Good CFA score?

NE2023

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Mar 6, 2018
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Okay I recently took my cfa at the summer seminar, and my scores are as follows:

Basketball throw: Average of about 75 feet

Pullups: 10

Shuttle run: 9 seconds flat

Sit ups: 81

Push ups: 49

Mile: 6:10

I know these arent outstanding but are they atleast good to keep me competitive? Any response would be greatly appreciated!
 
Very similar to the scores DS just texted me from session 2. He’s loving it and meeting young men and women who are very much like him - smart, athletic, and team players.
 
DS is at NASS Session 2 also and took the CFA yesterday. He was at SLE last week and took the CFA there as well - his scores were very similar between NASS and SLE. He was deemed "No Risk" at SLE so I would say your DS is No Risk also although he may want to improve push ups. I am not sure if CFA is really more of just a pass/fail but I do know they give you a point total score out of 800 so improving each event can add points to your total Whole Candidate/Person Score.

My DS' scores for reference:
BBall Throw: 66'
Pull Ups: 18
Shuttle: 9.1
Sit Ups: 81
Push Ups: 68
Mile Run: 5:25
 
DS is at NASS Session 2 as well. His scores were:

BB Throw 58"
Pull Ups 18
Shuttle 9.2
Sit Ups 93
Push Ups 74 (he said the detailer called out 75 so he stopped with 20 seconds to go and was told after he stopped his next to last did not count.)
Mile Run 6:55 - bad run for him. He practice tested around a 6:05 just a week ago.

My guess is we will redo it before school starts but that will be up to him. We are shooting to have everything for his app complete before school starts in the fall.

Also at the admissions briefing Saturday afternoon the admissions counselors told us that if you contact your designated counselor (not BGO) they will discuss your CFA scores with you and tell you if you need to retake it. Thats straight from the USNA so if you have any questions about your score contract them directly.
 
DS just received a score of 652. Nothing at risk, but is it high enough?
 
"High enough" is hard to quantify. CFA scores are not viewed in a vacuum.

Let's say Candidate A ranks in the top 10 in her state in h.s. swimming and her CFA is decent, but not great (some swimmers are lousy runners). Probably not going to be an issue. Candidate B plays varsity softball, but at a school not known for having strong sports teams. CFA scores are the same as those of Candidate A. Candidate B may want to retake.

The CFA is designed to (try to) ensure that candidates have the requisite level of physical fitness to succeed at USNA. Just like all school academic programs aren't created equal, neither are their athletic programs. Thus, someone who demonstrates a high level of athletic ability/achievement in school/non-school sports outside of the CFA may not need to do anything beyond the minimum on the test. Conversely, someone who doesn't have that athletic background may want to max the CFA in order to get more "points" on the athletic side as well as show USNA he/she is ready for the athletic program there.

As stated above, if you are unsure whether you should retake the CFA, you should talk to your RD in Admissions.
 
I agree with 1985 on this. Look at it from the total view of the package a candidate has. If I had a young man applying and he passed with an 8 minute mile, doesn’t have any sports, I would recommend a retake. I see someone posted a score, unless something changed, USNA doesn’t give that info. Also, not sure USMA’s policy on retakes. Although it is the same test, there are some slight nuances on these things such a retakes, filming (USMA did that last year... not sure on this year), scoring varies also.
 
How good is good enough ? Keep in mind that Admissions is competitive ...you have to be better than your competition. Hypothetically, the higher CFA would prevail if two candidates were otherwise identical . No one here can tell you how the other guy/gal did.

Of course, there are many variables that go into the equation and no two candidates are otherwise identical. As '85 points out , the CFA isn't viewed in a vacuum. Simply passing may be good enough if you are an otherwise exceptional candidate, and maxing the CFA won't get you in if you are otherwise weak.

