Can I pass the CFA with one weak event?

navy/airforce-hopeful man

navy/airforce-hopeful man

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Hello good people of this board. I'm going to be taking the CFA in a month and I'm worried I cannot hit, (or worse even come close) to the pullup (strength issue) and pushup (pec injury) portions of the CFA. I can, however, hit the max scores for the mile, shuttle run, and crunches portion, and I am right around average in the BB throw right now.

I train for pullups 4 days a week in the gym on the assisted pullup machine, but for the pushups I have no idea when my pec problem will heal. Will I be able to pass the CFA without being able to do more than 10 or so pushups if my other events are stellar? Thanks for the help.
 
Have you seen a doctor about your "pec" injury? 10 pushups is an awfully small number, as well as 4 pullups (assuming you are a male). USAFA doesn't publish min passing scores, however, I believe 10 and 4 will raise a couple of questions. Good luck, keep trying, and a sure way to "fail" is to not take the test. You also need to pass a DoDMERB and if you have a significant injury the sooner you take care of that the better.
 
In my experience, the CFA is very holistic. I have taken it twice, once for USMA and once for USNA. Both scores had a very weak mile time, shuttle run, and sit-up score. Yet having maxed out push-ups, coming close to maxing out pull-ups, and doing decent on the basketball throw both of my scores were qualified. Although I am sure that it was in my favor to have done both CFA's at each respective campus, I think the simple takeaway is just put your best foot forward and you'll see(hopefully you will also get a balanced score).
 
Once you get into USAFA there are annual PFT assessments that you can fail. See the following thread. They are very pull-up, push-up, strength oriented. Assuming you pass your CFA, don't stop there, you will still have some work to do. The AFT is "just" a 1.5-mile run.

AFT/PFT

I was curious about the AFT/PFT tests you take during BCT. Are the events still 2 minutes or 1 minute? Also any other information would be great.
www.serviceacademyforums.com
 
T-37IP said:
Have you seen a doctor about your "pec" injury? 10 pushups is an awfully small number, as well as 4 pullups (assuming you are a male). USAFA doesn't publish min passing scores, however, I believe 10 and 4 will raise a couple of questions. Good luck, keep trying, and a sure way to "fail" is to not take the test. You also need to pass a DoDMERB and if you have a significant injury the sooner you take care of that the better.
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I noticed the male averages for USAFA are much higher than USNA and USMA. Does that mean if my CFA passed USNA and USMA it might not pass USAFA?
 
T-37IP said:
Once you get into USAFA there are annual PFT assessments that you can fail. See the following thread. They are very pull-up, push-up, strength oriented. Assuming you pass your CFA, don't stop there, you will still have some work to do. The AFT is "just" a 1.5-mile run.

AFT/PFT

I was curious about the AFT/PFT tests you take during BCT. Are the events still 2 minutes or 1 minute? Also any other information would be great.
www.serviceacademyforums.com
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Is there a post on the max points for the CFA?
 
YoitsFly said:
I noticed the male averages for USAFA are much higher than USNA and USMA. Does that mean if my CFA passed USNA and USMA it might not pass USAFA?
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Each SA has their own minimums. For USNA we dont know what those are. Talking to a USNA Admissions Regional Counselor the other day, he indicated USNA doesnt want to publish those as some people will only try to meet the minimums.
 
navy/airforce-hopeful kid said:
Will I be able to pass the CFA without being able to do more than 10 or so pushups if my other events are stellar? Thanks for the help.
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I'm not sure anyone directly answered the question posed. I believe the answer is no. Ten pushups will not be enough to pass regardless of the rest of your scores. And, given your comment about pullups, it looks like you may not have a qualifying number on that front either.

To the extent your injury is prohibiting you from improving your scores, it may make sense to be in contact with USAFA to obtain an extension on when you can take the CFA. I assume that you have slightly longer to finish your USNA CFA. Take as much time as you can to recover and improve your scores so as to avoid submitting a disqualifying score. Of course, there may be a school of thought that says you should submit a disqualifying score and hope that USAFA permits you the chance to re-take the CFA. You might consider discussing this problem with your ALO advisor. Good luck!
 
When taking the CFA, a candidate has to achieve a minimum of 60 points on each event while also achieving a minimum overall score to pass. If I remember correctly, a minimum overall score of 360 (60x6) is not enough to pass the CFA. And to your specific case, 10 pushups is nowhere near the minimum score for candidates.

I would encourage you to get your injury assessed and treated first. The deadline to submit the CFA is not until January. If you are not fully ready physically, do not just take it and risk failing a month from now. Use all of the time you have to fully prepare.
 
DS had a leg injury last fall when applying to USAFA. His application, including CFA was originally due in November 30. He had his orthopedic doctor write a letter requesting that the CFA be extended until injury healed, estimated to be January 31. USAFA granted an extension until February 15. He took the CFA in early Feb and passed. Due to the injury, DODMERB medical disqualified him, which required USAFA to request a waiver, which took a bit of time. He received a conditional appointment from USAFA pending the waiver, which he received in late April and is now CO2026. Definitely reach out to your ALO or team blue/silver if you want to request an extension.
 
Light8004 said:
In my experience, the CFA is very holistic. I have taken it twice, once for USMA and once for USNA. Both scores had a very weak mile time, shuttle run, and sit-up score. Yet having maxed out push-ups, coming close to maxing out pull-ups, and doing decent on the basketball throw both of my scores were qualified. Although I am sure that it was in my favor to have done both CFA's at each respective campus, I think the simple takeaway is just put your best foot forward and you'll see(hopefully you will also get a balanced score
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Can you share how long it took you to get the results after taking the CFA at the USNA? I am currently waiting on my results, and its the last piece of my application (aside from nom)
 
GOnavyCC27 said:
Can you share how long it took you to get the results after taking the CFA at the USNA? I am currently waiting on my results, and its the last piece of my application (aside from nom)
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It took me about 3 hours. Probably a day right now because of a high volume of applications.
 
YoitsFly said:
It took me about 3 hours. Probably a day right now because of a high volume of applications.
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I am sitting at about 3 days and nothing yet-----will keep watching --thank you for responding!
Did they contact you or just put the results in the portal?
 
Just put results in portal. I did this way back in early August so they were quick because nobody did it that early. I'd wait another few days. No rush right now. Main focus should be nominations. I have been 100% done for a month now and have received no updates so once you submit everything it's time to hurry up and wait.
 
GOnavyCC27 said:
thats great! not sure if this mean its a fail since its taking so long!
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NASS CFAs show up quickly because the MIDN staff have to put in CFA scores the day the session ends so we can go on liberty and start getting ready for the next session. The wait is most likely the very busy Admissions staff having to sift through a lot of results and punch in numbers.
 
found out today I failed——I’m waiting to hear any details on which events from the academy. Def a blow but not giving up….
 
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