Check In

hopefulUSNA25

hopefulUSNA25

Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2019
Messages
31
Happy Holidays everyone!
I want to check in with my stats and ECs so far. Not looking for anyone to tell me if I'm going to get in or anything. I just want to put some of my progress out there and to see how I'm doing in your opinion. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
I'm a junior at a large public school that has sent about 2 students to SAs in the past few years. (USNA and USAFA)
I've taken the most challenging classes available to me and I currently have a 95.9 weighted GPA. (Unfortunately, my school does not offer official class rank.)
This year I'm taking 3 APs and I'm maintaining more As than Bs.
I've done JV basketball in the winter for the past 2 years and now I'm doing indoor track. (Thinking of doing volleyball in the spring).
I've spent the last year as the SPL of my Boy Scout troop and now I'm working on finishing up my Eagle.
I'm applying to Boys State and NASS.
The EC that takes up the most time for me behind sports is music, I'm playing for orchestras around my state.
So those are my general ECs and stats so far...
I'm working on the CFA, doing an increasing amount of pushups and pullups over the course of 6 weeks. (Hoping to max sit-ups, pullups, and pushups at least.)
Excited to start the process in earnest on January 3rd!
Again, any thoughts and/or suggestions would be very helpful!
 
Don’t neglect running.

Work hard at SATs/ACTs. You can significantly improve your scores with practice.

Try to be a captain on sports teams if you can.

Looks good to me
 
Have you taken SAT or ACT yet? If not, I would suggest taking soon so that you have time to improve the scores if needed.

Remember that Academics carry the most weights and SAT/ACT are one of the major indicators.
 
Frankly , no one here can tell you how you are doing... You have some good tickets, but so do thousands of other Candidates. Admission to USNA is competitive, and in some Districts more competitive than others. Only you know how you stack up against your peers.
 
hopefulUSNA25 said:
Happy Holidays everyone!
I want to check in with my stats and ECs so far. Not looking for anyone to tell me if I'm going to get in or anything. I just want to put some of my progress out there and to see how I'm doing in your opinion. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
I'm a junior at a large public school that has sent about 2 students to SAs in the past few years. (USNA and USAFA)
I've taken the most challenging classes available to me and I currently have a 95.9 weighted GPA. (Unfortunately, my school does not offer official class rank.)
This year I'm taking 3 APs and I'm maintaining more As than Bs.
I've done JV basketball in the winter for the past 2 years and now I'm doing indoor track. (Thinking of doing volleyball in the spring).
I've spent the last year as the SPL of my Boy Scout troop and now I'm working on finishing up my Eagle.
I'm applying to Boys State and NASS.
The EC that takes up the most time for me behind sports is music, I'm playing for orchestras around my state.
So those are my general ECs and stats so far...
I'm working on the CFA, doing an increasing amount of pushups and pullups over the course of 6 weeks. (Hoping to max sit-ups, pullups, and pushups at least.)
Excited to start the process in earnest on January 3rd!
Again, any thoughts and/or suggestions would be very helpful!
Click to expand...

As OldNavyBGO mentioned, it is impossible to wager bets on your stats, yet, you seem well-rounded.

Again, as mentioned, there are so many impressive and competitive candidates/applicants, and not all can be accepted.

Strive to continue to do your best in all aspects of your life, as it seems you are diligently working on; especially academics.

NASS has zero bearing on influencing your application, yet it gives you an exposure and I encourage it; my son participated and loved it, in addition to participating in Boys State. Both require applications, and not all can be chosen. Applying early shows motivation.

The Naval Academy appreciates a lot of STEM classes, good/great academics, in addition to impressive scores on ACT and SAT exams. My son’s school does not use a ranking system, and the Naval Academy has experienced this many times with many schools.

Scoring well on the CFA is important; and you can retest if need be; so try to just continue to do your best.

So many variables factor into whom the USNA and other SA’s ultimately choose for an appointment, and sometimes, the most amazing candidates are not chosen, so do not let any college decision diminish your view of yourself in any regard.

Keep striving to be the very best version of yourself and helping others to be the best version of themselves.

Focus also on what other colleges may be a good fit for you, too, and their requirements.

There is a place for everyone in the world, including you! Always remain hopeful!!

Good luck!
 
txfwindian said:
Have you taken SAT or ACT yet? If not, I would suggest taking soon so that you have time to improve the scores if needed.

Remember that Academics carry the most weights and SAT/ACT are one of the major indicators.
Click to expand...

I recently took an official ACT practice test and scored a 34 composite. This was under simulated testing conditions and odds are I will score a 33+ when I take the ACT in February. I took the SAT December of last year and scored a 1310. (Not too great I know). So I will most likely focus on the ACT as it is more intuitive for me.
 
