At Risk CFA Score

williamsdr3

williamsdr3

Parent of USNA Mid '24
Joined
Dec 22, 2018
Messages
375
My son just got back from Session 1 of SLE, which he greatly enjoyed and said it solidified his desire to attend an SA, with West Point as his first choice. However, he trained in my opinion somewhat sporadically and at the last-minute for the CFA - including never having gone through a full run-through of the events all in a row until the actual CFA - which really impacted his mile from what he expected closer to 7:00. This may have been impacted by the hectic end of school period. Consequently, he received the following CFA scores. His academics are very strong as well as his leadership very strong - with some athletics participation (including captain), but we are concerned about the CFA.

Is this "at risk" score of 430 failing or does this mean - "barely passing?" How many times can he retake it - just once more? Thanks for input.

FYI - the Regional Admissions Commander at SLE said the CFA was considered pass/fail and score wasn't a big factor but even if this is barely passing it still makes me concerned if is "barely passing."

CFA DATE: 6/2/2019
PUSHUPS: 44
PULLUPS: 7
FLEX ARM HANG: 0.0
1-MILE RUN: 8.07
SHUTTLE RUN: 9.2
BASKETBALL THROW: 52
CRUNCHES: 64
CFA SCORE: 430*


Risk Level
----------
AT RISK
 
Maybe this is what he needed to boost him to that next level of training. Vs “sporadic”. Great opportunity to set a goal, and hit it!
 
If I’m correct, USMA cares about 60% for academics, 30% for leadership, and 10% for athletics. They basically want to make sure that you are able to keep up with the curriculum, and if you will be able to lead well when you are an officer. As long as you are fit, you will still be successful at USMA.
 
Update - another message came in clarifying that "at risk" = "failed." Well now that is clear.

Though if anyone knows if there is just one chance to retake please let me know.
 
I was going to post that I did not think this was a passing score just prior to your last message. You can definitely retake it and he definitely should retake it. The CFA has to be administered by a PE coach (or FFR) but you don't have to submit it if it isn't up to par. The pull-ups and push-ups must be video taped. I am sure you know the maximums but your DS is way off and should really work on improving. My personal advice is to try to max some categories but make sure to beat the average in every category. The maximums and averages are as follows:

PUSHUPS: 75 / 54
PULLUPS: 18 / 9
1-MILE RUN: 5:20 / 6:43
SHUTTLE RUN: 7.8 / 9.1
BASKETBALL THROW: 102' / 67'
CRUNCHES: 95 / 72

Good luck
 
You have several months still to submit another CFA score. Take advantage of the time and get serious about training. Focus on the trouble spots without ignoring the better events. Occasionally practice from beginning to end. Eat well, sleep well. Schedule the next test with a few weeks to spare before the submission deadline. That way, if illness or injury or weather intervene, you still have time to reschedule.
 
Just like SAparent2023 said, he definitely can retake it with a PE teacher or an FFR, and like MidCakePa said, he's got lots of time to condition for a retake. My DS was home-schooled and he scored a 562 on his CFA while at SLE last summer. The score was passing, but Admissions does award candidates more points toward their WCS (Whole Candidate Score) the higher their CFA score (See the RAND Report on USMA Admissions: https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR700/RR723/RAND_RR723.pdf for the most detailed insight available on the USMA Admissions process), and as your FFR should tell you, "never leave points on the table, you have no idea who and how many other great kids your child is competing with". When my DS decided to retake his CFA he called the three closest public high schools and he had several PE teachers from each school agree to proctor the test, with a few of them having done it before. We were surprised by the response because we live in a rural area of the upper mid-west. When your DS successfully retakes his CFA not only will he get the passing score he needs, but he'll also be demonstrating to the admissions department that he is a determined young man who's willing to work hard to do what it takes to succeed. That's worth something in itself.

Best of luck to you both.
 
Is he attending another Summer Seminar? My son did not do well on the run at SLE either and earned an "at risk" (failing) score as well. He was able to submit the scores from Naval Academy SS to both WP and USAFA. WP needs video of pull-ups and one other event, though. The detailers at Navy will record if asked. If not attending another SS, you have a lot more time to submit better scores- as noted above.
 
@USAFA2023mom and others - Thank you for the info - he was invited to the Candidate Visit Weekend at USNA in place of NASS, and missed out on selection for USAFASS, so he will have to organize his own CFA retest it looks like. Enjoying Boys State this week.
 
Would you hire a tutor to help improve an SAT/ACT score? What about a trainer to help improve a CFT score? It’s one thing to tell a teen to “work on it”, but many times a teen won’t know the tricks/training to improving a CFT score. For example, just going out and running won’t help the run. Doing 440’s and 220’s will.
Something to consider.
 
Take a deep breath your DS can retake CFA test again and again. My DS was a varsity football player and a recruited athlete for KP. He failed his first CFA. That’s how I found this message board looking for what is passing for the marks the SA are looking for. BTW they don’t publish a passing score, because they want you to train to your potential not just a number they tel you to look for.
Look on YouTube for training tips especially the basketball throw which is the oddest of the tasks.
After watching the you tube videos and practicing the events he passed it with no worries a month later.
But I know the feeling of panic you have right now, because there isn’t much out there for guidance.

Good luck
 
CFA at SLE is a freebie. He can take it again. After that, he will need his RC's permission to retake.
I would have him take the CFA again by the end of the summer. If he plays a fall sport, he may get an injury that will put off taking the CFA until later.
I have heard over and over from RCs that they do not want to be getting CFA scores late in the admissions cycle
.
Getting a '0' on the flex arm hang killed him. If you fail one, you fail the whole test- no matter how well you did on the other components.
Get him a pull up bar that hangs in his door way and have him do as many as he can each and every time he goes in and out of his room. He will be able to do many pull up before you know it!
Get it done before school starts and then that is one thing that he can check off his list.
Best wishes!
 
buff81 said:
CFA at SLE is a freebie. He can take it again. After that, he will need his RC's permission to retake.
I would have him take the CFA again by the end of the summer. If he plays a fall sport, he may get an injury that will put off taking the CFA until later.
I have heard over and over from RCs that they do not want to be getting CFA scores late in the admissions cycle
.
Getting a '0' on the flex arm hang killed him. If you fail one, you fail the whole test- no matter how well you did on the other components.
Get him a pull up bar that hangs in his door way and have him do as many as he can each and every time he goes in and out of his room. He will be able to do many pull up before you know it!
Get it done before school starts and then that is one thing that he can check off his list.
Best wishes!
Click to expand...
Lol...flexed arm hang only for females!
 
If your son is able to drive out to a local recruiting office or get in touch with the local Army recruiter, I think they have Future Soldier PT that is designed to help future soldiers and officers, like your son, be able to max out on those physical fitness tests, including the CFA. He is also able to retake the CFA with the recruiter. I can certainly attest to Future Soldier PT if your recruiting office has one since I was able to do 95 push ups with a 14:00 two-mile run on my last PFT with the help of this program. I'm no expert on service academies, but this program has definitely helped me even pass the standards for the Ranger Physical Fitness Test before I've even taken the CFA.

The program is physically demanding (unless the recruiter does something light), but I am certain that if your son wants the appointment to West Point, then he'll be able to knock out PT and the CFA in no time.

I wish your son the best of luck on the physical aspect of West Point. He'll certainly need it if he aspires to be a commissioned officer in the United States Army.
 
Thank you everyone for the great info. @The Big Slides and @rayrotc - The future soldier PT program sounds great in particular. I will recommend he look into it. Is it a training program they pass out for the recruit to follow or are they actually running PT sessions in a local area?
 
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