<p>This is the slow time in the service academy admissions process. Admissions offices are closed for the holidays. Applicants and parents are looking for information and there just isn’t much. Some of the questions being asked in the forum are triggering fond memories of going through this just 3 years ago. So, I thought we could have a bit of fun. </p>
<p>What is the craziest thing to have happened to you during the Admissions process? Documents lost in the mail, missed interviews, evil teachers giving poor grades, misunderstandings, etc. Current cadets can let this year’s applicants know that weird things happen and you can still get in. Current candidates or appointees can see that it’s not so uncommon. Parents of current cadets/mids can laugh about what we went through not so long ago.</p>
<p>When our daughter was going through the process, she received a dq from DODMERB because of her vision. We really believed that she had been disqualified and would not be able to get in (and she was just dying for a pair of BCG’s). This is when she began to finally fill out other applications. After the shock of learning that she could not attend WP wore off, we actually read more and found out that all we had to do was see her eye doctor and have him send a letter after an exam. She was just upset that she wasted time on those other apps.</p>
<p>I had a candidate once who had truly abysmal verbal SAT scores. His math score, however, was fantastic. Gave him the usual pep talk and his verbals started creeping upward with each retake. Also a modest gain on the math. I sensed he was being considered for prep school and wanted them to see perseverance on his part so, with some resistance from him, I attempted to get him to take one last stab at the verbals. My parting comment was something along the lines of “don’t worry about the math, sleep with your dictionary, concentrate solely on the verbals.” He took the tests. A few weeks later he called, actually sobbing. The College Board had thrown out his results. When I asked why, he stated that the 200 he received on his math score was such a drastic swing from norm that the Board had no choice but to discount the entire test even though he had raised his verbals substantially. When asked how in the he11 he had gotten a 200 on math, his response was that since I had told him not to worry about the math, he had slept through the math sections, saving himself for the verbals. It actually took a letter and a follow up phone call from me, explaining the situation and claiming full responsibility, to the College Boards to convince them to release the single score. Within a few days of USNA receiving that final score, he was offered prep school, and is now doing well as an upper classman at USNA.</p>
<p>Just for the record, he did a 250 point SAT increase over 3 retakes. The best I have seen personally.</p>
<p>My son’s best friend decided that “since the writing doesn’t count for anything,” he’d just not bother. Ouch! Too bad his BGO wasn’t as good as USNA69. </p>
<p>My dh, in the early 70’s, missed the train and got to his meeting with his senator an hour late. He wound up having lunch with him in his private office and got a nomination (but opted not to go to WP at the last minute.).</p>
<p>Not really Wild/Crazy/Dumb/Fun but my daughter ended up taking the SAT 6 times, and also improved 250 points (just counting Verbal and Math, Writing improved about another 150.) Interestingly, she pretty much topped out after the 4th time. The last three times were taken while at Northwestern Prep this last fall.</p>
<p>The only Dumb things I can think of are the misinformation she got, mostly from well meaning older relatives. Step-grandfather insisted that they didn’t let girls into the Academies until we finally showed him proof. I think he still thinks you have to have 20/20 vision to get in.</p>
<p>April 14-USNA rejected…distraught son…angry mom who called Admissions to find out why and after an hour on the phone (very nice phone call) hung up and wrote out the check to UVA. </p>
<p>4 hours later, call from USNA Admissions asking son NOT to accept other colleges for 10 days, they were going to review his application. Stamp put on envelope containing check destined for UVA. 1:30 PM April 15- stunned son calls mom from school after getting off the phone with his congressman having been offered admission to USNA.</p>
<p>Talk about a roller coaster ride and it’s winding down…only 5 months to Commissioning and on the Flight School after.</p>
<p>I don’t think I could handle a roller coaster ride like that. I’m going crazy just waiting for my nomination to appear on my CIS - 17 days and counting.</p>
<p>I’m so impressed that you actually called Admissions - and that 4 hours later they called you back to tell you they are reconsidering. As the kids would say, “she’s got skills”. I can now see thousands of moms and dads all over America calling the service academies after receiving a rejection letter, hoping for the same result.</p>
<p>I figured there was nothing to lose, he’d already gotten the NO letter. It was funny, the whole time I was talking to the Director of Admissions (I had 3 phone calls in and he was the first one to call me back) I could tell he was puzzled (he had DS’s packet in front on him while we talked). Before we got off the phone the first time, he said he was going to have the packet re-scored but I didn’t think much about it. </p>
<p>My dad taught at AFA and sat on many, many admission boards and he said there must have been a mistake made that the Admission director caught while we were on the phone. Dad said he would never have been accepted if he wasn’t qualified no matter what I did.</p>
<p>The funny thing is my husband (USNA 82) and a career Naval Officer for 22 years never thought to call and question the result and truly, when I called, I was only looking for an answer why such well-qualified kid was turned down.</p>
<p>My well-qualified kid was turned down by USAFA, too. I didn’t call, as he was already leaning towards attending Texas A&M on an AFROTC scholarship. He’s a junior at A&M now, is excelling, and is happy as a clam. Right now he’s a nervous wreck though, waiting for March to find out if he got a pilot slot. :-)</p>
<p>I am ashamed to say it, but the only down side to his rejection was the injury to my pride. His pride didn’t seem injured in the least. People would be so shocked and amazed that he didn’t get in, and all I could do was shrug my shoulders.</p>
<p>Now that we are all living happily ever after, it seems silly that I was ever worried about it!</p>