As a College Applicant, will USNA look at College GPA or HS GPA?

Florida_Y2000

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Hypothetically speaking, if i had a below average highschool gpa, but in college/CC i recieve a perfect GPA along with a strong amount of athletic and extra-curricular activities in college, will they only review your College Transcript since its more recent, or will they also review your HS Record? (as it is subpar).

In their website it states that they look at Highschool OR College, but i have been recieving mixed opinions. Also, is it possible for College/CC students to get accepted into one of the SA?
 
USNA will look at both your high school and college grades, typically assigning more weight to the latter. Your priorities as a re-applicant should be completing a rigorous schedule (18 credits w/Chem), achieving a 4.0 your first semester, forming a good relationship with your English and Math teachers, and staying in good shape to perform well on the CFA.
 
USNA will look at both your high school and college grades, typically assigning more weight to the latter. Your priorities as a re-applicant should be completing a rigorous schedule (18 credits w/Chem), achieving a 4.0 your first semester, forming a good relationship with your English and Math teachers, and staying in good shape to perform well on the CFA.

Im glad thats the case. My gpa in highschool is currently a 2.5, which is a absolute long-shot. But i am determined to get a 3.5+ Gpa in college taking rigorous classes similiar of a freshman in USNA. Would my highschool gpa preety much affect my chances in a negative way? Especially since ive taken honors classes and have done bad in quite a few.
 
Your GPA "value" is really irrelevant. USNA is going to look at specific courses. For example, I had a candidate who didn't do well in H.S. chemistry -- earned a "C." In college chemistry, the same candidate earned a "B." I was told the Admissions Board wasn't overly confident in some of the candidate's grades (chemistry being just one), thus that candidate did not become qualified. Bottom line, if you did not do well in multiple courses....you need to hit grand slams in college. A slight "bump" up in a grade might not be good or convincing enough.
 
Your GPA "value" is really irrelevant. USNA is going to look at specific courses. For example, I had a candidate who didn't do well in H.S. chemistry -- earned a "C." In college chemistry, the same candidate earned a "B." I was told the Admissions Board wasn't overly confident in some of the candidate's grades (chemistry being just one), thus that candidate did not become qualified. Bottom line, if you did not do well in multiple courses....you need to hit grand slams in college. A slight "bump" up in a grade might not be good or convincing enough.

I think i can do that. The only class i am truly concerned about is my Algebra Classes. Algebra one i failed twice. First time because my teacher never really liked me...and i didnt have motivation to get tutoring. And then in freshman i took Algebra 1 again (freshman) but our teacher never really taught well. Thus far ive struggled alot in algebra in my junior year (Algebra 2, god i despise it) while i did exeedingly well in geometry since i feel it has a practical purpose.

In college, whether i go to the citadel or CC i want to try my best and take classes to show admissions i really am driven go push with my goals.
 
If you get good grades in college they will "outweigh" your HS grades. They care about your improvement if you're a re-applicant. Also, note that the USNA website says to attend a 4-year University, not a CC
 
High School grades and SAT/ACT scores are only useful in determining if you will be successful in college. If you are successful in college by having great grades then you proved you can do well in college regardless how you did in High School.
 
BGO08 is correct. When you go to college, your college grades are obviously more important. That said, it's usually only one semester and won't overcome average or terrible h.s. grades (especially junior/senior years) unless you really knock it out of the park. Of course, if you happen to have more than a year of college, those 3+ semesters will largely be determinative.

So, as '08 said, if you got Cs in high school and Bs in college, especially in the plebe courses, it probably won't be enough. If you get all As your first semester of college calc, chem, English and history -- it will mean something.

Bottom line is that your slate is not wiped clean but a few low grades can be overcome.
 
I think i can do that. The only class i am truly concerned about is my Algebra Classes. Algebra one i failed twice. First time because my teacher never really liked me...and i didnt have motivation to get tutoring. And then in freshman i took Algebra 1 again (freshman) but our teacher never really taught well. Thus far ive struggled alot in algebra in my junior year (Algebra 2, god i despise it) while i did exeedingly well in geometry since i feel it has a practical purpose.

