Christcorp
15-Year Member
- Joined
- May 21, 2008
- Messages
- 5,380
1. The average applicant is competing against 2 different groups of people. a) Primary group are those in your state, and in your congressional district. b) If you don't receive an appointment from a slot against your state or congressional district, then you're going to compete nationally against all the others who didn't receive an appointment from a slot in their state or congressional district...... AS SUCH: No one here knows who your competition is. You could have a 3.70gpa and a 28ACT and RECEIVE an appointment.... OR, you could have a 3.95gpa and a 30ACT and NOT RECEIVE an appointment. It depends on who you are competing against. SUGGESTION: Compete against yourself. If you click on the link in my signature block, you can download the academy brochure. It will tell you the minimum requirements and the average of the classes receiving appointments. You want to do the best that YOU CAN DO. Don't try and MEET the minimum standards. EXCEED the standards. Do the BEST that you can do. That's all that can be expected of you. But no one here, let me repeat.... NO ONE HERE can tell you what your chances are. We don't know your competition. We can tell you if you meet the minimum or the average, but that doesn't assure you of anything. The only thing we could tell you is if you DON'T MEET the minimums. So asking; "What are my chances" is futile.
2. If you do want to tell us all about your achievements, that's fine. But remember..... The academy wants a "WELL ROUNDED INDIVIDUAL". If you DON'T have any organized sports, preferably varsity team sports, you're at a major disadvantage. You're NOT a well rounded person. If you don't hold some type of leadership position on a team, in a club, in an activity, etc... then you're at a major disadvantage. You're NOT a well rounded person. Same goes with if you aren't doing volunteer time, clubs, activities, etc... You MUST be a WELL ROUNDED individual. Simple as that.
3. Finally; if you want to tell us about yourself, remember, out of the 12,000 applicants each year, the majority have very good grades that would get them into many fine colleges. Most have very good test scores. What I'm getting at, is, tell us what makes YOU DIFFERENT!!! This is the "JOB INTERVIEW OF A LIFETIME". What makes you stand apart from all your competition? This year's class has been at Basic for less than a week now, and already, more than 10 individuals are no longer at the academy. There's another 24+/- that are having major second thoughts. Yet; these are people that stood out above their peers and other applicants. They received nominations and ultimately received an appointment. So, what makes you different.
Even with these suggestions, I can emphasize enough, that there is no one here who can give you an honest opinion to your question of: "What are my chances". Anyone who tells you that you have a good chance, has good intentions, but they don't know your chances. That's because we don't know your competition. Some of us here have seen 4.0gpa students with excellent test scores, NOT RECEIVE AN APPOINTMENT. We've seen individuals with a 3.6gpa and average test scores RECEIVE AN APPOINTMENT.
I don't write this to be discouraging. On the contrary. I write it to push you to be the BEST THAT YOU CAN BE. If you have a 3.8gpa, PUSH TO GET A 3.9. If you have the 3.9, PUSH FOR THE 3.95. If you have a 29 ACT, PUSH FOR a 29-30. When you get that, keep pushing for a 32-33. Practice being interviewed. No matter how GREAT you think you are, if your senator or representative doesn't give you a nomination, (Others available for certain other people), then you CAN'T GET AN APPOINTMENT TO THE ACADEMY. If you're in clubs and sports, then PUSH TO BE THE CAPTAIN, PRESIDENT, LEADER, etc... of that club, sport, activity, etc.... In other words, whatever you are doing NOW...... DO MORE AND DO BETTER!!!! That is the ONLY honest suggestion that anyone can give you. And remember, the academy wants a WELL ROUNDED PERSON. Don't tell me that you aren't doing sports or any clubs, because you're concentrating on your academics. That's no good enough. You aren't well rounded, and you WON'T receive an appointment.
So, whatever you're doing NOW, DO MORE!!!
What makes you DIFFERENT from everyone else. Especially your competition.
Make sure you are doing EVERYTHING you possibly can. Athletics, sports, clubs, leadership, volunteering, etc.. Be well rounded.
Remember: We don't know who your competition is. We can't tell you "What your chances are".
Good luck. Mike....
2. If you do want to tell us all about your achievements, that's fine. But remember..... The academy wants a "WELL ROUNDED INDIVIDUAL". If you DON'T have any organized sports, preferably varsity team sports, you're at a major disadvantage. You're NOT a well rounded person. If you don't hold some type of leadership position on a team, in a club, in an activity, etc... then you're at a major disadvantage. You're NOT a well rounded person. Same goes with if you aren't doing volunteer time, clubs, activities, etc... You MUST be a WELL ROUNDED individual. Simple as that.
3. Finally; if you want to tell us about yourself, remember, out of the 12,000 applicants each year, the majority have very good grades that would get them into many fine colleges. Most have very good test scores. What I'm getting at, is, tell us what makes YOU DIFFERENT!!! This is the "JOB INTERVIEW OF A LIFETIME". What makes you stand apart from all your competition? This year's class has been at Basic for less than a week now, and already, more than 10 individuals are no longer at the academy. There's another 24+/- that are having major second thoughts. Yet; these are people that stood out above their peers and other applicants. They received nominations and ultimately received an appointment. So, what makes you different.
Even with these suggestions, I can emphasize enough, that there is no one here who can give you an honest opinion to your question of: "What are my chances". Anyone who tells you that you have a good chance, has good intentions, but they don't know your chances. That's because we don't know your competition. Some of us here have seen 4.0gpa students with excellent test scores, NOT RECEIVE AN APPOINTMENT. We've seen individuals with a 3.6gpa and average test scores RECEIVE AN APPOINTMENT.
I don't write this to be discouraging. On the contrary. I write it to push you to be the BEST THAT YOU CAN BE. If you have a 3.8gpa, PUSH TO GET A 3.9. If you have the 3.9, PUSH FOR THE 3.95. If you have a 29 ACT, PUSH FOR a 29-30. When you get that, keep pushing for a 32-33. Practice being interviewed. No matter how GREAT you think you are, if your senator or representative doesn't give you a nomination, (Others available for certain other people), then you CAN'T GET AN APPOINTMENT TO THE ACADEMY. If you're in clubs and sports, then PUSH TO BE THE CAPTAIN, PRESIDENT, LEADER, etc... of that club, sport, activity, etc.... In other words, whatever you are doing NOW...... DO MORE AND DO BETTER!!!! That is the ONLY honest suggestion that anyone can give you. And remember, the academy wants a WELL ROUNDED PERSON. Don't tell me that you aren't doing sports or any clubs, because you're concentrating on your academics. That's no good enough. You aren't well rounded, and you WON'T receive an appointment.
So, whatever you're doing NOW, DO MORE!!!
What makes you DIFFERENT from everyone else. Especially your competition.
Make sure you are doing EVERYTHING you possibly can. Athletics, sports, clubs, leadership, volunteering, etc.. Be well rounded.
Remember: We don't know who your competition is. We can't tell you "What your chances are".
Good luck. Mike....
I've been thinking this ever since the first one of those posts popped up in my inbox a few months ago. I think most of the people who post those want a direct "yes, you will get in" or "no, you won't get in". Unfortunately, it's not that simple. There are a lot of factors that go into who does or doesn't get a nomination, or an appointment for that matter. Personally, my advice is to spend less time making these posts, and more time making yourself better overall. Just a suggestion.