My chances to get into WP?

kjang0613

USMA 2015 Appointee
5-Year Member
Joined
May 2, 2010
Messages
70
Korean Female - Junior year at public school in Washington State

Unweighted GPA: 3.97
SAT scores: N/A yet
School doesn't rank

Sports:
by the time I am a senior I will have...
-3 soccer letters
-4 softball letters
-2 band letters

Freshman year: Coach's Award for Volleyball
Sophomore year: Coach's Award for Softball
Junior year: Most Improved for Soccer
Junior year: All-League Honorable Mention Goalkeeper
Also involved in competitive select soccer

Extracurriculars:
Over 200 hours of community service at hospital, church, elementary school
Elected ASB Treasurer for 2010-2011 school year
National Honor Society (running for President)
Link Leader (applying to be on leadership team)
Salt and Light (Christian club at school)
AWANA Leader (outreach club at my church)
Will be coaching a youth soccer team my senior year

Job:
Part-time Cashier at Bartell Drugs

Any feedback on what I can do to improve?
 
Try your best to get elected president for NHS. Thats worth alot in the eyes of the admissions board.

GPA looks good, and the 200 hours of comunity service is a good thing to have.

Make sure you study and do good on the SAT / ACT.
 
You have a nice, broad scope of extracurriculars and your academic performance appears to be in your favor for admission. Your varsity letters are a plus, as well. You seem to be quite the soccer player. Two important questions:

1. Have you considered being a varsity athlete at USMA?
2. Have you considered trying to be team captain next year?

The latter will help round out the "leadership" aspect of your submission packet.

If you were in my admissions area, based on this cursory glance, I would consider you to be a solid prospect.
 
Try and nab those leadership positions and study for the SAT (remember, it is not WHAT you know. Its HOW you know to take the test). Looking good thus far.
 
Thanks for the feedback!
What is considered a 'good' SAT score? I know WP only takes CR and Math...which could hurt me because Writing tends to be my strongest in practice tests.
I will most likely be a softball captain, but if I do get an LOA from WP early, then I am debating if I should do high school softball, captain or not. Reasoning: long distance track instead of softball would get me in good shape for WP...advice on this dilemma?
Elections for NHS are coming up soon, I am running against one other candidate as far as I know.
Thanks for all the advice!
Oh, my school doesn't rank, so do I need to ask my counselor/principal to get that sort of information?
 
Oh, and to answer the question about Varsity Athletics at WP...
I honestly do not think I am good enough, all these athletes seem to be highly recruited. Is it rare for athletes to walk on? It's definitely something I'd be interested in, soccer, OR softball, but I just am not sure what my chances would be like.
 
I'm not trying to be rude, but you're chances to walk on are extremely slim. West Point isn't known for its soccer program, but it is division one. Your soccer achievements are impressive, but in my opinion they don't sound quite good enough to warrant interest from the West Point coach (unless your high school is extremely good at soccer and you are in a very competitive league). But hey, people do walk on, even if it is rare. You might as well try...
 
Tallbutshort may be correct, but the baseball and hockey programs have been really strong. Club sports like Rugby, boxing, team handball are very strong. I laugh to think about the recruiting pitch: " We will make your life miserable for four years, and then you are not allowed to go pro. Instead you will be stationed in Afghanistan in a forward operating base with no water or electricity. Ready to sign?" These coaches should be given all the support we can give them...
 
Gonna sound bad but being a minority female probably helps.

But the rest of your app is good so you would have an excellent shot either way.

Thanks for the feedback!
What is considered a 'good' SAT score? I know WP only takes CR and Math...which could hurt me because Writing tends to be my strongest in practice tests.
I will most likely be a softball captain, but if I do get an LOA from WP early, then I am debating if I should do high school softball, captain or not. Reasoning: long distance track instead of softball would get me in good shape for WP...advice on this dilemma?
Elections for NHS are coming up soon, I am running against one other candidate as far as I know.
Thanks for all the advice!
Oh, my school doesn't rank, so do I need to ask my counselor/principal to get that sort of information?

I would not quit softball for track. Track will get you in shape but unless you enjoy running you will be miserable. Running is something that is very easy and there are guides all over the internet on how to get faster by yourself. My school didn't rank either. I think I just guessed...
 
