Hypothetical:

Its worth 10% of your Whole Candidate Score. Academics counts for 60% and Leadership counts for 30%.
 
We were told by my son's RC that in a comparison between two or more close candidates, that the CFA is very important. Also said many people max it. He looked at my son and told him, I can tell looking at you that you should max it. Son did well, but far from maxing. He had an injury which effected his pullups and basketball throw. Threw it 79.5, and only 12 pullups, when he was closer to maxing in training. Son also never came close to maxing shuttle, which had nothing to do with injury. He is a bigger but strong and fit kid. Those who max it are impresive. It's a tough test. It should count for a lot.
 
I think neither -- They would of course be very pleased that you have that level of fitness and athletic ability, but there are candidates each year that max the CFA.
 
.....I don't think they would be astonished, based on what we were told both at usma and usna, a decent percent of those admitted max it. We were told around 20 percent by USNA admissions officer. That shocked me.

I do think it is doable. My son had gotten close to 100 ft on the basketball throw before injury, and all based on practice. Made several adjustments. Pushups and sit-ups are very doable. As are pushups. Son improved on all of those very rapidly. He also shaved close to a minute off mile, and ended with a 5.28. He really struggled shaving time off the shuttle though. Ended with a 8.6, which is not much different that what he started out at.
 
So two applicants walk into a bar. The first one screams "ouch!" The second one yells, "look out for that bar!" The bar of ineptness can be low or high. The CFA is pass or fail. However, if you find yourself on the NWL with your fingers crossed, the difference from being the guy with the golden ticket and not, may come down to who has the highest, whatever. Alway always, and this goes for life, strive to do your best and be on top. At times, a selection admissions officers will agonize over a decision and even pray for guidance. We will never know, who and how, makes the cut. Its a very private and complicated process. But you will know if it was your best effort and your preparation for that moment.

Push Hard, Press Forward
 
Yes, but would they be astonished or just shrug it off?

tugboat has got it just right. Also, "astonished"? No, and it's only 10% of the WCS and deserves 10% of the focus. At the end of the day, you could be the greatest physical specimen since Hercules but if your academics and leadership are "sub par" it won't make up for it.
 
It is what it is. The reality is that most of those competing for appointments are high achievers and are relatively close to each other in the overall assessment. When you eliminate those who walk on water, and those who will fill a slot without real high scores, but without strong competition, those who are in the pack competing with one another are closer yet. Some may have higher SAT/ACT, some may be little higher in class standing, and some may have little better leadership scores, but lots will be bunched close. CFA constitutes 10%, which is a ton when everything else is too close to call.

This is essentially how it was explained to us, and it very much made sense. My son wishes he had a perfect cfa score. Its a nice chip to have. Would it be better to have a couple more points on your ACT? Probably. But that isn't the question.

It's just a matter of perspective it seems to me.
 
20% maxing it would indeed be shocking.

Even more shocking is the large number of mid and cadets that perform the cfa at a substandard level after arriving at the academy. Makes one wonder how they scored at a level that got them the appointment when it was administered in their hometown.

As for the original question, maxing it is awesome, and although most won't max it, they are awesome in their own ways. The competition is severe. Everything you do with excellence helps you in the process.
 
Even more shocking is the large number of mid and cadets that perform the cfa at a substandard level after arriving at the academy.

The cadets do not do the CFA after arriving at the academy. They do the APFT which is sit-ups, push-ups, and running. They are never again asked to throw a basketball from a kneeling position. However, on Rday, they must show that they can do pull-ups.
 
The cadets do not do the CFA after arriving at the academy. They do the APFT which is sit-ups, push-ups, and running. They are never again asked to throw a basketball from a kneeling position. However, on Rday, they must show that they can do pull-ups.

I knew that mom...
I actually was referring to the lack of pull ups, fewer push ups (when doing them right is mandatory), and slower run times. We can't actually compare apples to apples here, but I bet you got my drift.
 
I've seen thousands of CFA results and only a handful that even came close to maxing everything. If it is a high school candidate that is doing that, it raises a big red flag that makes me wonder if they falsified the test, especially if I don't see the level of athletics that goes along with it. If it is a soldier/marine, then it makes a little more sense since they have that regular PT.

Study for the ACT/SAT, the couple points of improvement are worth significantly more than improving a couple points in a CFA category. Test scores ~40% of the overall WCS (2/3rds of academics) split at most four ways for the ACT versus 10% split 6 ways for the CFA. The amount of time that it would take you to improve from average to max in one area is not worth the realitively few points. Do your best, practice the events, but don't over stress it. At this point in the application, you just need to pass the thing.
 
When I met with my regional commander he told me that the CFA is pass/fail (you have to pass every event to "pass" your CFA). He said that when admissions looks at your file and calculates your Whole Candidate Score, the 10% basically comes down to whether you pass or not. The only case where it would matter if you maxed everything vs. squeaked by with a pass is if it came down to be between you and another candidate who were equally exceptional everywhere else. Again, I am no authority on the matter but this is what my regional commander told me!
 
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