed up with teachers during the summer, and politely nagged them to complete the academy evaluations. The exercises were redundant, but that actually helped to refine things. He had so many interviews that I cant count them, and he got better with experience. We even visited multiple academies (WP, NA, and USCGA) in one trip, speaking with admissions officers at each school after practicing fort he meetings in the car.

In the end, while we were never over confident on anything until he was awarded an appointment or scholarship, he was given an appointment to both USMA and USAFA, as well as a four year ROTC scholarship to two schools, and is wait listed at USNA. He accepted his appointment to USMA in January, but I can truthfully say that he would have loved an appointment to any of the SA's, and for many weeks couldn't decide which one he preferred, as there were so many things he would love to do in each of the branches, and he understood that each school was beyond his best desires.

Although I love to brag about my kids, and do so with tremendous frequency, I write this primarily to suggest that kids who applied to only one SA, and did not receive an appointment, should really consider applying to all of the academies. If you get an appointment to the first choice school, great, but if not, I bet most kids would find a lot of enthusiasm for any of these other academies. I know mine did, and although he ended up with his first choice, he certainly would have been delighted with the others as well.
 
First, I agree that re-applicants are very favored by the academies. We were told both at West Point and at USNA that they love re-apps, and that they have an advantage over equally qualified first apps. And the numbers reflect that, as I am sure that the vast majority of applications for any class are first-apps, but if 30% of those admitted are re-apps, the re-apps really do well.

The other thing I wanted to suggest, and probably with some others objecting, is for kids to apply to multiple academies, rather than applying only to their dream academy. If you want to lead in the defense of America, there are a lot of avenues to get there, and there are actually five academies specializing in training men and women to become great leaders. Each of these academies is a fantastic place, and will provide its graduates with countless opportunities. I understand that many believe these 18 year old kids should determine right now what he or she wants to do for potentially the rest of his/her life, and then select the specific service to do that in, then choose that services academy. Respectfully, I think that is putting a lot of trust in the long and short term foresight of people who are most often not even out of their parents nest. Moreover, it limits the opportunities to attend one of these great and historical institutions.

My son didn't really ever contemplate attending an academy until about a year ago. He got a decent ACT score, and at that moment figured West Point might be a reachable dream, so he decided to pursue an appointment. He talked to me, and we both researched what had to be done, and realized that both USAFA and USNA had virtually the same admissions processes, and also offered the same high level education and opportunities. A little more investigation led to the conclusion that the ROTC options were a different experience, but also a terrific commissioning source; and a heck of a good deal. And although the application process was a little different, it was still very similar. Most of the processes were exactly the same for each of the academies and the ROTC scholarships, and you have to seek nominations regardless, so might as well seek them for multiple academies. CFA only needs to be done once, and the next day you do the ROTC fitness tests. Training is the same for all.

My son applied to USMA, USNA, and USAFA, as well as AROTC. He took the ACT many times, studying with two different ACT study books, and improved his super-score each time he retook the test. He took a few days to write essays for each academy and for ROTC, as well as the MOC applications. He got a group of teachers, school administrators, and coaches, as well as others to write letters, which were modified only slightly for each academy, MOC and ROTC. He followed up with teachers during the summer, and politely nagged them to complete the academy evaluations. The exercises were redundant, but that actually helped to refine things. He had so many interviews that I cant count them, and he got better with experience. We even visited multiple academies (WP, NA, and USCGA) in one trip, speaking with admissions officers at each school after practicing fort he meetings in the car.

In the end, while we were never over confident on anything until he was awarded an appointment or scholarship, he was given an appointment to both USMA and USAFA, as well as a four year ROTC scholarship to two schools, and is wait listed at USNA. He accepted his appointment to USMA in January, but I can truthfully say that he would have loved an appointment to any of the SA's, and for many weeks couldn't decide which one he preferred, as there were so many things he would love to do in each of the branches, and he understood that each school was beyond his best desires.

Although I love to brag about my kids, and do so with tremendous frequency, I write this primarily to suggest that kids who applied to only one SA, and did not receive an appointment, should really consider applying to all of the academies. If you get an appointment to the first choice school, great, but if not, I bet most kids would find a lot of enthusiasm for any of these other academies. I know mine did, and although he ended up with his first choice, he certainly would have been delighted with the others as well.
That is quite good advice.....unless you are like my DD who could never see herself at sea on or in the belly of a ship, nor wearing the green of army. It was only AFA or AFROTC or nothing. The experience at each SA would most likely be similar, but it was the job after that swayed her that way. Good luck to your DS. I still wish he had chosen USAFA as I would like to have met him. He sounds like a nice chap! "-)
 
That is quite good advice.....unless you are like my DD who could never see herself at sea on or in the belly of a ship, nor wearing the green of army. It was only AFA or AFROTC or nothing. The experience at each SA would most likely be similar, but it was the job after that swayed her that way.
Very true! Same for me.
 
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