Chances of Appointment

AleKen

Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2017
Messages
11
Hello Everyone,

I'm sorry to add another one of these threads asking whether or not I have a chance of receiving an appointment to the Naval Academy and I recognize that nobody on this site works for admissions and that nobody can really give me an accurate answer, but looking around on this site has made me worried about the chances I have and appreciate any input based on your own or child's experience.

- Currently a junior in high school in Washington's 8th district
- 3.98 un-weighted GPA
- 6 AP classes and 8 honors classes
- Last summer I worked a paid internship through a local organization Teens In Public Service
- Member of national honors society and French national honor society (and French club)
- Jazz band in 9th grade and Orchestra in 10th and 11th
- Ultimate Frisbee since 8th grade
- Varsity letters in community service in 9th and 10th grade for completing 100 hours of community service
- Director of communications for my schools Interact club in 9th and 10th grade and am currently Secretary

Thank you!
 
AleKen thank you for noticing that we are tired of seeing this post of people asking this forum to chance them when there are already hundreds of them. But based on your states even though with no test cores, I will say you are in the right track and continue to work hard and have fun while you are still n high school.
 
I am curious... what do YOU think you could add to your resume? Have you read through the forums?
What do YOU think your next steps should be?
Self-reflect and then answer with where you see your strengths and weaknesses.
I am not being facetious, I really think you can do the leg work and then come up with your game plan!
You have a terrific GPA and have obviously challenged yourself academically. Now, what are the additional items that will make you an attractive candidate to the Service Academies or "selective colleges"?
 
For those who live in Texas, you probably already know that it was an admissions blood-bath for admission into either Texas A&M or U of Texas if you were a "review applicant". You would not believe some of the outstanding kids that did not receive full admission to either of these schools.
In this day and age you have to have a safety school and a back up school that you love and works for your family. I think my community is still reeling with denial that their child wasn't admitted!
All this just to emphasize to next year's applicants that when you are reaching high, there are no sure things.
Do your best, so that whatever the outcome, you will have no regrets. You will know you gave it your all, and trust that all the hard work you put into developing your Service Academy Application will pay in dividends no matter where you land!
 
I would add sports... here is a link to the Academy's CFA information. https://www.usna.edu/Admissions/Candidate-Fitness-Assessment.php

Since - according to what you posted - you are not an athlete, you will have to score very high on the CFA to show you can handle the physical rigors of the Academy. Sports also promotes team work which they like. Even with individual sports, like track or tennis, your performance impacts the team's overall score and ranking.
 
AleKen, your stats look good overall, but you didn't mention SAT/ACT scores, which are a key factor in the application. Additionally, there seems to be little in the way of leadership roles and athletics in your resume. Perhaps your senior year of school will open up some leadership and athletic opportunities for you. Also, you might consider using your application essays to highlight any ways in which you showed leadership in your ECs. As others have said, look through past threads on this forum and see what has proven successful for other candidates, then consider how you might use that knowledge to bolster your application.
 
My $.02 :

Leadership positions
Varsity Letter in a sport (what is a Varsity Letter in "community service"? ). Ultimate Frisbee is fun, and can be competitive, but not aware of schools that compete at the Varsity letter.

Keep in mind, USNA (and other service academies) are looking for military leaders. Your profile suggests that you are into humanities and public service. That indicates you are a good citizen, but you should have something to show that you can lead and motivate people , perform under intense pressure, and are competitive. (Participation in Athletics is not necessarily about ensuring your a physically fit, but rather leadership, competition, and performing under pressures. There is a reason that almost all (>90%) of students have a varsity letter, with a large number captains or co-captains of their team. Douglas MacArthur was talking about Academy athletics in his famous quote

“On the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds that on other days, on other fields will bear the fruits of victory.

Take a look at USNA Admissions profile (at USNA.edu), the more categories that you hit, the better your chances. Also, as noted above, SAT/ACT is critical. Personally, I have never been a fan of SAT/ACT as a predictor of academic success, but there is a lot of variability in High School grading systems, so this standardized testing gives Colleges a way to compare you to others.
 
I rarely see Boys/Girls State listed by kids. My DS (USNA class of 2021) had it highly recommended he attend by both USMA and USNA. He was told excellent points on his app for attending and succeeding. He participated and received one of five special honors and held an office while there. Like everyone has said repeatedly, we are not the admissions committee. We can only pass on what we were told. I will tell you my DS had a 35 math ACT and a 34 english, aced the CFA, 4 years of at least 2 Varsity sports per year (3 his Junior year), 2 Varsity "Captainships", phenomenal grades and loads of leadership roles on his resume. Just make yourself the best candidate you can be. Everyone has different strengths but remember......You're competing with the best of the best and the acceptance rate to USNA is about 7%. Good Luck!
 
For those who live in Texas, you probably already know that it was an admissions blood-bath for admission into either Texas A&M or U of Texas if you were a "review applicant". You would not believe some of the outstanding kids that did not receive full admission to either of these schools.
In this day and age you have to have a safety school and a back up school that you love and works for your family. I think my community is still reeling with denial that their child wasn't admitted!
All this just to emphasize to next year's applicants that when you are reaching high, there are no sure things.
Do your best, so that whatever the outcome, you will have no regrets. You will know you gave it your all, and trust that all the hard work you put into developing your Service Academy Application will pay in dividends no matter where you land!
Happening in our part of Texas! Families are really upset about getting assigned to Blinn or having to do the summer school classes. I feel sort of guilty that son got into college of engineering early decision. We've put a deposit down to hold his spot and are hoping and praying he gets an appointment to USAFA. Son even modified his little "I'm going to be an Aggie" poster by writing on it in blue Sharpie "If USAFA says NO."
 
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