PFT results a deal breaker??

AJFone

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Oct 27, 2015
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My daughter submitted all of her required info for the second board and has official "boarded" status. She was told during her interview that she was a strong candidate in every area... EXCEPT for her run time. Push ups and sit ups were good, but her run was 9:41. She was told during the interview that time would not meet minimum standards in the APFT (when converted to a 2 mile run). She is simply not a strong runner. She worked at it to bring the time down, but didn't have a good showing during the official timing.

Is it likely that the run time could be a deal breaker for scholarship consideration? Is it a situation where CC will take a look at that run time (which doesn't meet minimum standards) and no consideration would be given to the rest of her application?

Thank you for any guidance.
 
Ask for a retest. My guess is that your DD needs to bring her time down to 9:27 or under (the minimum standard is 18:54). If you DD has been training, might be able to bring her time down with few more weeks of training. Another suggestion is if your DD is doing good on Push up and Sit up, take it easy to conserve her energy for the run.

When she has to take the APFT, her second mile will likely to be slower than the first.

Since I gotten older my preparation for the APFT has been doing push ups, sit ups, than running 2 miles. It works as I have been scoring 270+
 
Thank you so much for you input, MemberLG.

You echo what she was told during her interview... to have that time down in the low 9 range.

If she does not receive a response on the 2nd board and is rolled over to the 3rd board, is she able to retest and re-submit new PFT scores? I was under the impression that the only areas that could be updated were grades and SAT/ACT scores.
 
Limited experience with AROTC, but I can't see why AROTC won't authorize a retest in certain cases. Ask the POC at the ROTC program that interviewed her.
 
Thank you so much for you input, MemberLG.

You echo what she was told during her interview... to have that time down in the low 9 range.

If she does not receive a response on the 2nd board and is rolled over to the 3rd board, is she able to retest and re-submit new PFT scores? I was under the impression that the only areas that could be updated were grades and SAT/ACT scores.

I believe you are only "boarded" once, and then that once she receives a score, that score is then left on the list. I know it says you can submit later, but not sure how that is factored in. My best advice is to email Cadet Command and ask about the PFT score being resubmitted after boarding, I have read on here in the past that some folks say it is not allowed, but they would be the one to ask. Do remember that it is a whole person score and while that will reduce her score for her PFT, her other areas might still balance it out. The challenge will be to then help her focus on her 2 mile time for fall. With or without a scholarship, when she shows up on campus for ROTC, she is going to need to be able to pass the AFPT test. She will probably never set any records running, but everyone can improve with persistence and smart training.
 
Great advice from Dckc88 above. See what Cadet Command has to say.

You probably know this, but you have to pass the APFT when you report to school in Aug before the semester tuition will be paid by AROTC. If not able to pass it, the family is on the hook for the tuition money.
 
Just to give you some perspective, I received a scholarship from the first board. I'm a swimmer, so I am not a good runner either. My run time was in the low 9 minute mark. Like your daughter, I had pretty high push-up and sit-up scores, which I think helped to balance it out. I know running is definitely the thing I have to work on most before taking the APFT when I arrive on campus.
 
Thanks to everyone for their responses and guidance. I believe I will contact CC for a specific answer regarding resubmitting scores if we do not hear anything with the second board.

KNG523, my daughter is a swimmer as well. It took her several weeks just to figure out her stride and the mechanics of running appropriately. She has her final state swim meet in a few weeks. Once swim season is over, her focus will shift to running to get that time down. Thanks so much for sharing your story... it was encouraging to her.
 
She is going to have to live with the PFA score she got. Even if she takes the test again and sends in new scores the only thing that will change on her file score is the PFA portion (about 10% of the score). It can't hurt to retake the test and send in a new score, but don't expect miracles. She has already received a score from the PMS interview...that won't change. She has already received a score from the board...that won't change. The rest of her scores aren't effected by her PFA score, so they won't change. The board may have dinged her a little on her run, but if the rest of her file is strong she may still have a decent score.

