My Chances

PulseJet7

5-Year Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2011
Messages
2
I've decided that I wanted to go to the Naval Academy in the 8th Grade. I realized that I wanted to serve my country and do something with myself. I chose the Naval Academy because I have felt a stronger pull to the Naval Academy and Annapolis because of family. I have visited the Academy and I have gone to a few Academy Days in my state.

Currently, I am a Junior. I moved to a private school this year. Recently, I got a low C in BC Precalc for the 1st Quarter. I was wondering how this would affect my chances of admission.

Other info about me:
  • This is my first C in high school.
  • My grade currently in BC Precalc is a low B.
  • GPA is weighted at my school and BC Precalc is weighted like an AP class (15 points added).
  • I take two other AP classes, AP Chem and AP US History. I got a B (85) in AP Chem for the 1st Quarter and an A (92) in APUSH for the 1st Quarter.
  • My other classes were Latin 1, Theology 11, and English 11 Honors. My grades in these Honors classes for the 1st Quarter were 100, 99, and 89 respectively.
  • I am going to see if I can enter AP English 11 as I am not being challenged enough in Honors.
  • I can speak English, Intermediate German, Basic Latin, and I plan on learning Japanese.
  • I play 2 varsity sports at school, Alpine Skiing and Tennis. I play paintball outside of school.
  • I participate in my community and I play a few instruments.
  • I have an interest in engineering and I'm in the process of building my own pulse jet engine.
 
I've decided that I wanted to go to the Naval Academy in the 8th Grade. I realized that I wanted to serve my country and do something with myself. I chose the Naval Academy because I have felt a stronger pull to the Naval Academy and Annapolis because of family. I have visited the Academy and I have gone to a few Academy Days in my state.

Currently, I am a Junior. I moved to a private school this year. Recently, I got a low C in BC Precalc for the 1st Quarter. I was wondering how this would affect my chances of admission.

Other info about me:
  • This is my first C in high school.
  • My grade currently in BC Precalc is a low B.
  • GPA is weighted at my school and BC Precalc is weighted like an AP class (15 points added).
  • I take two other AP classes, AP Chem and AP US History. I got a B (85) in AP Chem for the 1st Quarter and an A (92) in APUSH for the 1st Quarter.
  • My other classes were Latin 1, Theology 11, and English 11 Honors. My grades in these Honors classes for the 1st Quarter were 100, 99, and 89 respectively.
  • I am going to see if I can enter AP English 11 as I am not being challenged enough in Honors.
  • I can speak English, Intermediate German, Basic Latin, and I plan on learning Japanese.
  • I play 2 varsity sports at school, Alpine Skiing and Tennis. I play paintball outside of school.
  • I participate in my community and I play a few instruments.
  • I have an interest in engineering and I'm in the process of building my own pulse jet engine.

I don't think that low C will really affect you much as long as you jack it up the next 2 quarters.
 
While that C may have brought your GPA down for the first quarter, if you turn it around and bring that up to a B or A for the mid term, that will help in the long run. In the end - you want that transcript to have an A or B for end of class year. I know my son's school transcripts only show the final grade, not the intermediate grades for each qtr/sem.

From what you said, it sounds like you are on the right track. Keep those grades up, continue taking the challenging classes at school. Keep up your physical training, and stay focused.
 
The C won't hurt you as long as you bring up your grade by the end of the year, as the people above have posted. I got a C in AB Pre-Calc last year though as a final grade, and am a senior now. USNA told me that they just want to see my 1st semester grades because they want to see a higher math grade (I'm taking Calc and AP Stat) but they like my app otherwise.

Try really hard to get at least a B, but if Navy likes your app enough they'll just defer you, like they did to me, and want to see your senior year grades if you have a C from junior year. Good luck!!
 
There is one sure way to not get an appointment: don't apply.

Be ready to apply for Summer seminar the night applications open.

IMHO a "low B" in a Jr math class (that's not calculus) will not help you much. Also, what will this teacher say about you in the mandatory reference letter?

The 85 in AP Chem is not going to jump off the page either.

Does you school offer Physics?

What are your SAT scores?

Have you held any leadership positions?

The rest of your resume looks excellent.
 
Note*

I plan on taking AP Physics next year.
I am taking the SAT this spring.
I have taken the PSAT twice. My first score was 183 and my second score was 172.
I have held a few leadership positions. I held them when I went to a People to People Leadership Program this past summer (each person in the group had a chance to lead the group and I led the group a 3 times). I also held a leadership position in some of my activities I had done for community service.
 
Note*

I plan on taking AP Physics next year.
I am taking the SAT this spring.
I have taken the PSAT twice. My first score was 183 and my second score was 172.
I have held a few leadership positions. I held them when I went to a People to People Leadership Program this past summer (each person in the group had a chance to lead the group and I led the group a 3 times). I also held a leadership position in some of my activities I had done for community service.

Take your SAT and ACT - and take them a couple of times each. Try to improve your scores. My son took SAT and ACT for the first time his sophmore year, and again Junior and Senior year. He was able to significantly improve scores with consecutive takes. Likewise, many applications will take the highest score for each sub on the SAT or ACT. So if you score well in math, but not so well in reading, and on a retake you improve your reading score, they will look at your overall high score and take the highest math from the first test and the higher reading from the second test. (hope that makes sense)
 
I am taking the SAT this spring.
I have taken the PSAT twice. My first score was 183 and my second score was 172.

PulseJet-The fact that you scored lower on your second try tells me that you're a candidate for a prep course. That simply shouldn't happen. Believe me, I was reluctant to pay the $ for #1 son to take the course. It paid off huge. I saw the pay off and gladly paid the $250 for #2 son.

