You need to look deep into the bowels of the AFA website under the scoring break down, the page that shows 60% PAR, 20% ECs, 20% Recs, etcs. In the paragraph describing the break down it says clearly 490 is not normally deemed competitive (this goes back to class of 12). The site was changed this year so I do not know how to walk you through it, but the AFA is the only SA that states the min regarding CR or V. Again, the AFA may have such a large pool that they changed the mins for CR, and your son did not make the mins. @10K open files, they need to make a cut somewhere regarding candidates knowing that 60% of the WCS is PAR, and 540 might be too low to be competitive. My personal experience is 2 yrs old.
Congrats to your son on his apptmt to the USNA, please take no offense, but was he recruited for athletic purposes? 4.0 uw means very little IMHO because it does not address the rigors of his course load, i.e. 4.0 Honors, but no AP. Not saying he did not take the most difficult course curriculum, nor that he does not deserve the apptmt., but the avg SAT M for AFA is what your DS scored, and the CR is @ 90 pts higher then his number, which means to me he has a shining star somewhere else in his packet.
For class of 15, that stresses the fact it is the Whole Candidate...book smart will not get you in, top athlete won't get you an apptmt, they want the student that is well rounded.
Again, Congrats and I wish him well. Janie Raincloud will state that academically he is going against Ivy league and I hope that a CR of 540 and W of 600 was a fluke, or that he does not test well. It is hard to survive the SAs Ivy league classes on top of being a 4 dig when your scores are not deemed "qualified". They have a heck of a lot of reading and writing to do for their classes on top of memorizing the menu! Physical ability is an issue, but the English instructor does not care about how fast you run or how many sit ups you can do when he grades your term paper. Every cadet, including the ones that scored 700 will walk in with a fresh sheet. SAT's mean squat to them, but if you compare the scores nationally, it means that they have an edge academically, making their 1st yr easier. The fact is @10% will leave within their first yr at any SA. 25% will not graduate.
I sound like Janie Raincloud, but I am just trying to highlight that any SA is the equivalent of any IVY, and harder. The cadet at an SA will not only be a student, but will be required to work. Stop and realize that. This is a very hard road, and I have always believed that too many get caught up in the allure of the SA without realizing the reality of the life cadets live.
My last point to the class of 15, take the time and research the mandated classes. You can graduate in Econ, but you will still be forced to take AFA curriculum. That means taking engineering classes all 4 yrs. If you hate math/science buckle up!
I am a second mom to an AFA cadet, and a mom to an ROTC cadet. Both of them choose wisely because their decisions were based on education and their majors, nothing else!
Off topic it is interesting that USNA triple q'd him, offered an appointment, but the AFA deemed him non-qual academically. USNA has always been known to be the top of the SA's regarding academic quals. Their median scores are higher than the AFA regarding SAT/ACT