Received principle nomination but GPA low

[Rlee]

My son is in 2nd semester at state University and just received Principal nomination from Congressman. I am very proud but also concerned his first semester college grades will cause him to be denied. I won't go into detail regarding accomplishments, but will that matter if he completed his first semester at the University with a 2.6 GPA?? He is doing considerably better now in his second semester, but will that make a difference? I'm concerned all his efforts were blown apart with one difficult transitioning college semester
Anybody have a similar situation? Will receiving principal nomination make any difference?

 

[Rlee]

Further info

I would like to add additional information to my above post.
This is my son's second attempt at getting into a service academy. In 2013, he received triple qualification but not a Principal nom, in May of 2013 he received denial letter from USNA stating although highly competitive they'd prefer more leadership experience. When accepted into the University he is presently attending he accepted a position in the Dean Scholar Program. This program is very difficult to obtain invitation and it highlights preparing future leaders; Less than 1% of Freshman are members. He is also in the AROTC and received cadet of the month the first month of school. Does anybody have experience with poor first semester college grades and acceptance into an academy?
Everything has always come very easy to my son, I think the transition to college was more than he initially calculated, thus the low grades. Prior to this he always held a 4.0 with little to no effort. I guess I am just hopeful the Board of Admissions looks beyond his semester blunder!! I hope for his sake.

 

[Spud]

Your son's situation sounds similar to mine although in my case (many, many years ago) my transition to college was one great party and a complete flunk-out. That was freshman year----needless to say I did not get an appointment that year. The next year I repeated my courses plus took some extra ones and got eye-watering grades. That along with an essay on my new-found maturity and focus on wanting to lead men in combat on the sea evidently swung some weight with my MOC and the Admissions Board and I got an appointment. Looking back, I had to do 5 times the work to make up my party year and it was a painful lesson in life's school. The moral of the story is that even if he misses this year, he CAN make it up but it will be, of course, a lot harder.

 

[Rlee]

Spud- You are dead on, your Freshman year is identical to my sons experience! Thank you for responding. I expect him to receive denial as you did, and I hope he has the character to do as you did.

 

[usna1985]

It will depend somewhat on the courses he took and the grades in those courses. If he has Bs or better in Calc and Chem, he will probably be ok. If he received Cs, could be a bit more challenging.

If he took only courses that, in USNA's view are someone of a "fluff" variety (e.g., sociology, psychology, art history, music, etc.), and earned a 2.6, he could have some issues.

I can't tell you there is a specific "formula," but the higher his grades in plebe math/science courses as well as English/history, the better his chances.

 

[Rlee]

Arabic=C
Chemistry=C
Calculus=C
chem Lab=B+
ROTC Lead Lab=A
ROTC CLASS=B+
High school classes transferred over to college credit, when weighted his college semester GPA is 3.0
He had a difficult load in addition to being a Deans Scholar, Cadet of the Month, Runner Up to Cadet of the Semester, inter mural hockey, and ranger challenge.
I am a mother cautiously hopeful.