My Best Year Yet: 31 Appointments!

My students do the work, but I take pride in knowing I played a small part!

This blog allows me to 'brag' a bit, but it also gives me an opportunity to voice the pride that I have for 24 young people with whom I had the great pleasure to coach, mentor, and help enter the Class of 2030. Together, the group earned 31 service academy appointments (a recently updated number) and 24 ROTC scholarships!

And, one day, they will enjoy the feeling of tossing up their hats as they graduate and earn their commissions!

All of my students are unique, and each followed a different path to their appointment. Some had multiple appointments, and some had multiple ROTC scholarships awarded. And, a few, earned a single, sweet appointment (just like I received 'just' a few years ago)!

In detail, individually, there are eight USAFA appointees, six USMA appointees, three USNA appointees and one USMMA appointee. Six others will use their ROTC scholarship to attend college.

Although all of my students are unique individuals, all of them possessed three key qualities:

• Self-discipline

• A strong work ethic, and

• A plan for success

Someone once said that “Self-discipline is the key to personal greatness.” And, I will state unequivocally, discipline over self is essential to achieving your 'greatness.' To earn an appointment to the US Air Force Academy, to graduate from the US Naval Academy, and to become a successful Army officer after graduating from the US Military Academy, you must have self-mastery. It allows you to wake-up early for a workout, it ensures you complete a school essay in a timely manner, and it drives you to prepare for the club meetings that you lead.

As with building muscle, self-discipline is learned and then practiced to improve your ability to drive yourself to achieve bigger and better things. All of my successful students possessed this trait and continued to improve as we worked through the application process to earn an appointment or ROTC scholarship.

Preparing for and then applying to these scholarships took hard work. All of my students completed the application steps in a timely manner. All of them worked very hard to improve their performance on the individual events that make up the Candidate Fitness Assessment and the ROTC physical fitness test required by each of the military services. Each one worked diligently to maintain a strong academic performance in the classroom and to prepare for the ACT or SAT. As an Admissions Coach, I witnessed their ability stay on task and challenge themselves daily to improve in all areas: athletic, academic, and activities.

Lastly, as a successful candidate, I worked with my students to create a plan and they followed it. It was flexible, but it allowed each to focus on the 'next' set of tasks. Our plan covered all areas of preparation: athletic, academic, and activities. When combined with self-discipline and hard work, a strong admissions plan allowed my students to achieve the important milestones involved with earning an appointment or ROTC scholarship. In fact, 14 of my students earned multiple appointments and scholarships!

Congratulations to all 24 students! They join the other 34 cadets and midshipmen that I now have at the different service academies. With self-discipline, a strong work ethic and a plan, you too may join this amazing group!

[I would welcome a chance to discuss details with you. I offer coaching services to pace and prepare you (and your parents!) for the entire Academy application process . . . including creating a tailored admissions plan for you! Contact me at chris@cbbrechin.com, 503.515.7406 or use my contact form on this website.]