What Are My Chances?

Hey guys,

I'm going into my senior year at a very competitive public school in PA, and am nearly done with my USNA application (USAFA and WP as well) and need a little feedbacl/advice on what to think about my chances.

I'd first off like to state that I will try to keep this short and sweet.

My father is a USNA grad, class of '85. Mother is AFROTC from Duke.

GPA: 3.344 out of 4.0

All honors/A.P courses. Please note that my GPA was originally a 3.5 out of 4.0; however, in the fall of my junior year I was in a pretty terrible car accident. I suffered a major concussion and my grades took a hit. I was taking Honors Physics, Trig, AP History, Honors English, and Honors Chemistry while trying to recover. This is a circumstance that is noted on my transcript from my school officials. I made the choice to keep my challenging schedule, regardless of my brain injury.

I am taking AP Calc 1, AP Calc 2, AP Gov'nt, AP English 1, Chemistry II, Finance, and Social Psychology my senior year.

Class rank: top 36% after junior year; previous to accident was top 22.5%. Currently 107/300.

SATs: 740 R, 660 M, 700 W.

Taking them again in October; have been prepping, if anyone has any tips for the SAT please let me know! Shooting for 2250+.

Athletics/School activity:

Freshman football.

Varsity football 10th, 11th, and soon in 12th grade. Probable varsity captain for 2012 season.

Varsity lacrosse 9th, 10th grade. Could not compete during junior year due to injury from car accident.

Freshman basketball.

Avid shooter; will definetly try to get on the Combat Arms team or the High-Powered Rifle team if I go to USNA!

SAT Prep Club
Football Club
A.P World History Club

(My school does not have officer positions for clubs, nor does it offer ROTC.)


Extracurriculars:

Boy's State
Boy's State Governor

AMVETS Essay National winner 9th grade
AMVETS Essay State winner 9th grade
AMVETS Essay State 2nd place 10th and 11th grade
AMVETS Essay Local winner 9th, 10th, 11th

Training Leaders Through Athletics/Camp Strength 10th and 11th grade

Pennsylvania representative to The Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge - a very prestigious program focusing on U.S Gov'nt and the U.S Constitution.

Lots of public speaking; recently addressed the American Legion PA State Convention since I was elected Governor. I have some more events to speak at lined up throughout the next year. Pretty much I am trying to 'market' Boy's State to American Legion members who may not hear much about it.

Volunteer at York Hospital
SW Youth Football Camp Counselor/Coach
SW Youth Triathlon Organizer
SW Elementary School Gym-O-Ree volunteer
Medicaid sign-up volunteer


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If you guys could chance me, that would be great. I did not get into NASS. I've gone to 9 sports camps at USNA and again, my father is a grad. I've gotten the chance to speak to countless USNA grads and many of my father's close friends. I have a very clear idea of what it takes and what it is all about. I have very strong reccomendations and a strong personal statement.

You might start by reading my sticky above, entitled "What are my chances." Seriously.

Your stats are very good. Obviously your car accident caused some issues; I'd be sure to discuss them with your BGO. One of the purposes of the BGO interview is to ensure that situations such as yours come to the attention of the Admissions Committee.

However, stats are only ONE element of an application and, unfortunately, every year there are hundreds of candidates with exceptional stats who get turndowns. Couple of reasons. First, as noted, there are thousands of candidates with great stats and only about 1100 (more or less) slots, so some people just get left out. Second, no one here including you will see parts of your application that go beyond the stats, such as your teacher recs which count a lot.

The fact you didn't get into NASS isn't a negative. Many people who ultimately earn an appointment did not get into NASS. You should ask your BGO and your Regional Director about a Candidate Visitation Weekend.

Finally, the fact your dad is a grad (and my classmate) will have VERY little bearing on your application. Many of our classmates have had kids with multiple noms and great stats get turndowns. Just being honest. You'll get a TINY bump for having a parent as a grad b/c it demonstrates you have some knowledge of the Academy and the military. And, if your dad served long enough for you to qualify for a Pres nom, that will help as you'll automatically have at least one nom. But don't believe for a minute that being a "legacy" counts for all that much with USNA admissions b/c it doesn't.

All you can do is put your very best forward in your USNA application and your MOC applications and then see what happens. I wish we could tell you otherwise, but we can't. If you have specific questions, feel free to ask away.

Best of luck to you!

Work on your Math SAT score, get it to 700. Your determination & desire needs to come through in your individual Blue & Gold officer conversations as well as your teacher/coach recommendations.

