Any hope of making it to West Point?

C

coder1231

New Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2015
Messages
4
Hello everyone, first post!

I'm currently in the process of enlisting as active duty, due to ship on July 7th. One of my best friends who attends USMA told me that there are quite a few enlistedmen now at West Point, and that he really believes that would be a good fit for me. A few Google searches did shed some light on the requirements to go this route, and although a lot of it does depend on one's service and demonstration of leadership capability, I was hoping somebody with a bit (or a lot) of experience could assess my credentials. So here goes:

High School:

SAT 2000
GPA 2.80 (weighted, long story in and of itself...)


ASVAB:

AFQT 99
GT 139
CL 144
CO 151
EL 150
FA 150
GM 152
MM 151
OF 150
SC 150
ST 147


Work:

Three years as a software engineering consultant at RingCentral, Inc.; I started there when I was 15. I'm somewhere between proficient and advanced in programming and corporate software, although no certifications.


So does anybody know what my chances are of getting a recommendation from my command at some point during my service? I'm embarrassed about my GPA to this day and it'll weight me down for certain, but my test scores and work experience might outweigh that. Anyways I'm just curious. Thanks everybody!
 
Another option is to attend college and bring up your gpa. Then apply to WP. You can keep applying until you are 23, so you have lots of time to make improvements.
 
I'm hoping I'll have time to work on a B.S. during my service. Since you mentioned it, I take it that I'll still be eligible to attend the Academy? I feel like a large part of the process for enlisted soldiers is the service nomination though, which I know nothing about. Would be interesting if anyone had any insight.
 
Many West Point cadets arrive at WP with a year or two of college credits under their belt already. One of the cadets in the class of 2019 already has a BS degree, so her WP degree will be a second undergraduate degree for her.
 
I'd contact the admissions rep who deals w/ enlisted personnel and go from there.
 
my two cents plus on your situation

Not yet 23 years of age on July 1 of your year of admission. Many enlisted soldiers get selected for the Prep school, so have to back it up another year.

Your SAT and GPA are within the range for competitive consideration as an enlisted applicant. With a lower GPA, a higher SATs score will increase your competitiveness. Candidate evaluation is 60% academic, 30% leaderhship, and 10% physical, so your work experience might increase your leadership points (which is 30%) but won't increase your acadmeic points (which is 60%). If you serious about West Point, take the SAT again.

To really compete as an enlisted applicant, you will need your commander's endorsement. You can ask it from your basic training company commander, your advance individual training company command, and finally your first unit company commander. Typically, you are physically fit, "motivated" and stands out a good follower/leader, any one of these commanders should give you an endorsement.

Lastly, be mindful of the application timeline as your applicant has to be completed by Feburary 28th. However, completing the application right before the application deadline usually places you out of consideration.
 
All great points. You must make attending the Academy your singular focus and base all of your decisions on what will get you closer to the goal. Your Commanders, as advised by their NCO's, will be looking for sound decision making(things you do when no one is watching), Leadership and above all things Teamwork.
 
Thanks everyone, I definitely have a good idea of what I'm aiming for now. I'll take it one step at a time, stay focused, give it 110%, and if it isn't enough I'll give it more until I'm 23. Thanks again.
 
coder1231, your GPA really worries me. Did you take college prep classes in high school? The first year at West Point is very difficult and your very large course load will include calculus and physics. :eek3: It makes me nervous for you.
 
I finished BC Calculus in my Junior year, scoring a 5 on the AP exam with a 5 AB subscore. Math, physics, and computing are what I live for. Ironically, one of the big reasons why my GPA is low is because my physics teacher lowered my grade from a 96% to a 64%, because I didn't submit one lab report. He decided that was reason enough to zero out all of my other lab grades for the semester, dropping my grade by 32%. He also didn't afford me a chance to raise my grade by making up or resubmitting any of the lab reports and labs I was missing. I honestly don't mean to complain, after all I should've turned in the lab report when it was due. I'm just trying to point out that advanced mathematics and applied sciences are actually my strong suit. I'm sure I would be able to demonstrate my ability if I was ever given the chance. I did also take several SAT subject tests, physics included, and I believe I got a 760 or a 780. Of course, like I said high school is a long story, and naturally it wasn't just one semester of one class that sunk me from a solid 3.25 to a 2.80 flat, but I got what I got, and it worries me too. Hopefully I'll have a chance to demonstrate what I'm really made of, but do you think it's low enough to put me out of the running Dixieland? Even for prep school?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top