High School Sophomore

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kaemcono

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Hello everyone,

I am the parent of a rising high school sophomore who is interested in attending the USNA. She has been interested in attending since 7th or 8th grade. We visited the academy this summer and she is now almost certain that is where she wants to go.

Her current stats are...
4.0 GPA/top 10% of class
All advanced classes including 1 AP class Freshman year, and signed up for 1 AP/dual credit Sophomore year (this is all she is eligible for so far)
Taking 2 math classes this year to be eligible to take calculus by senior year. Should have 5 math classes by the time she is a senior.
Lettered in a varsity sport Freshman year
Member of a second varsity sport Freshman year
Club sport athlete
Won school award for dedication and respect Freshman year
Has begun volunteering once a week for a therapeutic horseback riding organization

She will most like be joining NHS and possibly the speech/debate club this year

I don't want her to try to do too much this year and burn out, but I do want her to set herself up for success.What advice would you give her? What organizations and/or opportunities should she look into going forward?
 
Your daughter is off to a great start. I recommend that she participate fully in her different activities with the hope of assuming some leadership roles over the next few years. I tell my students that leadership is not about being the best, but helping others become their best. Often, that starts with being a good follower. Sea Cadets might be an organization that would interest her. Civil Air Patrol is another one, too.

She should start preparing for the Candidate Fitness Assessment. Pull-ups are not a common exercise, and the basketball throw is quite unique. I'm not sure she 'needs' to take the ACT/SAT yet, but the end of her sophomore year or start of junior year would be ideal. I tell my students to take the tests early and often.

I'm sure others will add some good advice for you. Plus, the forum has some nice pieces for you to review too.
 
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As a first self-directed research step for her, she should read every page, link and drop-down/hamburger menu item on USNA.edu. That is her primary source, and most answers are there. Thorough research is key at this stage. Some samples of what she will find:

Course recs for HS:
www.usna.edu

General Advice for Grades 9-12

General Advice for Grades 9-12 page for Admissions at USNA.edu. Updated Fri Apr 12 05:31:35 EDT 2024.
www.usna.edu

Example of entering class profile:
www.usna.edu

Class Portrait

Class Portrait page for Admissions at USNA.edu. Updated Sun Apr 21 04:34:10 EDT 2024.
www.usna.edu

Medical Considerations:

Candidate Fitness Assessment (CFA):
www.usna.edu

The Candidate Fitness Assessment

The Candidate Fitness Assessment page for Admissions at USNA.edu. Updated Wed Apr 17 05:08:05 EDT 2024.
www.usna.edu


The Big Three elements of a strong application:
* Academics, the hardest the school has to offer, aligned with recommendations above; competitive standardized tests, etc.
* Leadership, of sports teams, clubs, volunteer projects, faith group activities, formal programs such as Sea Cadets, Civil Air Patrol or JROTC, Girls’ State in the summer before senior year, and do in. Any place she makes a difference by leading people, planning, making decisions, solving problems, holding people accountable, executing a plan, achieving results. But quality, not overwhelming quantity or “resume fillers.”
* Athletics/sports participation. Demonstrates commitment, teamwork, time management, physical toughness and ability.

She should also research the other 4 federal academies, as well as Navy (and Marine Corps), Air Force (and Space Force) and Army ROTC. Having alternate plans is prudent. Researching other services and opportunities will help her uncover all the options and rule things in or out in the next few years. This will help her be articulate about her motivation when she is writing essays down the road.

Arguably the most important research is the officer specialty communities available to her out of USNA, where she will serve a minimum of 5 years. Ditto other services. The SA is a waypoint on the way to an officer commission and specific roles in the Navy; it’s not the main goal. If she becomes intrigued by Navy Nurse Corps, she will find there is no path to that from USNA, but a path via NROTC, and paths via Navy health professional scholarships to civilian nursing schools.

USNA has summer sports camp and STEM camp for younger students. Great way to get a feel for USNA as a place. In her junior year, she can apply to summer leadership seminars (various names) at USNA, USMA, USAFA, USCGA. I don’t think USMMA has one. Their mission and options are unique, and worth researching.

