USNA appointment

J

Jeepman

5-Year Member
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Dec 20, 2017
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My son checked his email yesterday and he has received his appointment into the USNA. He was in shock. He was very excited. He was terrified. He was elated. I saw all this within 5 minutes (we were driving in the car together). Priceless. How now, as a parent, do you suggest I help him navigate all this? He has gotten into some good schools and is still waiting to hear back from USCGA and USAFA.

I am glad he got his appointment relatively early, so he can now focus on this being a reality and not a "maybe". His brother attends USCGA (3rd class) so he does have a baseline, which is good. He has also spent a week at USNA (Stem) and a week at USCGA AIM (and visited USAFA).

I am not looking for opinions as to whether or not I should help him process this (I will, so no need for a debate over "hands-on" or "hands-off"), as I am looking for ideas on the best way to assist him and helping him make sure he makes the right decision for himself. In the end, he will make his own decision without question (perhaps he has already made it).

Any thoughts or ideas will be greatly appreciated. Thank you all in advance.
 
Congrats to your DS. The one thing I can say is that your DS has thought about this more than you can imagine. My suggestion is to give him the space the work it out, answer questions if he has them and if the means are available, offer to visit his final options one more time if needed. In the end... it’s about where he sees himself serving. The SAs are a reflection of their services. If he hopes to fly, focus on what happens if he doesn’t. It’s okay to wait and see if the other offers come in and make a final decision.
 
It is certainly okay to wait and see. He has until May 1st to "accept" or "decline" the offer from USNA.

With offer in hand however, he may now request a CVW visit (you would still need to get him there for it) in case he wants to see first-hand what MIDN life is like (albeit the microcosm of Thursday-Saturday, and from a Plebe point of view). Everyone who goes, usually knows what they want to do, after a CVW is over ("Hey, it's for me!" or "No thanks!").
 
Jeepman said:
My son checked his email yesterday and he has received his appointment into the USNA. He was in shock. He was very excited. He was terrified. He was elated. I saw all this within 5 minutes (we were driving in the car together). Priceless. How now, as a parent, do you suggest I help him navigate all this? He has gotten into some good schools and is still waiting to hear back from USCGA and USAFA.

I am glad he got his appointment relatively early, so he can now focus on this being a reality and not a "maybe". His brother attends USCGA (3rd class) so he does have a baseline, which is good. He has also spent a week at USNA (Stem) and a week at USCGA AIM (and visited USAFA).

I am not looking for opinions as to whether or not I should help him process this (I will, so no need for a debate over "hands-on" or "hands-off"), as I am looking for ideas on the best way to assist him and helping him make sure he makes the right decision for himself. In the end, he will make his own decision without question (perhaps he has already made it).

Any thoughts or ideas will be greatly appreciated. Thank you all in advance.
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Did your DS get a email to check his portal first or did he just happen to check his portal and saw the appointment? Just ask, because still waiting to hear. Congratulations to him.
 
Jeepman said:
My son checked his email yesterday and he has received his appointment into the USNA. He was in shock. He was very excited. He was terrified. He was elated. I saw all this within 5 minutes (we were driving in the car together). Priceless. How now, as a parent, do you suggest I help him navigate all this? He has gotten into some good schools and is still waiting to hear back from USCGA and USAFA.

I am glad he got his appointment relatively early, so he can now focus on this being a reality and not a "maybe". His brother attends USCGA (3rd class) so he does have a baseline, which is good. He has also spent a week at USNA (Stem) and a week at USCGA AIM (and visited USAFA).

I am not looking for opinions as to whether or not I should help him process this (I will, so no need for a debate over "hands-on" or "hands-off"), as I am looking for ideas on the best way to assist him and helping him make sure he makes the right decision for himself. In the end, he will make his own decision without question (perhaps he has already made it).

Any thoughts or ideas will be greatly appreciated. Thank you all in advance.
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Congratulations! Good luck to your son navigating the best journey for him. I pray for good discernment for the best option for him. Seems like he has some good military-college options and some civilian college options.
 
@Jeepman - congratulations to your DS! I would suggest doing what we did when DD received her appt a few years ago about this time of year. We asked her not to accept it for at least 2 weeks to really give the decision full and careful consideration. We were not against her going to USNA at all, but she had offers at good civilian colleges with a NROTC 4 yr scholarship in hand and we wanted her to fully explore all options rather than react to the initial excitement of receiving the appointment.