Hello, current Mid here, a piece of advice I give to all the drags (CVW people that come through) is finish your application as soon as possible. The Academy has Rolling applications, so as you reach a certain point of completion, they can start looking at whether they want to accept you or not. Each class has a max amount of spots available. From the moment applications open, this number only decreases. Don’t wait. The longer you wait to get everything done, the more competitive it becomes to get in. I’ve seen people that could’ve been guaranteed an LoA (Letter of Assurance, essentially early acceptance) not even be accepted because they waited so long to finish their application. DoDMERB can take several months, don’t let it sit and wait. Knock your CFA out, you can always retake it, same with ACT/SAT scores (although do doublecheck how many times you can submit them/if they take the higher or just the most recent submissions). Because the ACT is only every couple months, you’re going to want to take not only the February test, but also almost every upcoming one, specifically till you can get a 30+ score. The Academy is looking for the best of the best. When they put out class profiles, they post the averages. Oftentimes these are viewed as the standards, don’t fall for that. This is because not all kids do well in the same areas. The Academy focuses on Academics, Athletics, and Extra Curricular Activities, if you’re stronger in some areas over others, that’s fine. But the posted averages factor in that some people are weak in those areas, actually making them lower than what the general standard would be. You seem like a sharp kid, but 100% effort in all areas at all times is what will hell carry you through. Keep up the grind!
 
FeartheGoat22 said:
The Academy has Rolling applications, so as you reach a certain point of completion, they can start looking at whether they want to accept you or not. Each class has a max amount of spots available. From the moment applications open, this number only decreases. Don’t wait. The longer you wait to get everything done, the more competitive it becomes to get in. I’ve seen people that could’ve been guaranteed an LoA (Letter of Assurance, essentially early acceptance) not even be accepted because they waited so long to finish their application. DoDMERB can take several months, don’t let it sit and wait. Knock your CFA out, you can always retake it
Click to expand...

While the underlying message of "getting you application done early" is accurate, I think its important to clarify and correct some of these reasons. First, USNA "rolling admissions" is not like a normal college.. Yes, the Admissions Board reviews and determines whether a candidate is qualified on a Rolling basis, starting in early September., and yes, this increases your chance of an LOA , which is similar to early admission (but not the same thing, as the LOA still carries with it a number of conditions), but I don't think Admissions "gets more competitive the longer you wait."

There are a lot of threads in this Forum addressing the benefits of getting you application in early, but it is not a race to get your package in first. The vast majority of Candidates will get in through the normal 3Q + MOC nomination, and winning their MOC slate process. Noms and Appointments can't even start evaluating slates until MOC noms are submitted and all Candidates in the pool have submitted their application, ie. end of January. That is why those that submitted their application last spring are still CPR ...

FTG22's comments about giving time to deal with DODMERB, taking the CFA, etc. are 100% on. There are a lot of good reasons to get the application done in a timely manner.....it shows interest and motivation, self discipline, and allows time to deal with other issues that come up. However, timing of submission is not going to overcome the quality of the application or candidate. (In other words, a superstar who submits his/her application in January is likely to get the Appointment over a marginal candidate who submits in June).

I think the key is to take your time, and submit the best quality application you can, in a timely manner. You don't get points for being first, and frankly, I don't know if Admissions Board even looks at the applications on a First In , First Out basis). That said, you are competing with candidates in your "pool," so the comments about max number of spots in the class and decreasing opportunity over simplifies a very complex process.
 
Old Navy BGO said:
While the underlying message of "getting you application done early" is accurate, I think its important to clarify and correct some of these reasons. First, USNA "rolling admissions" is not like a normal college.. Yes, the Admissions Board reviews and determines whether a candidate is qualified on a Rolling basis, starting in early September., and yes, this increases your chance of an LOA , which is similar to early admission (but not the same thing, as the LOA still carries with it a number of conditions), but I don't think Admissions "gets more competitive the longer you wait."

There are a lot of threads in this Forum addressing the benefits of getting you application in early, but it is not a race to get your package in first. The vast majority of Candidates will get in through the normal 3Q + MOC nomination, and winning their MOC slate process. Noms and Appointments can't even start evaluating slates until MOC noms are submitted and all Candidates in the pool have submitted their application, ie. end of January. That is why those that submitted their application last spring are still CPR ...

FTG22's comments about giving time to deal with DODMERB, taking the CFA, etc. are 100% on. There are a lot of good reasons to get the application done in a timely manner.....it shows interest and motivation, self discipline, and allows time to deal with other issues that come up. However, timing of submission is not going to overcome the quality of the application or candidate. (In other words, a superstar who submits his/her application in January is likely to get the Appointment over a marginal candidate who submits in June).

I think the key is to take your time, and submit the best quality application you can, in a timely manner. You don't get points for being first, and frankly, I don't know if Admissions Board even looks at the applications on a First In , First Out basis). That said, you are competing with candidates in your "pool," so the comments about max number of spots in the class and decreasing opportunity over simplifies a very complex process.
Click to expand...

My son got an LOA in mid-December. When discussing the waiver for colorblindness with admissions - he was told that he got an early LOA. It was explained to him that an early LOA isn’t one given in earlier months, rather it was early based on his package and not given for other purposes.

This post is excellent ... well thought out and I appreciate the time you took to write it. Thank you.
 
