CFA Passing Scores

[BeanBoi45]

Feedback on my current CFA scores? Be honest/blunt. Much appreciated.
sex: M

Basketball Throw: 69ft
Pull-ups: 10
Shuttle Run: 9.4sec
Sit-ups: 95
Push-ups: 55
Mile: 6:56

 

[spencermc]

Good job maxing out the sit ups. Of course, there is still room on improvement with everything you do. Look at the max scores, and try to get as close as possible to them as you can, you can only improve if you put in a little extra work. Pull ups imo are a little low, push ups you DEFINITELY should be getting the max, if not super close to it (high 60s low 70s I would consider "safe"), and the mile try to get it down a little lower if you can, its good, but not the best. Strive for ATLEAST a 6:20, and if you get that and still think you can improve it then by all means do so.

At the end of the day, and youre going to hear this over and over again, you can always improve. Keep pushing yourself and strive to max out all events, as thats whats going to show your determination, perseverance, and hard work (and strength too ). The academies wanna make sure you're going to succeed physically if granted an appointment.

 

[WT Door]

I whole heartedly agree that one should always do their best in all endeavors. Here is my corollary to the CFA regarding doing one’s best: “if the minimum wasn’t good enough, it wouldn’t be the minimum”. The CFA is pass/fail. I am just a little skeptical in thinking that the admissions board would parse stats over those candidates that passed the CFA (11 pullups instead of 10, or 90 sit-ups versus 75, etc.) as an admissions tie breaker. I think your scores are fine. Test and move on.

PS. What applicants should really concentrate on is maxing their college board scores. Anything improvement that gets them closer to the max on the SAT or ACT will serve them better than a passing CFA. Good Luck.

 

[Heatherg21]

Feedback on my current CFA scores? Be honest/blunt. Much appreciated.
sex: M

Basketball Throw: 69ft
Pull-ups: 10
Shuttle Run: 9.4sec
Sit-ups: 95
Push-ups: 55
Mile: 6:56

Bearing in mind that the CFA is 10% of your overall whole candidate score, I would say you are pretty good. I can only speak in terms of what my son's were last cycle (he is at plebe summer), he had 12 pull ups, his mile was at 6:28 (west point admissions counselor told him 6:30 or under) and he had 58 situps. If you have time, you can improve, our DS submitted mid September to allow for more training. I concur with the recommendation to work on maxing standardized tests, and I also believe practicing for interviews, in a real and tough setting is a critical component.

 

[usna1985]

The CFA is not 10% of your score. And the CFA is P/F. However, there is a small "bump" for doing really well and a small "ding" for barely skating by.

For the OP, the scores will almost certainly be passing, but barely on the mile. I think USNA will have concerns about the mile time. At USNA, males have to run 1.5 miles in 10:30 max. A 6:56 for one mile won't make that cut. As comparison, in my day, males had a 6:30 max time for one mile. Unless you're a runner who can really pace yourself, that last 1/2 mile is likely to be at a slower pace than the first mile. While the events before the mile run (plank and cadence push-ups) aren't as arduous as for the CFA, they will still tire you out.

Suggest you work on push ups and work on improving your mile time. Also, the CFA isn't viewed in a vacuum. If you are a star athlete in a non-running sport (i.e., swimming), they may not be so worried about your mile time. If you aren't super active in sports, the CFA is valued more highly as an indication of your fitness. So it could make a difference -- b/c the #2 reason for mids leaving USNA is failing to pass the 1.5 mile run. #1 BTW is leaving b/c you don't want to be there.

 

[OldRetSWO]

At USNA, males have to run 1.5 miles in 10:30 max. A 6:56 for one mile won't make that cut. As comparison, in my day, males had a 6:30 max time for one mile.

I mention this fairly often and can't emphasize it enough.
The mile run was a graded event and the "max" time of 6:30 was the lowest "D" grade. Every male midshipman had to beat 6:30 every semester and considering that 6:30 was a very low D, most endeavored to get a lower time. I'm not positive but I think that 6:10 was a C.

The current standard is a 10:30 for a mile and a half which is a LOW D GRADE. Again, most will do better. Candidates in the high 6 minutes or worse need to improve a lot just to pass and considering that PRT scores do factor into class rank and therefore, Service Assignment, it is pretty important to not be satisfied with the minimum.

 

[BeanBoi45]

Thank you all for your responses. This helps immensely.

 

[Heatherg21]

The CFA is not 10% of your score. And the CFA is P/F. However, there is a small "bump" for doing really well and a small "ding" for barely skating by.

For the OP, the scores will almost certainly be passing, but barely on the mile. I think USNA will have concerns about the mile time. At USNA, males have to run 1.5 miles in 10:30 max. A 6:56 for one mile won't make that cut. As comparison, in my day, males had a 6:30 max time for one mile. Unless you're a runner who can really pace yourself, that last 1/2 mile is likely to be at a slower pace than the first mile. While the events before the mile run (plank and cadence push-ups) aren't as arduous as for the CFA, they will still tire you out.

Suggest you work on push ups and work on improving your mile time. Also, the CFA isn't viewed in a vacuum. If you are a star athlete in a non-running sport (i.e., swimming), they may not be so worried about your mile time. If you aren't super active in sports, the CFA is valued more highly as an indication of your fitness. So it could make a difference -- b/c the #2 reason for mids leaving USNA is failing to pass the 1.5 mile run. #1 BTW is leaving b/c you don't want to be there.

Aahh, my mistake. Apologies.