Ah yes, the never-ending "Chances?" threads.

H

HeWantsTheBFE

USAFA Class of 2017
5-Year Member
Joined
Feb 1, 2013
Messages
260
OK guys, im sure you all know the drill:

My stats:

GPA: 3.97 (66 of 500 in my class)
SAT: 1960 (700 reading, 660 math, 570 writing)
ACT: 29, notable 34 science, others except for writing (24) were 28-29.
All-year running athlete (varsity)
Cadet Commander, various national-level activities in Civil Air Patrol (I get my Earhart Award next month) and SAR qualified
USNA Summer Seminar
NHS
Lots of community service hours, mostly CAP and NHS related

CFA scores were good (at or slightly below average). The runs were above average though.

Nominated (not primary)

I've also had my application in since June, it was put into "qualified" status in very early July. And so I've been waiting.

Anyone know anything that would either help me or put my mind at ease?

Thanks.

PS: if I forgot to include anything, let me know.
 
i am basically in the same boat, same athletics (runner :wink: ), "good" cfa, grades higher gpa but slightly lower sat, extracurriculars . i have had my app done for quite some time as well and have a non-principal nom. i am not trying to be negative in any way but typically people like you and I are if anything the average or slightly above average caliber of applicants and this just shows who applies to Service Academies. there is no way to say for sure but i have also been a candidate and qualified for a while and all my liason said he cant tell me is that i am very competitive.

it all comes down to how the academy scores you as a whole. there have been others with similar stats that have had a non-principal nom and been appointed. all we can do is wait until the appointments start to really come out.

one of the things that gets me is that sometimes i see videos of people in the academy and they by no means look to be superior specimen but i'm sure there is something about each individual that the academy chooses to appoint.

and nice name :biggrin: haha what area are you from
 
I had similar stats last year and I didn't make it even though I got every nomination I applied for. Then again I'm from a fairly competitive area. This year my scores are way better and my CFA scores went way up and I've been told by people in admissions that I'm looking pretty good.

You've probably seen this answer enough if you've been on this board before...
It really depends on who your competition is. If there are falcons and recruited athletes with 4.0s and 12 APs and 2400s on the SAT and maxing every event on the CFA on the same nomination slate as you, then put yourself in a seat at admissions and tell yourself how you compare.

Then again you could be in a district where your stats blow everyone else out of the water.

I just so happens that I live in one of the only predominantly conservative areas close to NYC, so this was not the case for me.
 
Matthewmillr94 said:
It really depends on who your competition is. If there are falcons and recruited athletes with 4.0s and 12 APs and 2400s on the SAT and maxing every event on the CFA on the same nomination slate as you, then put yourself in a seat at admissions and tell yourself how you compare.
Click to expand...

Interesting bit here: My AFA nomination came from my Congressperson... yet I had not applied for it to that office. I'm happy I got it, as I didn't get it elsewhere. Therefore, I have a nagging suspicion that my congressperson didn't have a lot of quality applying to USAFA.

I also got a USMMA primary nom from that office (got my appointment a month later) so I know they see something in me. But the waiting sucks.
 
Not Bad

Your stats look very competative. I know the waiting can be painful. At this time if I were you. I would solidifiy Plan B or C. Just in case Plan A doesn't work out. If the AFA is where you truly want to go. Check out prep schools and Falcon scholarships.

Push Hard, Press Forward
 
tug_boat said:
Your stats look very competative. I know the waiting can be painful. At this time if I were you. I would solidifiy Plan B or C. Just in case Plan A doesn't work out. If the AFA is where you truly want to go. Check out prep schools and Falcon scholarships.

Push Hard, Press Forward
Click to expand...

Painful is a bit of an understatement.

Staring at computer screens looking at "Your Status: Candidate" i've probably wasted more time than I would like to admit.

For everything else, there's I-day, neh?
 
Prep schools

If you are interested in Prep schools contact matthewmillr. He just attended an excellent school.

Push Hard, Press Forward
 
Something I've always wondered. Not knowing ALL the school profiles in the country; how can a person with a 3.97 gpa be ranked 66 out of 500? That means 13% of the class have HIGHER than a 3.97.

Oh well. That's why the ACT and SAT are so important. It's the great equalizer. I saw one school recently that only had 200 seniors. (Pretty small school). The individual had a 3.95gpa and was ranked like #75 out of the 200. Either the student body is made up of all geniuses, or it's pretty easy to get a 4.0.

Anyway; as far as your chances go, I give you a 74.39595697% chance. I'd try and be more accurate, but neither I, you, or anyone else here knows who your competition is and what their scores are. The only thing I can probably tell you is; you probably won't be offered a prep-school slot . Your grades are probably too good for that. But again; we don't know who you're competing against.
 
5 AP's and a college-level engineering course, plus 3 AP's last year.

It's a pretty competitive school. For a public school, (think Scarsdale, New Rochelle, Stuy)

It's up there with the best of em.
 
Christcorp said:
Something I've always wondered. Not knowing ALL the school profiles in the country; how can a person with a 3.97 gpa be ranked 66 out of 500? That means 13% of the class have HIGHER than a 3.97.
Click to expand...
I have wondered the same thing.
 
It's a very good and competitive school.

Last year there were two people who went to Service Academies, our #3 in the class got Harvard, full ride, others include Dartmouth, Haverford, etc. And it isn't even regular admit time yet.

Hell, i got USMMA already. It's a good school. High quality.
 
HeWantsTheBFE said:
It's a very good and competitive school.

Last year there were two people who went to Service Academies, our #3 in the class got Harvard, full ride, others include Dartmouth, Haverford, etc. And it isn't even regular admit time yet.

Hell, i got USMMA already. It's a good school. High quality.
Click to expand...

If I understand things correctly, Harvard doesn't offer a "free ride" based off of academics or athletics. Only income based.

I have heard others talking about their "free rides" at various colleges. It was actually "Free" because their FAFSA showed a very low EFC. Same drill at Harvard. Part of the financial contribution is by the US government.
 
That's exactly what happened, but he also got in early decision, no small feat.
 
to the original poster what did the afa calculate your gpa to be?
 
HeWantsTheBFE said:
That's exactly what happened, but he also got in early decision, no small feat.
Click to expand...
The reason why I mentioned there are no academic or athletic "free rides" at Harvard is because it is different than a "free ride" at say, Purdue. At Purdue, the free ride is because he or she may be a mini rocket scientist or a super-stud football player. There are about 2000 smart kids at Harvard who get in. 900 during the 1st round which means he or she is rather smart or a pretty good athlete (and smart). But the rocket scientist still pays just like the 2000th student.

I just was clarifying a technicality. In short, the #3 ranked kid got into Harvard. No need to mention "free ride" as those two words adds no value to the students merit (as it would at Purdue). :)
 
Packer said:
I have wondered the same thing.
Click to expand...

I might be wrong, but doesn't that ranking style mean several students had exactly the same stats? That is to say, there could be 10 students in 10th place if all had the same gpa. I would welcome more light on this!
 
I dont know how my school does it. All i know is that I take 5 AP's, as do a lot of my classmates. I don't see why the GPA/class rank thing is such a big deal.

It's a 3.97. I'm 66/500 as of the start of this year. Class rank hasnt been updated as of then. Can we please pass on this so I can get some real feedback please?
 
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