Did poorly on CFA but otherwise very qualified

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Brendo147

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I just received my nomination from my MOC in a very competitive district in Virginia. (You can guess which one) And I believe I am very qualified academically and with leadership skills which is a big reason why I got the nomination in the first place. I am also medically qualified.

However, I did very poorly on my CFA, 7:40 mile, 51 curl ups, 32 pushups, 60 ft basketball throw, 2 pull ups, and a 8.9 shuttle. I picked a poor day to do it and I did not prepare. I have recieved multiple varsity letters in both lacrosse and track and field. With the varsity athletics on my side, how much is my poor performance on the CFA going to affect me? And do you think USNA could ask me to retake it if it's the only thing stopping me from getting in?
 
First, it's hard to tell how poorly you did without knowing your gender.
If you passed they won't ask you to redo it. One can't tell what will happen, but it is a competition and you're in a competitive district.
You've discussed this with your BGO, right? What did he or she say?
 
kinnem said:
First, it's hard to tell how poorly you did without knowing your gender.
If you passed they won't ask you to redo it. One can't tell what will happen, but it is a competition and you're in a competitive district.
You've discussed this with your BGO, right? What did he or she say?
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I'm sorry. I am a male. I emailed the BGO early today, waiting to hear back. The thing is is that I could've failed, and it would be the only thing stopping me from being 3Q, so that's why I'm asking. I guess wait to see what the BGO says?
 
Slightly related question, is the CFA really a pass/fail? Would it be more beneficial to try to aim for a higher score even if you have already passed?
 
or call admissions. I certainly wouldn't be sitting on my hands. Are you in a position to do it now and do much better? If not then perhaps this is all a moot point.
 
Nomak54 said:
Slightly related question, is the CFA really a pass/fail? Would it be more beneficial to try to aim for a higher score even if you have already passed?
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Pretty sure it is for USNA and I wouldn't think so as it only lets you submit it to the portal once.
 
kinnem said:
or call admissions. I certainly wouldn't be sitting on my hands. Are you in a position to do it now and do much better? If not then perhaps this is all a moot point.
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Yep, exactly. That's why I've been asking around and emailing the BGO now that I've realized with the all important congressional nomination this CFA thing is the only thing really standing in my way of appointment.
And yes, I would do about 10-15% better now than I would have then, I have workouts for my sport 3x a week now so I'll only improve until I would potentially retake the test in a couple to few weeks.
 
Brendo147 said:
...I've realized with the all important congressional nomination this CFA thing is the only thing really standing in my way of appointment...
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It is true that you won't get an Offer of Appointment without a nomination, but there could be a myriad of factors - separate from the CFA - which could stand in the way of an Offer of Appointment.
Don't assume anything. Always work on Plan B.

Brendo147 said:
Pretty sure it is for USNA and I wouldn't think so as it only lets you submit it to the portal once.
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You may have your CFA field "reset" by your Admissions Counselor, so that the CFA can be uploaded again by your coach or Phys. Ed teacher. Some applicants do this a few times, if they improve significantly each time.
 
@Brendo147, I agree with @THParent that your CFA scores are but one factor that might be standing between you and an appointment. Please don’t be presumptuous that, with better CFA scores, you’re a shoo-in. As was discussed on this forum recently, each year about half (recently, more than half) of all 3Q and nominated candidates do not receive offer of appointment. Carefully manage your expectations and make sure you’re working very diligently on Plan B, C, D and so on.

With all due respect, I sense a bit of hubris in your comments, and I wonder if that’s what led you to not prepare for the CFA. Having multiple varsity letters is a nice thing, but it’s not necessarily indicative of great physical ability. For some, it just indicates participation. I’m not saying that’s the case with you — I don’t know you — but note that two pull-ups is below average for female candidates. A 10% improvement would still leave you below average on several events. Redoing the CFA would probably be smart to do, and this time, prepare well. Best wishes to you.
 
