A Little Help

DrummaBoy

5-Year Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2010
Messages
8
Hello there,

I am new to the forums but I have been poking around here for the last month. I appreciate everyone on here that answers questions and helps out.

So i am in 9th grade, still in junior high but the grades count and all. My dream since a few years ago was to go to west point. My family has not been in the military much, and the ones who did were either drafted or in the national gaurd. So everyone was surprised when I told them I wanted to be in the army. I realise I have a lot of time before I apply but I want to get a good solid start. I have done tons of research on west point but thought I would ask the wise people on here my questions and what things I should do to get in.

Academic: I barely scraped a 3.6 gpa last semester which was disapointing but i have made sort of a vowe inside my self that I will get a 4.0 this semester. I am only taking one honor class this year but next year I plan on taking One honor and two AP classes including AP economics. I take Spanish as my second language.

Physical: I am male, I run the mile in 6:18 and am wroking on improving it. I am on the www.hundredpushups.com system and so far is working out pretty good, I can do about 35 right now but steadily improving. I can do crunches for a while and 9 pull-ups. I play premier soccer and have been on my junior high team my last two years and plan on making it this year as well and making varsity for my high school.

Leadership:I have done junior honor society all three years in junior high and plan on it in high school. I have done a few clubs and am Captain of my soccer team. I also am on and off active with my church.

I have two years until I apply and I would like to make the two years the best they can be in terms of preparing for West Point. If you guys could tell me what areas I should focus on more, how I should improve or things like that Id appreciate it.

Thank you all for reading,

Aaron
 
sounds like your well on your way!!

my advice is dont underestimate anything! you want to be as attractive as possible to that admissions board come winter of your senior year!

I totally know what boat your in. Going to USMA has been my dream since i was about 8 years old (minus about 6 months where i thought top gun was the coolest thing, then i realized 40,000 ft is a long way to fall if your plane just got blown up and might be on fire!! so go army beat everyone else), a dream that all started watching my dad while he was a captain in the 10th mountain division. And now i'll be reporting for rday on in 3 and a half months!

the time flies by (except the waiting for that appointment lol) but keep your chin up and never forget your goal!!
 
Hey there buddy.

I'm a sophomore at the moment - I kind of know how you feel, that before candidate feeling.

You're working early which is very good. Remember to keep your grades up, good fitness, and extracurriculars.

A few tips:
-Have fun! West Point is an extraordinary feat, but you still need to kick back and relax sometimes.
-Look for leadership positions. Student council and such examples.
-Keep up your physical condition. The onehundredpushups site looked good. I was planning on trying it this summer.
-Academically. Keep your grades up and try to take honors and AP or IB (If your school has them). Advanced classes have a good bonus to your GPA and just looks good.
-Keep a resume of your achievements and such. I tried making one for just my freshman and sophomore year and I couldn't remember a few.
-Look at these forums. People answer or ask many things that I hadn't thought about before.
 
Thank you both, i appreciate it,

Im most concerned with my grades. I think there will be plenty of oppurtunities for me to get leadership roles and I have a while to get in top physical shape.

I have heard that it is more class rank than GPA, I am not sure how to find out my class rank, All I know is that my GPA was a 3.61. And that wasn't a few A's and some B's, that was one A, and an assortment of A-'s and B+'s.

I geuss what I am asking is what do they care about most when it comes to Academics?

Thanks again for the responses
 
The part about class rank is true. You can ask your guidance office but some schools do not give class ranks. Academically just try to take the most challenging courses, get good grades, do well on the SAT's/ACT's (I recommend taking both as many times if you can). It is better to have say, a B in an AP class than an A in a regular level class.

If you do well in academics than your class rank should move up.
 
My son's admissions officer told him several times toward the end to try to raise his class rank and ACT scores. I think my son took the ACT 4-6 times and he was able to raise his scores. His admissions officer also said to take the hardest classes your school has to offer that you can make an A or B in.
 
thank you guys very much for taking the time to answer my questions,
I appreciate it
 
Take the PSAT as a sophomore if you can. It gives you some SAT practice for pretty cheap and also improves your chances of doing well on the PSAT your junior year and becoming a National Merit Scholar.
 
FWIW:

Academic - keep working hard in school. Strive to do well in high level courses and plan to take Calculus in your senior year. Take at least, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. If you have time take either Chem II or Physics II. Take lots of History - World, US etc.
If your high school has AP courses plan on one or two academic AP's. Take a Computer class.
Testing - take the PSAT as a Sophomore and again as a Junior. Take your first SAT/ACT late in your sophomore year, again in winter of Junior year. This will give you time for one or two more go arounds. Take both the ACT and SAT.

