School transcript and applying

Hello I have a question about applying for an academy. I'm not sure how to get my transcipt right now. I e-mailed my schools secretary but turns out she won't be back till school starts so I don't know how to get it. So when I'm doing my preliminary application do I just take my best guess at things like school ranking or wait to apply till I somehow get it (even though I am already way behind.) Thanks

Yep, that's a rough spot. Counselors are usually in and out of the school all summer. Or, if you know any teachers or maybe coaches, talk to them about when you can come in. There ought to be someone at your school most week days, particularly principals. Someone should be able to help you if you're persistent.

jl2012,

If you are doing a preliminary application, an estimate is okay. However, you should use numbers provided by a school official, because you don't want your "guess" to be ridiculously off from the number in your actual application. If you are having issues with getting a ballpark number, then you are welcome to contact CGO for further guidance. If your SAT/ACT scores are decent, your initial class rank might not matter in becoming an official candidate.

When you are referring to "decent ACT/SAT Scores", can you give me a ball park of numbers? My son filled out the preliminary application with 3.94 (UW) 4.0 (W) GPA, class rank of 22 out of 450 and ACT score of 28 Math/26 English. Will these score be good enough to at least move forward and receive a candidate packet? Of course he is scheduled to retake ACTS Sept and expects to see those numbers improve.

crair70,

I don't have the exact qualifying standards, but the stats you provided should be good enough for a candidate number.

thanks Jadler03- that is what we were hoping. I know the ACT #s are on the low end and he is working diligently on improving. Been researching SAT/ACT conversion and think 28/26 are both just above the 600 range... am I correct? Does the USNA use the standard conversion chart or something different? Also curious if it reflects poorly that he is submitting ACT instead of SAT's. He seems do do better on the ACT format being it includes higher level math (trig/precal) with less of a emphasis on English comp. Are there any stats on the average ACT scores of accepted candidates?

Thanks for the replies. Well I go to a high school with about 75 students haha with a guidance counselor who only works 1 day a week and who when in april I asked him about applying for academies said I was to far behind. That's why I am applying so late because I basically gave up but now I've decided it's worth a shot. And about asking the principal... Theres a lot of contorversy going around now and she might lose her job. So I don't know where to turn but I do have a transcipt from april that I guess I could use to estimate. Also my ACT scores are math-25 english-32 science-30 reading-36 for a composite-31. Are those good? With a GPA of 3.8 and whether unweighted or weighted I'm not sure... I've never heard that before I came on here haha.

jl2012,
I "believe" the USNA only uses the Math and English ACT scores- not Reading or Science since the SAT doesn't test those subjects...am I correct???
Your English looks great but from my hours of reading on these forums it seems they put a greater emphasis on the Math section and a 25 would be on the low end.
I would encourage you to retake the ACT and try to get the math up... remember the USNA "super scores" your tests so will take the highest score in each category on multiple test so retake and retake... only can help! By no means am I an expert on this so looking for some replies to clarify...

crair70 said:

jl2012,
I "believe" the USNA only uses the Math and English ACT scores- not Reading or Science since the SAT doesn't test those subjects...am I correct???
Your English looks great but from my hours of reading on these forums it seems they put a greater emphasis on the Math section and a 25 would be on the low end.
I would encourage you to retake the ACT and try to get the math up... remember the USNA "super scores" your tests so will take the highest score in each category on multiple test so retake and retake... only can help! By no means am I an expert on this so looking for some replies to clarify...

Click to expand...

You're correct. USNA only takes Math and (for the SAT not sure what it is on ACT) Crit. Reading, THEY DO NOT TAKE WRITING (SAT or ACT). And yes they like a higher math score, (I got a 670 (SAT) and they said that was really good but go ahead and try again ) And you are also correct about "super scoring," and actually they convert ACT scores to SAT, so you can take both and they will combine your best scores, (so perhaps your SAT math since
SAT has no trig )

crair70, as to your preliminary application, I would say 600+ for Math and Reading would be a good goal. But USNA doesn't like lopsided scores, (i.e. 450 math 720 reading) so even if your total is really high, try to keep them close (they like math better, so probably more focus on that). I would say your son has very good changes to getting the candidate packet, because I had very similar numbers and received one. The only problem I could see would be the time you submitted it. I submitted mine mid-April, and received my packet mid-May. Best of luck to your son. Perhaps we'll see each other at USNA.

P.S. I received most of this information from the admissions regional director for the West Coast, who I had the fortune to meet with

Thank you Pippip for your reply. My son just completed his preliminary app last week so hopefullly it will be forthcoming. The best of luck to you too. Also on the West coast (CA-7) how about you?

crair70 said:

Thank you Pippip for your reply. My son just completed his preliminary app last week so hopefullly it will be forthcoming. The best of luck to you too. Also on the West coast (CA-7) how about you?

Click to expand...

You're welcome. It took me about a month to my candidate packet, so don't loose hope I'm in northern Oregon.

crair70,

ACT is accepted and is converted to an SAT score. Taking the SATs wouldn't hurt either, but it isn't counted against the candidate.

If you are taking the SAT, make sure to submit your writing scores (though they are not considered in the admissions process at this point).