I would never tell an applicant that her PFA score is that critical. She will have to run faster, but chances are she'll figure out how to run faster if she wants to be an Army Officer by the time it matters.
 
My daughter submitted all of her required info for the second board and has official "boarded" status. She was told during her interview that she was a strong candidate in every area... EXCEPT for her run time. Push ups and sit ups were good, but her run was 9:41. She was told during the interview that time would not meet minimum standards in the APFT (when converted to a 2 mile run). She is simply not a strong runner. She worked at it to bring the time down, but didn't have a good showing during the official timing.

Is it likely that the run time could be a deal breaker for scholarship consideration? Is it a situation where CC will take a look at that run time (which doesn't meet minimum standards) and no consideration would be given to the rest of her application?

Thank you for any guidance.
PFT IS DEFINATELY A DEAL BREAKER! My son submitted a PFT Sept. 1st that had a run of 6:20 for the mile with sit-ups, push-ups and pull-ups that were in the middle. He found out he was close but didn't get the scholarship. He worked hard and resubmitted the PFT with 5:40 run and max push-ups, sit-ups and 12 pull ups and was put before the board a second time and got the scholarship. It makes a difference.
 
PFT IS DEFINATELY A DEAL BREAKER! My son submitted a PFT Sept. 1st that had a run of 6:20 for the mile with sit-ups, push-ups and pull-ups that were in the middle. He found out he was close but didn't get the scholarship. He worked hard and resubmitted the PFT with 5:40 run and max push-ups, sit-ups and 12 pull ups and was put before the board a second time and got the scholarship. It makes a difference.

The total score makes a difference, there is no way to know if the rest of the application is strong enough or not to still yield a high enough score for a scholarship compared to those that have also applied. In your sons case it raised his score enough, but for a different candidate, they might have higher SAT, GPA or other activities that already brought their score to a high enough level. BTW, what branch requires pull-ups?
 
The total score makes a difference, there is no way to know if the rest of the application is strong enough or not to still yield a high enough score for a scholarship compared to those that have also applied. In your sons case it raised his score enough, but for a different candidate, they might have higher SAT, GPA or other activities that already brought their score to a high enough level. BTW, what branch requires pull-ups?

The NROTC MO scholarship requires pull ups. You are actually required to complete an official USMC PFT as part of the preliminary work for that scholarship.

Also, the academy's cfa requires pull ups, and can be used in many cases for ROTC scholarship pft's.
 
Running is a very important part of ROTC. They run a lot and they run together. I can see where a poor run time would be a problem. I don't know if it will keep her out of scholarship consideration but she needs to work on the running before she gets on campus. She needs good endurance because they will add weight (the ruck walk) and she will need strong cardio ability to endure that stress, especially in the August/September heat.
 
The NROTC MO scholarship requires pull ups. You are actually required to complete an official USMC PFT as part of the preliminary work for that scholarship.

Also, the academy's cfa requires pull ups, and can be used in many cases for ROTC scholarship pft's.
Thanks Zachcleigh, I was not away of that! I am only familiar with the Army ROTC PFT requirements, who ch does not include pull-ups.
 
PMS at DS's school choice recommended training for the 2/2/2 test so that in his interview paperwork he could indicate DS already meets the actual contract requirements. Apparently enough cadets wash out because of that test that it is worth mentioning. So, don't just train for the 1, train for the 2. But if you've already been boarded it won't matter much at this point for AROTC. As I kept reminding DS, you're not competing against the minimum requirements, you're competing against the other applicants. That's a big difference.
 
+1 tjb
Several cadets at DS's battailion who were 4 years winners could not contract until they passed the APFT (2-2-2). If you are in HS, training for the APFT will still prepare you well for the PFT (1-1-1).
Of course, training for the CFA in HS is pretty good prep for the APFT as well.
 
Do push ups and sit ups during TV commercials and whenever you get a chance. try to get at LEAST 4-6 miles of run in per week. That's enough to pass. Push harder if you want to excel. Simple.
 
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