What else can he do?

Brawny77

Brawny77

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Jun 9, 2015
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This is getting exciting. DS has been named an official candidate at Navy and now at Air Force as well. His B&G interview has just been scheduled.

Would welcome comments / advice concerning my middle son's chances at admission to a service academy. Navy or Air Force would be his first choice but he is also impressed by the others. He is very interested in engineering and aviation
Here is a summary of his stats and a few brief other factors. he is a rising Senior.
Unweighted G.P.A. 4.0
Class rank 1 (out of 32, we are in a tiny town)
PSAT 206 Will be National Merit commended but not a National Merit finalist in our state
SAT 2060 Math 700 Reading 720 Writing 640
Class President freshman and sophomore years
Beta Club (an honor society) School President Jr and Sr year
Candidate for state Beta club president (came in second)
Math team state qualifier 3years (5th in state freshman year, 2nd last year, State Champions this year)
National qualifier in beta club science competition (compete in nationals this summer)
4 sport letterman Football (all-district defensive tackle this year, Basketball, Baseball and Track (regional qualifier in discus as soph. 11 varsity letters by end of Jr, year. Should get 4 more Senior year)
Acted in district champion one act play freshman, Soph and Jr. year All star cast at district, bi-district and Area this year
Play Guitar, Bass and Ukulele
Mock Trial Lead Attorney
Chosen to be a Texas NASA aerospace STEM scholar by our state representative
Attended the Broyhill Leadership Academy in South Carolina last summer
Worked last summer on the work crew at a summer camp and hasbeen promoted to Jr. Counselor for this summer
Helped organize a water drive to take water to the Oklahoma tornado victims. Filled a whole trailer and delivered it. Serves meals at a local homeless shelter
On Church youth advisory counsel and plays and sings in church praise band
Started and contribute to a blog along with older brother who is in college
State finalist in beta club talent contest last year. Played Bass and sang.
Loves outdoor sports rock climbing, hiking, rappelling, water sports

Vital- 6'1" 194lbs
Athletic...the fitness test should not be any problem except maybe pull ups (he is pretty big, not fat but big)
Excellent (20/15) vision

Disadvantages- We are from a very small town. The only A.P. class at our school is calculus and he took it he has taken all the honors classes offered but not many are. I worry about getting a nomination because in our congressional district are large towns and our new rep. is from the urban part not the rural part. I am unsure about the political part of getting the nomination. He could not volunteer at his office because it is more than an hour away.
Anything else we can do?
 
I wouldn't sit on that SAT score. It's great, but as you said, he'll be up against competition from more urban areas with kids who have been given a better education (more AP courses, etc.) . I would have him take it AT LEAST one more time. Get the score reports and see what specific areas of the Math and English on which he's missing questions. The report, for example, will tell you if he missed questions on Algebra or Geometry. If you see a pattern, study just those types of questions before the next test. Take the ACT, too. He might do better on that. I cannot over-emphasize the standardized test scores as a way to level the playing field with the kids from bigger schools.

Study for the SAT/ACT. Get a an official study guide and study the question types over and over. IMO, with a 700 already, he knows the math concepts being tested. He just needs to recognize all the tricky ways they are sometimes presented and be able to work quickly.

I don't think the Congressman/Congressional Nomination panel will show favoritism towards the big city kids, per se. You can't do anything about where you live at this point.

Team Captain would look good if he can get that senior year. And I would work on the pull-ups. He can get to a respectable number, but he has to work at it. Plenty o' time if he starts now.

Good luck, Texan
 
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Thanks he was elected football team captain for next year. I forgot to put that
 
They do not hold it against kids if they have no AP classes if none were offered at their high school. They should take a challenging load of classes offered at the high attended. My son also attended a small high school and had no AP classes. He did take the Honors Classes offered. He was inducted as a Plebe in the class of 2019 yesterday.

What state do you live in? In some areas, the competition is stiffer. Luckily, we live in South Dakota...Less competitive for USNA and no state income tax in his "home of record." Most of the kids here who are interested in a Service Academy want to go to USAFA. (Colorado Springs is much closer than Annapolis.)
 
You've already scheduled your BGO interview?
 
No one can tell you your DS's chances for admission. Only the admissions Board, then Office will ever know that.

He should focus on putting together the best package he can including SAT/ACT scores, grades, EC and Sports. No need to volunteer at a MOC office just conduct himself well in his interviews. He has done a lot and kept good grades which is great.

He needs to be able to articulate what he has learned from his experiences-especially ones he's failed at and WHY he wants to attend USXX service academy.

Best of luck, it's a fun and can be a heartbreaking journey. I've seen some with incredible stats not get it so keep moving forward. Get as much done early as you can without sacrificing any quality in your package.
 
Yes his interview is scheduled. I think it is scheduled early because his application is complete except for medical cfa and the interview
 
Some advice I can offer is for your DS to be himself in his interviews. BGO's and MOC committees can tell if someone is faking it. Have him tell you the WHY of attending-not just because it's a good school or I want to play this sport for them...and always consider that USNA is just one step along a pathway to becoming a naval officer-it should never be the end goal. There are many paths. If you approach this journey with that mindset, you will enjoy the ride-no matter what the outcome and you will truly be amazed at how your DS grows from it.

Our DS made it to wait list, only to suffer an injury in his 3rd to last game of the lacrosse season that required corrective surgery. HE called Navy and told them he could not report to I-Day due to need for surgery and to take the next kid. I cannot tell you how proud I was that HE did this on his own and understood what it meant-that he would have to take a different path. USNA wasn't his goal, becoming a officer is. I can tell you that Admissions told him they really appreciated the call and hoped he'd re-apply.

There will be goof ups along the way. Make sure your DS is on top of everything-it is good training. Don't do it for him, he has to learn it.
Have him make a white board with requirements and deadlines and check em off as he get them done and CONFIRMED they have been received by Navy.

Train, train, train for the CFA...it does matter.

Ask for the advice of the BGO's on this forum. They are an invaluable resource and are here to help.

Lastly, trust Admissions to do the right thing, they have a hard job to do and I would not want to be in their shoes.

Go Navy, Beat Army(at least until my DS joins the Mustang Cadre)
 
I have turned this process over to him. I have helped with reminders and initial organization but it is his deal now. He has some really good plan B options working too. He set up the B&G interview by himself and has his nom applications started so we will see. I think the daunting process weeds out many who are not totally sold out to it.
 
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