Advice on being more competitive?

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Jan 28, 2019
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Hello! I'm a current junior interested in applying to USMA and USNA. Given my current information, what steps should I take to become more competitive for an appointment?

Academics:
GPA: 3.93/ 4.0 (unweighted) 4.44/4.33 (weighted) (my school doesn't rank)
ACT: 34 (Cumulative) 33 (English) 34 (Math) 35 (Reading) 35 (Science) PSAT: 1490
APs: Chinese-5
Current Classes: AP Calculus BC, AP Physics 1, Honors Spanish, USH, English

Sports:
- Varsity Swimming (3 years) (recieved all-Conference 10th grade, will be captain next year)
- Varsity Cross Country (3 years) (will be captain next year)
- Martial Arts, 5 years

Extracurriculars:
- My school's community service club Co-Leader (10, 11)
- Science Olympiad team member (10, 11)
- Quiz Bowl team member (10, 11) (will be co-captain next year)
- Student Council Secretary/Treasurer (10)
- Reporter for the school newspaper (9, 10, 11)
- Piano, 10 years
- School Orchestra- first chair flute (10, 11)

Achievements
- Participated in FPSPI (Future Problem Solving International Conference)
- Participated in my city's high school math competition and placed indvidually 4th (9), 3rd (10), and 5th (11).
- Science Olympiad: placed 3rd at state (both as a team and individually in my event)
- Recieved Honorable Mention in my city's High School Chemistry Contest
- National Spanish Exam- Gold Medal (9, 10)
- (probably will be a National Merit Semifinalist based off of my State's cutoff)

Miscellaneous:
- Paid summer internship at a research laboratory
- Attended my state's governor's school
- ~200 Community Service hours

Sidenote: Just out of curiosity, would being an asian female negatively affect my application? Regardless, I will still apply, but I just wanted to know if SA's have similar affirmative action policies to other universities. Also, is Missouri generally a competitive state?
 
On the contrary, being an Asian female should be a plus. So few apply! Be sure to do Girl’s State Missouri. That adds the biggest leadership points to your App. Would have been nice if you did Scouting. That would have doubled your leadership points. Many competitive candidates would have Varsity and Captain. You are missing a team sport. Would be better to have a mix of team and individual. Team activity is more valued as you are learning to adjust to life in team at the Academy. Many top candidates would have Girls State and Scouting. So be sure to do Girls State! Your ACT is strong enough. That’s about equal to 1500 SAT (730V, 770M). USNA will equalize your ACT to SAT. However, strong enough is subjective and relative. It only takes one stronger female candidate to push you aside. Apply to USAFA, USMA and on campus ROTC Programs and Scholarships. And take AP Chem, APUSH, AP GOV/COMP POL, AP PSYCH, and Comp Sci. You’ll be grateful you did if you enroll at USNA or other SAs.
 
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On the contrary, being an Asian female should be a plus. So few apply! Be sure to do Girl’s State Missouri. That adds the biggest leadership points to your App. Would have been nice if you did Scouting. That would have doubled your leadership points. Many competitive candidates would have Varsity and Captain. You are missing a team sport. Would be better to have a mix of team and individual. Team activity is more valued as you are learning to adjust to life in team at the Academy. Many top candidates would have Girls State and Scouting. So be sure to do Girls State! Your ACT is strong enough. That’s about equal to 1500 SAT (730V, 770M). USNA will equalize your ACT to SAT. However, strong enough is subjective and relative. It only takes one stronger female candidate to push you aside. Apply to USAFA, USMA and on campus ROTC Programs and Scholarships. And take AP Chem, APUSH, AP GOV/COMP POL, AP PSYCH, and Comp Sci. You’ll be grateful you did if you enroll at USNA or other SAs.

Thanks for responding! I am definitely considering Girls State this summer. Are sports such as cross-country and swimming weighted less than team sports such as soccer and basketball by USMA and USNA? If so, should I invest my time into playing soccer (jv most likely) this spring (considering the fact that I will very likely be the varsity captain of both xc and swimming next year), or should I spend my time improving ACT scores and other areas instead?
 