Good Luck!

Just a member that lurked over here so take my post with a grain of salt. Something that struck me, and has yet to be responded to was this:

Mooradian said:

in the fall of my junior year I was in a pretty terrible car accident. I suffered a major concussion and my grades took a hit....I made the choice to keep my challenging schedule, regardless of my brain injury.

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If I were you, I would be more concerned with being medically Q'd. Nobody here in their right mind will say Yea or Nay. They will say submit the best packet you can, and remember to apply for NROTC scholarship as Plan B.

Currently, according to you, you suffered a major concussion less than a yr ago. That is a DoDMERB issue. You can get a principal nom from any of your MOC's, but if you are DQ'd medically, you will not be appointed.

The my grades suffered due to a brain injury is a double edge sword. Academically you have a defense, medically you may have an issue. Get your medical records in order now, because, JMPO, you may be looking at going through a waiver process if it was severe. Waivers can take months. They may require additional exams.

I am not trying to frighten you, but enlighten you that academically you have done everything you can right now, your direction should be on the medical portion. That is the area you need to get in order. You can get an apptmt, but never attend because they medically DQ'd you. AGAIN, getting your records in order now will save you a lot of grief, worry and concern in the future. I don't think anyone that has been through the process will disagree with me on how important DoDMERB is, not only in the SA process, but ROTC scholarship too. You have to report that concussion at the exam.

Just as an FYI with the medical waiver process....

For the most part (other than those with LOAs), the medical waiver process does not usually even begin until USNA has determined that you would be otherwise competitive for an appointment. Being scholastically qualified by the Admissions Board does not necessarily satisfy the above requirement. IOW, you could be scholastically qualified but deemed not "in the running" for an appointment and thus the medical issue is never even looked at.

Thanks both of you guys. However, I have been a few steps ahead of the game. Spent about 6 months visiting neurologists, taking tests and getting examined like crazy; I am now cleared to compete in sports again this year with no restrictions. AKA back to normal. But I do understand that DODMERB is a huge deal.

You should probably read this. Page 44-46 explains neurological issues.

http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/613003p.pdf

Thanks gator.

From the perspective of a recent candidate, your chances look pretty good. The key to getting into any SA is to be "triple-qualified with a nomination". That means to be both academically, physically, and medically qualified, and to also have a congressman's or another source's nomination. All special one-in-a-million circumstances aside, to the high school hero that wants to be appointed to an SA, it is IMPOSSIBLE to get an appointment without being triple-Q'd with a nomination. Get DoDMERB over with, and blow the CFA out of the water. Then, focus on maxing out your gpa your MATH SAT score. For the past few years, out of the entire pool of candidates that were "triple-qualified with a nomination", each given service academy had about half as many spots available. So, in the present time, it is safe to say that all fully qualified candidates have about a 50% chance at an appointment, not including prep school applicants, recruited athletes, and enlisted applicants. To make the odds more in your favor, increase GPA, Math ACT/SAT, and extracurricular leadership activities. 50% will always be about right however, and that is only when fully qualified to attend. Good luck.

Full Metal Bulldog said:

it is IMPOSSIBLE to get an appointment without being triple-Q'd with a nomination.

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You do need to be triple-Q'ed. However, while it is very, very difficult to receive an appointment without a nom, I have seen it happen on more than one occasion. The applicant is typically someone USNA wants very much and the competition for a nom in his/her area is extremely strong and/or there were other factors involved (i.e., the person decided to apply to USNA after the MOC nom submissions deadlines in his/her area).

The above poster is correct, however, in that receiving an appointment without having obtained a nom rarely happens and no one should ever count on it happening to them, especially as class sizes get smaller. Much more common these days is someone receiving an LOA and not getting a nom and then NOT receiving an appointment.

as one who was a flyer in the Air Force and had to deal with some medical issues I agree with Pima that the accident is the biggest issue working against you. My experience with the AF was that if in doubt they will disqualify someone rather than taking any risk, they will not take a chance on spending half a million dollars to educate someone with tax dollars if there is any possibility there could be a problem, irregardless of what any medical board might say. Unfortunately when they are getting 15 apps for every slot in a class its easier to go with the healthy people, with so much competition and all things being equal. Your resume is impressive but as others have noted so are all the other thousands applying. Be sure you have a backup plan!

Regarding my concussion. Have been cleared by DODMERB! BGO interview was very good. Have a presidential nom, and applied to all nom sources.