How am I doing? What should I do to improve?

CCutler

GO NAVY
5-Year Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2013
Messages
3
Hey everybody! I'm a junior in high school right now and am in the process of applying to the USNA. I will list all that I can about me; can somebody tell me what i need to do to improve and how I already look?
GPA: 3.4 (Mostly honors/AP)
SAT: Math: 590 / Reading: 520 / Writing: 550 (I have only taken these once and did not study whatsoever. I will be retaking them in a few weeks and have been studying my brain out.
ACT: I will be taking them in June.
Rank: Approx. 170/600 (My school does not rank but that is an estimation from a guidance counselor)
Extracurriculars: Community Service every wednesday for two hours, i help at a low-income neighborhood in my town.
Sports: 3 years of Varsity Swimming, placing in the state finals championships all three years. I am definitely swimming again next year and going to try to be a captain. Captains are picked your senior year.
Work Experience: At age 14 I worked on a farm the entire summer. 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. At age 16 I started working at Camp Ingersoll as a lifeguard for the summer. Again, 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I will be returning this summer. I am currently spending a lot of my time landscaping for various houses as well to bring in a little extra experience.
Off Season: I swim all of spring, all of summer, and all of fall up to my high school season. 2.5 hours a day, 4-6 days a week. In the spring I swim after school and in the summer i swim at 0600 before I leave for work.
PRT:
Pushups: 125
Sit Ups: 98
Pull Ups: 28
Mile: 5:53
B-Ball Throw: 97 ft
Shuttle Run: 7.8 seconds
I know this isn't a part of the PRT but I swim the 500 for my high school team and went a 5:02 as a sophomore. This year, as a junior, my coach had me sprinting because we needed them. I went a 52.1 at championships.

Any and all advice is much appreciated! I'm doing everything I can to be appointed next year. Thank you for your time!
 
Definitely more leadership, being captain of the swim team is great but still need more. Maybe look at being president of a club at your school. Other wise looks solid.
 
Need to up the SAT scores into the high 600 range at least. More leadership always helps but they'll look at the whole package. If you have certifications associated with your life guard job be sure to mention them. I don't know how good your swim times are but it might be worth having your swim coach contacting USNA looking to the possibility of being recruited for the swim team.
 
SAT scores need to be improved unless you are an "under-represented" minority. In that case, your scores may be sufficient enough or you may be sent to NAPS.
 
advise

SAT scores need to be improved unless you are an "under-represented" minority. In that case, your scores may be sufficient enough or you may be sent to NAPS.

I don't know if this was a poor attempt at good advise or it it was another cry for those who were victimized by the unfair selection process of the USNA.
Anyhow you have received excellent advise so far. You look competitive, and whether you are an" Under-represented Minority" or not you should attempt to improve your profile in every area. There is always room for improvement. Get those SAT scores as high as you can. What ever you can do to standout before your Senator, Congressman, and the Academy, do. You have been doing an excellent job so far. All of the valuable advise you get on this forum is going to tell you to work harder. Good luck
 
You really need to get to work on your standardized exams and academics! Most important on the exams are your math scores - they really need to be in the 700's (SAT) or 30's (ACT). You should plan to take them at least a couple of times between now end the end of 2013. The SA's will give you the advantage of your best scores, so you needed worry about dragging down the scores by a bad exam.

Your GPA and class ranking also need some help to be really competitive. What courses have you been taking in HS? The SA's are engineering schools so they put lots of emphasis on the STEM courses... AP when available are to your advantage. Be certain you have algebra II, trig, calculus, chemistry with lab, physics, strong grammar and composition, so on.

Work on your leadership role, and remember that just being named captain does not earn you the punch in your ticket... do something with it. Keep in mind also, that you do not have to be captain or president to demonstrate leadership. so work on that angle as well.

Make contact with your nomating sources and advise them of your interest in the SA's. Also work with your guidance counselor and your junior year math and grammar teachers regarding letters of recommendation, transcripts, so on.

