Am I competitive?

USAFA_nominee#1 said:
I’m posting this knowing that y’all have probably seen posts like this dozens of times, but please bear with me. I would like to list out my achievements, as I still have quite some time in high school to improve on these, and ask you what I can do to build and improve my application. I will be applying to USAFA, USNA, and the Merchant-Marine Academy. I am currently a sophomore. I am a varsity Cross Country runner and I am an Ultramarathon runner in my own time. I am the sophomore class secretary for student council, a member of key club, and quite active in serving in my church (I started a life group that I lead). I am the president of the republicans club at my school and quite involved in community politics (it is worth noting that I have met my congressional representative and senators on several occasions and I am very familiar with his staff), additionally I am have lettered for the debate, current events, math, number sense, and mock congress teams. I am the founder and “captain” (president) of Fellowship of Christian Athletes at my school. I am also the historian for the math club. Finally, I’m 3/325 in my class rank and climbing. I’m quite worried about my competitiveness, but there’s a lot of room for growth here. I’m reaching for Stuco and NHS President/vice-president and better officer roles in the math club. I am also talking about founding a Beta Club at my school and the benefits of that, but we do already have a key club. I have also taken the PSAT and have national Merit in my goals. My biggest flaws in the current status of my application are that I only have one varsity sport. I might letter in track but, as you can tell as I am an Ultra runner, I’m not a fan of the short distances in track. I’m just not a crazy good athlete. I am open and begging for constructive criticism and advice on the next 2.5 years of high school. My school doesn’t have a lot of clubs or classes so I have opportunities to be the founder of a lot of things if anybody has recommendations.
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Whoa ultramarathon runner in highschool is crazy. What's the longest ultra you've run?
 
Osprey123 said:
OP, I wouldn't take the SAT before finishing Algebra 2. Take it Junior year at the beginning and the end after a year of PreCal.
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I and other BGOs that I know recommend a first SAT in spring of Sophomore year. Many schools send sophs to take the PSAT in fall of soph yr, use that as a diagnostic and then SAT in the spring.

FWIW, one of my wn kid took the SAT in 7th grade to qualify for a G&T program. His near 600 was prior to finishing Alg 1. As you would imagine, his scores continued to improve in High School.
 
OldRetSWO said:
I and other BGOs that I know recommend a first SAT in spring of Sophomore year. Many schools send sophs to take the PSAT in fall of soph yr, use that as a diagnostic and then SAT in the spring.

FWIW, one of my wn kid took the SAT in 7th grade to qualify for a G&T program. His near 600 was prior to finishing Alg 1. As you would imagine, his scores continued to improve in High School.
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OP can certainly take it if they want. IMHO I personally think it's best to focus on the math that they are in and finish learning the content as a top priority right now. If the family has the money to spend or the test is free at the school, taking the SAT is fine. It doesn't really matter when you take the test as long as you know the content.

Many schools may be starting the testing cycle early but I am not sure what they are gaining. SAT scores are falling nationwide.

It's just my recommendation as a math teacher and parent. My cadet just focused on truly learning the highest level math available at school and put in long hours at home to learn the content. They took the test junior year with 790 for math and were very well prepared for the academy. YMMV
 
Osprey123 said:
OP can certainly take it if they want. IMHO I personally think it's best to focus on the math that they are in and finish learning the content as a top priority right now. If the family has the money to spend or the test is free at the school, taking the SAT is fine. It doesn't really matter when you take the test as long as you know the content.

Many schools may be starting the testing cycle early but I am not sure what they are gaining. SAT scores are falling nationwide.

It's just my recommendation as a math teacher and parent. My cadet just focused on truly learning the highest level math available at school and put in long hours at home to learn the content. They took the test junior year with 790 for math and were very well prepared for the academy. YMMV
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My son took the SAT once his junior year (though he didn’t put much time learning the content in high school).

I would split the difference. If you think you might not do very well on the SAT, taking it multiple times will lead to the individual securing his highest score. If you think you will do well, it isn’t necessary.
 