Nominations. That’s way down the road, but your District Representative or Senators may host Service Academy Information Nights or Sessions. Good to attend early in and soak up info.


And welcome new member of an hour!
 
All excellent advice and good reading.

My son was similar. The most important thing for her is to do what she enjoys. My son never got burned out.
 
Many schools allow Sophomores to take the PSAT. I recommend taking that in the fall of Soph year and then take the
SAT in the spring of Sophomore Year. From those scores, she can see where tutoring/study needs to be directed and
get a good start on excelling at the tests.
 
She should focus on doing things she likes and can excel at while still enjoying being in high school. She shouldn't get so focused on building a SA resume that she forgets to have a good time as well. Far more apply to selective colleges then get accepted, so it is also good to consider other schools and have a Plan B. Every SA has a website that talks about the typical background of incoming students, as mentioned above that is a good place to start. Don't do things to check boxes on a college appication, but rather to grow as a person and contribute to the success of your school.

Taking the SAT too soon in high school could mean you don't have enough of the background to perform well. Many advanced math concepts are taught later. Most standardized tests measure your overall skills in Math/English learned all during high school. No amount of tutoring/tips/tricks will make up for being an average students in those subjects.
 
time2 said:
Taking the SAT too soon in high school could mean you don't have enough of the background to perform well. Many advanced math concepts are taught later.
Click to expand...
I strongly disagree with the caveat that I recommend BEGINNING to take them as a Sophomore and that does not mean a "one and done" either.
The math section is not testing trig or calculus, it is mostly algebra and rather simple algebra at that.
One of my kids took the SAT as a 7th grader to gain admittance to a gifted and talented program and that was before he'd had ANY
algebra much less any higher level high school math and his math score was 600 at the time.
What the early testing does give the student is a diagnostic on where to concentrate future test preps as well as the experience of the test itself so that it is less foreign/scary during Junior and Senior years.
In my 30+ years as a BGO, one of the saddest thing I've dealt with on a repeating basis is candidates who take their initial SAT in the Spring of
Junior year which does not give them very much runway for improvement as after the fall of Senior year there is not much time to continue
to bring scores up. Pretty often, the kids who have their first test in spring of junior year are taking their second test the next fall and that is
all they are able to do in time for college applications.
 
OldRetSWO said:
I strongly disagree with the caveat that I recommend BEGINNING to take them as a Sophomore and that does not mean a "one and done" either.
The math section is not testing trig or calculus, it is mostly algebra and rather simple algebra at that.
One of my kids took the SAT as a 7th grader to gain admittance to a gifted and talented program and that was before he'd had ANY
algebra much less any higher level high school math and his math score was 600 at the time.
What the early testing does give the student is a diagnostic on where to concentrate future test preps as well as the experience of the test itself so that it is less foreign/scary during Junior and Senior years.
In my 30+ years as a BGO, one of the saddest thing I've dealt with on a repeating basis is candidates who take their initial SAT in the Spring of
Junior year which does not give them very much runway for improvement as after the fall of Senior year there is not much time to continue
to bring scores up. Pretty often, the kids who have their first test in spring of junior year are taking their second test the next fall and that is
all they are able to do in time for college applications.
Click to expand...
Advanced math students in junior year are a few years beyond math required for SAT, which requires a refresher on old material.

Whether you take the test early and often depends on the student. If you aren’t a good test taker, or expect to be in the middle of the pack, taking it often and preparing for it makes sense.
 
The thing that helped my oldest two were these mock exams.

SAT | Applerouth

www.applerouth.com www.applerouth.com

ACT | Applerouth

www.applerouth.com www.applerouth.com

Scroll all the way to the bottom each page.

Still a reasonable price @ $20 and its online proctored. You get the material like the week of the test if memory servers me correctly.

My oldest improved each time he took it. Took it for the SAT and ACT.

33 ACT and 1510 or so on the SAT.

He said it was just getting into that mode of test taking and learning what types of questions they might ask.
 
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