This is not easy for the overwhelming majority of prospects, so it is important that you get working on next year now. Best wishes.
 
Thanks so much everyone! I know my SATs are really poor right now, I will be taking them in May so I'll be able to let you know what they are in June. As for my academics, I'm attending Glastonbury High School and the reason my GPA is only 3.4 is because of the AP Bio I took last year. Biology was really not my strong suit; my end of year average was a C. I have been taking numerous engineering courses as well; I would like to major in Aeronautical Engineering. Math is definitely my strongest subject; I have held straight A's all my years in high school. Thanks for all of the help!
 
...Off Season: I swim all of spring, all of summer, and all of fall up to my high school season. 2.5 hours a day, 4-6 days a week. In the spring I swim after school and in the summer i swim at 0600 before I leave for work.
...

Any and all advice is much appreciated! I'm doing everything I can to be appointed next year. Thank you for your time!

You have a chance to improve your test scores - as you know you must. But your grades are what they are; it is these (through your Jr. year) that will be included in your application and nomination packets. Your class rank will also hurt.

As with everything in life, if your dedication to one thing (your swimming) is keeping you from reaching other goals then I think you need to reevaluate.
 
Based upon your swimming, you should go to the men's swimming and diving team page at navysports.com. On that page will be 2012-2013 results and records for the swim team which should give you an idea of where you stand and if you could be recruited. There is a recruiting questionnaire that you should fill out and transmit to Bill Roberts, the men's swimming coach. In addition to filling out the questionnaire, I would recommend writing a personal letter of introduction stating your interest and recent season results & highlights. Send this letter in towards the end of May after all the dust has settled with the class of ’17 admissions.

With many of Navy's varsity sports, you need to be proactive and contact coaches yourself, don't assume that they scour applications.
 
Thanks so much everyone you all have really helped me out a lot!!! I just received my new SAT scores as well: Math= 630 / Verbal= 530
I'm taking the ACT's in June as well - I will post those results when I can get them. Thanks again guys and gals! :)
 
Don't forget to apply for all ROTC scholarships. If you are a good swimmer, I could see you coming out ahead with NROTC + swimming scholarships at many great schools.

You look competitive, but that is VERY relative to the applicant pool and your location. Keep pushing hard and listen to the great advice above. Be sure to review the class of '17 profile when it's published. The '16 profile should help you answer many questions.
 
to be honest

In my opinion those act/sat scores are going to be a VERY big problem. Unless you have some kind of 'hook' under represented area, recruited athlete, quadruple lingual etc. I would go ahead and sign up for every sat/act that you can possibly take (and afford) until the last one that is counted before the deadline (January/February?). Princeton Review Mastering the act is wonderful (except the reading section, thats not so good) and you can self study. Over the summer read every hard literature book you can and that will help as well.
 
I also worked 40 hour weeks lifeguarding over the summer, but I'm filling out the extracurricular section on the online portal right now, and it seems that they only consider work done during the school year on school days. Maybe you could mention it in your essay or in your BGO interview, but I don't see a way to otherwise represent it.
 
I also worked 40 hour weeks lifeguarding over the summer, but I'm filling out the extracurricular section on the online portal right now, and it seems that they only consider work done during the school year on school days. Maybe you could mention it in your essay or in your BGO interview, but I don't see a way to otherwise represent it.

There's a comments section at the end of the Academic Record. Use that to list everything you've ever done and earned.
 
You said you had a 52 as your time. In what event? I am a swimmer as well. Talk to your coach to focus on your strengths it will pay dividends if you can be recruited. I don't think your times are fast enough yet, but train hard and I don't see why you wouldn't be looked at. 5:02 as a sophomore is quick!
 
Unless I'm mistaken that's a 100 free time. Probably fairly quick on a local high school level, but honestly it's small D2/D3 or NAIA at best in college, assuming he continues to improve. If you can get your 100 under :43, or your 500 under 4:30, the you could attract some interest from bigger schools with NROTC.
 
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