Application Opinions and Physical Advice

[YaBoi03]

Hello y'all, as can probably be assumed I am very interested in attending USMA and possibly some other service academies but I wanted some advice. The first thing I just wanted to do is list off my general application and get some opinions on where I need the most improvement. I will be entering my senior year of high school when the summer is over.

Academics:
- 4.0 GPA (don't know weighted)
- 1460 SAT (740 math, 720 reading, 6/3/5 essay)
- class rank 1 out of 613
- Took 4 AP classes so far and I plan to take 4 more my senior year
Athletics:
- Varsity Cross Country/Track
- Varsity Swimming
- No CFA scores yet but practicing all parts
Leadership:
- VP of Key Club (volunteering based club and we have over 100+ members)
- Science National Honor Society member
- Boys State
- Senior Leader for boys' Cross Country
Other:
- Played chess competitively for nearly all my life, have a lot of awards.
- 150+ volunteer hours in high school (so far)

I'd personally say I need more work in leadership, but I like hearing the opinions of others.

My second more narrowed-down thing is some physical advice. I am 6'3 and I usually weigh about 165 (156 right now because I am recovering from jaw surgery). I've been working for a while on just cranking out push-ups and pull-ups and all that but I feel like I've hit a ceiling. I wanted to know, maybe from personal experience or good knowledge, what is the best way to gain more muscle endurance and generally put on more weight because it is very hard for me. I know I can probably google this but I want to get information that is relevant to my tall and skinny body type specifically.

Thank you

 

[Hoppy]

Weighted pull ups and pushups. Have someone put a plate on your back while doing pushups so you're doing more weight.

 

[MidCakePa]

A note about leadership: It’s ultimately not about titles held or clubs joined. It’s about “leadership impact.” Do you have examples of how you identified an issue in an organization or your school or your community; devised a solution; and then rallied others to join your cause? Thus leaving the situation better than when you found it? If so, that should be the core of your interviews and essays, whether for USMA or for MOC noms.

 

[YaBoi03]

A note about leadership: It’s ultimately not about titles held or clubs joined. It’s about “leadership impact.” Do you have examples of how you identified an issue in an organization or your school or your community; devised a solution; and then rallied others to join your cause? Thus leaving the situation better than when you found it? If so, that should be the core of your interviews and essays, whether for USMA or for MOC noms.

Very understandable, that is why I am dedicating a lot to one club specifically. We do a lot of big projects with Key Club especially out of Covid. I will make sure to give it my all when I am able to. Thanks for the advice!

 

[toomuchtimeonmyhands]

I agree with what @MidCakePa said as well. It's about the impact. For example, being part of multiple diversity clubs, being on a diversity leadership team/panel and hosting open discussions numerous times throughout a year can be different ways to spread awareness for certain issues. Leadership doesn't have to be recognized/illustrated through social rallies or big events.

You do some pretty cardio heavy sports and your body type seems to show you are lanky. You can look into more nutrition stuff. Like eating more protein, more calories, etc. Look into how to bulk/build muscle and if you struggle, there should be a coach/trainer at school who can help you with that as well.

In terms of more push ups, weighted push ups can definitely help. Also change it up. Do push ups with your hand's closer together (but remember to not flare out your elbows) or do push ups where your feet are elevated and more of your bodyweight is towards your torso. When I was at USMA, I would combine the two a few weeks before any PT test. One thing my roommate did was to do like 20 something reps as fast as possible within a minute. The remaining time would be rest. Then keep doing that every minute. He would do these minute sets for like 10 straight minutes until failure.

For pull ups, weighted pull ups will help a lot. If you can't do weighted pull ups, start using elastic bands once you struggle to do unassisted bodyweight pull ups.

 

[sydthesquid35]

@YaBoi03
Hey! Rising yuk here. Honestly, your general application is rock solid. Though I don't like to refer to the "checking off the boxes" as West Point and the service academies in general look for far more than numbers on a piece of paper, your numbers are outstanding.

Regarding the physical aspects, muscle endurance, muscle strength, and strength to body weight exercises are the most critical in helping to develop healthy muscle and overall muscle mass (which in turn increases body weight). Particular exercises can include 3-rep deadlift, max bench press, max rep bench press at a low weight, cadenced pull ups, leg tucks, and max rep dumbbell squats, but of course there are plenty more related to these specific strengths. I personally love to weight train and focus on free weights and the Olympic bar, as weight training by far is one the best ways to increase muscle mass (of course alternating between high weight/low rep and low weight/high rep for both strength and endurance). Just make sure to change what type of exercises you are doing quite often, even if it means changing hand position like @toomuchtimeonmyhands recommended with the pushups as this change will actually make muscle gain easier and quicker.

Weight training can certainly be difficult to balance alongside your two cardio-heavy sports of cross country and swimming, as cardiovascular exercise and strength training tend to combat one another, but it just depends on what you want for your own body. Nutrition is definitely a huge part of gaining weight as well, and I certainly am not an expert in that category, but I would recommend protein shakes and extra healthy calories...you certainly won't gain weight if you're working off everything you consume! I know lots of the guys here at West Point that take supplements (just make sure to check that they are NCAA/ODIA acceptable) to increase muscle mass and weight in general.

Hope this helped, and good luck!!