You look like a great candidate to me.

CFA numbers?

A team sport and captain helps, but I think your sports look good as is.

Girls State is a must for you.
 
Play the sport you’re passionate about, not the one you think will look good on your application. A team sport is nice because the military is all about teamwork, but there’s nothing wrong with an individual sport. In USNA’s eyes, sports are important because they teach discipline, perseverence, resilience and competitiveness. Being a captain, whether of a team sport like soccer or an individual sport like cross country — is viewed very positively. But in the end, play the sport that makes you the happiest. That’s what matters most.
 
Are sports such as cross-country and swimming weighted less than team sports such as soccer and basketball by USMA and USNA? If so, should I invest my time into playing soccer (jv most likely) this spring
I'm not sure what you mean by 'weighted less,' but the academies recruit for cross county and swimming, so they are looked at favorably. A bonus about being a XC runner is that all the running will be a breeze for you if you get an appointment. You especially do not want to give up a captain position to join the jv team of a new sport your senior year. That would take a lot of explaining.
 
And this is all advice. No one knows what admissions will do with your application. You look great to me!! Especially coming from MO, not a hot bed of Navy activity. Your initial competition is within your state. Regarding sports, do what you are passionate about. It would be difficult in an MOC/ BGO interview to say “I went out for xxx team sport BC it looks better on my resume than xxx individual sport that I love”.
 
Hello! I'm a current junior interested in applying to USMA and USNA. Given my current information, what steps should I take to become more competitive for an appointment?

Academics:
GPA: 3.93/ 4.0 (unweighted) 4.44/4.33 (weighted) (my school doesn't rank)
ACT: 34 (Cumulative) 33 (English) 34 (Math) 35 (Reading) 35 (Science) PSAT: 1490
APs: Chinese-5
Current Classes: AP Calculus BC, AP Physics 1, Honors Spanish, USH, English

Sports:
- Varsity Swimming (3 years) (recieved all-Conference 10th grade, will be captain next year)
- Varsity Cross Country (3 years) (will be captain next year)
- Martial Arts, 5 years

Extracurriculars:
- My school's community service club Co-Leader (10, 11)
- Science Olympiad team member (10, 11)
- Quiz Bowl team member (10, 11) (will be co-captain next year)
- Student Council Secretary/Treasurer (10)
- Reporter for the school newspaper (9, 10, 11)
- Piano, 10 years
- School Orchestra- first chair flute (10, 11)

Achievements
- Participated in FPSPI (Future Problem Solving International Conference)
- Participated in my city's high school math competition and placed indvidually 4th (9), 3rd (10), and 5th (11).
- Science Olympiad: placed 3rd at state (both as a team and individually in my event)
- Recieved Honorable Mention in my city's High School Chemistry Contest
- National Spanish Exam- Gold Medal (9, 10)
- (probably will be a National Merit Semifinalist based off of my State's cutoff)

Miscellaneous:
- Paid summer internship at a research laboratory
- Attended my state's governor's school
- ~200 Community Service hours

Sidenote: Just out of curiosity, would being an asian female negatively affect my application? Regardless, I will still apply, but I just wanted to know if SA's have similar affirmative action policies to other universities. Also, is Missouri generally a competitive state?
Pretty sure you will get in. I would be shocked if you did not get a LOA.
 
Pretty sure you will get in. I would be shocked if you did not get a LOA.

@VirginiaHall2024, while you bask in the glow of this endorsement, suggest you also work on Plan B. Because the only sure thing at SAs is that there’s no such thing as a sure thing.

By the way, if that’s your real name, suggest you ask the moderators to change your handle. This is an anonymous site, for obvious reasons.
 
Pretty sure you will get in. I would be shocked if you did not get a LOA.

