I don't normally reply to a poster's "1st Post". Normally because of all the spam and troll posts that happen. Not saying yours is this; simply saying i don't normally reply to a 1st post. This topic however is important to a lot of readers, so I'll give my $0.0359392954 (Inflation)
When asking about "My Chances"; chances of receiving an appointment and making it at an academy are proportional to 3 facets.
1. Qualifications: The first thing affecting your "Chances" are if you are qualified. You academics above show that you qualify academically. But qualifications also included being qualified MEDICALLY and PHYSICALLY. Not in "Your Opinion", but based on the military standards. I.e. certain allergies, asthma, height, weight, etc. could DIS-qualify you, even though you don't think they should. There's also many other things that are determined when deciding if an individual is physically and medically qualified. Assuming you are; all the other items you list above fall into the next category. That's competing with the thousands of others applying.
2. Competition: The academies are not traditional universities where the school can take anyone they want and as many as they want. The academies are based on competition. You are competing against others in your district and state. You are also competing against others nationally. Part of this competition is competing to receive a nomination. Without a nomination, you CAN'T receive an appointment. But assuming you get the nomination, only about 20% of those with a nomination will get an appointment. SO...... Not KNOWING what the scores, nominations, etc. are of your COMPETITION, there's no way to know what your chances are.
3. Desire and Motivation: Your desire and motivation can not be directly measured and compared to others, but it can easily be recognized. Especially by those interviewing you for a nomination or by the academy when they interview you for an appointment. (Part of the application process). There are countless number of individuals who have entered the academy basic training and classes saying that they've "Wanted the Academy their Whole Life". And there are countless number of those individuals who got to the academy and found out it wasn't for them and they quit or were kicked out. Your desire and motivation is what's going to help you present the PERFECT APPLICATION for you. It's what will help you have the best interviews you can have. Write the Best Essays you can. Have the right attitude in basic training that will get you through one of the hardest times you've ever experienced up to that time in your short life. Without that proper desire and motivation, you'll probably not stand out as an "Exceptional" applicant, and thus probably won't get an appointment. And if you do receive the appointment, without the right attitude of proper desire and motivation, you'll probably not be able to handle it and choose to quit.
Now; assuming a person has all 3 of these areas covered; Qualified, Better that the competition, and the right desire/motivation; that still doesn't ensure an appointment. The bottom line is; there's only "X" number of slots available. 1200 +/- depending on the previous year's graduations, drop outs, mission needs, etc. The academies are looking for BOTH the "Best of the Best" as well as the "Right Fit" for the class. I.e. If the BEST 1200 applicants ALL came from California and Texas, that would NOT BE THE BEST FIT for the academy. The best fit includes a diverse class. Diversity in backgrounds, experiences, types of education, social backgrounds, family situations, etc. I recently interviewed individuals for a position where I work. It got narrowed down to 2 people. One was obviously BETTER technically than the other. But I had to decide also based on who was the better fit for the organization. This isn't a "Box Check" thing like many other scenarios. You can't just have a certain gpa, certain ACT score, etc. and fill in the boxes and expect an appointment. You have to be the BEST of your competitors; be 100% qualified; have the right attitude/desire/motivation, and be the best fit for the academy and the military. HALF of the appointments are selected based on individual state respresentative's and senator's decisions and input. The other half of the appointments is strictly up to the academy; and based on the makeup of the first half of the class already chosen, they will choose the remaining half to be the best of the best with the "WHOLE PERSON CONCEPT" in mind. Not just gpa, test scores, etc. but EVERYTHING. leadership, athletics, clubs, teamwork, social skills, volunteering, charity, etc.
So, there is no answer to what are my chances. Anyone who says your chances are good, is trying to make you feel good. You don't need to feel good; you need to know the truth. Anyone who says a person has no chance at all because they think their gpa or test scores are too low or their application is too week, is ignorant. They don't have a clue. The AVERAGE GPA is 3.86 and the average ACT score is 30. There are some with 26-27 ACT scores as well as the 34-36. There's some with gpa's in the 3.5 area as well as the 4.0. So, if you have the desire/motivation and feel you are qualified, then you APPLY. You DON'T WORRY about your chances. No one knows what your chances are, and it's absolutely NOTHING you can change; other than to do the BEST with everything in the future. So don't ask or worry about your chances. The only 100% FACT about chances is......... "You have a 100% CHANCE of NOT getting an appointment, if you DON'T APPLY". Other than that..... don't worry or ask about your chances. It isn't anything you can do to CHANGE your chances. All you can do is give everything 100% of your effort and try for perfection. Not saying you'll achieve it, just that you should STRIVE for it. If you don't strive for it, then you DON'T HAVE the 3rd part of Desire/Motivation of the process. Thus, your odds will go down tremendously in receiving an appointment.
Best of luck
Mike
