A Bunch of Questions!

FighterPilotHopeful

5-Year Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2014
Messages
54
I know that some of you are probably getting tired of me, but due to the fact that I'm going into my Senior Year, I need to make sure that all of my questions are answered. My BGO has never responded to an email of mine, so I'm look for answers from the community! (However, if this persists past August, I will be contacting the AC.)

First, am I at a disadvantage if my school offers no form of ROTC for any service? It seems to me that many candidates have an NROTC or AFROTC background. I go to a school of ~2200 so I'm not sure why we don't.

I currently don't even participate in Sea Cadets or Civil Air Patrol. It IS an option, but the nearest base is about 30 miles away and like many candidates, I am VERY busy! Is this a BIG factor in admissions?

Is USNA big on volunteerism or should I be spending my time elsewhere? I am currently an intern at a regional Food Bank, where I help to facilitate the production of ~10,000 meals a night for local families... if I finish with only 160 hours, is this alright?

How are minorities treated in the admissions process? I read an article from a professor at USNA that came out 10+ years ago, and it said that minorities get the NOM on any given slate, assuming that they are competitive to any degree? Is this true? I am 50% black so I am considered a minority, but I don't want to have an advantage over other competitors just because of my parents' skin color...

ALSO...

Will the FB recruit get a slot over me just because he's a recruit? I believe myself to be highly competitive for an appointment, so if a kid that isn't academically qualified gets a NOM just because he's being recruited, I'll be kind of upset. I understand that it's a D1 school, but I'm sure you'd understand my frustration.

Thanks everyone for any answers you may have!


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No disadvantage - my DD's school had none. (USNA 2014 now 2nd LT USMC)
I doubt SC/CAP is a disadvantage - again my DD did neither.
Volunteerism? Who knows? I think you should spend your time doing what you love to do - not what you think will build your resume for the NA.
Minority admissions? Discussed at length in these forums without a clear answer. You are who you are. Worry about things you have control over; who your parents are is not one of them. If it turns into an advantage in your favor great - though you'll never know.
FB recruit? See above.
 
First of all, don't start "dissing" your BGO. We don't yet have info on rising seniors. Also, BGOs are volunteers; most have real jobs. We get info on the Class of 2020 candidates around June 1. Try contacting your BGO after that.
 
Agree that its best to give your BGO some time. They have jobs and are still wrapping up this year's class. They will turn their attention to new candidates this summer. I think your volunteering is good, it shows this is something that has been long term, not something you just picked up for college applications. You have the summer also, look at some other volunteering. Tons of things you can do such as habitat for humanity, trash clean up, shelter work, soup kitchens, etc. If you can combine an activity that would be a leadership opportunity and volunteering that would be really good. Organize something and lead it.

Agree on being a minority, it might or might no help you. Also, you can't control who else lives or applies for a Nom within your district. So don't worry if there is a recruited athlete. Not to mention there are tons of recruited athletes with extremely impressive resumes, so don't make assumptions that a football player or any other recruited athlete doesn't have the merits to make it in without being an athlete. There are tons of kids who do not have CAP, Sea Cadets or JROTC. I did not have any of those opportunities. It means you will need to look for other places to get leadership such as student government, clubs, church, sports teams, volunteering. You can only control you and the package that you submit. Concentrate on improving what you can, study for the SATs/ACTs, leadership opportunities, practice your interview, etc.
 
On July 1 of this year I will have 3 children that have attended or are attending USNA. None were minorities (1 male, 2 female Caucasian), none were recruited athletes, and none were in JROTC, CAP or Sea Cadets. Make sure you are the best YOU you can be, strive to improve and excel in the areas you have control over, and don't stress over things out of your control. It will all be ok in the end, if its not ok, its not the end.
 
I personally never saw anyone who came to the academy with JROTC/CAP/Sea Cadets experience have much of a leg up on anyone else, other than a few activities they got to participate in.

Volunteering is good, but look for some opportunities to get into a leadership position. Think quality over quantity.

The academy nowadays is all about diversity, but unless you sit on the admissions board and CNO tells you that being a minority plays a big part into admissions, don't even worry about it.

The academy admits athletes who they deem are capable of handling the rigors of academics and their respective sport (even though not all make the cut), as well as filling their D1 teams to compete. Everyone who applies all think they're competitive to get an appointment or else they would be wasting their time. Let the board make that decision whether it's you or an athlete, not to say the board is perfect but they've been admitting the right people for a long time.
 
First of all, don't start "dissing" your BGO. We don't yet have info on rising seniors. Also, BGOs are volunteers; most have real jobs. We get info on the Class of 2020 candidates around June 1. Try contacting your BGO after that.

I don't believe that I ever "dissed" my BGO and I apologize if it came off that way. I simply stated my reason for asking the community being that my BGO hasn't responded yet. I understand that BGOs are volunteers and that the senior class is the current priority, but I have received no acknowledgement (which I have taken no offense to) and I'm fine with that as long as it doesn't continue on into September of my Senior year, in which case I would ask the AC for updated contact information, not try to rat them out or anything. /:
 
And as for the recruited athletes question, it was more about those which are seemingly unqualified (sub-3.0 GPA) etc.
 
