Appointments

[H20man]

maybe a new thread should be started on "what makes a good candidate". this is going to turn into a flame . Lets keep it about appointments, i know i posted about athletes, but in each of the post was relevent information about getting into the academy.

i really dont care about recruited athletes anymore, the academy is the one that decides. If they can hack it, nice, if not, oh well the academy made a bad guess, as with other people, there is going to be attrition.

i dont see any comment HerrLURP made about recruited athletes, the academies are just looking for the best rounded population, a little here a little there, a little everywhere.

My friend from cali got into the prep school in NM that the USMMA uses, he didnt get in this year because of his SATs, this allowed me to reflect on it.
The academy is always going to have extremes at both ends, but like i said, they are going to balance it.

 

[HerrLURP]

Herrlupp is gay

Recruited athletes do jsut as good as geniuses at the academy anyways...

wats your point?

This was the most irrelevant, pointless, and poorly worded flame I have ever seen. If you want to attack me, at least do it without sounding like my 5 year old brother.

Attention to detail: it will get you far if you're smart enough to use it.

edit to add:

I see you recently posted about being waitlisted for USNAPS. You blamed it on your poor Verbal skills and not knowing words you'll never need to know again. Poor assumption.

NEWSFLASH: If you are lucky enough to make it into USNA, you'll quickly learn that English is one of the biggest killers of plebes. You'd better get used to this fact and learn how to read and write legibly or you're going to get hammered.

 

[zoso406]

sparknotes is good for me

"This was the most irrelevant, pointless, and poorly worded flame"

good choice of words herlup

 

[bobster]

Dude...you just spelled his name wrong.

 

[HerrLURP]

sparknotes is good for me

"This was the most irrelevant, pointless, and poorly worded flame"

good choice of words herlup

I'm not kidding man. USNA english is a LOT different than what they teach you in high school and almost all civilian Universities. If you think you can get by on Sparksnotes, you honestly shouldn't even think about coming to USNA.

Pick up a college book on basic grammar, study it, and live by it. Even if your argument and structure completely sucks, if your grammar is spot-on, you'll recieve a passing grade.

On the otherhand, even if you write the best paper the professor has ever seen, with a brilliant argument and perfect structure and prose, throw in a couple of stupid grammar errors (incorrect coma usage for example) and you'll be lucky to pass.

English and Chem...the scourge of all plebes.

 

[NozeMan]

HerrLURP,

Just curious, what kind of physics do they make you guys take? Here, NROTC/Purdue makes us take the Calculus based physics for Engineering students! For a liberal arts guy like me, it busts my balls. I've heard that Chem is the killer for Academy guys, for us its Physics. Just curious.

Nozeman

 

[American_Ace]

HerrLURP, did you not read our previous posts? Do you truly believe that the girl I knew who got her LOA before Christmas is a better leader/athlete/scholar than big?!?! It seems like you only read my single post and took it very personally. Look at the experiences we've had and decide if you wouldn't have come to the same conclusions if you were in our positions.

From what I've read, big and his friend in NV have the potential to become great military officers, but they are continually denied for very obscure reasons. Tell me, what could they possibly do to show admissions they have what it takes to become great officers that reflect nicely on the academy's reputation?

And do you honestly think the Academies don't consider gender, race, etc.?!?! They don't have specific quotas for asffirmative action, but they do give minorities more consideration. I could find the specific site where I found that, but I don't have time. The AFA officially posts their criteria (60% SAT/GPA, 20%....) on their web site, but the navy doesn't so that they don't have to be completely objective.

As for quotas, have you seen how evenly the plebes are divided amongst the states? Don't you think a few candidates were rejected because they were in more competitve states?

I'm not saying that hardly anyone in the academy deserves to be there (I never even hinted that, I don't know why the hell you blew up about that), in fact, I have the utmost respect for anyone who survives the academy. But it irritates the hell out of me when I watch someone (the girl) waltz straight through admissions (even though she won't survive the first week), after I busted my balls for four years, trying to balance sports, clubs, and school. Hell, I loved high school. Five hours of sleep a night, three hours of sports everyday, endless homework, and community service and more sports on the weekend. On the bright side, I learned how to sleep standing up. That might help me at PLC. And big, that poor guy was homeless during high school. It was probably worse for him.... much worse. Do you see why I made the observations that I did?

