What can I add to improve my chances?

acho97

Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2015
Messages
27
Hi. I'm a rising senior and I wanted to know how I could boost my resume more.
I know that the thing that will hurt me most is that I didn't do a sport all throughout high school.
But let me tell you what I have so far.

-all honors and AP classes
-Marching and Concert band all throughout high school
-Music Honor Society Vice President
-Section Leader in Marching Band
-Link (Liberty in North Korea) secretary
-AFJROTC class
-Drill team in AFJROTC
-appointed as flight sergeant
-first year color guard drill team deputy commander
-Honor Societies :
>english
>science
>social studies
>german
>TRI-M Music

-Awards from AFJROTC
>Daughters of the American Revolution
>Certificate of Training
>Academic Achievement Award
>Outstanding Cadet Award (Cadet of the Year)
>Achievement Award (drill team)
>Achievement Award (Cadet Leadership Course)

Community Service
>WANT Team (Church youth group leadership team)
>KLEMA (church program that watches and takes care of mentally disabled children on sundays)
>12 baskets ministries (making care packages for homeless and going to homeless shelters and soup kitchens)
>Inner City Mission Trip to help underprivileged in New York

Employment

-I've had one summer job at a real estate agency as a secretary.
 
Oh yeah..
and my GPA right now

weighted: 3.9
unweighted: approximately 3.6 or 3.7

SAT :
Math 700
Reading 720
Writing 730
 
I'm only a candidate like you, but if I were you I would look into playing a sport. But it might look like resume padding if you only do a sport for one year, so I would also ask someone like my ALO if doing a sport for only 1 year will help at all. I would also retake the SAT and maybe try the ACT.
 
Yeah I agree with you on the sport and I already emailed my ALO this morning :)
aaaand uh up to where do you think I should boost my SAT score?
 
Well there's no score that will guarantee you an appointment but the score that will give you the best chance of earning an appointment is 2400, so you should try to get as high as your possibly can. Your SAT scores are already above average by the Air Force Academy's standards, but if you get a higher score your chances improve. There isn't really much you can do at this point. You're going into your senior year so your GPA is pretty much set in stone and you can't really get any significant extracurricular activities in just 1 year. Basically all you can do at this point is work on your SAT/ACT, work on your CFA, and in your case, potentially play a sport.
 
Also, I'm not sure if USAFA looks at the writing portion of the SAT, they don't list the average writing score of appointees on their website but they list the average math and CR. You should ask your ALO or a more experienced poster on here if USAFA looks at writing. No point in studying for the writing portion if it doesn't matter.
 
It used to be that USAFA did not (at least too closely) examine the W score, and I still believe that is the case. That said, you should try to score 800 on every section, especially considering you have a glaring deficiency.
 
Also, I'm not sure if USAFA looks at the writing portion of the SAT, they don't list the average writing score of appointees on their website but they list the average math and CR. You should ask your ALO or a more experienced poster on here if USAFA looks at writing. No point in studying for the writing portion if it doesn't matter.

I would suggest that there is a point to trying to do well on all parts of the standardized tests. Even if USAFA doesn't care about a certain portion, your Plan B and Plan C schools may want to see the scores. Remember the majority of applicants do not get an appointment, so it's best to keep backup plans in mind when deciding what to do and not do.

Stealth_81
 
Such a perfect answer stealth. So many people ask questions about the academies and the act/sat. You wonder if some people are only applying to the academies and nothing else. Now, if you are in fact only applying to the academies, and are going to skip college all together if you don't receive an appointment, then I guess the question is valid.

Other than that, even state universities that guarantee residents acceptance, require that you meet minimum requirements. These include a minimum gpa and standardized test scores. If you're applying to the academy(ies), then as a minimum, you should be applying to at least 3-4 other universities. The Air Force academy ranks up there in the top 10 schools. If you think you're qualified for the academy, then you're obviously qualified for the majority of other universities in the country. If you don't think you can get accepted to those, then don't think for a second that you can get accepted to one of the military academies.
 
Piggybacking on Mike's post about state universities. Some states have powerhouse flagship state universities. In VA, nobody would ever consider UVA on the same league as VT, GMU, VCU or JMU. UVA is a public Ivy. They are the true comparison for an SA. Same with NC. Accepted to UNCCH iis not the same as being accepted to UNCW. Both are under the UNC umbrella, but the stats needed to get into Wilmington are not the same as Chapel Hill.

Keep that in mind when you say I can get into my state university, make sure you say it is the flagship most difficult college. The reason why is, as others have stated, most candidates will have plan B, C and D. Those candidates will most likely be on your MoC slates too. They will be your competition right off the bat, not only for an SA, but for admissions to plan B, C and D, on top of scholarships (ROTC) and merit money.

JMPO, since you have no athletics, make sure you hit that CFA out of the ball park. Try to max everything.
 
Piggybacking on Mike's post about state universities. Some states have powerhouse flagship state universities. In VA, nobody would ever consider UVA on the same league as VT, GMU, VCU or JMU. UVA is a public Ivy. They are the true comparison for an SA. Same with NC. Accepted to UNCCH iis not the same as being accepted to UNCW. Both are under the UNC umbrella, but the stats needed to get into Wilmington are not the same as Chapel Hill.

Keep that in mind when you say I can get into my state university, make sure you say it is the flagship most difficult college. The reason why is, as others have stated, most candidates will have plan B, C and D. Those candidates will most likely be on your MoC slates too. They will be your competition right off the bat, not only for an SA, but for admissions to plan B, C and D, on top of scholarships (ROTC) and merit money.

JMPO, since you have no athletics, make sure you hit that CFA out of the ball park. Try to max everything.

Thank you!
 
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