High School doesn't offer varsity sports

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UmiZoomi

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May 10, 2017
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Hey everyone,

I was wondering what to do, my high school (Magnet STEM School) doesn't offer any varsity sports per say and I feel as if that will hold me down in my WCS. I'm quite sure I can score over a 650 on the CFA and am an excellent state/national level athlete in both Taekwondo and Fencing. I'm actually considered world-class level in Taekwondo and have the opportunity to compete at an international event. However, it seems all of that goes down the drain as the athletic portion of the WCS doesn't seem to take that into account. For Fencing, to compete at states I had to register my school and I was the only person on the "team", I got fourth last year participating by myself representing the school against varsity teams throughout the state. Could I say that's varsity? I would have gotten a letter if I had belonged to any one of those regular public high schools. This seems almost unfair, do you guys think they will take all of this into account? Is it also true that if you score over a 650 on the CFA you will get an 800 on the athletic portion of the WCS?
 
I have heard about athletic portion score replacement with a high enough score on the CFA but have not heard that from admissions. What I do know is that being an international level Taekwondo competitor is not only sufficient, but likely preferable to normal involvement in varsity sports, as your regional commander will make clear to you at admissions briefs.

Just be sure to make your involvement and success in these activities known to the admissions committee by including it in your file and alerting your RC.
 
okay sounds great! I was completely unaware that the RC had that kind of authority. I was under the impression that the SA's just follow their template for scoring candidates and everything else was considered "miscellaneous"
 
UmiZoomi said:
okay sounds great! I was completely unaware that the RC had that kind of authority. I was under the impression that the SA's just follow their template for scoring candidates and everything else was considered "miscellaneous"
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Your RC is the one who will present your file to the board. At this time, he can decide to make comments on your behalf or to clarify your file. So, he is not exactly capable of assigning you points for your athletic achievements, but he will make the board aware of them. Again, be sure that you also include the extent of your Taekwondo and fencing success, elaborating on them in the appropriate comment sections.

Be wary of assigning too much value to any templates you see of the scoring sysytem that the admissions committee uses. The one from the Rand Report is a bit old now, and they do not provide everything that the board considers. My RC tells the story of a candidate who was probably not going to be admitted because he was right on the border but had no athletic involvement in his file. Then, the RC heard from his field force officer that the candidate was some elite ping pong player (Olympic I believe). He got in because they considered his elite level at even this not incredibly physically demanding pursuit a valid replacement for varsity sports.

As long as you make them aware of your success Taekwondo and fencing, you should view these as an improvement over typical varsity sports rather than a hindrance.
 
RCs have the ability to adjust the process and suggest the addition of "bonus" points. Other members of admissions review and must agree with the proposed changes.

They do this for people that are in your position. The intent of the process is not to penalize anyone based on the opportunities available to them.
 
Definitely have a chat with your field force rep. That person can best advise you. Rest assured that you are not the only applicant in this situation. My son also did not have the opportunity to be on a varsity level team and he is currently a cadet at WP.
 
I don’t like using anecdotal evidence to make broad statements, but I was in a somewhat similar situation to you. I do crew which isn’t offered at my school. That didn’t end up hurting my application though, and I received an appointment in January. You can’t count fencing as a varsity sport technically, but they will still take your situation into account when reviewing your application. Right now, just keep training, and try to maximize your CFA score.
 
Normally I would say that you could join a travel team or a team that is not connected to a school. However I am not sure the two sports you are interested in would lend itself to that. However, dont fencing academies exist and dont they compete against other academies. The fact that they dont compete with with educational schools or other states shouldnt make a difference. I mean if you are trying go in as an athlete i get it, but my son's high school friend got into West Point and he like my son was baseball pitchers. Lets just say that while the team had winning seasons, the team never went to any further up the division.
 
I don't think you could legitimately say that fencing was a varsity sport. In any case, I'm sure you didn't win a varsity letter.
On the good news side, you should reach out to @fencersmother . Her twins attended one of the academies and had fencing as their primary sport... hence her handle. She might have some insight on how to play up the fencing in your application and things to shoot for in fencing.
 
