Improvement help!!

USNA Hopeful '20

USNA Hopeful '20

Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2015
Messages
76
Hey guys, I'm new to this forum and was wondering if I could get your guy's help. This is not really just your average "chance me" sort of thing but rather an opportunity more me to get outside opinions on my resume. Thank you for all of your feedback in advance!

State: Illinois
District: Pretty competitive (Chicago suburbs)

Grades:
ACT: 33 composite (32 Math, 34 English)
GPA: 4.047/4.00
Class Rank: 55/473 (Top 15%)
Classes: Rigorous course load stacked with AP and Honors, I will have taken 8 AP courses by the end of high school not to mention honors.

Work:
Have had a part-time job at my Park District for 3 years now, I coach athletics teams so I hold a decent amount of responsibility.
Just started another part-time job at and ice cream shop where I work about 15 hours a week

Extracurriculars:
1. Student council VP for senior year (newly elected), have held numerous chair positions in the past

2. Science Olympiad- pretty confident I will be captain next year (trying to sound humble but its hard when you present your resume haha)
Also have won numerous medals at invites and regional competitions

3. NHS member- pretty straightforward, I will be applying for a leadership role as an officer next year

4. Math Tutor- I volunteered one class period every week during the school year to serve as a math tutor for other high school students

5. Teacher's Assistant- I also volunteered one class period (my lunch lol) to serve as a teachers assistant. I graded papers, answered questions, and prepared powerpoints for that teacher

Sports:
Varsity hockey since Freshman year, 3 Varsity letters so far, I have also been the alternate captain for those 3 years as well and I sincerely hope to be captain next year! This is a pretty long commitment as spring and fall hockey take a combined total of 9-10 months out of the year

Community Activities:
1. Homeless shelter volunteer for 1.5 hours/week from October-April. I was very committed to this and made it every week
2. I did a bunch of other service things that were like the "one time things", those accumulated to 20 hours of service (I just won't waste your time with the details)

Boys' State:
I was selected to attend Illinois's Boys' State session. There I was elected mayor of my city. Also, I tried out for militia and was selected by a panel of current ROTC cadets as captain of my battalion (over 50 kids tried out, only 21 made it) I was also nominated for the model citizen award by my city counselor.

Hobbies (because some applications ask lol):
1. Exercising (weight lifting, swimming, and running)
2. Reading
3.Traveling

This has basically been my life for the past 4 years. Thank you to those of you who are willing to take time to read all of it and then evaluate me. Please, if you have any questions feel free to ask! I will be taking all comments as constructive criticism because there is nothing I want more than to serve my country!

God Bless
 
You look solid. Academics, Service, Athletics, leadership are all there. Perhaps the leadership roles could expand during senior year. Have you applied yet? Are you a candidate? Will it be easy or hard to get a nomination in your area?
Good luck
 
Brawny77 said:
You look solid. Academics, Service, Athletics, leadership are all there. Perhaps the leadership roles could expand during senior year. Have you applied yet? Are you a candidate? Will it be easy or hard to get a nomination in your area?
Good luck
Click to expand...

First off, thanks for the reply! I would absolutely love to be able to step up to more leadership senior year, captain of hockey, SO, maybe NHS etc. I have begun the application for both the academy and nomination sources so far, so yes, I am an official candidate for USNA! Also, I do live in a pretty competitive district, as in, a lot of people apply. Idk how the actual "competition" is. The only thing I do know for sure is my academics and ACT scores are above average for my district (the information for average scores was provided directly by the MOC reps at a service academy informational meeting.
 
I also forgot to mention that I was selected by my student council to attend leadership conference two years in a row now as well.
 
Good luck to you! My son is also a candidate at USNA. I hope to see you both posting that you got appointments in a few months!
 
Like others and mentioned, you look pretty solid!

  • Keep working at getting those leadership positions, even if they are after you've submitted your application. You can still update. I updated mine with a team captainship and two letters my senior year.
  • Practice the CFA. Try your best tot be able to max out each section. If you don't think you can, at least try. In the words of a meme I just saw, "The only way to do more pull ups, is by doing more pull ups!"
  • Try and get into contact with your nomination sources and your BGO. If you have questions ask. I sent a little email to the nomination coordinators introducing myself and saying when to expect my application. Keep everything professional.
  • Practice of your interviews. Make sure you can fluently answer questions such as: Why do you want to be a naval/marine officer? and Tell us about yourself? Look up lists of questions and run through them. I didn't like to have a word for word answer ready for each of them, but I knew how I was going to answer them when they were asked.
  • For your nomination interviews, dress in a suit or blazer. When you walk into the interview room, shake everyones had and introduce yourself. Maintain good posture. Speak with confidence. Don't fidget. Keep eye contact.
  • Do what you can do with all of the applications now, when you can. Even though it sucks sitting inside wiring essays, do it. You'll thank yourself later.
That's all I've got at the moment. Best of luck!
 
