Anxious 2016 Candidate

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surgicalghost13

5-Year Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2011
Messages
39
Alright so I've been surfing through the threads and have gathered lots of information. I know this is the "wait period" and you have to see how things play out. However, judging from some of the threads, it seems like other candidates have some idea where there application is standing, whether they've been wait listed, offered an appointment, or not competitive enough. I haven't received any information regarding my application in some time, granted I did just receive my nomination about a week ago. I am 3q'd and have received my congressional nomination, but I'm not sure where that leaves me. Have I been "wait listed" and just not received confirmation on that yet? Or is it a good thing that I haven't been put on the wait list yet? Should I contact my RC and just touch bases with him? Basically, should I be doing anything or trying to find out where I stand or just let it be until I hear from them?

General stats:

ACT
Eng:29
Math:29
Reading:30
Science:28
Writing/Eng: 24 (Not sure how this effects me since this is the first year USMA's using it?)
Writing: 9

class rank: 11/109
GPA unweighted:3.99
7-8 AP/College classes

2 years track w/varisty letter
3 years golf w/varsity letter
1 year of baseball
1 year of soccer

2 years of Student council
2 years as a Student ambassador (showing new students around campus)
3 years of BETA club
4 years of FCA club
2 years of FBLA club
Job 10-15 hours a week on the weekends

And a few other minor clubs/activities. Any help with these questions would be greatly appreciated. Any input on how competitive I might be would also be appreciated (I know no one knows for sure but a general feel would be great). Thanks for your time.
 
surgicalghost13 said:
Alright so I've been surfing through the threads and have gathered lots of information. I know this is the "wait period" and you have to see how things play out. However, judging from some of the threads, it seems like other candidates have some idea where there application is standing, whether they've been wait listed, offered an appointment, or not competitive enough. I haven't received any information regarding my application in some time, granted I did just receive my nomination about a week ago. I am 3q'd and have received my congressional nomination, but I'm not sure where that leaves me. Have I been "wait listed" and just not received confirmation on that yet? Or is it a good thing that I haven't been put on the wait list yet? Should I contact my RC and just touch bases with him? Basically, should I be doing anything or trying to find out where I stand or just let it be until I hear from them?

General stats:

ACT
Eng:29
Math:29
Reading:30
Science:28
Writing/Eng: 24 (Not sure how this effects me since this is the first year USMA's using it?)
Writing: 9

class rank: 11/109
GPA unweighted:3.99
7-8 AP/College classes

2 years track w/varisty letter
3 years golf w/varsity letter
1 year of baseball
1 year of soccer

2 years of Student council
2 years as a Student ambassador (showing new students around campus)
3 years of BETA club
4 years of FCA club
2 years of FBLA club
Job 10-15 hours a week on the weekends

And a few other minor clubs/activities. Any help with these questions would be greatly appreciated. Any input on how competitive I might be would also be appreciated (I know no one knows for sure but a general feel would be great). Thanks for your time.
Click to expand...

Academically you sound competitive to me. Not outstanding but competitive. The key at this point would be what type of nomination you received. If you were the principal nominee you're in, and you just need to be patient. If it was a competitive slate than no decision will be made until all the nominees have completed their application. I think the deadline for that is the end of Feb, but it's certainly sometime in February. So if it was a competitive slate you just need to be patient. If it wasn't competitive and you were not the principal nominee then you've been moved to the NWL. Don't get discouraged... it ain't over until you get an envelope of some sort. :thumb:
 
I don't think I was the principal nominee. I have a good friend that received a call Friday, from our congressman, saying he had an appointment to the naval academy. I assume if I had been the West Point principal nominee he would have called me the same day. So I should probably receive confirmation on being placed on the NWL within the next couple of weeks? Will my RC let me know where I stand on that list when I am notified?? (All assuming I wasn't the principal nom)
 
You may not hear if you moved to the NWL until late February or even March.
 
You could retake the ACT in February. If you are in fact on the NWL, every extra point on the test will move you up.
 
I'm already scheduled to retake it and also enrolled in a rigorous act prep class that typically has a 3-5 point increase. Hopefully this will be enough. My concern though, is it too late anyway? I know it's not over till its over but it's fairly late in the process.
 
It's not late in the process at all. Some MOCs don't have their slates in yet. They won't start looking at the NWL until all MIC nominees have been resolved and the candidates applications are complete sometime in February. You still have time and nothing to lose. Besides, retaking can also help with plan B if needed.
 
Alright, thanks for the support. I guess it just feels late in the process seeing some candidates on the forum getting their appointments. Is there a limited number of kids who can receive appointment from my congressional district? I think my local liaison said something about having 3 kids getting in, does this sound plausible?
 
^^^ It's possible. One could get the Congressmans bin. Another could get a GO bin. Perhaps the rest off the NWL. I saw a post recently about a congressman who had over 30 (as I recall) going into the academies from his district. Of course not all of them were his nominees.

Be patient and have plan B ready just in case. There are many ways to commision. And that's the ultimate goal, right? Don't give up hope.
 
