Do I Have a Chance?

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Jul 4, 2016
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I'm a rising senior who has been declared a "Candidate" by the Academy already. I have pretty high SAT scores (740 Reading, 720 Math) and ACT scores (34 overall, 36 science, 35 reading and English, 30 math). I'm in 3 honor societies, have a 3.8 unweighted GPA, received a 5 on the AP US History exam and a 4 on AP Statistics exam, and am in the process of teaching myself Arabic. I am a varsity middle distance runner on my track team since freshman year and a 2x world championship medal holder in Irish dancing. My mile time right now is 7:53, but I'm working on getting it down some more. I don't have much upper body strength since all of my athletics have been focused on my lower body, but, like my mile time, I'm working on it. I work between 15 to 25 hours per week, even during the school year, and volunteer around my town as well.

I know that there are so many people more qualified than I am, but I was wondering if I have a decent shot at receiving an appointment? This is my #1 school and I'm trying to do all I can to ensure that I have a chance. What should I do to improve my chances? Thank you for your time.
 
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You have no chance if you don't apply.

Read the "chances" threads - hundreds of them.

Apply.
 
I'm in the process of applying now, but I just wanted to know what I should do to improve my chances because, as I said in my post, this is my #1 choice so I'm trying my hardest to get in.
 
Having posted a chance thread myself and read countless other 'chance' posts by other forum members I can tell you that they (current cadets, cadet parents, admins, ALO's) will all say the same thing to you when you ask if you have a chance. They'll say, no one can tell you for sure if you have a good chance of getting in because there are forum members that have appeared very competitive for admission but for one reason or another were rejected for admission while there are other forum members that may have appeared less competitive but have been appointed to the Academy, possibly because of intangibles or something else.

The number one thing you can do is just finish strong this last year, take the ACT/SAT again if you think you can score higher as the AFA superscores these tests, get your CFA test results up, prepare for your ALO interview, keep your grades up, and work hard on the AFA as well as nomination applications.

Your grades/test scores/involvement look good but I nor anyone else on this forum would be able to tell you anything else on your chances of being appointed to the Academy.

Best of luck though!
 
From what you've written it sounds like you think athletics is your weakest point. Looks like you have an area to improve upon. Good luck.
 
Here are some things you might post if you want a more accurate assessment:

gender
location
ethnicity
special circumstances
any "hook" you may have
class rank/school naviance (how many go to 4 year colleges/top tier schools)

Teaching yourself Arabic is commendable, but you must have some documentation to prove you've done it. Especially if you plan to tell USAFA you took this course in school, have some test etc. to document your fluidity with the language.

Note though: many people ask for chances, then are disappointed (sometimes enraged!) when they get opinions they don't like.
 
Thank you all for your insight. I appreciate all of your feedback and I will take that into consideration from here on out.
 
As others have said there are a ton of chance me threads for you to get a gauge on how you may fare. I would also search the nomination threads for the state you are from. Some states the MoCs talk and spread the wealth, i.e. like VA. In those cases you can expect to get only 1 nomination. In other states, like NC, you can get a nomination from all of your MoCs, thus 3 nominations.

This is a rollercoaster ride which many will not find out their decision until mid-Mar.

My advice is to get your nomination essays done as soon as possible because things will start to fly fast and furious in the fall between applying for colleges, ROTC scholarship paperwork/interviews, nomination interviews, retaking SAT/ACT, DoDMERB exam, etc.
~ As much as you desire to attend USAFA you need to have plan B in place and plan B should be applying for an AFROTC scholarship. AFROTC scholarship will mean more paperwork and another fitness assesment. USAFA does the CFA and ROTC does the AFA. The two exams are different. Which means you have to find time to do both.

In essence a lot of juggling.
 
You have solid stats to date. There has been some good advice given here and in other threads which you should search and read.

My advice is start building a relationship with your ALO and MOC. These individuals carry a lot of weight and the nomination is needed. Strengthen your leadership and work hard on passing the fitness test.

You certainly are in a good position for consideration which is where it all begins.
 
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