Did I fail the CFA?

I have always been under the impression no MOC can be charged until all candidates are boarded, caveat principal. A candidate with an LOA can be appointed with any nomination. Thus, if a candidate that is on a slate where the MoC does not use principal, the MoC cannot be charged until everyone on the slate has a WCS?

Am I wrong?

I don't think you are wrong, but I believe there are some deviations. I can't say for sure but it seems like my RC made up slates for Congressional vacancies early and adjusted them as necessary. I believe adjustments of the slates don't happen often as not many candidates suddenly improve class rank, siginficantly improve thise SAT/ACT scores or suddenly hold many leadership positions. I see the charging is the final administrative act, but all the heavy lifting get done beforehand.
 
I asked my BGO(Naval Academy equivalent of a FFR) to check if I had passed the CFA and he told me the portal says that I am qualified physically based on my CFA scores. I'm guessing that this means I passed the CFA by the Naval Academy's standards.
 
:bang:

frenzy you are missing the big point regarding the appointment process. You can be 3Q and get the TWE.

Your BGO said you are Q from the CFA perspective. You did not fail, but I would not assume that you were not hurt from the WCS either. My assumption would be: It is submitted and will be part of your WCS. Let the chips fall where they may. They may or may not decide to reopen it. You can end up with an 8+ min. mile and pass but the bottom of the barrel.

Your MoCs may not use principal. You are not offered an LOA. That means you are fighting against everyone on the MOC slate from a WCS. It could come down to tha CFA score.

There is a line drawn in the sand regarding how many appointments. Research the charging process. There will always be candidate #1351 and they only appoint 1350.
~ You don't want to be that #1351 saying to yourself if I just didn't submit the CFA, or if I just practiced a little more I may have had that appointment.
 
Last edited:
:bang:

frenzy you are missing the big point regarding the appointment process. You can be 3Q and get the TWE.

Your BGO said you are Q from the CFA perspective. It is submitted and will be part of your WCS. They may or may not decide to reopen it. You can end up with an 8+ min. mile.

Your MoCs may not use principal. You are not offered an LOA. That means you are fighting against everyone on the MOC slate from a WCS. It could come down to that run aka CFA score.

My BGO told me I can retake it if I want to.

I'm probably going to do that, but with fatigue and soreness from football I may not perform as well on some of the events even if I do well on the mile. The mile is only 1 of the 6 events. Doing worse in the rest of the events may outweigh the value of doing significantly better on the mile. Earlier I calculated how many points shaving a minute and a half off of my mile would add to my WCS: 42.18. If I do say 3 fewer pull-ups, 5 fewer sit-ups, 5 fewer push-ups, add two tenths to my shuttle run, and throw the basketball 5 fewer feet(that 71 feet was a fluke honestly, I had never thrown more than 66 feet, not sure how I did it and I don't think I will ever be able to do it again) it would take off 42.4 points from my WCS. 42.18 minus 42.4 is -.22 so I basically I would be accomplishing nothing.

WCS is out of 8000 so cutting a minute and a half off of my mile and keeping the rest of the scores the same(which will not be easy to do) will improve my file by 42.18 points, or .5%. I'm fine with taking the CFA again if it will improve my file at all, but assuming I passed the CFA by West Point's standards, I highly doubt(it could happen though) retaking it will make the difference between me receiving a BFE and me receiving a TWE.

Here is what a former RC said about retaking the CFA:

"Take the CFA as many times as you wish. However, bear in mind that it constitutes only about 10% of your overall file strength... once you've passed it, I'd recommend you leave the score alone. Your time would be better spent studying for & retaking the SAT/ACT than practicing for hours a day trying to throw that damn basketball a few feet further (and risking blowing out your rotator cuff in the process)."

I want to get every point that I can get, and I am willing to retake the CFA if it gives me more points, or even just a point. However, I'm not sure if retaking the CFA will give me even a point. Passing this CFA is pretty significant to me because I may never be able to do as well as I did on some of the events again. It might sound crazy because it's only early July, but football could run till December(and it will because my team is going to win state this year;)) so I might not have another chance to take this test at 100% until then. As buff81 mentioned earlier, being 3Q'd can be important in the nomination process so December is a bit too late. IMHO I didn't do that horribly on the CFA as a whole, just the mile run and , to a lesser extent, the sit-ups. The average score of the people that I used for my calculations was a 566.5, I calculated that I scored a 572.
 
Just to give you some perspective. My son took the CFA at SLE last summer and scored around average or higher in every event. No max in anything. He was going to retake it in November when he took it again for USNA but the RC told him it wasn't necessary and wouldn't allow for a retake.

He received an appointment to USMA and started last Monday. Focus on extracurricular activities and ACT/GPA. The CFA isn't the make or break test that you are making it out to be.
 
OBTW, 1000% agreement with the do it because the RC said so. No argument there.

This is really the answer to all your above questions.

But .......
In NC they did not request the CFA as part of their MoC selection. They did not need a finished file.
~ I agree it helps from an interview process, not only from the MoC perspective, but also the ROTC scholarship interview. If that is not enough of a reason. I agree with Member, the RC/FFR to prove you are taking this seriously.

I didn't say that the CFA is required by the MOCs nor did I say that the candidate needs a completed file to interview.
I said that a completed file is needed by WP to start the qualifying process. If a candidate is qualified by the time of their MOC interview, it is plus because the MOC already knows that the candidate has WP's stamp of approval and they are more likely to nominate that candidate. Thus, a reason to take the CFA sooner than later.

The sports aspect.
~ I get it. My DS2 played FB, LB, I received a call one Monday after the 1st game.
~~ Mrs. Bullet I think you need to pick up your DS and take him to the hospital. We think he may have an undiagnosed concussion from last Friday nights game when he was hit. They were right
~~~ He was not allowed to partake in sports for 3 weeks.

I am not disagreeing at all. I believe for many, especially athletes that play fall sports this is when you should take it.
~~ Let's also be honest. Any medical issue can cause DoDMERB problems too. Break an arm, requiring pins, can start the waiver process.

I am just saying it is July. They have yet to start true fall sports. It is training right now. I still stand by what harm are we talking about if they do practice CFAs until 8/15? The OP has no nominations, and it appears that their drop dead date for submitting their application for a nomination from MoCs is Oct.
~ The OP is not saying that WP are recruiting them for FB.
~~ I love my DS. he played for 3 years, but he was not that all star. It was nothing more than an EC on his resume.

In your honest opinion do you believe 8:11 mile is low? 60's for sit ups and push ups is stellar? Would you say to them submit, or train for 3-4 weeks more and retake August 1st before you start your fall sport?
~ Yes, I am asking your honest opinion. No, well, if, I had this candidate, maybe I would say they should...
~~ Yes or no. 8:11 mile on June 29th.

The OP can take the CFA again in mid-August if he wants. I wouldn't consider that late but with Football practice going on and physical toll that goes with it, he needs to decide when the best time for him to take it is and still be within the parameters of early file completion.
Would I be more comfortable if his mile was faster? Sure - as the average is 6:43. But, none of us knows if 8:11 is passing.
The earlier a candidate submits a CFA, the more likely a RC will grant/request a retest.

Bottom line for any candidate applying to USMA -
Complete your file as soon as possible.
 
I retook the CFA today and I got 70 foot basketball throw, 18 pull ups(max), 8.2 shuttle run, 74 sit ups, 75 push ups(max) and 7:59 mile.
 
Back
Top