CFA and Interview

[Cara]

My son attended SLE and took the CFA. He was notified shortly thereafter that he passed. If he wants to retake anything that he felt he could have done better on does it make a difference? He also had his interview at SLE. Is that something that he will receive a "grade" or feedback on? Thank you.

 

[Candd82026]

From DS2026 experience, CFA is pass/fail. If your son passed, he should be happy and move on. Academics get a higher overall score so he should focus on the standardized tests (retake as necessary to increase section scores).

Also complete the MOC application, deadlines to submit the package should be happening soon.

For the interview, he can ask his interviewer for feedback. DS did this with his squad leader cadre, but it was virtual SLE via remote conferencing and emails. DS got positive feedback. Anyway, he had another interview with a local FFR (a retired Colonel) which was in-person - it seems this one counted more and seems to be required during his application regardless of the SLE interview. He was told the SLE results do not affect his actual application - not sure what that exactly meant. He didn't ask. Hope this helps.

 

[Cara]

From DS2026 experience, CFA is pass/fail. If your son passed, he should be happy and move on. Academics get a higher overall score so he should focus on the standardized tests (retake as necessary to increase section scores).

Also complete the MOC application, deadlines to submit the package should be happening soon.

For the interview, he can ask his interviewer for feedback. DS did this with his squad leader cadre, but it was virtual SLE via remote conferencing and emails. DS got positive feedback. Anyway, he had another interview with a local FFR (a retired Colonel) which was in-person - it seems this one counted more and seems to be required during his application regardless of the SLE interview. He was told the SLE results do not affect his actual application - not sure what that exactly meant. He didn't ask. Hope this helps.

Thank you very much.

 

[USMAZoo98]

I do not believe the SLE interviews count towards the required interview for admissions applications. They are meant to be a training tool for both the cadet cadre (upperclass) and a learning opportunity for the cadet candidate to prepare for the admissions process.

If the CFA has already been accepted as passed, then your son will not have a chance to retake it.

 

[USMA 1994]

The interview at SLE will count towards the requirement for the interview. The Field Force Rep may conduct another one but it is not required.

For the CFA, while it has a score associated and it could be improved, the way the CFA is scored in the admission process is important to understand. The CFA is used as only 10% of the whole candidate score so it is very difficult to make a significant impact by retaking. The CFA is not superscored as well. You may do a few more pushups but if your run time gets a little longer the score would be a wash. You should spend the time focusing on other areas that have a bigger impact.

 

[Candd82026]

Anyway, the candidate portal will have a green checkmark for CFA if it was accepted. If you don't see the green checkmark, you can inquire from your admissions contact called the admissions Regional Commander (also indicated on the portal). By "you" I mean the candidate, not the parent. The application portal is for the candidate, parents may be informed by their candidate of portal contents.

Also when DS2026 applied, he was required to upload a video of his CFA test for pullups and pushups - the instructions were at the portal. I am not sure how it'll be for your son since his CFA we're from SLE - you need to wait for those instructions if it's not yet showing on the portal. Your son should contact his Regional Commander admissions team for questions on his application. They monitor the applications under their jurisdiction and send email reminders as well, based on DS experience.

 

[Cara]

The interview at SLE will count towards the requirement for the interview. The Field Force Rep may conduct another one but it is not required.

For the CFA, while it has a score associated and it could be improved, the way the CFA is scored in the admission process is important to understand. The CFA is used as only 10% of the whole candidate score so it is very difficult to make a significant impact by retaking. The CFA is not superscored as well. You may do a few more pushups but if your run time gets a little longer the score would be a wash. You should spend the time focusing on other areas that have a bigger impact.

Thank you very much. Sounds like if he passed, he should focus on other parts of his application.