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No offense taken, I was merely asking if it was a rare instance for an athlete to walk on.
I was injured for half the season which is why I was only honorable mention this last year...I hope to be back to my full potential come this next season, and show everyone what I can do!
I am on a club soccer team.
I actually only started playing softball in 8th grade...only through school. I think my greatest asset as an athlete is the ability to work, and my coachability. My coach says I am a shoo-in to make All-Wesco, I'll keep you guys posted!
Yes, I kind of assumed that being an Asian female would help, how common are asian females at WP? Just curious.

Thanks again for all the feedback!

Kelsey.
 
No offense taken, I was merely asking if it was a rare instance for an athlete to walk on.
I was injured for half the season which is why I was only honorable mention this last year...I hope to be back to my full potential come this next season, and show everyone what I can do!
I am on a club soccer team.
I actually only started playing softball in 8th grade...only through school. I think my greatest asset as an athlete is the ability to work, and my coachability. My coach says I am a shoo-in to make All-Wesco, I'll keep you guys posted!
Yes, I kind of assumed that being an Asian female would help, how common are asian females at WP? Just curious.

Thanks again for all the feedback!

Kelsey.

Southeast Asian females are, predictably, a small minority at West Point. However, many of them also tend to be athletes. I had a hilarious Chinese-American female Ranger buddy at Buckner named Nina, who was a varsity swimmer and stood an imposing 5' tall. We used to joke that she could sleep in her rucksack if it rained (and rain it did).

The important thing to remember is that your obvious talent, combined with your hard work, will take you very far. If you're truly all West Coast material, you have an excellent chance of playing soccer there. One of my classmates was a "Toast of the Coast" player in South Carolina, and she played all four years at WP. If you're in consideration for all-West Coast, I think you're on par.

Work hard, dream big. None of this is beyond your reach. Seriously.
 
Thank you for the encouragement...but I think there was a slight misunderstanding? I was talking about softball (although it is a possibility for soccer). All WESCO - WesCo being the 4A league that my school is in, not the entire West Coast...haha. But thank you so much for all the feedback, it is greatly appreciated.
I honestly didn't even consider WP to be an option until a year or so ago, when my uncle from Pennsylvania visited Seattle, which is where I live. As A WP graduate, he was enthusiastic about my chances, and encouraged me to apply. Looking more and more into it, I fell in love! Watching the "Surviving West Point" video solidified my want to apply to and attend WP. The idea of strenuous physical activities along with making life long friendships appeals to me in such a way that nothing ever has before.

Thank you everyone again for feedback, I am grateful for all criticism, as I want to make myself the strongest applicant I can be.

Kelsey.
 
I know a softball player who walked on so, it's possible. If you are interesting in playing then go to the Black Knight Athletic page and contact the coach. You have nothing to lose.

Did you apply for SLS? Have you taken your PSAT's yet?
 
I did not apply for SLS due to conflictions with sports, school, etc. I also was not able to take the PSAT because of conflictions with athletics...
I took the SAT this last Saturday and will let you guys know when I get the results on May 20th!
 
Both good and bad news...
We'll start with the bad haha.
My SAT scores were absolutely terrible, and I am really scared that they are going to destroy any chances of me getting in or getting congressional nominations. Here they are...1780 overall. 620 Math, 570 CR...horrible, I know. I will definitely be taking the SAT more, but that's what I have for now.

The good news...
I was recently elected National Honor Society President for the chapter at my high school, Shorewood High School. I was also chosen to be on the A-team for Link Crew. Link Crew is a program designed to welcome incoming freshmen, and the A-team is the leadership team of Link Crew; about 7 students are selected from about 60-70 students.

Advice about the SAT Scores?! I am in dire need of advice/assistance.

Thank you very much for reading,

Kelsey Jang
 
Advice about the SAT Scores?! I am in dire need of advice/assistance.

Your SAT scores are just slightly below the average for incoming WP classes in recent years, so my opinion is that you're still very competitive for an appointment, even with these scores.

Take a deep breath, go over a few more practice tests, and retake the SAT. You could also try taking the ACT.

Congrats on your recent achievements! :thumb:
 
A lot of good advice above. I like to include this link to the incoming classes site at usma.edu. Click on a class, and then on the profile, to see statistics.

http://www.usma.edu/Class/

You are in range, but it would be good to raise your scores to get into the top 20%, which is probably achievable.

Best of luck.
 
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