PFT's before Interview

kaylar

5-Year Member
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Jul 24, 2014
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My DD has scheduled her interview with a local PMS. She has not yet completed her PFT. Should she have that completed and uploaded to the website before the interview. Does the PMS look at her PFT?
 
My DD has scheduled her interview with a local PMS. She has not yet completed her PFT. Should she have that completed and uploaded to the website before the interview. Does the PMS look at her PFT?

When my DD scheduled her PMS interview last year, she was specifically told to bring a copy of the PFT results with her. The PMS asked to see it when she was there.
 
My DS did his PFT after and the PMS was fine with that. The interview was a real positive experience for my son. He enjoyed the visit and really loved the people he met.
 
I just had my interview a week ago and the PMS understood that school had not started yet, so I was not able to give him a copy of my PFA. He never said anything about it again because I had listed Varsity sports on my resume. Although the PFA is the only thing currently holding up my application now that I have my interview done, I am not in a hurry to take it because I want to be in the best physical shape possible. Just explain the situation and they will understand, they are there to help you and answer questions to better understand you.
 
News flash...there are 270+ PMSs in Cadet Command. They are all going to do things a little differently. Some are hard asses, some are softies, and most are somewhere in between. Your best bet is to have your daughter ask if the PMS would like to see one.or be prepared to explain if there is a reason why it hasn't been done yet.
 
If you play sports, than you should be at the point of near max. I am not sure waiting it out even for a few weeks will really matter. The reason I say that is because:
1. The PFA is worth a very small percentage of the WCS.
2. Many candidates will have submitted their completed packet back in July. With everyday that passes more kids will be in front of you for review.

For A/NROTC there are a specific number of scholarships available to each college. Once filled, they will move down your list. Thus, if your top choice is full by the time you get boarded, you will be forced to do the risk assessment....accept to number two on the list and hope for à transfer next April/May or go to number two with the scholarship.
~ It has been stated some high demand units fill up in the fall.

Caveat: Every point matters and if you are weak in another area, such as a low SAT/ACT. than it might be better to hold off to squeeze out some more points.

Additionally, typically the first board for A/NROTC will be for setting the bar. IOWS the ones that get a scholarship right off the bat are the ones that no matter what the competition looks like in the future they would make the cut.

ROTC scholarships need to be viewed as a recruitment tool that are quasi merit.
 
Thanks for you help. She is a Varsity volleyball player and was unable to complete the PFT;s over the summer because no one has been available. She just had tryouts and hasn't had the time yet to complete the PFT's. She will complete in the next few weeks (when coach has time). Her interview is tomorrow. If he asks I will tell her to explain the situation. Her application is complete except for interview and PFT's.
 
Have to disagree with Pima on a couple things.
Sports does not equal near max for a number of reasons. Depends on sport, level of competition/training and motivation of the athlete. Plenty of football player can barely do pushups and can't run two miles. I would guess your volleyball player is in pretty good shape, but may have a little trouble with the run. I just spent the weekend watching our nationally ranked volleyball team play 4 matches (we've got a Cadet on the team) so I could be mistaken about her endurance.

The order you submit your file does not equal the order your file is boarded/scored, the last person to send in their file before the deadline may be the first file they look at for all we know. The offers are going to be made based on the score of the file, so whether you submitted in July or the last day of September you are going to have the same chance.

ROTC scholarships aren't quasi merit based...they are merit based. Need is not a consideration.

I do agree that it's only a small part of the score and you shouldn't worry about a few more pushups or seconds on the run. It's not going to move the needle that much.
 
That is interesting because for AFROTC it has always been stated that it is a queue system which is why they need to get in early, than again AFROTC also has the least amount of boards with the first one meeting in Dec.

I believe that is also true for NROTC....there is a link somewhere from an NROTC NCST PMS that also states they do it in a queue, at least that is what I recall.

We will have to disagree about not being able to near max regarding my sports comment. I can't think of one sport that doesn't give you an edge, and this op is Varsity on three sports. Maybe they will be weaker in one aspect, but overall as an athlete they are probably working out more than the average candidate. My kids played different sports, youngest was FB and they did sit ups, push ups and sprints. My oldest was TKD and they did them too. It is part of their training drills. Even cheerleaders do a ton of push ups. Gymnasts might not be strong runners, but they are fit. Thus, my comment of I can't think of one sport that can be named where you don't have an edge. It is not like the CFA where kids have problems with pull ups or the bball throw.

As far as my quasi merit, I will disagree there too bc when you receive a true merit scholarship there is no payback if you get kicked out of college for whatever reason. Nor do you owe them years of service. If you are dis- enrolled as a senior for let's say a DUI or failing to maintain the 2.5 the military can come back and demand the entire amount paid over the past four years in full or can say you will now enlist. Their decision.

My comment did not mean to imply it takes needs into consideration, but I can see how someone would read it that way.
 
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As far as my quasi merit, I will disagree there too bc when you receive a true merit scholarship there is no payback if you get kicked out of college for whatever reason. Nor do you owe them years of service. If you are dis- enrolled as a senior for let's say a DUI or failing to maintain the 2.5 the military can come back and demand the entire amount paid over the past four years in full or can say you will now enlist. Their decision.

