How Much Do Athletics Help Getting a Appointment

Hello Everyone,

So how much do very good athletics weigh?
What if your grades are lowish?

In my case I swim varsity 3 years , JROTC Raiders 3 years , Varsity Cross Country 1 year.I have a good foundation in Martial Arts and do a un-official strongman program , flipping 650lb tires and such.

How much will that help me if I want to be a Navy SEAL officer but the GPA is kinda low.

Also a little off topic , does knowing 3+ languages count for anything?

Thank you , anyone who knows any answers and have a great day all !

Not to start an argument here because this has been beat to death, but...the general consensus is that recruited athletes can sometimes get in with a little lower grades than average, so if you're good enough to be recruited, then it could help (not trying to start a whole discussion about this, but this is just what it seems to be).

It won't help in becoming a SEAL because service selections aren't decided until Firstie year, so it doesn't have anything to do with service selection

GoNavy said:

Hello Everyone,

So how much do very good athletics weigh?
What if your grades are lowish?

In my case I swim varsity 3 years , JROTC Raiders 3 years , Varsity Cross Country 1 year.I have a good foundation in Martial Arts and do a un-official strongman program , flipping 650lb tires and such.

How much will that help me if I want to be a Navy SEAL officer but the GPA is kinda low.

Also a little off topic , does knowing 3+ languages count for anything?

Thank you , anyone who knows any answers and have a great day all !

Click to expand...

I think athletics is 10% of the whole person score. I expect you might max that section out. But it is still only 10%. I don't recall the specific number (I want to say 50% but I'm really not certain... there have been other threads on this... search it) but academics is a much larger portion of the whole person score. That would include your GPA and SAT/ACT scores. SO perhaps you can help overcome a weaker gpa with better SAT/ACT scores.

kinnem said:

I think athletics is 10% of the whole person score. I expect you might max that section out. But it is still only 10%. I don't recall the specific number (I want to say 50% but I'm really not certain... there have been other threads on this... search it) but academics is a much larger portion of the whole person score. That would include your GPA and SAT/ACT scores. SO perhaps you can help overcome a weaker gpa with better SAT/ACT scores.

Click to expand...

Right on. There may be some differentiation on the margins, but kinnem's captured the essence of this.

Sure, evidence of language skills is a nice plus. Competency exams may be more valuable in pleading this than simply noting your expertise in pig Latin or yiddish on your app.

Conversely, remember that the recent algorithm weights the math SAT/ACT at 18% nearly twice the weighting of EC athletics.

And as for the SEALs ... while I'm not aware of anyone who's illuminated specifics on evaluation of SEAL wannabes at USNA, I've heard from reliable sources that one of the great "killers" for candidates is failure to have outstanding academic performance. Take that for what it cost you. Nothing.

The bottom line answer to your questions appear to be those you've inkled you'd hope to be the inverse. With many notable exceptions, both appointment and service select are highly dependent upon mental fitness above and beyond physical fitness. Study hard and well. Before and after I Day.

First, being an athlete is helpful in general as over 90% of incoming plebes have been a varsity athlete.

Second, being recruited CAN help . . . however, I've seen my share of recruited athletes with great grades, leadership, etc. receive turndowns. It is absolutely not a guarantee.

Third, being a great athlete will not make up for an otherwise weak record. You have to be able to handle the academics at USNA, and they are tough. And you have to be the type of person (i.e., leader) who is likely to succeed at USNA. In some cases, recruited athletes who need some additional academic prep to be successful at USNA will be sent to NAPS or Foundation schools for a year.

As for language skills, depends somewhat on the language. If you are fluent in Arabic or Chinese, that would help. Fluency in Spanish, French, German, Swedish, etc. is nice but not as needed in today's military so not as big a plus.

Also, there are many ways other than athletics in which candidates can excel. Thus, a terrific student and leader who is a decent but not exceptional athlete may be just as well -- and probably better -- off as a terrific athlete who is a weak student. It is the "whole person" concept and it's important to recognize that statistics don't always tell the entire story.