My DS is in the same boat as you, surgicalghost! He is triple Q'd and has a congressional nomination with the following stats, but no appointment yet:

SAT: Math- 760, Verbal -690, Writing - 640
ACT: Math - 33, Reading - 33, Science - 29, English - 29, Writing - 27
GPA: 4.585 (Rank 31/389 - will be higher with 7th semester)
8 AP's - AP Scholar
National Merit Scholar - Commended
Sports: T&F, 3 years (2 Varsity Letters) XC, 3 years (2 Varsity Letters & 1 Captain)
Red Cross Cert. Life Guard - Summer of 2010 & 2011 worked ~30 hours per week for a neighborhood pool.
Eagle Scout with 3 Palm Awards
Order of the Arrow - Brotherhood
Other EC's: NHS, Beta Club, Nat'l Art Honor Society, Orchestra (Varsity Letter)
CFA: Maxed Pull ups, avg on push ups, sit ups, shuttle, 6:43 mile, 53 ft BB throw

We have read that if you haven't scored perfectly on SAT's or ACT's, then you should retake it, but RC or MALO has not recommended this for my DS. Can anyone offer any advice to my DS? Any pointers would be most appreciated!
 
Beat Navy 2016 said:
My DS is in the same boat as you, surgicalghost! He is triple Q'd and has a congressional nomination with the following stats, but no appointment yet:

SAT: Math- 760, Verbal -690, Writing - 640
ACT: Math - 33, Reading - 33, Science - 29, English - 29, Writing - 27
GPA: 4.585 (Rank 31/389 - will be higher with 7th semester)
8 AP's - AP Scholar
National Merit Scholar - Commended
Sports: T&F, 3 years (2 Varsity Letters) XC, 3 years (2 Varsity Letters & 1 Captain)
Red Cross Cert. Life Guard - Summer of 2010 & 2011 worked ~30 hours per week for a neighborhood pool.
Eagle Scout with 3 Palm Awards
Order of the Arrow - Brotherhood
Other EC's: NHS, Beta Club, Nat'l Art Honor Society, Orchestra (Varsity Letter)
CFA: Maxed Pull ups, avg on push ups, sit ups, shuttle, 6:43 mile, 53 ft BB throw

We have read that if you haven't scored perfectly on SAT's or ACT's, then you should retake it, but RC or MALO has not recommended this for my DS. Can anyone offer any advice to my DS? Any pointers would be most appreciated!
Click to expand...

Your DS appears to be well qualified academically especially with respect to his SAT and ACT scores. He also seems well qualified in all other respects. Keep in mind I'm just a parent of an NROTC student. It cannot hurt your DS to retake the exams but I hardly think its necessary. Frankly as long as he did well in interviews I think he'll be OK. Then again, if he can raise himself just a bit it could make all the difference if he ends up on the NWL. So employing the logic I frequently use when making decisions, if I were to err I'd err towards taking it again unnecessarily. And I also wouldn't fret about it in any case.

Looks like you have a fine young man there. Congratulations. :thumb:
 
I personally have been preached at to retake and retake and retake the ACT/SAT. As Jenks93 stated, every point will improve your position and likelihood of receiving an appointment.
 
Thank you, kinnem, for your kind compliments and advice! I think you and surgicalghost are correct that he can't go wrong by retaking the SAT or ACT. At least he'll feel like he's taking matters into his own hands while he waits!

Thanks, again & good luck to you surgicalghost!
 
surgicalghost13 said:
I personally have been preached at to retake and retake and retake the ACT/SAT. As Jenks93 stated, every point will improve your position and likelihood of receiving an appointment.
Click to expand...

we were told multiple times that until you break 700+ in math and reading to keep trying to improve. there is no downside, just the fact you are fighting to improve is viewed positively.

When you get above the 700's with matching grades you can fall into the 'scholar" bucket, which is one of the area USMA apparently tries to balance.

Or, as one old grad/field force states it: "congrats, you just helped USMA get a better lineman with your SAT score". :)
 
Retake, Retake vs. prep class

hawk said:
we were told multiple times that until you break 700+ in math and reading to keep trying to improve. there is no downside, just the fact you are fighting to improve is viewed positively.

When you get above the 700's with matching grades you can fall into the 'scholar" bucket, which is one of the area USMA apparently tries to balance.

Or, as one old grad/field force states it: "congrats, you just helped USMA get a better lineman with your SAT score". :)
Click to expand...

Both our sons saw HUGE improvements in scores, particularly in their weak areas, after taking a prep class. They were about $300. I would caution, that you should check out the class very closely. some are better than others. Don't rule out a private tutor who can isolate weak areas. You'll end up spending about the same $.

What we found, in both cases, was that there are 30-50 SAT points per section to be gained by understanding the system. There are ways to automatically eliminate answers. There are ways of divining answers out of reading selections, simply by reading the question in a specific way. The biggest benefit was that each kid went into the test (after taking the class) with a greater sense of confidence, which in turn lowers the blood pressure and inthe clutter in the brain.

Another thing. Ask every English teacher in the school if they have ever graded the essay section of the SAT or ACT. If so, mine their brains for everything they know.

Bottomline, taking these tests is a little like busting up concrete with a sledgehammer. There is a hard way and an easier way.

BTW. Love the lineman quote. I'll share it with my non-superstar Lacrosse/Ice Hockey playing DS.

Best of luck to all.
 
DS saw almost 100 point combined math/reading just by following the instructions in the blue SAT study guide book/program. And more than 100 point improvement over multiple sessions.

Simple things like covering all the answers until you read all the question made the largest difference. There are trick answers that catch people who read the answer first.
 
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