Concern Over CFA Scores

air1530

5-Year Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2010
Messages
11
My son ‘s package is pretty good except for the CFA. Are the scores going to keep him out?
Weighted GPA: 4.0
Class Rank: Top 4%
ACT Scores: Composite 32, English 27, Math, Science, Reading all 34
Eagle Scout, lots of school leadership. Part time work
Only sport is Club Volleyball JV in Junior year.
CFA: BB throw 45, Pull ups 3, Pushups 37, sit ups 79, Shuttle 9.7, mile 8:02 Test was done at 6000 ft elevation.
 
I'm not conversant in exactly what passing is for AF, but I know for West Point those would not be passing for BB throw (around 50 feet min), pushups would be very close, pullups we usually say 4, so again wouldn't be passing, and mile run we say under 8:00 so would be very close. I don't think there's any compensation for taking it at altitude on the assumption that he should be acclimated if he's taking it there. I would definitely take it again before submitting or if he's determined to submit, continue training because they'll probably ask for a retest. I think (for WP at least) they look especially hard at the CFA when they don't have a lot of sports so that might make me more concerned.
 
I would definitely retake, the sit ups are okay, but everything else is below average.

Did he submit it already?
If he has, then the Academy might ask him to retake it, or they might accept him, no one will know except USAFA.
 
I know that 35 is the min for push-ups and I think it is 45 for the BB throw. You may not be under the min on anything, but you aren't above the averages. I know it is a hard test, but you really need to get those closer to the averages. Don't worry too much about the BB throw, just on the pull-ups and push-ups. From what my counselor told me, the BB throw doesn't mean much to them.

Later,

Brian Andre
 
Air1530; you didn't mention..... "Has your son already submitted his CFA scores?" If so, then there isn't anything you can do about them now, because you can't re-submit them. Just relax. If you haven't submitted them yet, then I would suggest taking them again if your son can do them soon. If you haven't submitted the CFA, then the application isn't complete, and therefor, the review board hasn't looked at his package at all. But if it's been submitted, then there's no use worrying about it. There's nothing you can do about it now.

To answer your question, there are people who have had lower scores and people who have done better. If the academy believes your son's package is everything they want in a cadet, but they think his CFA score is too low; THEY have the prerogative to have your son retake the CFA. But that's totally their call. Not yours or your ALO. Anyway, good luck. Mike....
 
With what Christcorp said, if they want to have him retake it, they will ask. He should continue to try to improve his scores and get as close to Max as he can. The reason I say this is 1) if they do ask him to retake it, he's ready. 2) if he gets an appointment and reports for induction day, he's going to need to be as close to max as possible so he can be prepared for Basic. Basic isn't fun if you are struggling to meet the minimum. Lots of kids report to Basic thinking they will be ok, but end up struggling in the end because they just weren't as prepared as they thought.

Just my couple of cents.

Good Luck and hang in there.
 
Yep, you're going to want those scores to be his absolute best when he reports for BCT.

I guess I'll echo everyone's question: Did you submit??? Lots depends on that.
 
Thank you for your replies. I took all of these replies and put them into a word document and gave them to my son hoping that hearing from others rather than the old man would give him the kick he needs. I think it worked.

He has not submitted his scores as of yet and has been continuing to work out. It is talking with his ALO's and is going to test again next week. He will decide when to submit after the next test.
 
Thank you for your replies. I took all of these replies and put them into a word document and gave them to my son hoping that hearing from others rather than the old man would give him the kick he needs. I think it worked.

He has not submitted his scores as of yet and has been continuing to work out. It is talking with his ALO's and is going to test again next week. He will decide when to submit after the next test.

My DS needs the same kick (the one from other people) sometimes. Parental opinion carries less weight I guess. The 'I know' answer gets old. I KNOW that the AFA (being optomistic) will kick that out of him.:smile::eek::smile:
 
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