On top of that, both my parents were officers. I grew up around pilots, officers, and academy grads, so I know about the games they play. Hell, my dad's best friend was an instructor at Fighter Weapons School (AF, sorry guys). A Lt Col who went to the AFA asked me why in the hell I'd want to go to their after I had a full-ride to ASU (not joking). Believe me, I know what I'm talking about, and if I get in I'll have to eat these words, but it's the truth.

 

[American_Ace]

Jesus Christ HerrLURP, I just read some of your other posts. You're picking a fight with everyone. Way to set a great example. Condescension. That will make us all respect you.
BTW, most enlisted guys hate academy grads (they always use that irritating word 'ring-knocker'), regardless of how much smarter, quicker, or stronger they are, and since they make up roughly 80% of the armed services, its a good idea not to piss them off. And since I haven't found a comment from you that hasn't been offensive, you'd better learn how to disagree with someone rather than personally insult them, because if you treat your enlisted men this way they will make life miserable for you... and that's probably an understatement.

 

[trt23]

american ace,

most enlisted hate academy grads? that's news to me, but then again i'm willing to bet that you are talking out of your a$$.

 

[big]

Got my letter today: On the waiting list. I'm actually not that upset over it, sicne really all that matters to me is my commission, not the route. I'm planning on doing BDCP/NUPOC now fully, since no NROTC units in Nevada and I can't go out of state ...

Nozeman: That sux you gotta take Engineering Physics I-II since ur lib arts. Personally I don't find math/science courses all that difficult including eng phy, but then again I like physics (just changed my major to physics :icon_tong ) Just hang in there and study hard, and be happy you don't gotta take more advanced physics courses! BTW I'm pretty sure academy guys gotta take engineering physics etc... we should also be happy we don't have to take their rough chem courses
I'm in ChemII this semester, its a ton of work as was ChemI, but I was able to still bag an A and between B+/A- in ChemII so far. However, it must be terrible to be taking plebe chem courses, because I've heard that its supposedly the hardest intro chemistry classes in the nation. I assume their engineering physics is HARD also. Ouch!

 

[HerrLURP]

HerrLURP, did you not read our previous posts? Do you truly believe that the girl I knew who got her LOA before Christmas is a better leader/athlete/scholar than big?!?!

I did read that. However, you are forgetting that the MEN applicants compete on a whole different pool than WOMEN. Generally speaking it is easier for a girl to get in because the female pool isn't as competitive, and I generally disagree with the rigid 15% female rule, but that's the way it is.

From what I've read, big and his friend in NV have the potential to become great military officers, but they are continually denied for very obscure reasons. Tell me, what could they possibly do to show admissions they have what it takes to become great officers that reflect nicely on the academy's reputation?

From what I've read about Big, he had a 1340 SAT, and he said he has a high GPA at a college he goes to in Nevada. A 1340 is a good score, but without a high school GPA nobody can say for certain whether he truly was competitive or not.

And do you honestly think the Academies don't consider gender, race, etc.?!?! They don't have specific quotas for asffirmative action, but they do give minorities more consideration. I could find the specific site where I found that, but I don't have time. The AFA officially posts their criteria (60% SAT/GPA, 20%....) on their web site, but the navy doesn't so that they don't have to be completely objective.

I already covered the gender issue above. As far as race is concerned, the current Academy policy for helping minorities is through RECRUITMENT ONLY. By that, I mean admissions officers will seek out qualified minorities, keep them in the loop, keep the motivated, and basically hold their hand through the admissions process. However, all the grunt-work, the grades/test scores, are the sole responsibility of the applicant and they get no extra points or consideration in that department. Keep in mind that a high percentage of minorities enter the Academies through the Prep School, because few are offered direct appointments.

I don't know if the USAFA posts their criteria or not, but I can assure you that both USMA and USNA have very smiliar and extremely objective admissions criteria. Appointments are offered on the basis of how your total score compares to others in your selection pool.

As for quotas, have you seen how evenly the plebes are divided amongst the states? Don't you think a few candidates were rejected because they were in more competitve states?

Generally speaking, all applicants compete for appointments first based on GENDER, and then they compete with the fellows whom they were nominated with. IE if Senator so and so nominated 10 people, then those 10 are competing against each other for 1 slot. Typically the Senator forwards that list of 10 to the Academies, who then pick the person they want. This is generally speaking of course. The bottom-line is, if the Academies really want you, THEY WILL OFFER YOU AN LOA. LOAs do not require a Nomination as a prerequisite. What they do then is offer you the Nomination slot from another, less competitive district. Or they will mix-and-match the nominations so they use up the Presidential/ROTC/Vice Presidential nominations and fill slots accordingly.

