My son was invited to lead a group of boys of his age to work on the project at the summer camp for 3 weeks at the foreign country starting August 1st, 2021. Today he found that his SAT score is not quite competitive for the Academy. His GPA is 4.0. What do you think we need to do - stay home and study for SAT or take this unique leadership opportunity ? I really appreciate your responses.
Dilemma
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WolfPackGrunt
USNA Papa
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Is it an option to take the leadership opportunity, study for the SAT, and retake the SAT when he returns?
IronmanDaremo
What, me worry?
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What do you consider not competitive?? With a strong GPA, strong course loads, extracurricular activities, sports, etc., there are lots of other factors that admissions takes into consideration. It is not just about a standardized test score.
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Its a difficult question. Lots of unknown including: what your DS's current ECA/Leadership experience is, exact SAT score, what his "whole candidate" package looks like, what his competition on his NOMs slates look like. Being able to lead a peer group in a foreign country appears to be an ECA this is different than what most have (that would be a plus).
What does your son want to do? I have never been a fan of doing something simply to enhance the resume and who is to say leading a team of peers in a foreign country is less valuable than a better SAT score
Though if USNA is the dream, and the SAT score is truly ‘low’, sacrifices may need to be made to bolster it
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My gut feel is that a fair amount of importance is placed on the SAT/ACT scores - at least for that initial look - while they are making piles of applicants to look at a second time and piles of applicants to maybe not bother to look at again.
With 16,000+ applications, there is going to be a fair amount of triage in that early stage.
With 16,000+ applications, there is going to be a fair amount of triage in that early stage.
He is very exited and actually wants to go abroad. His leadership experience is not so big due to the pandemic ( our state was closed for a while and he had to study virtually his whole sophmore year ) therefore he wants to use every opportunity to boost his leadershio skills. His Writing/Verbal SAT score now is a low average according to last year class portrait which is quite dissapointing.
milmomsomeday
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I think it depends on how "not quite competitive" and how many times your DS has taken the test and how much he has prepared before.
Play the what-if scenario, what if he spends that time studying and doesn't do ANY better on his test? Is his "not quite competitive" enough to apply and be considered, just not what you hoped or is the academy not an option without taking the test? If he needs the score to apply, I think you skip the trip. If the score is just not quite competitive, I think it depends on how much he's already taken the test and how much he has studied before. Eventually, you get to a point where your score isn't going to change that much if you are doing the same things you've done before.
And the thing I would base it on, what does he want to do? Because that will give him the motivation. If he wants to go on the trip, but has to stay home and study, you might as well go on the trip, because the score probably won't move much.
Play the what-if scenario, what if he spends that time studying and doesn't do ANY better on his test? Is his "not quite competitive" enough to apply and be considered, just not what you hoped or is the academy not an option without taking the test? If he needs the score to apply, I think you skip the trip. If the score is just not quite competitive, I think it depends on how much he's already taken the test and how much he has studied before. Eventually, you get to a point where your score isn't going to change that much if you are doing the same things you've done before.
And the thing I would base it on, what does he want to do? Because that will give him the motivation. If he wants to go on the trip, but has to stay home and study, you might as well go on the trip, because the score probably won't move much.
If USNA never happened regardless, would he regret not doing the 3 week project? Not sure the details, but that sounds possibly life changing for a 17/18 year old.
How does the SAT look compared to your estimates, especially each section? If one section was significantly lower than expectations, then maybe the study requirement isnt quite as daunting as it seems today. I know one of my DS bombed the math section (compared to estimate), but then we realized he hadnt had math for almost 11 months (on semester cycle at his HS). A restest 6 weeks later, once back in the math mindset, he math increased 100 or so points. Another DS bombed the August SAT because he wasnt back in the academic groove. Took it a couple months later and improved 150 overall. No real change in studying for the test itself.
How does the SAT look compared to your estimates, especially each section? If one section was significantly lower than expectations, then maybe the study requirement isnt quite as daunting as it seems today. I know one of my DS bombed the math section (compared to estimate), but then we realized he hadnt had math for almost 11 months (on semester cycle at his HS). A restest 6 weeks later, once back in the math mindset, he math increased 100 or so points. Another DS bombed the August SAT because he wasnt back in the academic groove. Took it a couple months later and improved 150 overall. No real change in studying for the test itself.
I see three possible outcomes.
1. He doesn't get accepted to the Naval Academy regardless of this decision. So which is more valuable for him in the long-run in terms of life experience? Which option will help him with Plans B or C? Which would he simply rather do? (As Cerberi said) Is he considering going to a foreign country only to boost his USNA resume? Is he excited about the opportunity to make a difference and become a more rounded individual?
