Class of 2015 Candiate

mer2011

5-Year Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2010
Messages
4
I attended the AFA SLS and recived the letter that I am competitive

however I did well on my CFA except for one area ( I am female)
7:09 mile
40 pushups
84 situps
10.1 sec shuttle run
1 dead hang pull up (rather than flexed arm hang)
31 ft basketball throw (I know this score is 10 feet below average, will this hurt my chances od getting in for just this one area?)

Academics
Class rank 1
4.52 weighted GPA 4.0 unweighted
SAT 630M 650 CR
Class President, 4-H president/platnuim star, 300 hours community service, cross country and track and field letters (2)

Should I be concerned about my SAT scores and the bad CFA? I have a nomination from my congressmen but haven't recieved an LOA yet( I finished my application in mid october) any insight would be apperciated.
 
I'm only a future candidate myself, but from my experience of seeing the kind of people that get in, you have NOTHING to worry about. The Academy can always boost your fitness, so I don't think they will be too worried about that.

Its more about the "whole person" concept, and with those extra curriculers, CLASS RANK 1, and perfect GPA, you're good to go!
 
I'm in a similar boat as you, except just not quite as awesome academically, haha. But my strong points are academics, SAT, service, leadership, then my CFA is a bit weak in comparison (I'm having trouble looking for 10 more feet on the basketball throw too). I've just yet to submit my CFA, I'm still working on it.

But from my understanding, the CFA is pass or fail. Meaning not meeting a minimum requirement would mean you are not offered an appointment. It's fun this year though because we don't know the minimums. So I hear that USMMA (not sure about AFA) is giving second chances for failed CFAs to make up for it. The AFA in the past rarely gives out a second chance on a CFA for really good looking candidates. So if you did fail, there's still some chance. But maybe you passed and everything may be okay. Just putting that straightforward, I'm not a fan of having my hopes raised just to be disappointed when the news comes in.

So just keep working at it, don't stop practicing the CFA on that chance that you have to retake it (or take it again for application next year).

Like I said, I'm in a similar situation. I'm taking my CFA in the next week or two and am mentally prepared to have to go to ROTC/college for a year and reapply to the academy. If I do have to reapply for the next year though, I'm going to work real hard on the CFA and kick butt.
 
I have never played a sport in high school. But, my ALO said that I am still a strong candidate and his first choice from my area. Basically, the AFA is looking at your potential and your whole person. If you are strong in other areas, which you are, you have a good chance of getting in. Physical fitness is the easiest area to improve. Don't stress! :)
 
Do ALOs rank their candidates?

I'm not sure if they rank them. But, I think their preference for the candidate will be made known in the report they give to the USAFA.
 
I attended the AFA SLS and recived the letter that I am competitive

however I did well on my CFA except for one area ( I am female)
7:09 mile
40 pushups
84 situps
10.1 sec shuttle run
1 dead hang pull up (rather than flexed arm hang)
31 ft basketball throw (I know this score is 10 feet below average, will this hurt my chances od getting in for just this one area?)

Academics
Class rank 1
4.52 weighted GPA 4.0 unweighted
SAT 630M 650 CR
Class President, 4-H president/platnuim star, 300 hours community service, cross country and track and field letters (2)

Should I be concerned about my SAT scores and the bad CFA? I have a nomination from my congressmen but haven't recieved an LOA yet( I finished my application in mid october) any insight would be apperciated.

You should be set. I got my appointment December 1, and I had a 7:50 mile (in 90* weather... not that I'm huge on running anyways), 3 pull ups, and I can't remember my crunches and pushups, but I know they were within 10 of average. Basketball throw I threw it 37 feet, but my shuttle run was awful. My grades are 3.92 gpa unweighted, varsity swim lette, water polo, njs, ect. I think you sound about equal if not better than I am. A lot of it depends on your interviews. Mine went amazng with my ALO, and she said I was the best she'd had yet. Good luck!
 
I have been asked to take the CFA once more., I did pretty good on all events except the basketball throw. Not sure if there is a technique to throwing the ball farther but it has been a challenge for me. Do you know what is the minimum range? I've seen some comments that it is 54' but I've also been told that the average is 69. Not sure if anything under 69 would be acceptable.
 
Spartacus, google AFA CFA basketball throw (can't remember exactly what my son entered in Google). But you will find hints to improve your technique and thus hopefully your results. Whatever website my son went to had enough advice to improve his throw almost 20 ft. in a relatively short time. A lot is in the technique. Good luck!
 
search this site for basket ball throw improvement ideas - my ds had trouble with the throw as well - i posted an entry about what he did to improve in a very short time back in october, '10. go thru my older posts. alot of it is technique - using the non throwing arm to initiate the twist. he scored average or above average on everything except the bb throw - best was a 57' or maybe 55' if i remember correctly. from what i read on this site if you have to be weak in something the event to be weak in is the bb throw but you have to score well on everything else especially the run which he scored above average in. academics were basically average for academy admits but extracurriculars and leadership were excellent. son got an LOA and just got an appointment. good luck!
 
Last edited:
Back
Top