application tips

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cdmc

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Jan 27, 2020
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I applied for the class of 2024 this year and am still waiting to hear back but it looks like I am going to have the privilege of reapplying for class of 2025. My experience in applying involved a lot of research. I have compiled a list of things that I wish I had known when I was applying. This includes a timeline starting from freshman year to fall of senior year. It is my hope that this list helps other young men and women who want to serve. Best of Luck. Go Army! Beat Navy!

*This is all pre-corona so I do not know how some things will change as SLE and Girls/Boys State have been affected
 

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This is a great list and I'm sure it'll be useful for whoever reads it. I'm surprised you didn't get in. Which state do you live in?
 
If you haven't received TWE then you are still in the hunt, however have your plan B school in place as if you had already received your TWE so you aren't scrambling and then making rushed decisions. I have two sons who have gone through the application process and 1 received a May1st/2018 appointment and the other a 2020 Civil Prep appointment. Your application advice list has great info...and my only suggestions for improving the list would be to add more emphasis to SAT/AP exams and GPA scores as they represent 60% or more of your overall applicant score. Study, study, and study some more for SAT/AP exam questions every chance you get, not just a week before the exams. Also retake your SAT/AP exams 4,5,6,7 times which both my son's did and their scores improved dramatically. 175+ points which took their SAT's to 1450 and 1430 ---HUGE impact on their applications.
 
hchen5041 said:
This is a great list and I'm sure it'll be useful for whoever reads it. I'm surprised you didn't get in. Which state do you live in?
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I live in district 25 of Texas which is extremely competitive.
 
DadsGoingGray said:
Also retake your SAT/AP exams 4,5,6,7 times which both my son's did and their scores improved dramatically. 175+ points which took their SAT's to 1450 and 1430 ---HUGE impact on their applications.
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Agree 100%...our son's Regional Commander at West Point stressed exactly what you have stated. A 1450 SAT is going to be hard for the Admission's team not to notice. And because GPA and SAT/ACT scores count for 60% of the criteria, it's the single factor that an individual student can impact for the whole process. Obviously, the CFA, leadership, and athletics are very important as well, but academics being 60% of the admissions criteria is hard to argue with.
 
DadsGoingGray said:
If you haven't received TWE then you are still in the hunt, however have your plan B school in place as if you had already received your TWE so you aren't scrambling and then making rushed decisions. I have two sons who have gone through the application process and 1 received a May1st/2018 appointment and the other a 2020 Civil Prep appointment. Your application advice list has great info...and my only suggestions for improving the list would be to add more emphasis to SAT/AP exams and GPA scores as they represent 60% or more of your overall applicant score. Study, study, and study some more for SAT/AP exam questions every chance you get, not just a week before the exams. Also retake your SAT/AP exams 4,5,6,7 times which both my son's did and their scores improved dramatically. 175+ points which took their SAT's to 1450 and 1430 ---HUGE impact on their applications.
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If we havent heard anything back yet would you say our chances are getting smaller and smaller? Is there a deadline to hear something back?
 
This list is awesome!!!! The only thing you didn't talk about was taking the SAT/ACT. I am a sophomore in high school right now and I saved this list to help guide me. I better start making up for some of the stuff I missed freshman year. Thank you!
 
Bennett611 said:
This list is awesome!!!! The only thing you didn't talk about was taking the SAT/ACT. I am a sophomore in high school right now and I saved this list to help guide me. I better start making up for some of the stuff I missed freshman year. Thank you!
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I’m so glad I could help! In terms of ACT/SAT I don’t really have much to say other than practice practice practice. I started studying for it in middle school because it was used as a benchmark at my school. A lot of my preparation though came from sitting down and taking practice tests. Reviewing your mistakes and getting help from your teachers is also really helpful. What worked well for me was using english blue book of grammar for the writing section, ACT princeton review for english as well as khan academy, khan academy for math, and ACT princeton review for science. For the essay section what helped me the most was all of the essays that I had to write in my AP classes junior year because it is something that requires a lot of practice. In my opinion I thought ACT was a better test for me, but I did take both SAT and ACT.
 
YourAverageRandomUser said:
If we havent heard anything back yet would you say our chances are getting smaller and smaller? Is there a deadline to hear something back?
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Anything is possible at this point, but May 1st seems to be the deadline for those offered appointments to accept the offers or lose them. Keep focused on plan B and anything that happens with USMA will be a wonderful surprise. I know easier said than done but best of luck to you. My DS is in the same boat but he was very fortunate to receive a rare Civil Prep slot and that's all we are focusing on, except the 3X per day he checks his USMA portal ;-)
 
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