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How to get it together and make your best presentation for a Service Academy Appointment.
So you understand the parts of the Application and you want to make your best case. GOOD FOR YOU! This is the best possible attitude and the one most likely to lead to success.
Why?
This is , to quote a famous book, the "path less travelled".
Most applicants will act like like the application is, more-or-less, a beauty contest. This is MEEEEEEEE! Look at MEEEEE! Look at my smile, my hair. I may have even done some augmentation to LOOK BETTER! Look at ME!
Now, this is not to say that there is no showing off of grades, activities or sports accomplishments. There is some showing off, let us be honest. While the application for a Service Academy can be considered the toughest in the world, there are MANY parts that are identical to normal college applications. And that, RIGHT THERE, is the problem.
MOST APPLICANTS look to fill in the blanks. That is all. To parallel the beauty contest AUGMENT remark, they will try to FILL IN (humor my own) as many blanks as possible. It is all about points, right?
But that is NOT MAKING YOUR BEST CASE! You are simply shouting 'Look at ME!' again. Your best case, what you said you wanted, and what they are looking for, is different.
THIS IS IMPORTANT. What they are really looking for is somebody shouting, "Look what I can do for YOU!".
Can you see the difference? If you understand this it will completely change your approach. Instead of spending time perfecting your favorite story to tell at an interview, you will spend time learning what IS IMPORTANT TO THEM.
You may have only 10 minutes in your Member of Congress (MOC) interview to gain the required nomination. They ask some standard questions and you have a GREAT STORY to tell. But does it help? Toughest choice you've had to make? Well, maybe it WAS choosing to spend Christmas with Mom or Dad. The truth is the truth. But let's say I am interviewed next. While I also had to choose Christmas destinations, I will describe seeing someone cheat on a school exam and my actions.
I am NOT saying you should lie or make up a story. I am NOT saying you should only tell a story that has a perfect, happy ending. I AM SAYING that you need to make your BEST PRESENTATION. This means UNDERSTANDING the values and demands of the Service Academies, and showing this understanding through action. You can study every dictionary and you may describe how you really understand "Service". But when I am interviewed next, and I have my list of volunteer hours, do you think my actions will speak louder than your words? THAT is what is not understood, and, if understood, not followed.
The Service Academy online Application and the Application process is difficult. Most people do not complete it, and that is fine. Of the people who do complete it, most have no understanding of the demands that will follow and they quickly eliminate themselves through actions (or, more often, inaction) and never understand why. There are many, MANY very qualified applicants who are not accepted because they do not give their best presentation. They do not take the actions and learn what is being evaluated in the various interviews.
Take Action! Be Prepared! Make your best case!
Good Luck!
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