Two CFA Questions

My son is at SLE this week. Two CFA questions flowing from that.

1) I don't have all the details - but it sounds like he did decent on the CFA. Above average on everything except the BBall - and that wasn't too far off. So - lets assume - for the sake of discussion he "passed". In terms of admission to WP - is that all they care about - passing. Or - does it help you to extravagantly pass? Is there a motivation to retest later in the summer?

2) I was really surprised to hear from my son that there were some guys in his group (many - not just one) that extravagantly failed the CFA - I am talking 1 or 2 pull ups and similar under performance. It was his impression that he was the only guy in the group that practiced for the CFA at all. I don't get it. If you are going to go to all the trouble to go to SLE - why wouldn't you prepare for the CFA.

In general, the only way you would retest was if you failed an event and admissions allows you to. Typically being around the average is good enough. The academy wants to know if the candidate is at an acceptable level of fitness to survive the program. From my experience the academy will be still be interested in a candidate with a strong academic and leadership record but with a sub-average ( as long as all events meet minimum standards ) CFA. On the other hand a strong CFA will probably not make up for a weak academic and leadership record. Most cadets are washed out for academics, so that is where admission's emphasis is the greatest.

My DS was at SLE last week and he was surprised at the number of kids that were not physically fit at all. He said that supposedly close to half of the attendees failed the CFA. I find that hard to believe but like you, he was shocked that they wouldn't have prepared. He also said a number of them would quit during PT. I do believe the CFA is out of 800 points so while passing is the key, you can add points to your WCS with better performance.

Keep in mind that many students at SLE, NASS and AFASS are kicking the tires. They’re intrigued enough to attend but not yet fully committed to applying, much less attending. Sure, you take the CFA while there, but everyone has another seven months to do it “for real.” There are myriad examples of kids who don’t do well at the summer CFA, work their butts off, and then excel or even max out several months later. And then there are those who decide an academy isn’t for them — partly because of the fitness requirements — and look elsewhere. As others on this forum have said, SLE/SS is a great experience, but it doesn’t guarantee appointment or otherwise.

The original intent of SLE was to attract candidates who may have not had interest in the academy, so many attendees didn't know or care what the CFA was all about. Also some people are using SLE as some sort of leadership course that they use to apply to other schools, so CFA performance is not a priority.

Agree with Davejean90. I'm confident that there are attendees who have absolutely no intention of applying to the Academy, but use SLE as a resume enhancer for their other college applications.

Another aspect about poor SLE performances is that the candidate may not have been used to USMA’s standards. A friend of mine did ~70 push-ups I think at NASS and at SLE they only counted a fraction of those so he ended up getting 21 and failing the whole test. Moral of the story: go all the way down and all the way up even in practice.

My kid attended NASS last summer. He did average on his CFA...good on endurance exercises, not as well on the speed. To be frank he was overweight when he attended, always having been that husky kid, kind that didn't take his shirt off in the pool. Attending NASS was the best experience and motivator because it allowed him to see for himself how he measured up compared to others. He returned home uber focused. Had a full time job on a golf course weedeating, raking bunkers, and other physically intense tasks, made more intense by brutally hot and humid weather in Southeast Texas. He'd come home straight after work and go ride his bike, run and then hit the pool, 5 or 6 days a week. All these activities had the added benefit of severely curbing his appetite. He could only eat small meals and even what he ate, changed. He lost his taste for "junk" food, things that were greasy or fried would make him feel bloated and slow. He tracked his weight loss every few days and by how he moved notches on his belt. By the time school was ready to start, I had gotten rid of 16 pairs of trousers, 20 dress shirts, and just about all of his clothing. He is 5'9" and went from 191 pounds to 150, waist from 36 to 29, neck size from 16.5 to 14.5. His teachers didn't recognize him at first. His JROTC instructors were astounded and when they saw how he had improved with his PT they put him on the PT and Raider Teams, the only teams he had never been qualified for in his four years in JROTC. His choir teacher even remarked that his voice (which is already amazing) had a richer timbre and range.

My son truly had a life change and a year later he has continued to make his fitness and health a priority. While ultimately he did not receive an appointment, he was awarded an ROTC Scholarship and this fall will attend Norwich University. I'm grateful that he had the opportunity to attend NASS if for nothing more than because it was the catalyst that changed the mindset that he had. The one that had told him he wasn't athletic, he'd never be fast or he'd always be "big".

Don't be surprised by the fitness level of the candidates. According to DS, the fitness level of the average cadet at the Academy is sub par. Last summer at a luncheon with the Commandant during summer training, an ROTC student participating in the training was telling the Com how fit he thought all of the cadets were. DS, sitting at the table while this conversation was going on, started rolling his eyes. Com looks over at him and then turns back to the ROTC student and tells him he agrees with DS.

SMP said:

Don't be surprised by the fitness level of the candidates. According to DS, the fitness level of the average cadet at the Academy is sub par. Last summer at a luncheon with the Commandant during summer training, an ROTC student participating in the training was telling the Com how fit he thought all of the cadets were. DS, sitting at the table while this conversation was going on, started rolling his eyes. Com looks over at him and then turns back to the ROTC student and tells him he agrees with DS.

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When DS did his visit weekend he got up at 0530 to do PT with his Plebe. It was a remedial PT group. He said it was shocking how many Planes were in the class.

rholt said:

My son is at SLE this week. Two CFA questions flowing from that.

1) I don't have all the details - but it sounds like he did decent on the CFA. Above average on everything except the BBall - and that wasn't too far off. So - lets assume - for the sake of discussion he "passed". In terms of admission to WP - is that all they care about - passing. Or - does it help you to extravagantly pass? Is there a motivation to retest later in the summer?

2) I was really surprised to hear from my son that there were some guys in his group (many - not just one) that extravagantly failed the CFA - I am talking 1 or 2 pull ups and similar under performance. It was his impression that he was the only guy in the group that practiced for the CFA at all. I don't get it. If you are going to go to all the trouble to go to SLE - why wouldn't you prepare for the CFA.

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To answer your first question, it is better to get a high score on the CFA than it is to just passed. The the CFA is worth 10% of the total WCS. That is actually a lot in a close competition between candidates. the better you perform on the CFA, the more points you will get. Those place might be the difference between winning a congressional spot and losing that spot. Moreover, admissions sees and pays attention to those who Max the CFA.

brovol said:

To answer your first question, it is better to get a high score on the CFA than it is to just passed. The the CFA is worth 10% of the total WCS. That is actually a lot in a close competition between candidates. the better you perform on the CFA, the more points you will get. Those place might be the difference between winning a congressional spot and losing that spot. Moreover, admissions sees and pays attention to those who Max the CFA.

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This. Never leave points on the table if you can help it. They can make a difference.