Yeah, I'm in sort of a unique position because my school offers NO sports not even at the club level. I would have done any sport to be completely honest if they offered it. So I guess I’ll jsut have to play the cards I’ve been dealt with. Fencing is a Div 1 sport at USAFA so maybe that’s where the twins went. Anyhow I just didn’t want the fact that I don’t play for a school team to hold me down. The old RAND study did say a 650+ on the CFA gets you max points on the athletic section of the WCS, but I don’t know hoe much truth that study still holds
 
I believe they did attend USAFA. I'm sure if you search for posts by fencersmother you'll be able to figure that out.,
 
Did you reach out to the West Point Taekwondo team? While it is club not D1 they may have suggestions or be able to assist you.
 
Can you compete in sports at your Home School? That is what our county allows for students at the Magnet STEM schools.
 
No, the problem is that the students at the school are allowed to participate in the cities local schools. So there are a few students at my school who take the bus to the local high school. The problem is that the local high schools only accept students from that city. My hometown, on the other hand, won't let me play unless I go to my hometown's school or am homeschooled. That's why I'm kind of stuck in a pickle.
 
Umizoomi.

I think you are on track!

My DS received Varsity Credit for his TKD. You must be Black Belt. If you have 1-Dan or greater even better. If you received your promotions at WTF governing organization in Seoul HQ may further legitimize your issuing authority. If you got your black belt from local authority probably works too.

I assume given your level you are disclosing you got your black belt so I would not worry about it. So now you have it you have 1 Varsity Point. If you have competition awards that should count as Varsity Letter each year. If you won other special type of award leading your team then that can count as CPT.

Fencing I am pretty sure will count as another Varsity Letter Sports. So you have 2 Varsity. But they are individual sports so you may not get the same look as people doing team sports. Team sports is more well regarded at Academies because everything they are teaching you is to be a team player and a team leader.

Finally, I believe all schools will evaluate you based on your environment. How much did this candidate tried to maximize his her available resources to learn excel and be the best you can be. And more importantly how did your experience contribute to your personal development and personal qualities that will contribute to your class.

It comes back to how this person will contribute to his her class! Your story should correlate to the team to the community to benefiting the Corp and the service.
 
Umizoomi.

A quick note. In the world of Taekwondo, World Tae KWON Do Federation at Kukkiwon in Seoul which is the governing body of the Olympics recognize Dans earned ONLY from Kukkiwon WTF HQ in Seoul. This is why athletes around the world fly to Seoul to earn their Dans. Black belts are issued only by their local schools. But all Dans (which are above black belt) are issued only by WTF Kukkiwon in Seoul. So if you received Dans from your local school that is not a legitimate Dan.

If you earned your black belt from ATF America Taekwondo Federation the World Taekwondo Federation will not recognize your black belt thus cannot compete for Dans at WTF Kukkiwon. This is a matter of accreditation. Like your colleges must be accredited by a governing authority.

I assume US Colleges and Academies don’t know this difference yet. So you maybe ok. Not sure if schools actually know the difference. But I think you also cannot compete in the Olympics if you are not licensed from WTF. Not sure if you are at the Level competing in the US Olympic team. West Point asked my DS to send a copy of his Certificate issuing authority so maybe they do know.

Something for you to be aware for others before enrolling in TKW Schools. They should verify if it is a WTF licensed schools.
 
I have my kukkiwon certificates. I agree with you 100%, many schools are offering what my friends call "McDojos". You basically pay for your belt without real knowledge of the art. In essence under the current rules, which are consistently updated, You may earn up to your third poom black belt under ht age of 15. The day you turn 16 you may pay a fee to kukkiwon and apply for your Dans from Seoul. The only way to fill the application, as far as I know, is if either you or your master knows Korean. Once you turn 18 you can test for a 4th dan. There is no requirement to fly to Korea, that was an outdated rule from many years ago. I am a USAT certified state level referee and coach as well as certified World Class Sparrer.That by no means makes me Olympic level, but I can hold my own at the national qualifiers. I was a few spots off Olympic trials last year. USAT Nationals is the only WTF certified path to enter the Olympics besides the Pan American and US open.

Thank you for the information, its good to know they care about certification to some extent. Just curious did your DS participate in any varsity sports besides TKD?
 
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