Hi all,
Passing this along for a friend of mine. Her son is almost finished with his junior year of high school, has a very high GPA - 4.0 unweighted / 4.7 weighted, 240 on the PSAT, 2400 on the SAT, 36's on the ACT, National AP scholar (all 5's on 10 AP exams so far, including Calculus BC last year (as a sophomore), taking AP Physics this May, and AP chem next year. He peaks Japanese and Chinese fluently and Spanish and Tagalog well. However, since his father, a GSgt, was KIA in Afghanistan, he has been working several jobs to help support his mother and sister. He hasn't done any extracurricular activities or school sports, though he teaches Karate. Finances are an issue, and several people have suggested he apply to the USNA, but he looked at the academy web site and through this forum, and seems convinced he'd never get in without sports, leadership and ECA's.
It seems likely he can pull down scholarships to other schools, and in fact MIT seems to already be interested in him, through his HS math teacher. However, he's always wanted to be a Marine like his dad, and I know he'd love to go to the Academy. Given a complete lack of sports, ECA's, etc., should we encourage him to apply and go for it, or is he likely doomed to disappointment?
Two other things - he should be eligible for a Presidential nomination, since his father was KIA, and he's half Native American - his dad was half Navaho, and his mom is half Hawaiian. Not sure whether that matters or not.
Thoughts?
Passing this along for a friend of mine. Her son is almost finished with his junior year of high school, has a very high GPA - 4.0 unweighted / 4.7 weighted, 240 on the PSAT, 2400 on the SAT, 36's on the ACT, National AP scholar (all 5's on 10 AP exams so far, including Calculus BC last year (as a sophomore), taking AP Physics this May, and AP chem next year. He peaks Japanese and Chinese fluently and Spanish and Tagalog well. However, since his father, a GSgt, was KIA in Afghanistan, he has been working several jobs to help support his mother and sister. He hasn't done any extracurricular activities or school sports, though he teaches Karate. Finances are an issue, and several people have suggested he apply to the USNA, but he looked at the academy web site and through this forum, and seems convinced he'd never get in without sports, leadership and ECA's.
It seems likely he can pull down scholarships to other schools, and in fact MIT seems to already be interested in him, through his HS math teacher. However, he's always wanted to be a Marine like his dad, and I know he'd love to go to the Academy. Given a complete lack of sports, ECA's, etc., should we encourage him to apply and go for it, or is he likely doomed to disappointment?
Two other things - he should be eligible for a Presidential nomination, since his father was KIA, and he's half Native American - his dad was half Navaho, and his mom is half Hawaiian. Not sure whether that matters or not.
Thoughts?