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Thanks for all the help. I am realizing that I may have been overconfident, and I have multiple plan B's and C's, but I will work to retake the CFA to make sure I have the best chance. And I know there are no guarantees whatsoever even though it may not have come off that way.
 
may help with the pulls ups. The current plebe class had 20%+ fail the PRT during plebe summer. IMHO USNA will look more closely at the fitness level of the next class. The Supe and the Dant were not happy. Just this last semester a Firstie was released because he failed the CFA multiple times in a row. (letterman and football player is HS.) I would suggest you contact your BGO and Admissions counselor ask for their advice and make a decision to retake or not retake. Just remember you must retake the entire CFA and the most recent counts. USNA does not superstore the CFA.
 
OP- While admission and the CFA are your immediate concern there is a larger one and that is you are working on a goal of being a military officer which is a physical profession. USNA offers great academic opportunities, extracurricular and military training but as a 2LT/ENS regardless of commissioning source you need to be the physical leader of your Soldiers. Look at the new Army Combat Fitness Test and you can see that modified push ups and the leg tuck both remain events to test your upper body strength. The same is true for those leading Sailors or Marines. A few vignettes

I was a smaller guy who did well at running long distances but wasn't the ideal guy to ruck long distances but as a 2LT in an infantry company in combat nobody cared about what high school sports I did or what I was naturally inclined to do. I had to make sure I was fit enough to lead my Soldiers in combat and carry the weight required for my tasks.

My unit medical service corps officer earned a bronze star for valor and our chaplain a purple heart and valor award for actions in combat. They weren't asked to hold different standards due to MOS and the enemy didn't care about their MOS or combatant status.

As a combat arms battalion XO I expected my Signal Corps, Medical Service, Logistics and Chemical officers to meet the same standards of physical fitness and military readiness as any officer in the battalion.

In summary, your future Soldiers, Sailors or Marines need you to find the way to max your CFA and service fitness test and to be able to step up and lead them. Not to hand wring about how well qualified all the other aspects of your application make you.
 
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Just based on my DS's experience, high school sports is not enough to prepare for a good CFA. DS is a wrestler and wrestling practices are 6 days a week of brutal training (at least at his school), not to mention making weight twice a week. He was in terrific shape after wrestling season last year and soon after, did his first practice CFA. That was his wake-up call. Wrestling did not translate into doing great on the CFA because of how it is structured. I watched him get up at 5:30 am every day, rain or snow, and run, push ups, sit ups, and pull ups. He made huge improvements in 4 weeks - because it had a great fitness base to work from but also because he put in the time and dedication to train for the new event - the CFA. You can do this - you can do a great CFA. It's not rocket science and the Stew Smith training approach really works (provided you are fit to begin with). But it needs only one key ingredient - how bad to you want it. For my DS anyway, it proved to him (the only one he needed to prove it to) that he really had the heart and dedication to go for this. Just my two cents (and limited perspective).
 
Brendo147 said:
now that I've realized with the all important congressional nomination this CFA thing is the only thing really standing in my way of appointment.
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I feel I have to say this, in kindness. This doesn't show a lot of foresight. You should have been working this CFA issue all along. As an officer you will be expected to show foresight. Saying, "I didn't foresee the enemy might have a machine gun there" is not going to cut it. Always be thinking of what can go wrong and how you will remedy it, if it does. Do this for every plan you have in life. Your CFA is one of those things that went wrong and you should have had a plan for it, regardless of whether or not you had a nomination.

Hope this is helpful in your future endeavors and also hope your dreams come true.
 
Brendo147 said:
I just received my nomination from my MOC in a very competitive district in Virginia. (You can guess which one) And I believe I am very qualified academically and with leadership skills which is a big reason why I got the nomination in the first place.
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Love the confidence...but do you recognize that there are probably 9 other candidates who received a nomination from your MOC, and all think they are very qualified academically and with great leadership skills ? The 10 of you are competing for an Appointment, and USNA will take the one with the best overall application. As long as your CFA is passing, you are in the game. Nobody here can tell you the secret recipe that wins the MOC slate, but if everything else is the same (big if, since no one is completely equal), CFA could make the difference.
 
My son is a three sport athlete ... captain of two.

He joined cross country in tenth grade and joined cross fit a few years ago ... got up at 5:30 every morning before school - all to improve his CFA scores.

He did very well on them - and he wanted to retake them because he was unhappy with his mile time - he ran it in a blizzard and the time wasn’t the time he was running in cross country practice (ran a 5:35 - was able to beat 5:20).

He passed so he didn’t retake it.
 
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