Candidate score

Fergusnr

Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2016
Messages
45
I have a few questions about how important certain activities are:

How beneficial is National Honor Society? Is it a big deal to the academies?

How much of a difference would 2 seasons of a varsity sport vs. 1 make? Do they favor certain sports over others?
 
I know! In order for me to get a varsity sport I have to give up some other activities so I'm just trying to decide what the best plan of action is.
 
If you can be a team captain on a varsity sport, that will give you good points for your WCS
 
Here is an a WCS calculations chart from 2001, things have likely changed a bit since then but I think it can give you a rough idea of how they calculate it:

WHOLE CANDIDATE SCORE (WCS)
WCS: (6 x CEER) + (3 x CLS) + (PAE SCORE)
COLLEGE ENTRANCE EQUIVALENCE SCORE (SCHOLASTIC APTITUDE TEST, “SAT”)
CEER: (.364 x HSR) + (.269 x SATV) + (.432 x SATM) - 48
COLLEGE ENTRANCE EQUIVALENCE SCORE (AMERICAN COLLEGE TEST, “ACT”)
ACEER: (.219 x HSR) + (9.43 x ACTM) + (4.62 x ACTE) + (0.45 x ACTS) + (4.01 x ACTR) - 41.5
HIGH SCHOOL RANK (HSR)
HSR: ((2 x HS·STANDING) -1) / (2 x CLASS SIZE);
*HSR TABLE REQUIRED TO CONVERT CALCULATED RESULT TO HSR SCORE
COMMUNITY LEADER SCORE (CLS)
CLS: (EX+ AT+ FAS) / 3
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES SCORE (EX): A score reflecting a candidate's
participation in activities outside required school curricula awarded in accordance with the
following guidelines:
800: An outstanding young person with quadruple participation or honors and awards on
selected extracurricular activities (each worth 600 or more points).
700:
(1) Student Council President;
(2) Triple participation or honors and awards in selected extracurricular activities (each
worth 600 points);
(3) Participation in Boys/Girls Nation;
(4) JROTC Regimental/Brigade Commander or Civil Air Patrol Spaatz Award winner;
(5) Decoration for valor [Soldiers);
(6) Ranger or Special Forces tab [Soldiers].
600:
(1) High-school Class President;
(2) Editor-in-chief of a school publication;
(3) Participation in Boys/Girls State, President of National Honor Society, or recipient of a
National or State award;
(4) Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts) or Gold Award (Girl Scouts);
(5) Triple participation or honors and awards in selected extracurricular activities (each
worth 500 points)
(6) Earhart/ Mitchell Award;
(7) Combat Infantryman Badge; Combat Action Badge; Combat Medical Badge
[Soldiers];
(8) Soldier's Medal [Soldiers];
(9) Soldier of the Year-brigade-level or higher [Soldiers];
(10) Division-level In-Service Recruiting Program [Soldiers].
500:
(1) Holder of one or more elective offices in moderately selective organizations;
(2) Participation in activities or recipient of awards in moderately selective organizations;
(3) Holder of a private pilot's license;
(4) EMT/EMS or Volunteer Firefighter;
(5) National Honor Society VP/Treasurer or Secretary;
(6) Civil Air Patrol officer/ 1SG;
(7) Combat veteran of three or more months in theater [Soldiers];
(8) Expert Infantryman Badge or Expert Field Medical Badge [Soldiers];
(9) Meritorious Service Medal [Soldiers];
(10) Distinguished Honor Graduate of Army school [Soldier];
(11) Soldier of the Quarter—brigade-level or higher [Soldiers].
400:
(1) Participation in activities or recipient of awards in organizations with limited selectivity;
(2) Non-commissioned officer (Soldiers];