A1Janitor said:
My son took the SAT once his junior year (though he didn’t put much time learning the content in high school).

I would split the difference. If you think you might not do very well on the SAT, taking it multiple times will lead to the individual securing his highest score. If you think you will do well, it isn’t necessary.
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The SAT has math through PreCal. If you are taking PreCal junior year, I'd recommend taking it Fall Junior year, Spring Junior year after finishing PreCal and analyzing the Fall SAT results. Early Fall Senior year after studying during the summer. And also take the ACT to see if that's a better test platform for you. Obviously if you get really high scores stop. A 34 ACT usually doesn't usually have to push for a 35 or 36. This is all just my opinion.
 
Osprey123 said:
The SAT has math through PreCal. If you are taking PreCal junior year, I'd recommend taking it Fall Junior year, Spring Junior year after finishing PreCal and analyzing the Fall SAT results. Early Fall Senior year after studying during the summer. And also take the ACT to see if that's a better test platform for you. Obviously if you get really high scores stop. A 34 ACT usually doesn't usually have to push for a 35 or 36. This is all just my opinion.
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My son took it spring of junior year. He took ACT and SAT once.

He took all advanced math courses offered.
 
As many others have said, you have an extensive extracurricular load, and things seem to be okay in most of the other domains. Everyone has there own opinion on what matters/makes you phenomenal/etc., but I think one thing I've really been able to tell with my peers, but also the people I supervise, is who has had a job before, and perhaps maybe one where they haven't always enjoyed or been passionate about what they've had to do. Not saying that USAFA is looking for you to have work experience, but something I can usually tell with even basic cadets that get here.
 
I'm a senior in high school so I don't know anything, but I want to disagree with the people saying not to worry about the PSAT, at least when it comes to taking it in your junior year.

As everyone here will tell you, it's great to have plans to attend a Service Academy, but you should also have a plan B, C, and possibly even D. Presumably one of those plans will include attending a regular college. If you will need any kind of aid to attend college, or even if you don't but want to cut down your costs, then the junior year PSAT could be important. I'm not sure if being a National Merit Finalist does much, other than checking a box, for acceptance at regular colleges, but there are a lot of schools that will throw money at you once you get in if you're lucky enough to become an NMF. If you google it, there are lists of schools and what they offer. It varies from full ride (although I think these are less common), to half tuition, and even some that will give you in-state tuition status. It's definitely worth trying to do well on it, even if only 15,000 get NMF a year. If you don't, you'll just be that more prepared when you take the SAT. Good luck!
 
Excellent advice from all!

Work backwards. Rising senior summer you want to clear your plate and reserve for SLE, NASS, USAFA SS, Boy's State and AIM. That summer you'll do final prep for the CFA and take it the earliest window, then transfer it to the other SAs. 4/6 measures are more just pure hard work; the other 2 are more skilll based (bball and shuttle run). From now to summer rising junior year, plan to peak for SAT/ACT, and then piggyback that preparation for a stellar PSAT. Then you'll have your anchoring scores, and use them in the summer program applications. Can't emphasize enough to get the SAT/ACT anchoring scores done by beginning of junior year; frees you up to focus on other things.

Good to engage with clubs, leadership, and sports. However, be aware of which ones are more like gratuitous check-the-box activities, and which ones have significant engagement, can you tell a story that leads to defined/quantified achievement/leadership?

Any time now, also go over the Dodmerb form and address anything you were diagnosed with, or surgeries/hositalization. It's also a good time to preplan/address things like dermatologist visit and wisdom teeth, perhaps other things as well. My DD just had her wisdom teeth out at USAFA. She hit the genetic lottery and only had 2 uppers. But it was a 4 year wait, and lucky she had no pain although they were impacted her doolie year. If I could go back in time, I probably would have paid to have them taken out rising high school junior year, but it worked out really well.

You are on a great trajectory, keep it up!
 