In college, whether i go to the citadel or CC i want to try my best and take classes to show admissions i really am driven go push with my goals.
I want to be honest with you in my reply so I hope it does not come across as too direct or harsh. Two things stick out at me with your statement. You state the cause of your failure twice in Algebra is because of the teacher. I have been in the HS setting for a long time and while I know of a ton of "not so qualified" teachers- they were able to teach their course without students failing. You need to take responsibility for your success/failure in all things. Just seems to me that it is strange that a HS would have two unqualified math teachers. It made me crazy when students would say "I failed because the teacher did not like me." This is not a legit excuse for failing a class.

The Naval Academy is hard core on math/science and to be specific, high level math and science. Calc and Chem as well as Physics. If you are struggling with Algebra II it is most likely because you do not have a sound math foundation. You need to get a tutor who can help you build your foundation so you can take advances math courses. The ACT/SAT are really Calc based exams. Have you taken the ACT/SAT yet? How did you do? Good luck and my suggestion is you do some self reflection and get some additional help with math.
 
Concur with nolamomma. As a BGO, this is something I would dig at....WHY did you fail, WHAT have you learned from failing, and WHAT are you doing to correct the situation so it does not happen again. I would want to relay this information to the Admissions Board. In most cases, stating it is the teachers fault probably isn't the best answer...although, none of us know your particular case.
 
I want to be honest with you in my reply so I hope it does not come across as too direct or harsh. Two things stick out at me with your statement. You state the cause of your failure twice in Algebra is because of the teacher. I have been in the HS setting for a long time and while I know of a ton of "not so qualified" teachers- they were able to teach their course without students failing. You need to take responsibility for your success/failure in all things. Just seems to me that it is strange that a HS would have two unqualified math teachers. It made me crazy when students would say "I failed because the teacher did not like me." This is not a legit excuse for failing a class.

The Naval Academy is hard core on math/science and to be specific, high level math and science. Calc and Chem as well as Physics. If you are struggling with Algebra II it is most likely because you do not have a sound math foundation. You need to get a tutor who can help you build your foundation so you can take advances math courses. The ACT/SAT are really Calc based exams. Have you taken the ACT/SAT yet? How did you do? Good luck and my suggestion is you do some self reflection and get some additional help with math.

I appreciate the honesty. I do accept responsibility for it to a certain extent. As i stated i didnt put my part into it because of a lack of motivation. As someone said here, i never did have a good Mathematic foundation. Despite me wanting to learn it, its frustrating due to my past failiures.Those failiures only made me pessimistic in the past. I believe should of relied on myself and find other ways to improve my knowledge in Algebra.

When i was in middle school and placed in Algebra honors, My first teacher put a negative attention towards me whenever i asked for help, therefore i was very insecure about my intelligence in fear of saying something stupid. It went to the point where i didnt even bother asking for help. Yes i am now Very Confident and straightfoward about myself,and i have been mainly working on algebra 1 so i can do well on The SAT/ACT.

The second one wasnt personal but rather she was seen by most of her students as "unqualified". Most of our Algebra/Geometry teachers at our school were fired/replaced due to such an above average amount of students failing these math courses, to the point where our HS went from an A school, to a B school (looks very bad reputation-wise)
 
Concur with nolamomma. As a BGO, this is something I would dig at....WHY did you fail, WHAT have you learned from failing, and WHAT are you doing to correct the situation so it does not happen again. I would want to relay this information to the Admissions Board. In most cases, stating it is the teachers fault probably isn't the best answer...although, none of us know your particular case.

Im not sure if it would be wise to put emphasis on teachers to admissions office. I would try to explain my experiences in freshman and junior in which were my worst academically (Personal issues rose during that time). I am currently learning/studying algebra on my free time to improve my skills and move ahead.
 
