When to contact ALO officer

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schul542

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Feb 17, 2016
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With applications opening up soon, I thought it would be a good time to email my ALO officer and meet up with him.

I have already met with him once back in April of last year, and we have swapped emails several times since.

Should I send my ALO Officer an email asking to meet with him again, or is that unnecessary? I have a couple of questions to ask him, but I have also read on these forums to not bug them too much!

P.S. unfortunately I was not accepted into the SS, so I intend to visit the academy myself sometime in March. But congratulations to all of those who were accepted!
 
honestly the best advice I can give you is your ALO can be your best friend, or your worst enemy. I met mine December of junior year, we had a conference in my counseling area at school. he asked for monthly updates, and when time came for SS, he was more than willing to help. if you put forth effort and show that you really care, they can help you so much. it takes so much stress off the interview, and my ALO was more than willing to help give me practice rounds for my nomination interviews. i keep him updated all the time, make sure to email him merry Christmas and hope he's having a great break, and he checks on me all the time. just don't be one of those who doesn't talk to them until their interview. it doesn't work well. goodluck!
 
I met my ALO twice. Once for my interview and once at my highschool award ceremony. It probably helped that I had experience interviewing and that she was phenomenal. From what I know, not all ALOs are like that, so if you feel like you need to talk to your ALO in person just schedule a time and be patient and flexible.
 
We're fortunate to have a GREAT ALO. He's been a great friend and help to my DS. Lots of info, always there, had all of us over to his house a number of times. Too bad DS is probably going to choose Navy over AF. (He has appointments to both).
 
I think it depends on your ALO. My DS met our AOL while in the 7th grade. They emailed about once a year where my DS would give him a short update on his progress (ACT scores, class schedule and other activities). The ALO would sometimes offer encouragement or advice, and my DS tried not to bother him too often. The ALO was aware of my son and his record prior to the admissions process and it made the interview and process much easier for both of them. I think as with most things in life, developing a good relationship will never hurt you.
 
Daretodream said:
I think it depends on your ALO. My DS met our AOL while in the 7th grade. They emailed about once a year where my DS would give him a short update on his progress (ACT scores, class schedule and other activities). The ALO would sometimes offer encouragement or advice, and my DS tried not to bother him too often. The ALO was aware of my son and his record prior to the admissions process and it made the interview and process much easier for both of them. I think as with most things in life, developing a good relationship will never hurt you.
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Agreed. First made contact in 7th grade as well. He retired/moved away and I'm homeschooled so I kept in touch with Regional Director for a while in between, then got my current ALO who is amazing. A great way to keep in touch is send a Christmas/Holiday card every year to keep up with him/her.
 
Son emailed his ALO last year to introduce himself and never got a response. Son is trying to determine when he should initiate a second contact. Son is junior now. He's been accepted to summer seminar, has competitive ACT scores and been in contact with/visited with coaches at USAFA. He doesn't want to be a pest to his ALO and start off their relationship by being annoying. So he's waiting until he hears back. I know the ALO are volunteers and many have full time careers so my husband and I have just advised son to be patient.
 
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I wouldn't be so patient. For all you know it ended up in a spam folder. Volunteer or not, there are responsibilities. I'd initiate contact again and just ask if he received the prior attempt.
 
TexasSoccerMom said:
Son emailed his ALO last year to introduce himself and never got a response. Son is trying to determine when he should initiate a second contact. Son is junior now. He's been accepted to summer seminar, has competitive ACT scores and been in contact with/visited with coaches at USAFA. He doesn't want to be a pest to his ALO and start off their relationship by being annoying. So he's waiting until he hears back. I know the ALO are volunteers and many have full time careers so my husband and I have just advised son to be patient.
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Since he's already in at AFASS, I would agree about waiting a little bit more, so he can get through the current appointments for 2020. That's what my ALO said last year when I got in touch with him - once summer hits, that's a great time to reconnect, possible speak to him right before or after AFASS?
 
Coach62 said:
Volunteer or not, there are responsibilities. I'd initiate contact again and just ask if he received the prior attempt.
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Yes, they do have responsibilities, but honestly the responsibilities are tied to the applicant/candidate.

