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zulu_

New Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2015
Messages
7
Just want to receive some input / criticism on my to-be application.

Honors/Awards: Excellence in Honors World History II, Excellence in AP Junior English, Excellence in AP Biology, National Honor Society, National Merit Scholar.

Activities:
Track/Field Team Co-Captain,
Indoor Track Captain,
Varsity Outdoor Track Team (State-Level), (4 yrs)
Varsity Indoor Track Team (State-Level), (4 yrs)
Science Team Captain (essentially a quiz bowl team), (4 yrs)
Member of multiple Jazz Ensembles (won states), (4 yrs)
Speech / Debate Team, (4 yrs)
Math/Science Tutor, (4 yrs)
Youth Track / Field Coach and volunteer (organize/lead events at middle school level track meets) (3 yrs)
Symphonic Band / Wind Symphony, (4 yrs)
USAPhO semi-finalist


GPA: 3.95 UW, 4.64 W

PSAT: 225

SAT: 2350, CR: 760 M: 800 W: 790


SATII:
Chemistry: 800, Math II: 790 Physics: 800


Academics:


9: Honors English, Honors Physics, Algebra I, Spanish II, World History I

10: Honors English, Honors Geometry, Honors Advanced Algebra, Spanish III, Honors World History II, Honors Chemistry

11: AP Junior English (4), AP Statistics (5), AP U.S. History (5), AP Biology (5), Spanish IV

12: AP Senior English, AP Calculus BC, AP Physics C, AP Government, AP Spanish V

I've been employed (nothing special, just local food chains) and I am hopefully interning at a local university next summer.
 
I would like to help but I'm a little confused. It looks as if you've already completed high school and are planning on interning at a university in the summer of 2016. You should have begun your application for USAFA (or any SA) the end of your 11th grade year in high school. If you graduated HS, have you been enrolled in college and taking courses there? If you are applying now and receive a nomination and an appointment you would be in basic training all next summer, not interning at a university. Maybe I'm missing something, please explain your situation a little better and someone may be able to help.
 
I would like to help but I'm a little confused. It looks as if you've already completed high school and are planning on interning at a university in the summer of 2016. You should have begun your application for USAFA (or any SA) the end of your 11th grade year in high school. If you graduated HS, have you been enrolled in college and taking courses there? If you are applying now and receive a nomination and an appointment you would be in basic training all next summer, not interning at a university. Maybe I'm missing something, please explain your situation a little better and someone may be able to help.

Yep. That's a mistake. If I'm accepted, that won't be on there. I just copied this over from another forum. Should've removed it here. As for when it says (4 yrs), I will continue those specific activities through my senior year.
 
Your stats look pretty impressive, but I'm wondering about the National Merit Scholar. Semifinalists won't be identified until early September and finalists, not til February. So, I presume you are just guessing that you will likely be named as such based on your PSAT score of 225?
 
PSAT of 225 is a very safe bet to be national merit in almost any state. My oldest son was National Merit in 2014 and that year I think the highest state was Mass. wit 223 NM qualifying score and some of the lower states had NM qualifying scores of 204
 
Strong resume. I would say its highly unlikely that you would not be offered admission.
 
PSAT of 225 is a very safe bet to be national merit in almost any state. My oldest son was National Merit in 2014 and that year I think the highest state was Mass. wit 223 NM qualifying score and some of the lower states had NM qualifying scores of 204
I was not aware of the cut off scores Zulu, so early congrats on you NM:rockon: You look like the ideal candidate for any service academy. Have you started your requests for MOC nominations? Now is the time to be working on your CFA and putting the rest of your package together. Good luck to you.
 
The cutoff for NM has never been above 224 in any state so 225 is basically a shoo-in.

This may be off topic, but is it safe to say if you have a PSAT score of 221 you are in the running for NM scholarship? Only asking to find out if this is something that should be put on a resume even though the official results are not out yet? Most of the items on the AFA portal are requesting activities/classes etc. that WILL be taken in 12th grade but not yet accomplished. I am aware that there is an additional essay to write and other required information but those things are not determined until February. How does one put such a bullet on a resume without seeming presumptuous?
 