USAFA_nominee#1 said:
I’m posting this knowing that y’all have probably seen posts like this dozens of times, but please bear with me. I would like to list out my achievements, as I still have quite some time in high school to improve on these, and ask you what I can do to build and improve my application. I will be applying to USAFA, USNA, and the Merchant-Marine Academy. I am currently a sophomore. I am a varsity Cross Country runner and I am an Ultramarathon runner in my own time. I am the sophomore class secretary for student council, a member of key club, and quite active in serving in my church (I started a life group that I lead). I am the president of the republicans club at my school and quite involved in community politics (it is worth noting that I have met my congressional representative and senators on several occasions and I am very familiar with his staff), additionally I am have lettered for the debate, current events, math, number sense, and mock congress teams. I am the founder and “captain” (president) of Fellowship of Christian Athletes at my school. I am also the historian for the math club. Finally, I’m 3/325 in my class rank and climbing. I’m quite worried about my competitiveness, but there’s a lot of room for growth here. I’m reaching for Stuco and NHS President/vice-president and better officer roles in the math club. I am also talking about founding a Beta Club at my school and the benefits of that, but we do already have a key club. I have also taken the PSAT and have national Merit in my goals. My biggest flaws in the current status of my application are that I only have one varsity sport. I might letter in track but, as you can tell as I am an Ultra runner, I’m not a fan of the short distances in track. I’m just not a crazy good athlete. I am open and begging for constructive criticism and advice on the next 2.5 years of high school. My school doesn’t have a lot of clubs or classes so I have opportunities to be the founder of a lot of things if anybody has recommendations.
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My daughter just applied to USAFA and was selective about how she invested her time at school and out of school. She is in the top 10%, so academics are important. Try for as many honors and AP classes as you can manage. My daughter plays violin. Worked on her skills to compete locally and is a Concert Master. She mentors other musicians (leadership). Lettered in Varsity Golf and competes in school and year-round tournaments that work with her school schedule. She strength and agility trains and completed the Devil Pups Youth Program. Emaly is in her 4th year of AFJROTC as Unit Commander. Find Boy Scouts and Civil Air Patrol and gain leadership roles. Try the Science Fair too, since STEM is big. Emaly is currently NHS President, CSF President, Unit Commander, and Concert Mistress, first place in a county since fair: Physics. In all these things, you apply your self-made goals to mentor others (leadership). Also, a leadership chairperson in community events can be helpful and present you as well-rounded. I hope USAFA picks her up. USNA has been after her and also CalTech. (Leadership) every experience will help you succeed at USAFA they expect teamwork and help you write responses in the kits. Wishing you the best in your journey, you seem pretty bright already, good job.
 
MDRDV said:
Extra curricular overload! Pick a couple that speak about you and that you enjoy. No need to go be a founder for more. Athletics seems okay. Do trial CFAs to find your weakness and work on them. You are silent on the most important element... academics. Take standardized tests now to know where you are and to know where work is needed. Take or target calc, physics and chem to the highest level available at your school.
Find your plan B and C if you do not get an appointment. Keep an open mind, life changes, you may find going to a service academy isn't really what you want to do.
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I’m in 10th grade and my SAT score is low (1270)—but I’ve only taken the one PSAT and just started practicing for the SAT that I’ll begin taking regularly this winter. My goal is 1500+ because I have other schools and ROTC programs on my college list that are quite academically competitive. I am top 1% in my class, taking more weighted classes than the current salutatorian and I have all 100s so it’s hard to say I’m not going to move up in my class rank. I will likely graduate with one of the top 2 titles. Also to benefit my academics, I am applying for an internship/research opportunity at the most prestigious school in my state and I’m liking my chances (not going to name the school as not to reveal my location). My athletics are weak when it comes to the traditional school sports, but I am a nationally ranked ultramarathon runner and that’s what I enjoy doing so I’m not going to stress much about becoming a middle-distance track star. I definitely will take your advice on doing trial CFA tests, as well as taking all the science and math credits my school offers.
 