My cousin is a BGO, every year he has 20+ candidates that takes his priority. If he had even 5 more for 9-11th, he would have 35 in total, add in another 5 between 7th and 8th grade, it would total 40 and that is a lot of kids.
~ He has a life, a wife, children, a job, etc. Even if those additional 20 only contact him 2x or 3x a year, it is still time away from their own life, and may burn them out, which could result in losing great BGO/ALO/FFR

This is just my opinion.
1. You have found this forum. Flieger and Christcorp are ALOs. There are a ton of threads that can guide you in what they are looking for when it comes to admissions.
2. My DS decided in Mar. his jr. yr to throw his name into the PCQ process. He was assigned an ALO by mid-June. His ALO gave him max points on his rec., ranked him number 1 out of the 16-18 candidates he had...it has been years, so maybe the ALO had even more, I can't recall the exact number. However, several of his candidates did go to SLS.
~ My point is don't assume anything because there could be a kid like mine that comes online later on and no matter the relationship that is built it can mean nothing in their racking and stacking.

I am not saying don't contact, but I am implying that you should ask yourself if you found this site what you expect to gain by contacting them when you are in 7-9th grade? As a parent, if you set your eyes on an Ivy league level education, and read these threads you will quickly see what is needed for admissions.
~ As time goes by you will be able to see via the nomination threads how your district or state works. IE competitive, interviews, etc.

This process is emotionally and mentally draining even for the 1 yr between opening the PCQ to mass mailing March, I just don't see any real bennie of contacting an ALO when you are 13, 14 or 15 if you have found a site like this where you can get guidance too.
 
Zeek. You're doing a great job searching the forum. If you search for summer seminar, you'd find this answer many times. Summer seminar doesn't officially help your chances at all for getting an appointment.summer seminar is designed for applicants to see theacademy and get a taste of it to see if it's something they really want to apply for. But officially, whether you get selected for summer seminar or not, it has no impact on an appointment. Plenty of appointments are given to people who never attended summer seminar.

Unofficially, applying and going to summer seminar, or just applying and not getting to go, can help in getting a nomination. When a representative or senator sees you've applied for summer seminar, it shows them that you are serious about theacademy. So in that regard, it could help with your chances for a nomination. But that's all. And it would be up to you to inform your rep or senator in your nomination application that you applied to summer seminar, because they probably won't know otherwise.

Keep using the search button. You'll find most of your questions have already been asked. But feel free to continue asking questions if your search doesn't answer them.
 
Zeek, Your ALO might opt to ignore you until you are partially through the submission of your USAFA application. Lots of fish in the sea--lots of students who want to apply to USAFA--many who never do, so why waste time on them until they show commitment. Have you searched for USAFA information sessions in your area? Your congressman and/or senators may host a Service Academies night. Don't limit yourself. Apply to everyone's summer seminar and even the Marine Corps' SCLDA. Is there a college fair in your state or near your home? The Service Academies do a GREAT job of showing up for college fairs--and you get 'credit' for being interested and can meet admissions staff and ALOs.
 
goforspaatz said:
Agreed. First made contact in 7th grade as well.
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Seventh Grade??? A twelve year old?

Just my personal opinion but I would think that unless said ALO is a personal friend of the family, s/he may not have time for a kid at least four years out from application. Maybe a kind hello and advice to go to SAF or usafa.edu but I would not expect anything close to personal contact at that point.

In fact, we have had many kids on this forum who are "interested" in 8th and 9th grades, and while we can say the usual ("take hardest classes" "do well in a sport you love" "leadership" "stay out of trouble"), for those students, many do not stay interested.
 
I personally believe that it is never too soon to meet your ALO. In fact, I would rather meet him/her as soon as possible so they can get to know me and vice versa. Getting to know your ALO will definitely help you with your interview. Think about it, would you rather be asked a series of questions that can affect your chances at the Academy by a complete stranger or someone you know and trust? That interview can take over 2 hours, so I'd rather answer those questions in comfort rather than pressure. Anyways, good luck!
 
Your ALO is a volunteer, meeting with you out of his/her own free time. Usually, he will know you pretty well after a series of questions... and really, his job isn't to hold your hand, to know your feelings... his job is to evaluate you, your academic, athletic, readiness, for the grind, the rollercoaster of admissions, and further, whether or not you may make officer material.

You should feel some pressure in such a situation. It is not a family bar-b-que.
 
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