Agree with the above. Great insights.
Respectfully recommend to all my candidates: instead of asking what do I need to do to get in? Consider asking, what can I be doing to prepare for success AT the Academy? Academy life is tough academically, physically and mentally. Anything you can do now to prepare yourself is time and energy well spent.
 
Norfolk63 said:
Agree with the above. Great insights.
Respectfully recommend to all my candidates: instead of asking what do I need to do to get in? Consider asking, what can I be doing to prepare for success AT the Academy? Academy life is tough academically, physically and mentally. Anything you can do now to prepare yourself is time and energy well spent.
Click to expand...
How do you recommend doing that best? I've started before- and after-school workouts on top of practice which is definitely not easy to adjust to. Not sure how else I can get ahead (besides memorizing all of reef points ;)). I know the academics will be the toughest part for me, but my senior year schedule is not as tough as it should have been.
 
Go have fun with your family and friends. Stay in shape. Sleep in. Play video games. Run some more. The better physical shape you are in, the better you will do with the other items. Know the PRT standards, the CFA doesn’t matter anymore. Be comfortable running 5-6 miles, get a strong core and work on push ups and pull ups. Go in with an open mind, listen, learn, help your classmates, laugh at yourself. You can prepare as much as you think, but until you are a new Plebe there isn’t anything else like it. Once the academic year starts find a routine for studying that works for you. Time management is your friend. Prioritize. Learn how you study best...in your room, in the library, somewhere else. Figure it out as quickly as possible. Ask for help if you need it. There is no magical prep that can prepare you for all aspects of Plebe Summer. No event is impossible or even that hard. It’s the combination of it all. Remember, everyone appointed can make it through. There are good days and bad days. Shake off the bad and start new the next day.
 
Excellent advice by @NavyHoops as always.

Learn how to shower and shave fast.

The running advice is spot on. Run on different surfaces and in all kinds of weather conditions and different times, except active lightning, to harden up your legs and build endurance. In addition to running in formation several times a day, plebes “chop” inside Bancroft Hall, jogging through the p-ways on hard flooring. Mids also do not use elevators. You will be up and down multiple flights of stairs daily.
 
Any helpful advice for the kid getting ready for the future by running more miles who has just started experiencing shin splints for the first time? Need some experienced advice!
 
Have your kid go see the cross country coach. They usually have some exercises and ice therapies that can help. Also, if there is athletic trainer at their school a good stop too. Also, if you town has a running shoe store it would be worth it to stop in and be fitted for proper shoes. This can really help. Also, they probably have some great advice on the shin split things as many of the employees at these stores are avid runners who help coach and train local residents in various running clubs. They can give advice on running technique, how to vary surfaces, exercises, ice therapies and probably even a running plan for someone fairly new to distance running.
 
Adopt3 said:
Any helpful advice for the kid getting ready for the future by running more miles who has just started experiencing shin splints for the first time? Need some experienced advice!
Click to expand...
Make sure to know when to stop! I know many people who have gotten stress fractures from letting shin splints get bad. This happens especially in cross country and track when athletes ramp up their training after a milder summer. Take the time to properly heal, and make sure to heed the advice given above.

Also, remember that getting in proper running shape does not happen all at once. Let the shin splints go away and then properly ease into training. A great way to do this would be to consult your school's cross country coach or a running store employee for a plan that's built specifically for your needs, as mentioned above.
 
2024candidate said:
How do you recommend doing that best? I've started before- and after-school workouts on top of practice which is definitely not easy to adjust to. Not sure how else I can get ahead (besides memorizing all of reef points ;)). I know the academics will be the toughest part for me, but my senior year schedule is not as tough as it should have been.
Click to expand...
Academics are the greatest challenge. It is in a candidate's best interest to take Calc 1 (college level or equivalent) before getting to the Academy so this class does not become a stress-point. Same for Chemistry. That's why candidates who are dual-enrolled in high school have a slight advantage (they can cover more academic ground with college courses being only 1 semester long as opposed to high school AP courses which eat up an entire school year). The other challenge is preparing for the transition to military life. Candidates who are involved in Sea Cadets or Civil Air Patrol in high school benefit from the structured training, uniforming, physical fitness, discipline, and professional training offered to cadets. Boy scouts is important, certainly. But speaking as a former scoutmaster with 12 years experience, I saw the marked difference CAP made for my Eagle scout who joined CAP later in his high school years. Just a few thoughts to consider.
 
IIRC - my son said they don’t do pull-ups? Ton of running and push-ups.

Reef points - my son did not memorize them. I said looking back do you wish you memorized them beforehand. He said no you don’t want to do that.
 
They do pull-ups.

My son has an opposite opinion of Reef Points. A friend of his has a grandfather who is a retired CAPT who graduated from USNA in the late 50's. He gave my son a copy of Reef Points as a gift and suggested he memorize as much as possible before I-Day. My son was glad he did. He didn't memorize every single page, but made sure he knew enough before heading in.
 
Building up running skill and stamina now is very smart. Do so gradually to avoid shin splints or stress fractures. But also better to suffer those now and recover, than to suffer them in Plebe Summer itself. Those who do so are relegated to aqua PT, which is significantly worse than regular PT.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top