But it irritates the hell out of me when I watch someone (the girl) waltz straight through admissions (even though she won't survive the first week),

So you are making a statement that some girl whom you've only heard about through second hand sources on an internet site, "waltzed" through admissions? And based on your "sources" you claim that she wouldn't even survive the first week. That is weak. There are lots of duds who end up successes at the Academy, and lots of stars who fail out or quit on the first day.

Believe me, I know what I'm talking about, and if I get in I'll have to eat these words, but it's the truth.

BTW, most enlisted guys hate academy grads (they always use that irritating word 'ring-knocker')

By that statement alone I can tell you that you're about to have your world flipped upside down if you make it into the military. This past summer I was one of the few USNA midshipmen selected to attend the Army Airborne School. The general consensus was, an 18 year old Private doesn't give a crap where his officer graduated from as long as he's competent and is a good leader. I've personally never heard ANY grad or mid refer to himself as a "ring-knocker" except as a self-deprecating joke.

 

[HerrLURP]

HerrLURP,

Just curious, what kind of physics do they make you guys take? Here, NROTC/Purdue makes us take the Calculus based physics for Engineering students! For a liberal arts guy like me, it busts my balls. I've heard that Chem is the killer for Academy guys, for us its Physics. Just curious.

Nozeman

All midshipmen are required to take 2 semesters of General Physics. These are pretty comparable to the CalcI-CalcII sequence...nothing too advanced. After that, you pick and choose your physics classes if you want to continue down the engineering/science path.

 

[bobster]

Wow Herr, you destroyed every part of his post, and you did so without sounding angry.

 

[NozeMan]

Got my letter today: On the waiting list. I'm actually not that upset over it, sicne really all that matters to me is my commission, not the route. I'm planning on doing BDCP/NUPOC now fully, since no NROTC units in Nevada and I can't go out of state ...

Nozeman: That sux you gotta take Engineering Physics I-II since ur lib arts. Personally I don't find math/science courses all that difficult including eng phy, but then again I like physics (just changed my major to physics :icon_tong ) Just hang in there and study hard, and be happy you don't gotta take more advanced physics courses! BTW I'm pretty sure academy guys gotta take engineering physics etc... we should also be happy we don't have to take their rough chem courses
I'm in ChemII this semester, its a ton of work as was ChemI, but I was able to still bag an A and between B+/A- in ChemII so far. However, it must be terrible to be taking plebe chem courses, because I've heard that its supposedly the hardest intro chemistry classes in the nation. I assume their engineering physics is HARD also. Ouch!

Yeah, the engineering physics course here is designed more or less to weed out some of the freshman engineers!!!! Even the braniac engineers (this isnt a knock on anyone) are having a real tough time getting through it. Sometimes I just bank on guessing to do well in the class. An example, I got a 54% on the first exam for the class, and it was worth a B....that goes to show you how ridiculous these types of courses are. NROTC doesn't have any special chem requirement for mids. If youre an engineer, youre going to take chem anyways. Although I walked out of high school with 3 hours worth of chem credit because of AP (i got a 3 on chem).

Physics major! Are you nuts!!!!!


Poli Sci and fly, man.....Good luck in physics!

Nozeman

 

[big]

Well, I'm pursueing a technical major for various reasons, so it really boils down to which I want to do out of my list: math, physics, or engineering. I refuse to do some of the other "technical majors" i.e. chemistry, so those are the only options I have that interest me and I'm willing to do. Looking at some of the notes and exams for courses I'll have to take in physics and some engineering(namely mechanical), I decided I'd rather be in physics as opposed to MEG.

I don't like PoliSci...I absolutely HATE writing papers! I do like history, but all the papers I'd have to write rules that out in my book...so it's physics, for now. I'm only on the tail end of my freshman year so I can still switch if i want.



HerrLURP: My HS GPA was 3.72. And if you had average or less than average HS grades and you do well in college, they will look at your college grades way more than HS grades. <---Reason for that being is when any institution looks to pick you up, your HS grades and your SAT score gives them a good idea of how well you'll do in college. So really my great college grades took precedence over the HS grades, meaning they dont matter much.