Advice For Admission

[DCurtis_5748]

I just finished my freshmen year of high school, and my goal is to attend West Point. I'd like some opinions on my chances of being appointed. I know that nobody on these forums can definitely tell me if I'll get accepted or not, but any advice would be appreciated!

Academics:
GPA: 4.0 unweighted
4.38 weighted
As for the SAT and ACT, I haven't taken them yet, but plan to take them first during sophomore year, and I also plan to take them multiple times to get the best score I can.

Activities:
Not many extracurriculars that matter much for West Point, other than extracurricular sports, freshman year. Next year, I plan on stepping it up big time. I'm planning on joining JROTC, as well as the JROTC Raiders, Model United Nations, and National Honors Society. I will be a part of the yearbook editing team. This summer, I also plan to rack up many volunteering hours.

Athletics:
-Basketball: I have played basketball since 2nd grade (8 years). I'm not very tall (5'6) so I've always played on a separate team outside of school.
-Football: I've played football since 5th grade (5 years). Again, due to my stature, I have played on a separate team outside of school.
-Spartan Races: Spartan Races, if you don't know, are a series of obstacle races of varying distance and difficulty ranging from 3 to 5 miles to marathon distances. I run two to three races annually, ranging from 5 to 10 miles, and train all year round.
-Golf: Not considered a very "athletic" sport, but I figured I'd add it on anyway.
-JROTC Raiders: "the Raider Team practices physical and technical skills at both the individual and team levels. They perform tasks that may be found in a conventional army unit such as the Physical Fitness Test, 5Km Runs, Rope Bridges, Land Navigation Courses, and First Aid." (Sophomore year)

My concern is the athletics portion. I've read that 90% of Cadets were on a varsity sports team or team captain. The problem is, I play sports outside of school, so I wouldn't have a varsity letter. How important is the actual varsity letter vs participating in many extracurricular sports? I was considering cross country, but they run 5-8 miles daily, which seems way out of my league. I typically run 8-10 miles per week, not daily!

Any opinions, advice, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[jl123]

I just finished my freshmen year of high school, and my goal is to attend West Point. I'd like some opinions on my chances of being appointed. I know that nobody on these forums can definitely tell me if I'll get accepted or not, but any advice would be appreciated!

Academics:
GPA: 4.0 unweighted
4.38 weighted
As for the SAT and ACT, I haven't taken them yet, but plan to take them first during sophomore year, and I also plan to take them multiple times to get the best score I can.

Activities:
Not many extracurriculars that matter much for West Point, other than extracurricular sports, freshman year. Next year, I plan on stepping it up big time. I'm planning on joining JROTC, as well as the JROTC Raiders, Model United Nations, and National Honors Society. I will be a part of the yearbook editing team. This summer, I also plan to rack up many volunteering hours.

Athletics:
-Basketball: I have played basketball since 2nd grade (8 years). I'm not very tall (5'6) so I've always played on a separate team outside of school.
-Football: I've played football since 5th grade (5 years). Again, due to my stature, I have played on a separate team outside of school.
-Spartan Races: Spartan Races, if you don't know, are a series of obstacle races of varying distance and difficulty ranging from 3 to 5 miles to marathon distances. I run two to three races annually, ranging from 5 to 10 miles, and train all year round.
-Golf: Not considered a very "athletic" sport, but I figured I'd add it on anyway.
-JROTC Raiders: "the Raider Team practices physical and technical skills at both the individual and team levels. They perform tasks that may be found in a conventional army unit such as the Physical Fitness Test, 5Km Runs, Rope Bridges, Land Navigation Courses, and First Aid." (Sophomore year)

My concern is the athletics portion. I've read that 90% of Cadets were on a varsity sports team or team captain. The problem is, I play sports outside of school, so I wouldn't have a varsity letter. How important is the actual varsity letter vs participating in many extracurricular sports? I was considering cross country, but they run 5-8 miles daily, which seems way out of my league. I typically run 8-10 miles per week, not daily!

Any opinions, advice, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Play to your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. A leadership position is more important than participation. Concentrate on getting leadership positions in your strong areas. If you are strong academically and have leadership positions outside of sports, not being a varsity athlete or team captain will not hurt you - especially if you have a strong CFA score. You must establish that you can handle the physical component of USMA, but can do so without being a varsity athlete.

You may want to reconsider your commitment to sports outside of school. A downside of a club sport is that it makes it more difficult to integrate yourself into the social and extracurricular activities at your school. Many people continue club sports because they compete at a high level not offered in school. That does not appear to be your case with respect to football and basketball. The time spent on those sports may be better used on other sports or activities that you can participate in at your school. I'm not familiar with Spartan Races, but from your description it sounds like good preparation for an SA.

 

[MidwestDad]

Wrestling? Height not such a big handicap there; if you are in good shape and low end of weight range for your height its a decent varsity option.
But others who are homeschooled and/or on 'club' sports / travel teams get admitted without 'official' varsity letters.

If you run all summer you will be up doing 5+ miles a day easy before school starts for CC. Start with 1.5 - 2 miles tomorrow AM before it gets hot.

Hint: maybe start up a Spartan race / crossfit etc training club at your school? That's what leaders do . . . looks good on your resume to be a club founder and charter officer. Talk to your athletic director and counselor about this possibility; use your social media savvy to recruit schoolmates before next year starts.

My $0.02 and good luck !!

 

[DCurtis_5748]

Play to your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. A leadership position is more important than participation. Concentrate on getting leadership positions in your strong areas. If you are strong academically and have leadership positions outside of sports, not being a varsity athlete or team captain will not hurt you - especially if you have a strong CFA score. You must establish that you can handle the physical component of USMA, but can do so without being a varsity athlete.

You may want to reconsider your commitment to sports outside of school. A downside of a club sport is that it makes it more difficult to integrate yourself into the social and extracurricular activities at your school. Many people continue club sports because they compete at a high level not offered in school. That does not appear to be your case with respect to football and basketball. The time spent on those sports may be better used on other sports or activities that you can participate in at your school. I'm not familiar with Spartan Races, but from your description it sounds like good preparation for an SA.

Thanks for the advice. I'll most likely drop the football and focus more on Raiders and other school extracurriculars.

 

[DCurtis_5748]

Wrestling? Height not such a big handicap there; if you are in good shape and low end of weight range for your height its a decent varsity option.
But others who are homeschooled and/or on 'club' sports / travel teams get admitted without 'official' varsity letters.

If you run all summer you will be up doing 5+ miles a day easy before school starts for CC. Start with 1.5 - 2 miles tomorrow AM before it gets hot.

Hint: maybe start up a Spartan race / crossfit etc training club at your school? That's what leaders do . . . looks good on your resume to be a club founder and charter officer. Talk to your athletic director and counselor about this possibility; use your social media savvy to recruit schoolmates before next year starts.

My $0.02 and good luck !!

Thanks for the tips. Not so sure I'll get into wrestling, but I might make CC work, as I already run. I like the idea of starting up a Spartan Race Training club at my school, and will look into that for next year. Thanks!