(3) Squad Leader or Platoon Guide [Soldiers];
(4) 90-day-plus OCONUS tour [Soldiers];
(5) Army Commendation Medal [Soldiers];
(6) Master Fitness Trainer [Soldiers];
(7) Honor Graduate of an Army school [Soldiers];
(8) PLDC graduate [Soldiers];
(9) BOSS Representative [Soldiers].
300:
(1) Some participation in organized activities;
(2) Army Achievement Medal or Good Conduct Medal [Soldiers].
200: No participation in organized activities.
ATHLETIC ACTIVITIES SCORE (AT): A score reflecting a candidate's athletic
participation awarded in accordance with the following guidelines:
800: An outstanding athlete (All-American, First team All-Area selection in
baseball/softball, basketball or football) and either Athletic rating of 1 or 2 in the sport in
which honors are received or CFA score > 650.
700:
(1) First-team All-Area selection in a single sport (other than baseball/softball, basketball
or football);
(2) Captain of baseball/softball, basketball, or football team;
(3) Team captain in two or more sports (other than baseball/softball, basketball or
football) for class size over 100); and
(4) Ranger or Special Forces tab [Soldiers].
600:
(1) Captain of team (other than baseball/softball, basketball, or football);
(2) Varsity letter in baseba11/softba11, basketball, or football; and
(3) Varsity letter in two or more sports (other than baseball/softball, basketball, or
football).
500:
(1) Varsity letter in a single sport (other than baseball/softball, basketball, or football); and
(2) Expert Infantryman Badge, Expert Field Medical Badge, Jumpmaster, or Presidential
Fitness award [Soldiers].
400:
(1) Participation in a varsity sport (no letter);
(2) Graduate of Airborne, Air Assault, Pathfinder, or comparable other _Army school
[Soldiers]; and
(3) Maximum score on Army Physical Fitness Test [Soldiers].
300:
(1) Participation in junior-varsity and other team sports (not intramurals); and
(2) Soldier status.
200: No participation and no evidence of interest in sports.
FACULTY APPRAISAL SCORE (FAS): The average of the candidate's scores on the
School Official Evaluation (SOE) of Candidate Forms (DD Form 1869) on a scale of 40
740.
NOTE: The information above contains general guidance on the components used to
compute a Community Leader Score (CLS). In a process as imprecise as leadership
assessment, subjective judgment must be applied to the evaluation process in order to
take into consideration special situations: e.g., an unusually high or low Faculty Appraisal
Score (FAS) that is inconsistent with other elements of the candidate record; athletic
achievement in an extremely large or small school or an excellent or marginal program;
an activity record that may not fit the categorizations of the Candidate Activities Record.
The Admissions Office and the Admissions Committee are expected to make
adjustments in the components of the CLS to take into account such situations.
APS: (.001926 x HSR) + (.002283 x SATM) + (.001421 x SATV) - .6865
HPA NEW SAT: (.001070 x SATM) + (.003462 x SATV) + (.002035 x HSR) - 1.390
HPA ACT: (.001249 x HSR) + (.04132 x ACTE) + (.01087 x ACTM) + (.02944 x ACTSR) - .3257
MSE NEW SAT: (.004884 x SATM) - (.000093 x SATV) + (.002477 x HRS) -1.652
MSE ACT: (.002004 x HSR) + (.1487 x ACT.M) + (.03713 x ACTSR) • (.02022 x ACTR) - (.06084
x ACTM(GT)) - 2.2873
RISK LEVELS AND REQUIRED CHECKS:
SATV <560
SATM <560
ACTE <23
ACTM <24
ACTR <24
ACTS <23
CEER/ ACEER <520
CLS <450
PAE <420
FAS <525
WCS <5200
HPA <2.10
MSE <2.10
APS <2.15
 
