Would I Be High Up In The NWL?

JunSin

5-Year Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2014
Messages
30
Hello everyone, I've been following this forum quite avidly for a while now. With time flying by so quickly, I'm getting more and more worried about if I will be able to attend my dream school!
The reason I am posting is to ask any knowledgeable folks if my stats may be deemed highly qualified, keeping in mind the NWL.

Academic:
Unweighted GPA: 3.887 (Full IB schedule)
SAT: 1430 (math+cr)

Physical:
Varsity swimming
Ultimate Frisbee
CFA-
bball throw- 72 ft
pull ups- 17
push ups- 86
sit ups- 86
shuttle run- 9.1
mile run- 7:36

Leadership (disregarding activities without officer position):
President of FBLA,
President of ultimate frisbee, President of chess and ping pong, Concert Master of symphony and chamber orchestras
Secretary Treasurer for Student Gov.
Peer Educator for Teen Council

Medically:
Fully qualified by Dodmerb

Just a note but most of my achievements lie in my musical activity e.g. national orchestras, played at Carnegie Hall with an international honor orchestra, 1st in regional solo competition, and I'm very curious if USMA would give me any extra points. Because of my violin commitment, sport activities have been quite difficult to come by and I am very aware that academies really like to see deep sports involvement, which is why I am worried!

I would appreciate any feedback regarding how I may be rated by the admissions team. Please ask if I was unclear on anything!

Thank you!
 
BTW, at the time of when I applied to USMA, my GPA was 3.93, but 1st semester of Senior year I got B-'s in IB History and IB English D:. My other grades were A's such as IB Calculus, IB Spanish 4, and IB Chemistry HL, IB Theory of Knowledge, which were classes that I actually enjoyed....
 
OH and I attended Boy's State (Washington State), if that helps at all.
 
Boys state is the most important activity of those you listed (for USMA admissions).

Did you send in certificates or evidence of your Carnegie hall or national level achievements?

What is your class rank? West Point uses class rank over GPA.

Great job on the CFA.
 
Boys state is the most important activity of those you listed (for USMA admissions).

Did you send in certificates or evidence of your Carnegie hall or national level achievements?

What is your class rank? West Point uses class rank over GPA.

Great job on the CFA.
Thank you for your reply.
I did send in evidence, in the form of a resume, which my guidance counselor approved! I'm under the impression that that is enough to confirm that I really did do what I say I did. Otherwise, if they asked me about it, I could connect them with the administrators of the programs so they they can confirm that I participated.
Our school is quite ambiguous on ranking (they didn't provide a rank for my 1st semester senior transcript). However, my guidance counselor, in her recommendation for me, noted that I am well within top 5% of my class.
 
Are ping pong, chess, and/or ultimate frisbee considered sports?
Probably not, but I listed them only because I am President of the clubs! Ultimate Frisbee may be considered an intramural sport, maybe!
 
Did you letter in swimming? Your SAT is great, so that will help. Your best bet right now is to contact your RC and ask how it's looking for you. Ours was pretty honest both years and let my son know (first round) that while he was triple qualified, he looked like a good reapplicant. He heard that multiple times because he lacked sports (had 2 sports senior year and that was all). You don't have to wonder so much: ask.
 
I see no mention of a nomination. Without that, you aren't on the NWL. Also, you mention WA state, which has a pretty good field force that should be able to tell you your chances and/or what you need to do to improve. If you aren't hearing from them on a regular basis, well, that's an indicator.
 
Boys state is the most important activity of those you listed (for USMA admissions).

Did you send in certificates or evidence of your Carnegie hall or national level achievements?

What is your class rank? West Point uses class rank over GPA.

Great job on the CFA.
USMA does not use class rank because it can be manipulated. They place emote emphasis on the ACT or SAT (standardized tests) This if directly from a recent USMA briefing I attended.
 
While more emphasis is on standardized test scores, a significant portion of the academic evaluation is class rank (which can be adjusted in admission based on the competitiveness of the HS). GPA is not used because it tends to be inflated and does not give a good indication of how well the individual performs relevant to their peers at that school.
 
Your SAT scores are very good, my DD is candidate from WA state as well. If you can send me a PM.
 
USMA does not use class rank because it can be manipulated. They place emote emphasis on the ACT or SAT (standardized tests) This if directly from a recent USMA briefing I attended.

Are you sure it was class rank, not GPA? GPA can be "manipulated" pretty easily by a school with weighted vs unweighted GPAs.

Not sure how a school can manipulate someone's rank. I have been a FFR for about 10 years with all my contacts with my Regional Commander(s), less reliance on GPA, more reliance on class rank and ACT/SAT.
 
You are specs are very similar to mine, and I got my appt in the first wave. I am pretty sure you are high up in the NWL.
 
Are you sure it was class rank, not GPA? GPA can be "manipulated" pretty easily by a school with weighted vs unweighted GPAs.

Not sure how a school can manipulate someone's rank. I have been a FFR for about 10 years with all my contacts with my Regional Commander(s), less reliance on GPA, more reliance on class rank and ACT/SAT.
I've been told GPA holds no weight and that it is all about class rank and ACT/SAT. This hurts me a lot as I have a 3.86 unweighted GPA(4.3 weighted) but my class rank is only at about the top 15% mark since I go to a very competitive school.
 
It all gets evened out. West Point looks at each school's profile that shows how many AP/IB/dual credit classes are offered, how many graduates go on to Ivy or community colleges, etc. A 15% class rank from a very competitive school is different from a 5% class rank from a school where very few go to college, much less an Ivy League -- but only admissions really knows how it's scored. Lots of high school students think they go to a very competitive school. Plenty of homeschooled candidates receive appointments without a class rank. A lot of high schools only offer 1 or 2 AP classes. In reality you just need to work on what you can control -- your ACT/SAT scores, your grades (which ultimately lead to class rank), your sports/leadership/community service areas. Do your best to get a nomination. And then have a good plan B/C/D in place.
 
I see no mention of a nomination. Without that, you aren't on the NWL. Also, you mention WA state, which has a pretty good field force that should be able to tell you your chances and/or what you need to do to improve. If you aren't hearing from them on a regular basis, well, that's an indicator.
Yes, I did receive a nomination and I am pretty sure that I was not the primary nominee! The officer that is associated with my region told me that I should just patiently wait and wasn't all too helpful...
 
oops, to elaborate, I received a nomination from Honorable Denny Heck (District 10).
 
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