BGO08 is correct. When you go to college, your college grades are obviously more important. That said, it's usually only one semester and won't overcome average or terrible h.s. grades (especially junior/senior years) unless you really knock it out of the park. Of course, if you happen to have more than a year of college, those 3+ semesters will largely be determinative.

So, as '08 said, if you got Cs in high school and Bs in college, especially in the plebe courses, it probably won't be enough. If you get all As your first semester of college calc, chem, English and history -- it will mean something.

Bottom line is that your slate is not wiped clean but a few low grades can be overcome.
This really did give me hope. I am very passionate about getting into USNA, i will and can definately work hard in College to have an outstanding grade. In HS i like many others didnt have a particular ambition, and some people i know still dont. Joining the Military as an officer has been the only thing i actually look foward to. I thought my HS performance already screwed up my chances for admissions.
 
I want to be honest with you in my reply so I hope it does not come across as too direct or harsh. Two things stick out at me with your statement. You state the cause of your failure twice in Algebra is because of the teacher. I have been in the HS setting for a long time and while I know of a ton of "not so qualified" teachers- they were able to teach their course without students failing. You need to take responsibility for your success/failure in all things. Just seems to me that it is strange that a HS would have two unqualified math teachers. It made me crazy when students would say "I failed because the teacher did not like me." This is not a legit excuse for failing a class.

The Naval Academy is hard core on math/science and to be specific, high level math and science. Calc and Chem as well as Physics. If you are struggling with Algebra II it is most likely because you do not have a sound math foundation. You need to get a tutor who can help you build your foundation so you can take advances math courses. The ACT/SAT are really Calc based exams. Have you taken the ACT/SAT yet? How did you do? Good luck and my suggestion is you do some self reflection and get some additional help with math.

I completely agree about taking ownership and not blaming the teacher for poor grades. However, I totally disagree that ACT/SAT are Calc based exams. ACT/SAT tests arithmetic, algebra 1, geometry, algebra 2, and basic trig (the stuff that you'll learn in the first few weeks). There is absolutely no calculus on either test.
 
You will get better advice if you don't create hypothetical situations based on speculation. It is unlikely that someone with a 2.5 GPA in h.s. will suddenly become a 4.0 student in college. It is better if you state what is factual and not try to project future accomplishments.
 
Concur with all above. The only thing that will overcome the bad start in high school is proven performance. You start with owning the problem, even using it as part of your personal statement to explain what you have done differently to turn your academic performance around. This isn't about your teachers or your schools, its about you. You can overcome the bad start, but need to show that you had a problem and fixed it.
 
You start with owning the problem, even using it as part of your personal statement to explain what you have done differently to turn your academic performance around.
If you are able to pull off doing great in college, you should be able to write a very compelling essay about how you deal with adversity and come out better at the other end. Best of luck!
 
You seem to be asking the same questions in multiple places. Are you hoping to get a different answer?

You have been given basically the same advise from numerous threads and multiple people.
  • The academy will look at both your high school and college performance in all activities.
  • If these activities were below average in high school, they need to be well above average in college.
  • You need to seek out extra help to solidify your mathematical foundation. If you failed Algebra I twice, I suspect that you do not have the foundation to be successful in any STEM based college environment.
  • If any area of your packet is too low, it may be mathematically impossible to raise your WCS to a competitive level in just one semester.
  • Calculating your WCS is a math problem with very little subjective inputs. You need to do well in most things to get it to a competitive level.
  • You need to do an honest assessment with yourself and determine where you see yourself in 5 or 10 years.
  • There are a few paths to becoming an Army Officer and you should investigate them all.
  • If you truly want to be an Army Officer, you best path would be attending college and joining ROTC.
  • This would give you some exposure to the Army, a chance to prove yourself academically and physically, an opportunity to earn a campus based scholarship (local AROTC scholarships look at your college record only) and if you do well another path to an appointment.
 
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