Every candidate needs to be realistic in their expectations, analyze your strengths and weaknesses, and focus your effort on emphasizing your strengths. If you think you did as well as you are going to do on the CFA --move on. If you think you didn't do as well as you could ...try it again. There is little sense in worrying about whether you did well enough, because you have no idea what the competition did.
 
How good is good enough ? Keep in mind that Admissions is competitive ...you have to be better than your competition. Hypothetically, the higher CFA would prevail if two candidates were otherwise identical . No one here can tell you how the other guy/gal did.

Of course, there are many variables that go into the equation and no two candidates are otherwise identical. As '85 points out , the CFA isn't viewed in a vacuum. Simply passing may be good enough if you are an otherwise exceptional candidate, and maxing the CFA won't get you in if you are otherwise weak.

Every candidate needs to be realistic in their expectations, analyze your strengths and weaknesses, and focus your effort on emphasizing your strengths. If you think you did as well as you are going to do on the CFA --move on. If you think you didn't do as well as you could ...try it again. There is little sense in worrying about whether you did well enough, because you have no idea what the competition did.

He definitely didn’t do as well in pull up as he normally does. He said the cadence threw him off. He wasn’t happy with his BB throw either. I’m sure then he will probably want to do it again. Thank you again for your response.

PUSHUPS: 75
PULLUPS: 12
1-MILE RUN: 5.59
SHUTTLE RUN: 8.8
BASKETBALL THROW: 60
CRUNCHES: 95
CFA SCORE: 652
 
Does USNA email or otherwise tell you a numerical score? DS’s Portal now lists the date of his NASS CFA.
 
Does USNA email or otherwise tell you a numerical score? DS’s Portal now lists the date of his NASS CFA.

Not at all. Only confirmation that CFA was submitted. You would only get a retake request from the Academy if your score is under the passing mark. If no request your DS has passed the test. If no remark then I would move on to the next item to finish the App which is getting teachers recommendations and competing Part 2 in July and DODMERB. DODMERB App process is very detail but you won’t have access to it until August at the earliest.
 
Folks, I know it's tempting to fixate on the CFA as it's the topic du jour from NASS. And it is true that, all things being o/w generally equal, an exceptional CFA score may trump a mediocre one.

That said, there is SO MUCH MORE to your application than the CFA. Unless you failed, your focus now should be on putting together the best packages you can for USNA and your MOCs, as well as working on your civilian college applications, NROTC application, etc.

You have from now until Jan. 31 to retake the CFA. If you decide to do so, you should be in a position to make a significant improvement. The difference between 12 pullups and 13, between 65 pushups and 70, or 10 seconds off your mile time are not likely to be a gamechangers. I'm all for doing your absolute best on everything. However, as with retaking the SAT/ACT, you need to consider how much improvement you can realistically make. And you always risk doing worse on the retake.
 
My daughter attended USMA, USNA & USAFA summer seminar. She took the CFA at each. She was qualified with Army & Navy then Airforce said they wanted another test even though her CFA at Airforce was better than ARMY & NAVY. She did take it again & did improve. She was then qualified with them. Just to point out you never know. Work harder than the next guy & never give up. My daughter is off to NAPS IN JULY. Every morning at 5 am when she’s running I tell her to remember how many others would love to have her slot. Work hard and keep a positive attitude. You never know who’s watching. Good Luck
 
It was answered above. USNA does not give a numerical score to candidates. They will only get a pass/fail. They will only know what the max scores are. Other then that a candidate will need to decide if they can do better for a retake to make a score difference. Between these boards and if they took at NASS they should have a decent idea of where they are.
 
Our DS just did his CFA today after increasing his practice runs and more time at the gym. He saw improvement across the board. He emailed his Admissions officer at USNA and asked if it was a solid enough CFA to submit, she said absolutely. His administrator will submit this afternoon. He is encouraged by the improvement and if he can improve his scores while maintaining the rest of his schedule he said he wants to. Also, I had to laugh, he said it felt like running on the surface of the sun, it was 11 am and 98 degrees at 4600 feet. Glad it wasn't me!
 
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