Athletics over academics

If you were to work your butt off in athletics and be the state champion, and very competitive, would they give you a little slack on your grades? For example a 28 ACT, just under average? How much slack would they offer from the athletic performance to academics stand point?


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sammyD_21 said:

If you were to work your butt off in athletics and be the state champion, and very competitive, would they give you a little slack on your grades? For example a 28 ACT, just under average? How much slack would they offer from the athletic performance to academics stand point?

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I wouldn't say they give you "slack", but strength in one area can overcome weaknesses in another. They consider the "whole person".

Academics....

Academics, academics, academics!!

Sports is an important part of your officer development, however academics will dominate the time and effort spent at West Point. If you do fall behind in your classes, you will face academic boards and be separated. There are some very interesting posts about the history of the football team and academic issues that are up now. If your academics are not up to par and separated, that slot you took will go unfilled for the rest of the class year that could have been filled by another person.

There is no substitute for hard work in your studies. This year after TEEs when Plebes returned from winter break, there were about 2 dozen Plebes facing academic boards for one or more failing grades. The Plebe killer is Math and Chem.


Push Hard, Press Forward

I had a 27 and im a standout athlete, but i have TONS AMD TONS of community service and leadership stuff. No doubt being recruited by a coach drastically improves chances

The fact is it is a WCS, and not only that, but tthe highest WCS wins that appointment. A 28 on one slate with your athletic ECs may be high enough to win the nom., but on another slate it might mean your WCS is number 10 out of 10.

There is no way to give you a yes or no because the slate you are on matters too. Your post leaves that portion of the equation out. I.E. No Virginia is one of the most competitive areas, a 28 even with a state championship might not be enough to overcome the ACT. In Fairfax VA, the median score for HS students is 30 or 1350+ SAT. PAR is 60% of the WCS. In NC the score for Goldsboro is probably around 27, thus having a 28 makes you very competitive when you add in the state champion.

JMPO, but I am with tug on their point about academics. You may win the appointment with a lower ACT, but the fact is the ACT/SAT are national exams that illustrate your academic foundation up to this point. College is going to be moving at a much faster pace than even your AP classes. If that foundation is not there you can quickly find yourself behind the power curve. Professors are not going to slow down the pace of the class because you are having trouble grasping the lesson.

If you have looked at the AFA curriculum you will see it is chockful of Math and Sciences for all four years regardless of your major It is not jokingly referred to in the ADAF as The Little Engineering School in the Rockies for no reason. Thus, at the end of the day make sure you feel you have that foundation.

My ACT score was also a 28, with my math score the lowest of the sections at a 26. While it's not high, my GPA and classes helped boost the academic portion of my application. Academics are weighed heavily (about 60%) of the application, but my extracurriculars and leadership made up for my grades on the lower end. Outstanding athletics can only carry your grades so far, so just make your whole application as strong as you can.