Osprey123 said:
The SAT doesn't have Calculus.

OP, I wouldn't take the SAT before finishing Algebra 2. Take it Junior year at the beginning and the end after a year of PreCal. Learn Desmos since the SAT will be online. I do the SAT prep online since the test is online. Books are OK too.

1450 for your SAT goal. Also try the ACT if you're good with science. 33 for an ACT goal.
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Yeah I took the PSAT and got a near perfect score for English (missed 3) and did awful on the math. My weakness, according to college board, was algebra. My goal is 1500. I haven’t studied so once I do (started last week. I will take it regularly beginning this winter) it’ll go up.
 
IsaNeves said:
My daughter just applied to USAFA and was selective about how she invested her time at school and out of school. She is in the top 10%, so academics are important. Try for as many honors and AP classes as you can manage. My daughter plays violin. Worked on her skills to compete locally and is a Concert Master. She mentors other musicians (leadership). Lettered in Varsity Golf and competes in school and year-round tournaments that work with her school schedule. She strength and agility trains and completed the Devil Pups Youth Program. Emaly is in her 4th year of AFJROTC as Unit Commander. Find Boy Scouts and Civil Air Patrol and gain leadership roles. Try the Science Fair too, since STEM is big. Emaly is currently NHS President, CSF President, Unit Commander, and Concert Mistress, first place in a county since fair: Physics. In all these things, you apply your self-made goals to mentor others (leadership). Also, a leadership chairperson in community events can be helpful and present you as well-rounded. I hope USAFA picks her up. USNA has been after her and also CalTech. (Leadership) every experience will help you succeed at USAFA they expect teamwork and help you write responses in the kits. Wishing you the best in your journey, you seem pretty bright already, good job.
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Thank you. Best of luck to your daughter! CalTech is a huge deal! Your daughter has accomplished a lot that I’d love to accomplish in the next couple years. Lastly, what is CSF?
 
HCopter said:
Excellent advice from all!

Work backwards. Rising senior summer you want to clear your plate and reserve for SLE, NASS, USAFA SS, Boy's State and AIM. That summer you'll do final prep for the CFA and take it the earliest window, then transfer it to the other SAs. 4/6 measures are more just pure hard work; the other 2 are more skilll based (bball and shuttle run). From now to summer rising junior year, plan to peak for SAT/ACT, and then piggyback that preparation for a stellar PSAT. Then you'll have your anchoring scores, and use them in the summer program applications. Can't emphasize enough to get the SAT/ACT anchoring scores done by beginning of junior year; frees you up to focus on other things.

Good to engage with clubs, leadership, and sports. However, be aware of which ones are more like gratuitous check-the-box activities, and which ones have significant engagement, can you tell a story that leads to defined/quantified achievement/leadership?

Any time now, also go over the Dodmerb form and address anything you were diagnosed with, or surgeries/hositalization. It's also a good time to preplan/address things like dermatologist visit and wisdom teeth, perhaps other things as well. My DD just had her wisdom teeth out at USAFA. She hit the genetic lottery and only had 2 uppers. But it was a 4 year wait, and lucky she had no pain although they were impacted her doolie year. If I could go back in time, I probably would have paid to have them taken out rising high school junior year, but it worked out really well.

You are on a great trajectory, keep it up!
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Thank you! And can you elaborate on the extracurriculars segment? I know I have a lot of extracurriculars—but I’m quite involved across all of them.
 
Clar said:
As many others have said, you have an extensive extracurricular load, and things seem to be okay in most of the other domains. Everyone has there own opinion on what matters/makes you phenomenal/etc., but I think one thing I've really been able to tell with my peers, but also the people I supervise, is who has had a job before, and perhaps maybe one where they haven't always enjoyed or been passionate about what they've had to do. Not saying that USAFA is looking for you to have work experience, but something I can usually tell with even basic cadets that get here.
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I also have decent work experience that I have not listed. As well as future internship opportunities.
 
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