Most BGOs contact their candidates when they get info on the new class, which is typically in June. However, June is a busy month for everyone and thus some may not actually turn to the new class until mid-summer. In June, I suggest you email your BGO. Hopefully, that will produce a response. I agree that, if you continue not to receive any response, you should follow up with your AC. However, it's only March -- better to focus on how you can spend the summer productively than whether or not your BGO may or may not respond.

As for your other questions, agree with the other posters. The three most important things to USNA are academics, athletics, and leadership. Look at your "resume." Where can you improve? You have an entire summer coming up. If you're weak academically, consider taking summer school or a course at your local CC. If your SAT/ACT could stand improvement, spend some time studying for the fall tests. If your mock CFA isn't terrific, talk to a coach about workouts you can do to improve. If you lack leadership, find an organization (or use one you're already involved with) and figure out things you can do to make it better.

Your fall will be busy . . . and probably too late. You have 6 months between now and the start of senior year, three of which are probably pretty open in terms of schedule. Use that time wisely!
 
And as for the recruited athletes question, it was more about those which are seemingly unqualified (sub-3.0 GPA) etc.

It happens and every year there are many who are 3Q'd and don't get in, it's part of the game. There are some applicants that aren't athletes that are, as you put it "unqualified", receive appointments because the board took a chance on them. Some people look great on paper, some people find a way to get the job done.
 
Most BGOs contact their candidates when they get info on the new class, which is typically in June. However, June is a busy month for everyone and thus some may not actually turn to the new class until mid-summer. In June, I suggest you email your BGO. Hopefully, that will produce a response. I agree that, if you continue not to receive any response, you should follow up with your AC. However, it's only March -- better to focus on how you can spend the summer productively than whether or not your BGO may or may not respond.

As for your other questions, agree with the other posters. The three most important things to USNA are academics, athletics, and leadership. Look at your "resume." Where can you improve? You have an entire summer coming up. If you're weak academically, consider taking summer school or a course at your local CC. If your SAT/ACT could stand improvement, spend some time studying for the fall tests. If your mock CFA isn't terrific, talk to a coach about workouts you can do to improve. If you lack leadership, find an organization (or use one you're already involved with) and figure out things you can do to make it better.

Your fall will be busy . . . and probably too late. You have 6 months between now and the start of senior year, three of which are probably pretty open in terms of schedule. Use that time wisely!

I see! I should probably start putting my resume together now then! Do you have any advice on this? Should I include EVERYTHING, including "unofficial" activities? (For example, I am on a school stickball team which is organized by my school's Native American Student Association, of which I am not a member.)
 
Include everything! One thing that I have learned throughout the application process that it never hurts you to put an activity on your resume. USNA uses an algorithm to assign you a point value and each activity could add points. Not adding something doesn't hurt you, but it won't help you. Also, stickball sounds like a pretty cool activity. That would be a standout activity in my opinion. There are many 4 year varsity football players who have a 4.3 GPA and a 2250 on the SAT who apply. Everyone is highly qualified, but those small standout things could make the difference as it separates you from the others. I think that something that also that could help you is to make a mention of stickball in one of your essays if possible. You could write about how you had to learn a new game/sport and that you learned about Native American culture/diversity in the process. If I was an AO, I would remember that essay and that candidate.

Best of luck!
 
Not sure how accurate this is but I saw it posted somewhere on the forum:

COMMUNITY LEADER SCORE (CLS)
CLS: (EX+ AT+ FAS) / 3
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES SCORE (EX): A score reflecting a candidate's
participation in activities outside required school curricula awarded in accordance with the
following guidelines:
800: An outstanding young person with quadruple participation or honors and awards on
selected extracurricular activities (each worth 600 or more points).
700:
(1) Student Council President;
(2) Triple participation or honors and awards in selected extracurricular activities (each
worth 600 points);
(3) Participation in Boys/Girls Nation;
(4) JROTC Regimental/Brigade Commander or Civil Air Patrol Spaatz Award winner;
(5) Decoration for valor [Soldiers);
(6) Ranger or Special Forces tab [Soldiers].
600:
(1) High-school Class President;
(2) Editor-in-chief of a school publication;
(3) Participation in Boys/Girls State, President of National Honor Society, or recipient of a
National or State award;
(4) Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts) or Gold Award (Girl Scouts);
(5) Triple participation or honors and awards in selected extracurricular activities (each
worth 500 points)
(6) Earhart/ Mitchell Award;
(7) Combat Infantryman Badge; Combat Action Badge; Combat Medical Badge
[Soldiers];
(8) Soldier's Medal [Soldiers];
(9) Soldier of the Year-brigade-level or higher [Soldiers];
(10) Division-level In-Service Recruiting Program [Soldiers].

