CFA at SLS

thefish3

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Can anyone speak from experience as to how the CFA is administered at SLS? I've been training pretty hard because I would love to get a decent score on the CFA at SLS and not have to worry about it during the rest of the admissions process. Considering how many people are at SLS, I'm assuming that it is not administered the same as it would be one on one with say a gym teacher? Thanks for all your help!
 
It is exactly how you would do it with a gym teacher/coach...except that you have a different proctor for each event simply because of the huge volume of kids taking it. When I took it, the cadre entertained those waiting to take it and we filed in by squads as people began to finish. If I remember correctly, we did the BB throw, pull ups, shuttle run, push ups, sit ups, and then the mile, in that order (the order you see on the PDF instructions for it). Before you start, you're given a chance to stretch your muscles and take a piss

Good luck!
 
Everything is done exactly as it is described by the PDF instructions on the portal, the most important part being the time schedule. It wouldn't be a bad idea to run through it by yourself with a stopwatch, getting the correct intervals for each event just as to gauge where you are now. I did about twenty or thirty seconds worse on my mile than I anticipated, probably due to the fact that you will use energy on the previous exercises. It is a great opportunity to get it out of the way at SLS so Good Luck!
 
thanks a lot for your help! I am pretty familiar with the process of the CFA but wasn't sure if it changed because of the large amount of kids. Thanks for clearing it up for me. Can't wait to get up there in the summer!
 
I would strongly encourage you to practice/train for the CFA you'll take at SLS. You're right on the money thinking that it will speed up the application process. I would add that it looks good to do well on the SLS CFA because there is no question about the validity of how it was administered and it will have a positive impact on the recommendation you receive from your cadet squad leader at SLS. My son starting training for the CFA in January and did well on his at SLS. The basketball throw is something you can definitely improve at with practice. Best of luck!

P.S. I know this is the USMA page but FYI the CFA administered at USAFA's SLS will not count as official due to the affect the altitude has on results. You'll have to apply the CFA taken at USMA or USNA's SLS's or do one yourself at home.
 
They don't cut you any slack. If you're not doing the repetitions in perfect, and I mean PERFECT form, they will not be counted. I assume it's the same at the Academy, so spend some time getting ready before you go.

I went to SLS 2009.
 
I remember they sent us in groups of ~10. Everything else goes exactly how it would go with an PE teacher. You carry around a sheet and they have roughly 10 cadets per station timing/counting for you everyone. You give the sheet to the cadet, do the exercise, and move on.

It's good that you're taking this seriously and training though. I had to redo mine and it was probably the most stressing part of the entire application process for me. Interviews, just be yourself, essays, write them all the time. Working my butt off to get 10 pullups/50 push ups, a pain.
 
They don't cut you any slack. If you're not doing the repetitions in perfect, and I mean PERFECT form, they will not be counted. I assume it's the same at the Academy, so spend some time getting ready before you go.

I went to SLS 2009.

My son had the exact same experience (which as an "old grad" I was glad to hear! :wink: For his sake, not as much!). He did NOT find the same thing at NASS - there the candidates just counted for one another with no real supervision in the standards being perfectly enforced. Of course at either summer seminar, this may have varied by who the cadre was and how strictly they ran it.

One advantage to doing the CFA at SS is that you will have other people running with you (which isn't allowed when you do it on your own for "pacing" concerns) which can help give you some motivation. My son had met some friends at NASS who were also at WP SLS with him and he felt runing with others to "push" him helped him drop his time quite a bit there. (Although overall he did much better at NASS on the CFA as a whole).

Good luck!
 
Working my butt off to get 10 pullups/50 push ups, a pain.

Just funny because my son did the exact same thing - worked his butt off to get (after working over the summer as well) 10 pullups and 50 pushups! :thumb:
 
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