2. The decision you make does actually impact his admission to USNA. One path gets him in, the other shuts the door. But as Don't Give Up the Ship said, we can't predict which path is more likely to gain him admission. We can't possibly know how much his SAT will improve, much less how that improvement will increase his odds of acceptance.
3. There's also a chance that he'll be accepted regardless of this decision.
All of these combined lead me to say set the potential for USNA admission aside when making this decision. Keep the academy in the sights, but understand that you can't control everything and there is a bigger picture to consider.
1. He doesn't get accepted to the Naval Academy regardless of this decision. So which is more valuable for him in the long-run in terms of life experience? Which option will help him with Plans B or C? Which would he simply rather do? (As Cerberi said) Is he considering going to a foreign country only to boost his USNA resume? Is he excited about the opportunity to make a difference and become a more rounded individual?
2. The decision you make does actually impact his admission to USNA. One path gets him in, the other shuts the door. But as Don't Give Up the Ship said, we can't predict which path is more likely to gain him admission. We can't possibly know how much his SAT will improve, much less how that improvement will increase his odds of acceptance.
3. There's also a chance that he'll be accepted regardless of this decision.
All of these combined lead me to say set the potential for USNA admission aside when making this decision. Keep the academy in the sights, but understand that you can't control everything and there is a bigger picture to consider.
I really appreciate everyone's input. It was very helpful to us in order to make a decison. Thank you.
He will go to foreign counrty ( Russian Federation ). It is not just to boost the resume, it is a really unique life opportunity regardless of his acceptance into the Academies. I am being realistic.
He will try for another SAT test in October.
He will go to foreign counrty ( Russian Federation ). It is not just to boost the resume, it is a really unique life opportunity regardless of his acceptance into the Academies. I am being realistic.
He will try for another SAT test in October.The program your DS is potentially going to do is only 3 weeks. How much will 3 weeks change his score, assuming he stayed home and studied exclusively for the SAT during that time. IMOHO, I would encourage him to do both, if both are important to him. A good tutor will make a world of difference in the score, too. My DD did a foreign language program with the National Security Language Initiative in Russia before her Junior year. It's one of the highlights of her life. She's now at USNA. Good luck!
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He can also reapply if things don’t work out as far as an offer of appointment.
I will add that there is another piece to consider, that he has to have the scores to potentially pass a NOM source threshold. We had one last year that had a LOA, the needed piece being a NOM. That they didn’t ‘have the score needed’ to obtain one from their state. Ultimately not appointed.
I will add that there is another piece to consider, that he has to have the scores to potentially pass a NOM source threshold. We had one last year that had a LOA, the needed piece being a NOM. That they didn’t ‘have the score needed’ to obtain one from their state. Ultimately not appointed.
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Find time to do both.
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There you go.
From a MIDN who has spent years there - finding time to do both and then some - every day.
I really appreciate everyone's input. It was very helpful to us in order to make a decison. Thank you.
He will go to foreign counrty ( Russian Federation ). It is not just to boost the resume, it is a really unique life opportunity regardless of his acceptance into the Academies. I am being realistic.
Yeah, that sounds like something not to miss. Good luck to your DS.
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SAT/ACT is the great equalizer …
You knock it out of the park, your class rank and grades don’t matter so much. They still want to see ECs, Physics, Chem, Calc, and those kind of things on your resume … but a High SAT/ACT can make up for any issues they might have with your kid.
It takes many months of practice, many days per week, to prepare.
Are you sure that your son has enough time to prepare in a proper and methodical manner.
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SAT/ACT is the great equalizer …
You knock it out of the park, your class rank and grades don’t matter so much. They still want to see ECs, Physics, Chem, Calc, and those kind of things on your resume … but a High SAT/ACT can make up for any issues they might have with your kid.
It takes many months of practice, many days per week, to prepare.
Are you sure that your son has enough time to prepare in a proper and methodical manner.
.
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I really appreciate everyone's input. It was very helpful to us in order to make a decison. Thank you.
He will go to foreign counrty ( Russian Federation ). It is not just to boost the resume, it is a really unique life opportunity regardless of his acceptance into the Academies. I am being realistic.
As he should in my opinion! What a fantastic opportunity and life experience, although that visit will make any security clearance investigation a little more interesting.
Your son still has a couple of weeks before then to study, on the plane there and back, and then all of September. If he dedicates himself to both, then he certainly can do both!