Admission

[Hurstunited21]

I just wanted to get an idea of how competitive for admission I am.
SAT: 1480
ACT: 33
GPA: 3.7 unweighted, 4.9 weighted
Class Rank: 15/726
PFE Results:
Push ups: 35
Sit ups: 70
Mile and a half: 10:40
I have leadership experience through a management position at my employment and team captain for club soccer and school football.
How competitive am I for admission?

 

[sanman]

People can only give you their views based on class profiles. If you are passionate about joining the Coast Guard then apply. This may seem quite a blunt answer but bear in mind the Coast Guard is looking for well-rounded candidates who are motivated to become officers. None of that is really obvious from the stats you have given. That is my opinion anyway.

 

[rjb]

I’d like to weigh in briefly on a topic that we often see on this forum: what are my chances? The admissions statistics for the past years can be found online. From a class rank, grade and test score perspective, it is easy to see where one stands. Here are some numbers for the Class of 2020:

· 40% of the class were in the top 10% of their high school class; 80% were in the top 25%.

· 80% had a high school GPA of 3.5 or higher.

· Math scores, for the 25th to 75th percentiles, ranged from 610 – 690 on the SAT and from 26 – 32 on the ACT.

· Verbal ranged from 580 – 660 on the SAT and 26 – 30 on the ACT Reading.

I would venture that the majority of applicants fall within these ranges. If you fall below these numbers, getting an appointment would likely be a long shot unless you have something super working in your favor. The hard fact is roughly only one in five applicants received an appointment for the 2020 class. Most years there will be a parent on this forum who goes off on a rant complaining that highly qualified DD or DS didn’t receive an appointment. The math, however, is what it is. Four out of every five applicants, many with very good credentials, will not receive an appointment at the end of the day.

I’m not writing this to discourage people from applying. The only way one can be sure of not receiving an appointment is to not apply. However, queries like “what are my chances” don’t really serve much purpose. No one on this forum is going to be able to tell you anything more than what the admissions statistics indicate. All you can do is put together the best possible application, make sure you get everything in on time, keep your grades up through your senior year, stay in shape, and then keep your fingers crossed and hold your breath until you hear back from the Academy. Good luck to the applicants for the Class of 2021.

Ditto TennisDad

 

[shiner]

I generally discuss competitiveness in terms of a 3-legged stool -- Academic | Athletic | Extracurricular. You need to be good at all three but great in at least one area. Your standardized test scores are strong for any of the academies, and based on what you have listed is your stand-out leg of the stool. Athletically, you scored a 201 and most who post in this forum suggest a 200 is needed to be competitive. Extracurricular may or may not be adequate based on what you actually accomplished in your roles. If you were to simplify ones participation level in extra curricular activities, I would distill it to member, leader, leader with impact. Being a member does very little for the resume. As Sanman pointed out, SA selection committees are seeking people committed to service, leadership, and have a particular affinity for the branch of service (speaks to long term retention). Based on what you have shared, your leadership experience is the weak point. Responsibilities of team captain vary widely and you will need to work at explaining your level of involvement (to the admissions panel -- not this community). Hopefully, you have a few great examples to draw upon that demonstrate your leadership abilities and why they may stand out compared to other applicants. Were the roles peer selected or administrator selected? How many people are in the group? Details matter to a selection board that will spend 60 seconds sizing up your 18 years of development to determine your fit for the school and service in the Coast Guard.

Here is an example - if you were to put yourself into the shoes of someone who lacks context of your achievements, which one is more clear in conveying the significance of the role?

"I am a team captain for my soccer team"

OR

"Selected by my peers to be the sole team captain for my club soccer team of 18 elite players. As captain, I am charged with motivating highly skilled players, leading team stretching, and work with the coach to lead by example and support his direction for the team. My greatest achievement as captain was to lead a team service project called 'Kicks-for-Coats' where we collected more than 200 coats to help needy in my community and raise awareness to the growing homeless population in our area."

 

[CGFAM]

How competitive am I for admission?

Keep up the great STATS! As the other two posters have mentioned, there is not a cut and dry element of who receives an appointment and who doesn't. Obviously, grades, fitness, and leadership are all crucial. That being said, some amazing candidates will not get an appointment even though their accomplishments are many. Have you already applied? If so, it may be too late to add anything else. Even so, I would recommend that you spend some time at a Coast Guard Station and get a real feel for what their life is like. While many people get mesmerized with the idea of being an Officer, or being in a Service Academy, they often underestimate the challenges of life at the Academy - and then AFTER. As it is a very small branch, the Coast Guard is notorious for the long hours and hard work their members put in - both enlisted AND Officer. So, keep up the hard work but perhaps spend some time with folks in the CG, too. If you still decide that it is the life you want to pursue, the fact that you took that extra step could be very helpful in a potential interview. It would really give you some insight and experience to bring the interview conversation.

Best of Luck to you!

 

[StPaulDad]

To build upon what @shiner wrote, your three legged stool isn't sitting on level ground, so even if you do manage a fine balance of academic, athletic and ECs you could find yourself with one leg in a hole. Things that can topple you range from the personal to the environmental, in and out of your control: poor interview skills, a higher level of applicant quality that year, a distribution of applicants that makes you less unique, bad letters of Rec, a incoming smaller class for your year, a rejected DODMERB waiver, etc. You fix what you can fix, smooth over the holes you can, and just hope that your record will be enough to get you accepted. If it isn't then you fix it some more and try again against the next pool of applicants.

 

[CGA applicant 2024]

If you are a male your PT could use a little work compared the the rest of your stats which are good. However there is less than a 10 percent chance of success among a pool of highly qualified candidates so have backups.