This may be off topic, but is it safe to say if you have a PSAT score of 221 you are in the running for NM scholarship?

A 221 will put you in the running for NMSF anywhere, however in some areas the odds of getting NMSF with a 221 are not extremely high.

http://collegeadmissions.testmasters.com/national-merit-scholarship-cutoff-scores-by-state/

Find your state on this look at what the cutoffs were over the past few years. If the cutoffs are below or equal to 221 every single year, you are quite safe. If it goes above 221 every other year, you are on the fence.

If you are on the fence, there is an algorithm you can use to calculate what the likely cutoff will be next year. The algorithm is not perfect, however it is quite accurate. You need Microsoft Excel to perform it. I can show you the algorithm if you would like, but it takes a while to get through the entire thing(it took me around 30 minutes to get through it when I calculated it for my state). I can show you the algorithm if you want but if you aren't on the fence there isn't much of a point in using it.

Only asking to find out if this is something that should be put on a resume even though the official results are not out yet? Most of the items on the AFA portal are requesting activities/classes etc. that WILL be taken in 12th grade but not yet accomplished. I am aware that there is an additional essay to write and other required information but those things are not determined until February. How does one put such a bullet on a resume without seeming presumptuous?
When I typed on my resume, here is what I put on it on my resume:

"I will likely become a National Merit Finalist. I scored 4 points above what the cutoff in my state was last year for National Merit Semifinalist, and 90% of National Merit Semifinalists move on to become National Merit Finalist."

If I were you, I would not put on your resume something like "I am a National Merit Finalist" on my resume because that simply isn't true and if they review your file before NMFs are even announced, they will think that you are lying on your resume(and, in a way, if you do that you are lying) and that will probably not have a positive outcome.

Also, if you are on the fence for NMSF here are all of the NMSF cutoffs for the last decade plus.

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com...340-class-of-2015-nmsf-qualifying-scores.html

And last years cutoffs:
http://survivingthecollegeapplicationprocess.com/national-merit-psat-qualifying-scores-class-2015/
 
This may be off topic, but is it safe to say if you have a PSAT score of 221 you are in the running for NM scholarship?
Also, there is a difference between the NM scholarship and being a NMSF/NMF. The former colleges do not care about, the latter colleges do care about. Only about half of the NMFs win the NM scholarship(I think it's 2.5 thousand dollars). But if you get NMF and not the scholarship you are still a NMF which is what colleges care about. Additionally, there are a lot of corporate sponsored scholarships for NMFs. If I get NMF my father's company will give me 3.5 thousand dollars a year. Most big companies will give something similar.
 
This may be off topic, but is it safe to say if you have a PSAT score of 221 you are in the running for NM scholarship?
Also, there is a difference between the NM scholarship and being a NMSF/NMF. The former colleges do not care about, the latter colleges do care about. Only about half of the NMFs win the NM scholarship(I think it's 2.5 thousand dollars). But if you get NMF and not the scholarship you are still a NMF which is what colleges care about. Additionally, there are a lot of corporate sponsored scholarships for NMFs. If I get NMF my father's company will give me 3.5 thousand dollars a year. Most big companies will give something similar.

Thanks Frenzy. I am aware of the NMSF/NMF categories and the type of scholarships given. The NMS in itself is $2500, but there are several colleges that give full tuition and full rides to NMF, so it is certainly nothing to sneeze at and quite an accomplishment in its own right. It certainly will help tremendously with plan B, C, and D. The highest ever in our state is 214, so I guess it would be safe to say 221 makes the cut off. It looks as if it never varies up or down more than 2 or 3 points from year to year. With that said, I would never have my DD put something on her resume that was not true, but I was wondering how she could include NM on her resume. You gave some good points to ponder.
 
Whoah, thanks for all of the input. As for National Merit, it's not official yet, however I'm ten points above the cutoff for my state, so it's looking promising.
 
Well, yes, you do have to be "3-Q'd."

But your stats look fine from here.
 
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