Athletics - keep up with soccer. If this is your only sports commit fully to it and try to get on an off season or summer league. Coach or become a referee for a youth soccer team - share your love for your sport! This also provides excellent leadership experience.

Leadership - Commit to something! Better to commit fully to one club/organization than just join 5 clubs. Get involved! You are "on and off active with your church". Why? If you like it then get active and stay active; if not find something else to occupy you.

Visit - talk to your folks about visiting. If you live in the NorthEast then maybe a long weekend in the summer stop by the visitors center and take a tour. Apply for Summer seminar in your junior year. Between spring of your junior year and winter of your senior year, make a candidate visit. Consider Soccer Camp at West Point.
http://www.goarmysports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=11100&KEY=&ATCLID=323452

Sign up to be on the mailing list:
https://candidate.usma.edu/guest/mailback/a_req_open.cfm
 
I have fully commited myself to soccer, I play premier state level soccer taking 8th in state last year and made a better team this year, I also have been on my junior high varsity team all three years and plan on playing in high school. I plan on being a referee next year as well.

I try hard in school. it is just realy hard to balance school, social life, and sports. I currently have a 3.7 right now. I will take all those science classes mentioned, and i will take AP physics definitely. However I dont think I will be able to take calculas as a senior, but definitely pre-calc. Is this a problem?

I don't realy have the time for church, but I have been in honors society for the past three years and will be in the next three as well. I was the captain of my old soccer team for 5 years but switched teams.

I live in Washington state on the coast, so I am realy far away from the campus but I want to attend SLS, and there is a West Point info meeting nearby in a few weeks that I am going to.

Thanks all for the answers I appreciate it
 
Hello there,

I am new to the forums but I have been poking around here for the last month. I appreciate everyone on here that answers questions and helps out.

So i am in 9th grade, still in junior high but the grades count and all. My dream since a few years ago was to go to west point. My family has not been in the military much, and the ones who did were either drafted or in the national gaurd. So everyone was surprised when I told them I wanted to be in the army. I realise I have a lot of time before I apply but I want to get a good solid start. I have done tons of research on west point but thought I would ask the wise people on here my questions and what things I should do to get in.

Academic: I barely scraped a 3.6 gpa last semester which was disapointing but i have made sort of a vowe inside my self that I will get a 4.0 this semester. I am only taking one honor class this year but next year I plan on taking One honor and two AP classes including AP economics. I take Spanish as my second language.

Physical: I am male, I run the mile in 6:18 and am wroking on improving it. I am on the www.hundredpushups.com system and so far is working out pretty good, I can do about 35 right now but steadily improving. I can do crunches for a while and 9 pull-ups. I play premier soccer and have been on my junior high team my last two years and plan on making it this year as well and making varsity for my high school.

Leadership:I have done junior honor society all three years in junior high and plan on it in high school. I have done a few clubs and am Captain of my soccer team. I also am on and off active with my church.

I have two years until I apply and I would like to make the two years the best they can be in terms of preparing for West Point. If you guys could tell me what areas I should focus on more, how I should improve or things like that Id appreciate it.

Thank you all for reading,

Aaron

I remember when I first came on these boards as a rising/current freshman...

Don't worry bout the 3.6....just worry bout getting it higher next time like you said and keep it there. Taking 2 AP as soph...that's really good.

Mile's really good...and you'll get there with the push-ups...on the CFA, its not really crunches you do but 3/4s sit-ups with elbows touching knees...pull up are good.

sports...good

try to get positions if you can in the clubs, teams, etc...good with being captain already

not really any specific areas to focus on that I can see...just strive to improve all of them.
 
I try hard in school. it is just realy hard to balance school, social life, and sports. I currently have a 3.7 right now. I will take all those science classes mentioned, and i will take AP physics definitely. However I dont think I will be able to take calculas as a senior, but definitely pre-calc. Is this a problem?
As you go through high school you will learn to balance it all. Keep busy and keep your eye on the ball. (no pun intended). This ability - that you will develop - will serve you well in your application and in being a Cadet.

Calc is not a requirement for admissions. AP Physics generally requires Calculus concurrently. Talk to your guidance counselor, science and math teachers.

Go to the Admissions forum! Ask questions! There is no such thing as a dumb question. Take their advice!

RE: Class rank - don't worry too much about this now. each school is different and some won't rank until the end of junior year.
 
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