I don’t know how you can say that. I have seen a lot of people with great numbers like OP that didn’t get LOAs.
AHAHHAHHAHAHA. An Asian American female with a GPA of 3.93 (unweighted), an ACT score of 34 who speaks Chinese? Her RC will come out and help her fill out the application. HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAH.
 
Pretty sure you will get in. I would be shocked if you did not get a LOA.

I don’t know how you can say that. I have seen a lot of people with great numbers like OP that didn’t get LOAs.
AHAHHAHHAHAHA. An Asian American female with a GPA of 3.93 (unweighted), an ACT score of 34 who speaks Chinese? Her RC will come out and help her fill out the application. HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAH.

I will put money on that she is treated like the rest of us were treated.
 
Stay out of trouble and strive to keep yourself fit and injury free. You're golden

Push Hard, Press Forward
 
So US population is made up of 4.7% Asians.

USMA and USNA have about 7% Asians.

USAFA has 5% Asians.

So how is it that the data shows the percent of Asians that make up the SA classes are at or above the racial make-up of the general US population, yet it is assumed they are under-represented and are supposedly given preferential looks?

Personally, I don’t think they’re given preferential looks based on being Asians.
 
So US population is made up of 4.7% Asians.

USMA and USNA have about 7% Asians.

USAFA has 5% Asians.

So how is it that the data shows the percent of Asians that make up the SA classes are at or above the racial make-up of the general US population, yet it is assumed they are under-represented and are supposedly given preferential looks?

Personally, I don’t think they’re given preferential looks based on being Asians.

Cornell has 18%. Harvard like 9%.
 
My older D’s school has 19% Asians.

I understand if Asians constituted 1-2% of a class at the SAs, then they should get preferential looks so as to get the student population to mirror more the general US population. But the SAs are already at or above the Asian make-up of the US population so why would people think they are under-represented and their get preferential looks?
 
So how is it that the data shows the percent of Asians that make up the SA classes are at or above the racial make-up of the general US population, yet it is assumed they are under-represented and are supposedly given preferential looks?

If in fact USNA gives Asians preferential treatment to achieve greater representation — a big if — then I’m guessing they do it not because Asians are under-represented at USNA, but because they’re under-represented in the naval and Marine officer corps. To achieve “full representation” in the officer corps — however that’s defined — requires compensating actions within the feeder sources.

Purely my hypothesis and by no means an endorsement of what may or may not be happening.
 
My older D’s school has 19% Asians.

I understand if Asians constituted 1-2% of a class at the SAs, then they should get preferential looks so as to get the student population to mirror more the general US population. But the SAs are already at or above the Asian make-up of the US population so why would people think they are under-represented and their get preferential looks?

It goes like this ... since there are more than the national average, they are given preferential treatment - and all Asian females will be allowed in before white males who can do more pullups.

I prefer to think after a tough admissions process, the SA knows what they want and appoint that.

My son will serve with anyone else, no matter color or gender, as equals.
 
Pretty sure you will get in. I would be shocked if you did not get a LOA.

@VirginiaHall2024, while you bask in the glow of this endorsement, suggest you also work on Plan B. Because the only sure thing at SAs is that there’s no such thing as a sure thing.

By the way, if that’s your real name, suggest you ask the moderators to change your handle. This is an anonymous site, for obvious reasons.

Yes, I'm definitely working on a Plan B, and haha, Virginia Hall was an American spy for the OSS during World War 2 (and definitely not my real name).
 
My older D’s school has 19% Asians.

I understand if Asians constituted 1-2% of a class at the SAs, then they should get preferential looks so as to get the student population to mirror more the general US population. But the SAs are already at or above the Asian make-up of the US population so why would people think they are under-represented and their get preferential looks?

This is what I thought. Because Asians are already over-represented at SAs, is it inaccurate for me to assume that when given two candidates (an asian and a non asian) with equal stats, SA's are more likely to admit the non-asian candidate? Either way, it's probably a better use of my time to focus on making my application as strong as possible, rather than uselessly pondering this question.
 
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