USNA Interview

S

SynthChip

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Joined
Oct 9, 2023
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My USNA interview has just been scheduled to be this Thursday and I was wondering if anyone had any words of advice or questions I should be familiar with. I am a little nervous and I would appreciate any feedback. I've completed an NROTC interview but I dont expect it to be too similar. Thank you in advance.
 
SynthChip said:
My USNA interview has just been scheduled to be this Thursday and I was wondering if anyone had any words of advice or questions I should be familiar with. I am a little nervous and I would appreciate any feedback. I've completed an NROTC interview but I dont expect it to be too similar. Thank you in advance.
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Which interview?
 
.
I think the BGO meeting is a little more relaxed than something like a job interview …. Maybe more like a Coffee & Tea social kind of meeting …

Dress properly … like you are going to Church
.
 
SynthChip said:
Sorry I forgot to specify 😅
This is my BGO interview
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I will let the BGOs tell you their perspective - which is better than mine as a parent.

Dress well. Make eye contact. Firm handshake. Think before you speak. Ask questions you are interested in - don’t ask canned questions. Know why you want USNA, what career options and majors you are thinking about.
 
Try the internal Search function, but you will also get a treasure trove of advice threads by trying a targeted site search in Google. Use this string.

Site:www.serviceacademyforums.com BGO interview advice tips
 
SynthChip said:
My USNA interview has just been scheduled to be this Thursday and I was wondering if anyone had any words of advice or questions I should be familiar with. I am a little nervous and I would appreciate any feedback. I've completed an NROTC interview but I dont expect it to be too similar. Thank you in advance.
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This is the packet I used to prep and it’s the same one (or at least very similar) in terms of questions to the ones my BGO used during our interview.
 
SynthChip said:
My USNA interview has just been scheduled to be this Thursday and I was wondering if anyone had any words of advice or questions I should be familiar with. I am a little nervous and I would appreciate any feedback. I've completed an NROTC interview but I dont expect it to be too similar. Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...

smokey% said:

This is the packet I used to prep and it’s the same one (or at least very similar) in terms of questions to the ones my BGO used during our interview.
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There is a term “live by the gouge, die by the gouge.” As a BGO, I’d rather have a nice and natural conversation/discussion with a candidate instead of scripted or robotic answers to questions. Honestly, you just need to be yourself, be introspective, be able to articulate what you do in school/ECAs, etc. Additionally, BGOs can (and will) ask follow up questions or other questions not listed in the above link. It will be apparent if someone studied the questions versus can interact with an adult asking questions. I can’t think of any BGO that is expecting this to be the most perfect interview…for many it’s the candidate’s first time. Be honest in your answers and if a question doesn’t make sense, ask for clarification; sometimes questions might be asked in a wide manner. There is some good advice above and in previous threads that talk about how you should conduct yourself…frankly, those are good lifelong personal and professional skills.
 
I had my USMA interview and I imagine the USNA interview will be similar. Like everyone else said it is more like a conversation but still make sure to dress nice, have a firm handshake, don’t slouch, ect.. Make sure to either email a transcript and Resume or bring a paper copy (I did both). Also in your conversation make sure to share what isn’t found in your application because that interview is your chance to tell admissions through the report the BGO writes. My interviewer specially seemed interested in challenges and hardships in my life and activities that I could share more about. For instance, I had no sports participation my junior and senior year. It also gave me the chance to talk a lot more about what I did in clubs not just the leadership positions on paper.
 
My DD had his BGO interview in November and it still hasn’t been submitted. He has texted his BGO multiple times (the BGO doesn’t reply) and has talked to him just a few times (he rarely picks up) and the few times they actually talk he just says he will get it done. We are all getting stressed. He is qualified and got his nom last month and it showed up in his portal earlier this week. What should we do?
 
Ohiomom28 said:
My DD had his BGO interview in November and it still hasn’t been submitted. He has texted his BGO multiple times (the BGO doesn’t reply) and has talked to him just a few times (he rarely picks up) and the few times they actually talk he just says he will get it done. We are all getting stressed. He is qualified and got his nom last month and it showed up in his portal earlier this week. What should we do?
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Email your USNA counselor and explain your situation.
 
Ohiomom28 said:
My DD had his BGO interview in November and it still hasn’t been submitted. He has texted his BGO multiple times (the BGO doesn’t reply) and has talked to him just a few times (he rarely picks up) and the few times they actually talk he just says he will get it done. We are all getting stressed. He is qualified and got his nom last month and it showed up in his portal earlier this week. What should we do?
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I'm a new BGO, and I interviewed a candidate 2nd the week of December and just yesterday had time to complete and submit my write-up.
If your candidate did the interview and has reached out, I would give it a few weeks. Honestly, with the double stack of holidays, most BGOs have day jobs. And, turns out we have lives and emergencies and real-life things happening.

They know they need to complete it. They know the deadline. If Feb 1 there is no check mark, I would suggest your candidate reach out to their Area Coordinator.

Any BGOs with more experience feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Every BGO has their own process for interviewing and completing write ups. I tend to write mine rather quickly and then let them sit 3-5 days, then come back and review again. It also depends on how many write ups someone has. I usually have 3-5 a year. A BGO in our state can have closer to 20 as we have fewer BGOs in that area. Area Coordinators track this and will remind and push BGOs to get them completed.
 
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