Did she listen? No; she accepted the appt the next day. But I guess it worked out for my current USNA graduate and Navy Ensign.

Best of luck to your son.
 
A hearty congratulations is in order!

Which of the SA's that he applied to is his first choice? (and second)
 
Bike2453 said:
Did your DS get a email to check his portal first or did he just happen to check his portal and saw the appointment? Just ask, because still waiting to hear. Congratulations to him.
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He got an email directly from the USN/USNA. He then checked his portal.
 
Bubby'sDad said:
A hearty congratulations is in order!

Which of the SA's that he applied to is his first choice? (and second)
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He loves the USNA but his brother goes to USCGA and he likes the idea of the USCGA and being with his bro is a plus to him.
 
THParent said:
It is certainly okay to wait and see. He has until May 1st to "accept" or "decline" the offer from USNA.With offer in hand however, he may now request a CVW visit (you would still need to get him there for it) in case he wants to see first-hand what MIDN life is like (albeit the microcosm of Thursday-Saturday, and from a Plebe point of view). Everyone who goes, usually knows what they want to do, after a CVW is over ("Hey, it's for me!" or "No thanks!").
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THParent here offers some great advice. Wait and see and let it play out for your son. Been there and done that back in the day with my own with similar concerns. Appointments to USMA and USNA and what to do. If he hasn't been to USNA, by all means go for a CVW, it may be what he needs to make a decision.

You can remind him him that an SA education is only four years (which seems like an eternity now but trust us when we say it will go very quickly) and what's much more significant is where he can see himself after that's done and doing what? Everyone gets caught up in the moment of acceptance but you also need to take step back and now take the long view. In the end, it will serve him well to do so.
 
^---- Yes, what Sydney C said. I would say encourage him to mull what kind of work he aspires to in his time of service. DS was torn between USAFA and USNA, and went with USNA for just that reason.
 
THParent said:
It is certainly okay to wait and see. He has until May 1st to "accept" or "decline" the offer from USNA.

With offer in hand however, he may now request a CVW visit (you would still need to get him there for it) in case he wants to see first-hand what MIDN life is like (albeit the microcosm of Thursday-Saturday, and from a Plebe point of view). Everyone who goes, usually knows what they want to do, after a CVW is over ("Hey, it's for me!" or "No thanks!").
Click to expand...
my son has received an appointment and is in college with almost zero time for a CVW but he is carving out a Saturday in late march to fly up there and look around and spend a day there. if he wanted to meet with someone officially while there, who would he contact about setting that up? as of now we have contacted some parents off this forum who have graciously given DS their MIDS email/mobile number so he can meet a few students in person rather than walk around the yard alone on that day. we didnt know we had any other options available. i will say he has received a BFE but its unopened because hes not here to open it and there might be info inside. not sure.
 
mcfamilyof4 said:
my son has received an appointment and is in college with almost zero time for a CVW but he is carving out a Saturday in late march to fly up there and look around and spend a day there. if he wanted to meet with someone officially while there, who would he contact about setting that up? as of now we have contacted some parents off this forum who have graciously given DS their MIDS email/mobile number so he can meet a few students in person rather than walk around the yard alone on that day. we didnt know we had any other options available. i will say he has received a BFE but its unopened because hes not here to open it and there might be info inside. not sure.
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DD scheduled an appointment with here admissions officer. It was very enlightening. She also scheduled meeting with church leaders that are active on campus. She also met with an acquaintance that was a mid, which has become a great resource and friend. All of these meetings played a key role in her accepting her appointment.
 
Gabe_ said:
DD scheduled an appointment with here admissions officer. It was very enlightening. She also scheduled meeting with church leaders that are active on campus. She also met with an acquaintance that was a mid, which has become a great resource and friend. All of these meetings played a key role in her accepting her appointment.
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im guessing that was during the work week? his only availability is a saturday so my guess is no ones works on a saturday. maybe he needs to have a phone conversation with AO during the week and then just the MIDS on a saturday.
 
mcfamilyof4 said:
im guessing that was during the work week? his only availability is a saturday so my guess is no ones works on a saturday. maybe he needs to have a phone conversation with AO during the week and then just the MIDS on a saturday.
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Actually, Admissions reps are there on most Saturdays from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. May behove you to call to confirm.
 
Yes, it really depends on what career he wants. My DS chose USNA over USMA because he wanted a career in the Navy. It was a very hard decision because there was alot to like at West Point. Ultimately it came down to long term career goals.
 
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