It can be little things that affect scores. For instance this year, the PSAT was offered at #2 son's school the morning after Homecoming which was the same morning of the day of his Lacrosse tournament. How would that have gone? All three events would have been screwed up in one way or another. We found a school in town that was offering it on another day. Don't leave yourself at a disadvantage.

Both my sons generally do well on standardized tests. At least they aren't intimidated by them. However, they were shocked at how little they knew about the basics and intricacies of test taking that have zero to do with one's knowledge base. For instance, if you have a quick way to eliminate 3 of 5 possible answers to a question, you have a much better chance of discerning the correct answer. It is a huge confidence booster. It can even help your test taking in school.

At a minimum, buy a book of mock tests. Many of them have basic rules of test taking. If you want to study engineering, really hit the math. Study (and I mean study with a purpose) a couple of hours a week at your leisure. Also, commit yourself to getting up early every couple of Sat AM's and do a couple of timed tests. If you have a smart phone or i Touch, there are tons of free apps that shoot SAT/ACT questions at you wherever you carry it, like on a ski lift.

Regardless of how you do, you'll know that you gave a damn and tried.

Best of luck!
 
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There is one sure way to not get an appointment: don't apply.

.
Great advice! I was in a similar situation, In 8 th grade I found the USAFA website and was really excited about it... then i got to the admissions statistics page. I didn't think I was good enough to get into a Service Academy because of the high standards. So I gave up the dream; it was only this year in Feb. that I decided that I was going to see this through. I worked my tail off contacting BGO's and anyone that knew anything about the Naval Academy. This included having my parents drive me across the state to go to an academy day.Now I am 3Q and have a principal nom.

My advice to you is to never give up, work as hard as you can! USNA desires candidates with determination, perserverance, and most of all the desire to be a NAVAL OFFICER at all costs!Show them by your actions that you ARE all of these! GoNavy!Beat Army!
 
One important point that should be considered by others is the lower PSAT score. Beyond wondering why one might take that test twice rather than moving on to the SAT or ACT, it illustrates that in any given test, nearly as many score lower than higher. Indeed, as suggested prep courses may and often help to improve scores. But the point here is that in any single event of retesting, it is not a lock scores will be improved. And nearly half the test takers will tell you so.

Conversely, taking these exams as many times as feasible raises the potential for improving in a meaningful, hopefully statistically significant way and achieving the desirable target score.
 
retaking tests

to add to WhistlePig...

regarding the act-the higher your score the less likely you are to improve the second time taking. Each subsequent retest is less likely to go up.

from the act website:

Research shows that of the students who took the ACT more than once:

57% increased their Composite score on the retest
21% had no change in their Composite score on the retest
22% decreased their Composite score on the retest


The lower your initial ACT Composite score, the more likely your second score will be higher than the first score.
The higher your initial ACT Composite score, the more likely your second score will be the same as or lower than the first score.

For students with an initial ACT Composite score between 12 and 28, the typical ACT Composite score from the second testing is only about 1 point higher

If you scored a 28 or higher you are more likely to remain the same or go down then go up. BUT this is for the composite scores-not the individual scores. Since the academies super score-if you can afford it (time + money) it may be worth it to retake.

I scored a 33 in Math and a 34 in English. Statistically I am more likely to lower than raise my scores. However, since USNA superscores I plan on taking four more act/sat by the end of the school year-my goal is to get one of those two at least one point higher.
 
Currently, I am a Junior. I moved to a private school this year. Recently, I got a low C in BC Precalc for the 1st Quarter. I was wondering how this would affect my chances of admission.

I got a C in Precalculus first semester too. I got a B in second semester. It was my worst year in high school.

I slapped myself a few times, buckled down, and got As for both semesters of Calculus the next year.

USNA liked that.

Get As from now on. Mistakes are allowed; just don't make them again. Show the board that you CAN work hard and that the C WAS a mistake, an odd outlier in an otherwise outstanding record.

As for the SAT, take it over and over again, until you either run out of money or are completely satisfied with your score. Don't rely on superscore too much, you still have to think about NROTC and Plan B schools.
 
Re: SAT/ACT exams
1. The SA's will give you credit for your best scores on either exam, so retakes won't hurt you, but may help you.
2. There are several differences between the SAT and ACT exams, and you may discover that you do better on one than the other - take both exams at least once. As mentioned here earlier, taking a prep course can give you important insights into HOW to take the exam to maximize your efforts. Keep in mind that an appointment to a SA generally is worth more than $400K... more than worth the cost of a prep course!
3. Unless you ace the exams the first time you take them, plan to take them more than once; your criteria should be to take the exams until you are comfortable that you have done your personal best (or you run out of time to re-take).
4. In this instance, familiarity tends to breed better scores - plan to re-take.
5. In the meantime, bust your butt to get your grades UP! You have to be competitive with your peers, and C's generally don't hack it.

Best wishes in your efforts.
 
One important point that should be considered by others is the lower PSAT score. Beyond wondering why one might take that test twice rather than moving on to the SAT or ACT, it illustrates that in any given test, nearly as many score lower than higher. Indeed, as suggested prep courses may and often help to improve scores. But the point here is that in any single event of retesting, it is not a lock scores will be improved. And nearly half the test takers will tell you so.

FYI, a lot of schools have their students take the PSAT starting in 9th grade. Our public school pays for the test. My daughter has taken it 3 times....fun, fun. But she has already taken the ACT twice and the SAT once. Which I highly recommend taking both (also highly recommended throughout the threads here).
 
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