My comment did not mean to imply it takes needs into consideration, but I can see how someone would read it that way.

It might be more accurate to refer to it as a merit based quasi-scholarship rather than a quasi merit scholarship. Word order matters. :smile:
 
You are right kinnem, had I stated that way it would have been clearer to everyone. Thanks
 
If you play sports, than you should be at the point of near max. .


No, not true. Given the extremely large number of kids who play sports and get scholarships vs the relatively low number of kids who pass the initial APFT.

all sports are not equal. My son who is a boxer is more likely to ace the PFT than my daughter who rows light weight crew & runs xcountry.
 
Vista,

I think you missed my post this a.m. where I made clarifications. The clarification was this OP has 3 Varsity letters under his belt currently. That means they earned them last year, and realistically if he is playing 3 sports at Varsity level as a junior he is working out every day during the school year and perhaps even longer.
~ DS in FB started camp two weeks after school ended. Actual training 3 a days started in July. It was 5 days a week. Xcountry was out there running at least 2-3 weeks before school started, same with soccer and field hockey.

We don't know their sports, but still the point is they are athletic and chances are they are going to be closer to the max level than the kid that is in ONE varsity sport.

I would think we can all be honest about how we read some of these kids PFT scores and think that the test was not administered at the ROTC level regarding form. That is the problem with the PFT.

I have thought about it and the only sport offered at my kids hs that doesn't translate into being more athletic physically is Golf. No flaming. I am not meaning to insult, just saying the physical training is different.

Vista, also the way I see the PFT regarding a sport like crew is they would be able to succeed in at least the push up portion due to the upper body strength required for the sport. Same as cheerleading, swimming, and gymnastics. It is an edge for them because that square is filled for that portion of the PFT, and now they can concentrate on their weaker areas....hence the edge.

Running is going to be the only area IMPO that takes weeks to get a better score, but again the OP plays 3 sports, which means they are right now practicing their sport after school for several hours 5 days a week.

That being said, if you follow my logic two questions need to be asked.
1. When and how much more training can you get in to get to the max?
~~ Saturday and Sunday would be my answer, because by the time you come home from your fall sport it is 6-7 at night. If you are truly a competitive candidate you will be in honors and APs, so you have hw to complete.
~~~ Additionally most kids apply to at least 5 colleges and not all of them will be on common apps. There are essays to write,applications to fill out.
~~~~ There will also be Saturdays that they will spend 4 hours taking the SAT/ACT or both.

If they have a PT job, more time away from working on the PFT.

2. Only specific people can administer the test.
~ The OP again has 3 Varsity letters, if he is in a fall sport he is going to need to whittle pout time to coordinate with an administrator time that is good for both.
~~ Maybe their 3 letters center around spring track. I.E. sprint, relay and long jump. Yet, again that means right now they should be able to max the run and sit ups/ push ups will be the issue.
~~~ Yet again schedule confliction can be an issue because our xcountry coach in our hs. is also spring track coach and they will be busy coaching.

The fact is many ROTC candidates do not apply for an SA appointment. However, many SA candidates apply for the ROTC scholarship as their plan B. If we were discussing the CFA I would without a doubt say wait until you max because the cut off for completing the file is end of Feb. It is not rolling. Plus, most MOCs will not submit their slate until mid October at the earliest, but can submit the slate all the way up to Jan.31st. Nobody can be charged to an MOC until every candidate on the slate has their WCS. In essence, it works for them to wait, but that is the SA system, not ROTC.

In the end it is jmpo and with $2.06 you can get a Starbucks coffee. The fact is from a WCS perspective it is teeny tiny point wise. It can get you over the hump to max the PFT, but if you are top 10% rank, 1410 SAT 31 ACT, all APs with a wcgpa of 4.12 out of 4.5, 3 sports, NHS, etc than don't worry about maxxing the PFT. Move on and start getting your medical records in order for the time of if and when they request the DoDMERB exam. If your SAT is 1020, you only have honors, your rank is top 30%, your wcgpa is 3.67 out of 4.5 than yeah wait until you max the PFT

Someone like clarkson can define that teeny tiny portion on the WCS. My memory is it is no more than 20% at best of 20% of the score. Or 4%. Prior Academic Record (PAR) is worth 60%. That is where the SAT/ACT, cgpa, etc is placed into the equation.
 
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Vista, ...I would think we can all be honest about how we read some of these kids PFT scores and think that the test was not administered at the ROTC level regarding form.
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Haha, that is true!!!!! lots of that going around. I posted my sons PFT scores (I had a question about the sit-up count)and got a lot of negative feedback with many people posting that the Pushups must have been scored wrong because his number was too high. Turns out he got a 342 on the first official APFT (though big army only registers 300, Bn registers 342) ....his scores actually went up.
 
Well she just finished her interview. My husband took her and was surprised to see the officer wasn't even in uniform. The interview only lasted about 15 minutes, he asked if she was done with her application. She stated she only had the PFT's left. He then just proceeded to ask her about some things on her resume (she provided). She said it was more of a casual conversation.
 
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