USNA Hopeful '20 said:
Hey guys, I'm new to this forum and was wondering if I could get your guy's help. This is not really just your average "chance me" sort of thing but rather an opportunity more me to get outside opinions on my resume. Thank you for all of your feedback in advance!

State: Illinois
District: Pretty competitive (Chicago suburbs)

Grades:
ACT: 33 composite (32 Math, 34 English)
GPA: 4.047/4.00
Class Rank: 55/473 (Top 15%)
Classes: Rigorous course load stacked with AP and Honors, I will have taken 8 AP courses by the end of high school not to mention honors.

Work:
Have had a part-time job at my Park District for 3 years now, I coach athletics teams so I hold a decent amount of responsibility.
Just started another part-time job at and ice cream shop where I work about 15 hours a week

Extracurriculars:
1. Student council VP for senior year (newly elected), have held numerous chair positions in the past

2. Science Olympiad- pretty confident I will be captain next year (trying to sound humble but its hard when you present your resume haha)
Also have won numerous medals at invites and regional competitions

3. NHS member- pretty straightforward, I will be applying for a leadership role as an officer next year

4. Math Tutor- I volunteered one class period every week during the school year to serve as a math tutor for other high school students

5. Teacher's Assistant- I also volunteered one class period (my lunch lol) to serve as a teachers assistant. I graded papers, answered questions, and prepared powerpoints for that teacher

Sports:
Varsity hockey since Freshman year, 3 Varsity letters so far, I have also been the alternate captain for those 3 years as well and I sincerely hope to be captain next year! This is a pretty long commitment as spring and fall hockey take a combined total of 9-10 months out of the year

Community Activities:
1. Homeless shelter volunteer for 1.5 hours/week from October-April. I was very committed to this and made it every week
2. I did a bunch of other service things that were like the "one time things", those accumulated to 20 hours of service (I just won't waste your time with the details)

Boys' State:
I was selected to attend Illinois's Boys' State session. There I was elected mayor of my city. Also, I tried out for militia and was selected by a panel of current ROTC cadets as captain of my battalion (over 50 kids tried out, only 21 made it) I was also nominated for the model citizen award by my city counselor.

Hobbies (because some applications ask lol):
1. Exercising (weight lifting, swimming, and running)
2. Reading
3.Traveling

This has basically been my life for the past 4 years. Thank you to those of you who are willing to take time to read all of it and then evaluate me. Please, if you have any questions feel free to ask! I will be taking all comments as constructive criticism because there is nothing I want more than to serve my country!

God Bless
Click to expand...
Looks good but don't sit back you may have someone who is more qualified in your congressional district or senatorial area. you NEVER know nor can anyone handicap your chances. Just put together the best application you can and sit back and wait. we thought my daughter was average and she was Appointed to USMA, USNA, USAFA and chose USNA. She is currently in Plebe Summer. You never know . I would suggest you apply to each and very academy that interests you a nd each and every nomination source. Best of luck to you.
 
No resume is to strong. Take the SAT's and ACT's over again. Take the CFA over again. I agree your resume looks strong but I've seen better not get in. I'm just saying don't put it in cruise control.
 
I have to agree with Batinhand1 about improving your SAT/ACT's. Previous, popular advice was to "focus on your weakest area" for these tests. During session three of BGO training this year, testing was addressed where the board would see a candidate retake a test and focus on improving either English or Math. They HATE this practice. If you're going to retake a test, retake the entire test and don't blow through the other section.

I also agree with others within the thread on your leadership. Some candidates make the mistake of confusing quantity over quality.
 
On paper, you look very competitive.

What to focus on now is to do well on your interviews. Focus on questions, that others before me have posted, and form a good, true answer. The reps will know if your feeding them a textbook answer of if your genuine.

Also have backup plans ready. If you want to serve as an Officer, ROTC is a great option which allows you to have a great college experience and by completing the program, you will earn your commission. Same as the Naval Academy cadets.

Best of luck
 
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