Here is an a WCS calculations chart from 2001, things have likely changed a bit since then but I think it can give you a rough idea of how they calculate it:

WHOLE CANDIDATE SCORE (WCS)
WCS: (6 x CEER) + (3 x CLS) + (PAE SCORE)
COLLEGE ENTRANCE EQUIVALENCE SCORE (SCHOLASTIC APTITUDE TEST, “SAT”)
CEER: (.364 x HSR) + (.269 x SATV) + (.432 x SATM) - 48
COLLEGE ENTRANCE EQUIVALENCE SCORE (AMERICAN COLLEGE TEST, “ACT”)
ACEER: (.219 x HSR) + (9.43 x ACTM) + (4.62 x ACTE) + (0.45 x ACTS) + (4.01 x ACTR) - 41.5
HIGH SCHOOL RANK (HSR)
HSR: ((2 x HS·STANDING) -1) / (2 x CLASS SIZE);
*HSR TABLE REQUIRED TO CONVERT CALCULATED RESULT TO HSR SCORE
COMMUNITY LEADER SCORE (CLS)
CLS: (EX+ AT+ FAS) / 3
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES SCORE (EX): A score reflecting a candidate's
participation in activities outside required school curricula awarded in accordance with the
following guidelines:
800: An outstanding young person with quadruple participation or honors and awards on
selected extracurricular activities (each worth 600 or more points).
700:
(1) Student Council President;
(2) Triple participation or honors and awards in selected extracurricular activities (each
worth 600 points);
(3) Participation in Boys/Girls Nation;
(4) JROTC Regimental/Brigade Commander or Civil Air Patrol Spaatz Award winner;
(5) Decoration for valor [Soldiers);
(6) Ranger or Special Forces tab [Soldiers].
600:
(1) High-school Class President;
(2) Editor-in-chief of a school publication;
(3) Participation in Boys/Girls State, President of National Honor Society, or recipient of a
National or State award;
(4) Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts) or Gold Award (Girl Scouts);
(5) Triple participation or honors and awards in selected extracurricular activities (each
worth 500 points)
(6) Earhart/ Mitchell Award;
(7) Combat Infantryman Badge; Combat Action Badge; Combat Medical Badge
[Soldiers];
(8) Soldier's Medal [Soldiers];
(9) Soldier of the Year-brigade-level or higher [Soldiers];
(10) Division-level In-Service Recruiting Program [Soldiers].
500:
(1) Holder of one or more elective offices in moderately selective organizations;
(2) Participation in activities or recipient of awards in moderately selective organizations;
(3) Holder of a private pilot's license;
(4) EMT/EMS or Volunteer Firefighter;
(5) National Honor Society VP/Treasurer or Secretary;
(6) Civil Air Patrol officer/ 1SG;
(7) Combat veteran of three or more months in theater [Soldiers];
(8) Expert Infantryman Badge or Expert Field Medical Badge [Soldiers];
(9) Meritorious Service Medal [Soldiers];
(10) Distinguished Honor Graduate of Army school [Soldier];
(11) Soldier of the Quarter—brigade-level or higher [Soldiers].
400:
(1) Participation in activities or recipient of awards in organizations with limited selectivity;
(2) Non-commissioned officer (Soldiers];
(3) Squad Leader or Platoon Guide [Soldiers];
(4) 90-day-plus OCONUS tour [Soldiers];
(5) Army Commendation Medal [Soldiers];
(6) Master Fitness Trainer [Soldiers];
(7) Honor Graduate of an Army school [Soldiers];
(8) PLDC graduate [Soldiers];
(9) BOSS Representative [Soldiers].
300:
(1) Some participation in organized activities;
(2) Army Achievement Medal or Good Conduct Medal [Soldiers].
200: No participation in organized activities.
ATHLETIC ACTIVITIES SCORE (AT): A score reflecting a candidate's athletic
participation awarded in accordance with the following guidelines:
800: An outstanding athlete (All-American, First team All-Area selection in
baseball/softball, basketball or football) and either Athletic rating of 1 or 2 in the sport in
which honors are received or CFA score > 650.
700:
(1) First-team All-Area selection in a single sport (other than baseball/softball, basketball
or football);
(2) Captain of baseball/softball, basketball, or football team;
(3) Team captain in two or more sports (other than baseball/softball, basketball or
football) for class size over 100); and
(4) Ranger or Special Forces tab [Soldiers].
600:
(1) Captain of team (other than baseball/softball, basketball, or football);
(2) Varsity letter in baseba11/softba11, basketball, or football; and
(3) Varsity letter in two or more sports (other than baseball/softball, basketball, or
football).
500:
(1) Varsity letter in a single sport (other than baseball/softball, basketball, or football); and
(2) Expert Infantryman Badge, Expert Field Medical Badge, Jumpmaster, or Presidential
Fitness award [Soldiers].
400:
(1) Participation in a varsity sport (no letter);
(2) Graduate of Airborne, Air Assault, Pathfinder, or comparable other _Army school
[Soldiers]; and
(3) Maximum score on Army Physical Fitness Test [Soldiers].
300:
(1) Participation in junior-varsity and other team sports (not intramurals); and
(2) Soldier status.
200: No participation and no evidence of interest in sports.
FACULTY APPRAISAL SCORE (FAS): The average of the candidate's scores on the
School Official Evaluation (SOE) of Candidate Forms (DD Form 1869) on a scale of 40
740.
NOTE: The information above contains general guidance on the components used to
compute a Community Leader Score (CLS). In a process as imprecise as leadership
assessment, subjective judgment must be applied to the evaluation process in order to
take into consideration special situations: e.g., an unusually high or low Faculty Appraisal
Score (FAS) that is inconsistent with other elements of the candidate record; athletic
achievement in an extremely large or small school or an excellent or marginal program;
an activity record that may not fit the categorizations of the Candidate Activities Record.
The Admissions Office and the Admissions Committee are expected to make
adjustments in the components of the CLS to take into account such situations.
APS: (.001926 x HSR) + (.002283 x SATM) + (.001421 x SATV) - .6865
HPA NEW SAT: (.001070 x SATM) + (.003462 x SATV) + (.002035 x HSR) - 1.390
HPA ACT: (.001249 x HSR) + (.04132 x ACTE) + (.01087 x ACTM) + (.02944 x ACTSR) - .3257
MSE NEW SAT: (.004884 x SATM) - (.000093 x SATV) + (.002477 x HRS) -1.652
MSE ACT: (.002004 x HSR) + (.1487 x ACT.M) + (.03713 x ACTSR) • (.02022 x ACTR) - (.06084
x ACTM(GT)) - 2.2873
RISK LEVELS AND REQUIRED CHECKS:
SATV <560
SATM <560
ACTE <23
ACTM <24
ACTR <24
ACTS <23
CEER/ ACEER <520
CLS <450
PAE <420
FAS <525
WCS <5200
HPA <2.10
MSE <2.10
APS <2.15