500:
(1) Holder of one or more elective offices in moderately selective organizations;
(2) Participation in activities or recipient of awards in moderately selective organizations;
(3) Holder of a private pilot's license;
(4) EMT/EMS or Volunteer Firefighter;
(5) National Honor Society VP/Treasurer or Secretary;
(6) Civil Air Patrol officer/ 1SG;
(7) Combat veteran of three or more months in theater [Soldiers];
(8) Expert Infantryman Badge or Expert Field Medical Badge [Soldiers];
(9) Meritorious Service Medal [Soldiers];
(10) Distinguished Honor Graduate of Army school [Soldier];
(11) Soldier of the Quarter—brigade-level or higher [Soldiers].
400:
(1) Participation in activities or recipient of awards in organizations with limited selectivity;
(2) Non-commissioned officer (Soldiers];
(3) Squad Leader or Platoon Guide [Soldiers];
(4) 90-day-plus OCONUS tour [Soldiers];
(5) Army Commendation Medal [Soldiers];
(6) Master Fitness Trainer [Soldiers];
(7) Honor Graduate of an Army school [Soldiers];
(8) PLDC graduate [Soldiers];
(9) BOSS Representative [Soldiers].
300:
(1) Some participation in organized activities;
(2) Army Achievement Medal or Good Conduct Medal [Soldiers].
200: No participation in organized activities.
ATHLETIC ACTIVITIES SCORE (AT): A score reflecting a candidate's athletic
participation awarded in accordance with the following guidelines:
800: An outstanding athlete (All-American, First team All-Area selection in
baseball/softball, basketball or football) and either Athletic rating of 1 or 2 in the sport in
which honors are received or CFA score > 650.
700:
(1) First-team All-Area selection in a single sport (other than baseball/softball, basketball
or football);
(2) Captain of baseball/softball, basketball, or football team;
(3) Team captain in two or more sports (other than baseball/softball, basketball or
football) for class size over 100); and
(4) Ranger or Special Forces tab [Soldiers].
600:
(1) Captain of team (other than baseball/softball, basketball, or football);
(2) Varsity letter in baseba11/softba11, basketball, or football; and
(3) Varsity letter in two or more sports (other than baseball/softball, basketball, or
football).
500:
(1) Varsity letter in a single sport (other than baseball/softball, basketball, or football); and
(2) Expert Infantryman Badge, Expert Field Medical Badge, Jumpmaster, or Presidential
Fitness award [Soldiers].

400:
(1) Participation in a varsity sport (no letter);
(2) Graduate of Airborne, Air Assault, Pathfinder, or comparable other _Army school
[Soldiers]; and
(3) Maximum score on Army Physical Fitness Test [Soldiers].
300:
(1) Participation in junior-varsity and other team sports (not intramurals); and
(2) Soldier status.
200: No participation and no evidence of interest in sports

FACULTY APPRAISAL SCORE (FAS): The average of the candidate's scores on the
School Official Evaluation (SOE) of Candidate Forms (DD Form 1869) on a scale of 40
 
This scoring list isn't used by USNA (obviously, it is designed for the Army), but I think it gives some good insight on what is valued. Unique activities (at least for USNA) are considered by the Admissions Board on a case-by-case basis. Some interesting thoughts from this list (just scanning over):
(a) a MSM is only 500 points -- this same award is normally the end of tour award for O-5 COs of ships. Not sure if these are more frequent in the Army, but seems like that should be more than 500 points.
(b) A basketball, baseball/softball, or football team captain automatically gets 100 more points.
 
This look like this is USMA's WCS system. I don't know how this compares to USNA.
 
This scoring list isn't used by USNA (obviously, it is designed for the Army), but I think it gives some good insight on what is valued. Unique activities (at least for USNA) are considered by the Admissions Board on a case-by-case basis. Some interesting thoughts from this list (just scanning over):
(a) a MSM is only 500 points -- this same award is normally the end of tour award for O-5 COs of ships. Not sure if these are more frequent in the Army, but seems like that should be more than 500 points.
(b) A basketball, baseball/softball, or football team captain automatically gets 100 more points.
I know you are navy and not army, but would you happen to know how broad they are with the team captain thing? I play football at my schools and I have 2 varsity letters in it, probably 3 by graduation, but I also play in a city basketball league and I have been a captain for 3 years. Would I qualify for the extra 100 points, or by captain does it mean captain of a Varsity high school sport?
 
I am not sure what the activity part of the application looks like these days, but the paper copy that I filled out (over a decade ago) specifically said High School Varsity or Jr. Varsity for the listed sports...but at the bottom there was an option for "other sports" and to amplify in the remarks. I'll defer to other BGOs who might have experienced a candidate in a similar situation in recent years, but if you get no response, when you begin to fill out your application, I would ask one of the Admissions Counselors how to fill this out properly. I am not sure if there are more points in USNA's WCS for the 4 mentioned sports.
 
I'd be interested to know that as well. I'm captain of my club soccer team for 3 years, which is actually much more competitive than my high school team.
 
I'd be interested to know that as well. I'm captain of my club soccer team for 3 years, which is actually much more competitive than my high school team.
I would guess that it doesn't count unfortunately now that I think about it. It wouldn't make much sense that you go from a 200 if all you did was participate in club soccer, and you get 600 for being a captain of the team. Not sure what I'm saying is true, but I think it would be a kind of ridiculous if they gave you 400 extra points just for being a captain.
 
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