Chances of Appointment/Questions

Runner2020

5-Year Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2013
Messages
37
Hello! I understand there's so many people on here who ask what their chances will be of getting an appointment to a service academy, and well...I'm on of them. I understand you can never really know until you're either accepted or declined, but I thought'd be nice to get some feedback and advice from people here.

GPA: 3.81
ACT PLAN:25 composite, projected ACT score 27-32
Honors classes, advanced math course

Extracurriculars/Leadership/Clubs:
Varsity Cross Country
Varsity Track and Field
Club Track and Field
CyberPatriot (made to to Regionals/4th round)
DECA (state qualifier, 1st place)
Student Government (currently class Vice President)
Civil Air Patrol (Mitchell Award Recipient, soon to be Earhart)
AFJROTC
Speech and Debate

CPFT-
Mile: 6:00 (at altitude) (avg. 6:00-6:25)
Pushups: 35 (cadence)
Situps: 72 (1 min test) (avg. 64-68)
Shuttle Run: 8.4 (avg. 9.2)
Basketball Throw: n/a
Pullups: 3

I'm also very active with church and the community, however my main focus is on school, sports, and CAP. My GPA isn't very high, but I have all A's except for a C in Spanish, and B in math. I have issues with math due to moving to the US from Europe a couple years ago (where I also had to take German, and then required to move to Spanish Freshman year), and I've skipped Geometry, Algebra, and Pre Alg. I am also taking the ACT in two months for the first time, and my plan is to keep retaking it until I get a mean score of 30-33. I'm starting IB next year (along with 1-2 AP classes), which should really boost my GPA, and I start working at the Commissary in May. I'm hoping to go to Girl's State and Summer Seminar summer after Junior year.

I'm a Sophomore in high school, and I want to do everything I can to get into the USAFA, or USAFAPS. Any advice? Should I drop or add any activities? Will my grades ruin me as far as the academic portion of the application goes? What's your opinion on IB as opposed to AP?

Thank you very much!
 
For the ACT the math score matters quite a bit...but if all the individual scores are in the 30s that is pretty good.

There is a lot of math at the AFA so you want to get a strong grip on that subject.

As far as AP or IB some schools only offer one, or none...I will say this, a more challenging workload looks better than an easy one.

You have some good leadership items, but look for opportunities to take responsibility for a event or project, something that shows you can stand out in front and take charge. Could be organizing a banquet, or leading a food drive etc. Obviously team captain or organization officer are two leadership jobs that look very good.

Good luck!
 
For the ACT the math score matters quite a bit...but if all the individual scores are in the 30s that is pretty good.

There is a lot of math at the AFA so you want to get a strong grip on that subject.

As far as AP or IB some schools only offer one, or none...I will say this, a more challenging workload looks better than an easy one.

You have some good leadership items, but look for opportunities to take responsibility for a event or project, something that shows you can stand out in front and take charge. Could be organizing a banquet, or leading a food drive etc. Obviously team captain or organization officer are two leadership jobs that look very good.

Good luck!

Thank you for all of your advice- I appreciate it!
 
So far looking good. One note on IB versus AP: obviously, take the hardest classes you can, and excel at them. But if it really is a flip of the coin whether you're doing AP or IB, check out what you can validate (info should be available online.) I HIGHLY recommend validating, especially for stand-alone classes. As far as I know, they only accept AP, not IB--I have several friends who got great IB test scores, but couldn't validate because they didn't take the AP and the department didn't have a validation exam. So do your homework!
 
I looked on the website for possible validation of classes with AP scores... I'm taking 5 AP's this year, and only one (Lang) can be validated with a 5. Should I even bother with the other 4? (I have an appointment)
 
Well, obviously I don't know what APs you're taking. During basic I distinctly remember math tests, a history test, a chemistry test, and a language test. There was a validation exam for Physics 110 and 215 after basic (110 is mechanics, 215 is electricity/magnetism) which some people took. And this semester there's a compsci test to validate 110--catch is, you have to have experience with cyberwarfare (though apparently you can get that through the cyber club.)
Language was one of the few you could validate without an extra exam. But on Calculus at least (and possibly some others), AP scores weren't the deciding factor, but were A factor in determining placement. Additionally, from what I've heard, if you talk to the different departments, some of them will let you try to test out of a class even if they don't broadcast that they have a validation exam.
So... a definite maybe.
 
I am taking AP Environmental, AP Comparative Gov't/Politics, AP Lang, AP Calc AB, and AP Physics B.

http://www.academyadmissions.com/the-experience/academics/grading/

According to this link (scroll towards the bottom) they only accept Calc BC and Physics C (not the ones that I am taking). They don't mention APES or Comp. However I'm looking to get a 5 on that Lang test haha :thumb:

If there are other opportunities to test up, like you have mentioned, would they want any of these AP scores in order for me to validate a class?
 
Calc you still have to take the test even if you got a 5 on BC. If you knock the USAFA placement test out of the water, you'll get in Calc 2 or 3 even without AP. So study hard, but if you don't want to shell out extra money for the test I wouldn't worry about it.

Physics B is much like Physics 110, but 110 doesn't include any magnetism/electricity--you do mechanics and that's about it. I got a 5 on the test and definitely think I could have validated the class. They probably say they only accept C because 110 is supposed to be calc based. Not true. There is a little calculus, but not much. If you realize that an acceleration function is a derivative of a velocity function is a derivative of a position function then you understand the scope of calculus included in 110.

Get a 5 on the language! Gets you out of the class!

AP Enviro and AP Gov I can't speak to--didn't take either class and I'm not in any equivalents now. I don't think you can get credit for either.

So yeah--with an appointment, I'd take the AP language test and that's all. Maybe get on a phone with someone about physics--I've no idea if they factor in Physics B scores in the 110/215 validation exam. But otherwise save the money and enjoy being almost done with high school.
 
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