Great info. Does anyone know if Naval Academy has a similar rubric? Wonder how different the two academies are in selecting candidates.
 
Great info. Does anyone know if Naval Academy has a similar rubric? Wonder how different the two academies are in selecting candidates.

Try this....not exactly the same and dated but nevertheless....take a look:

Predictors of Plebe Summer Attrition at USNA by Michael Hollenbach in June 2003.

In his paper he describes the USNA admissions board evaluation process using a metric know as the Whole Person Multiple (WPM). This "score" is calculated based on a candidate's application information. It is designed to be a predictor for successful completion of freshman year at USNA. Qualifying candidate multiples fall between the ranges of 58,000 to greater than 80,000. The paper set forth the components of the WPM and their weighting:

Highest SAT verbal score - 15 %
Highest SAT math score - 31 %
High School Class rank - 21 %
Teacher Recommendation - 8 %
X-curr. activities/athletics - 10%
strong interest inventory technical interest score - 12 %
strong interest inventory career interest score - 3 %
 
USNA has never published their WCS formula. SA's typically don't publish there WCS formula to avoid 'gaming' of the system by applicants. What was used in 2o01 (assuming it was from a reliable source) may NOT be the current formula.
 
If you look at both the USNA and USMA scoring information above, the best way to "game" the system is to have outstanding grades (class rank) and outstanding SAT scores. I challenge anyone to game the system by getting straight As in the most challenging courses and ace those SATs.
 
To answer your original question based on the dated USMA scoring.
One season of baseball/softball, basketball or football are scored the same as 2 seasons of another varsity sports.
NHS is important, but president of NHS carries more weight.

I agree it is not gaming the system to have great academics, but rather they carry the most weight and is the best way to stand out.
 
I think that was sarcasm...
I thought the hint of sarcasm was obvious in my post about high grades to game the system. I did not read scarcasm in the reply. Reading it a second time.. Maybe it is there.

It just reminds me that sarcasm rairly works on forums.
 
Last edited:
I thought the hint of sarcasm was obvious in my post about high grades to game the system. I did not read scarcasm in the reply. Reading it a second time.. Maybe it is there.

It just reminds me that sarcasm rairly works on forums.
But when it does work it is spectacular!
 
Back
Top