As a homeschooler, what were some things you had on your resume that helped you get into the Academy?

ABCDE_2026

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I'm sure that someone has already posted a thread like this, but I wanted to hear it from someone with a more recent perspective since I'm sure standards change each year. I am part of a charter school, but am technically homeschooled. What are some extracurriculars/sports you've done as a homeschooler and what helped boost your resume? Thanks all in advance.
 
My son played club soccer and varsity soccer (for the local public school) and was captain of both. He was in a theater group that put on broadway musicals once a year, and was in the student council that did service projects and put on dances for the homeschool community. I would say that team sports (football, baseball, volleyball, etc) are preferred over individual sports, but I'd focus on the sport that you like and you're good at. I would also say less is more. Being highly involved in a few things is better than being marginally involved in a whole bunch of things.
 
Always start with activities you enjoy (vs. ones that someone else enjoyed that you hope will boost your resume). If you love an activity, you'll likely be more inspired to continue it and to move up/excel/lead in it.

As I posted recently on another thread, the key for homeschoolers is twofold. First, show you can work and play well with others outside of your home and outside of the (usually) small group with whom you study. There are many organizations out there who would love to have someone join. Whether your interest is theater, journalism, art, music, animals, helping the disabled or elderly, etc., look for activities that cause you to engage with others. Then, once you're involved, look for ways to lead in those organizations.

Second, participate in sports. Team sports (see above) are good. Try not to make a sport such as martial arts or training by yourself for a marathon your ONLY sport, as these can be perceived (accurately or not) as "loner" sports. In any event, you want to demonstrate you can handle the physical rigors of USNA. So look for leagues and other activities that don't require you to attend a particular school. This could also add to your "team building" resume.

Again, the fact that someone else did a particular activity and was appointed doesn't mean that, if you do the same activity, you will have success. The concern USNA has about homeschoolers (whether or not a legitimate concern) is that they are loners who don't know how to / haven't had to be involved in school, clubs or sports with other young people and also they don't have the requisite level of physical fitness . As noted above, the key therefor is to show you are physically active and can work and play well with others, especially others outside your "comfort zone." You should do that in a way that brings you joy and fulfillment.
 
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Being well-rounded is key, which can look different for home-schoolers, depending on what programs they can participate in at local schools. Showing academic acumen, leadership skills, physicality, initiative and drive can be creatively addressed.

Thinking about those who were home-schooled in our USNA sponsor family, I recall one mid who grew up on a remote working ranch in a Western state, where she was responsible for some of the ranch operations. School was online, some advanced courses with mom, an interesting mix. She was an accomplished kayaker, and drove 100 miles each way to lead water confidence sessions for disadvantaged youth. She played the cello, and drove to a school to participate in their concerts and served as the orchestra student president. She and two other students hired themselves out as a string trio for weddings and art gallery events and built a nice weekend business. Her math skills were so good, she was a volunteer online tutor for a community college two towns away. She had her PPL, bartering lesson time for plane-washing and other chores at the tiny local airport. She made sure she scored extremely well on the CFA, not hard for someone who was active in physical ranch work. She was successful at USNA and went Navy air, is currently an instructor pilot. When she gets out, she is focusing on a career as an airborne fire-fighting service pilot or Park Service pilot, somewhere in the West. She also just completed an on-line Master’s program with the Colorado university system, in environmental science.
 
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Always start with activities you enjoy (vs. ones that someone else enjoyed that you hope will boost your resume). If you love an activity, you'll likely be more inspired to continue it and to move up/excel/lead in it.

As I posted recently on another thread, the key for homeschoolers is twofold. First, show you can work and play well with others outside of your home and outside of the (usually) small group with whom you study. There are many organizations out there who would love to have someone join. Whether your interest is theater, journalism, art, music, animals, helping the disabled or elderly, etc., look for activities that cause you to engage with others. Then, once you're involved, look for ways to lead in those organizations.

Second, participate in sports. Team sports (see above) are good. Try not to make a sport such as martial arts or training by yourself for a marathon your ONLY sport, as these can be perceived (accurately or not) as "loner" sports. In any event, you want to demonstrate you can handle the physical rigors of USNA. So look for leagues and other activities that don't require you to attend a particular school. This could also add to your "team building" resume.

Again, the fact that someone else did a particular activity and was appointed doesn't mean that, if you do the same activity, you will have success. The concern USNA has about homeschoolers (whether or not a legitimate concern) is that they are loners who don't know how to / haven't had to be involved in school, clubs or sports with other young people and also they don't have the requisite level of physical fitness . As noted above, the key therefor is to show you are physically active and can work and play well with others, especially others outside your "comfort zone." You should do that in a way that brings you joy and fulfillment.
Would swimming count as a team sport?
 
Would swimming count as a team sport?
If on a team and the team score dictates the winner/loser, then I would think yes. If on a "team" solely based on training facility and only the individual race results are important, then probably not.

Is there a purpose on that swim team for a team captain to lead the team in all events and not just their own?
 
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Only speaking from personal experience with DD, so your mileage may differ, but individual sports definitely count. The key is to be able to demonstrate excellence. DD was a multiple MVP award winner on her high school team, multiple time league and sectional champion and state championship qualifier. All in an individual sport.

She received offers of appointment from the four SAs to which she applied.

The advice here is that it does not matter what you do. What matters is how well you do it.
 
I would say swimming is a team sport -- there are relays and most teams do compete against another team, even though most events are individual. To be clear, team sports aren't a "must" -- what is a "must" is finding ways to show that you work and play well with others. There are many ways to do this.
 
I would say two things would help greatly:

Outside verification of academic abilities (a 4.0 from home is sometimes taken with a grain of salt). So, prove it with test scores or grades from dual enrollment. Our homeschool kid did both to show that his GPA wasn't mom-biased. If your charter school is an unknown in terms of rankings, this may factor in for you, too.

Also, outside team-focused activities that show a track record of teamwork and effort. We live in a district that allows homeschoolers to play public school sports so he enrolled in the largest conference and played two sports. But, I do think they wanted to see results as well, so things like varsity, team captain, and All-Conference will prove to admissions that you dug in and got involved. One of his sports was an individual sport, but he helped train the younger kids every year. If you can't join a school district team, travel teams may work (politics aside), or a private school team.

I do think you have to prove somehow that you can work as part of a team, so if you are homeschooled, and in an individual sport, that box still needs checking somehow. I would address that open question somewhere (work experience, essays).
 
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