GPA vs. Standardized Tests

Based on feedback from SAs, about 65% of Academic portion from your test score. Then ranking then GPA and quality of curriculum taken and quality of your school and program.
 
Meaning no disrespect to anyone who has already answered, I don't think anyone except the admissions board members actually know what weight they put on various aspects of the application. Everything on here is pure speculation. Even the things that many families have heard 'first hand" from the Academy itself tend to change periodically. With that in mind, the best that any potential applicant can do is put their absolute best foot forward and then hope that they have the magic combination of academics, leadership, athleticism and drive that the USCGA needs at this time. :)
 
CGFAM said:
Meaning no disrespect to anyone who has already answered, I don't think anyone except the admissions board members actually know what weight they put on various aspects of the application. Everything on here is pure speculation. Even the things that many families have heard 'first hand" from the Academy itself tend to change periodically. With that in mind, the best that any potential applicant can do is put their absolute best foot forward and then hope that they have the magic combination of academics, leadership, athleticism and drive that the USCGA needs at this time. :)
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I wouldn’t downplay the collective knowledge of the BGOs and Officers, etc.
 
A1Janitor said:
I wouldn’t downplay the collective knowledge of the BGOs and Officers, etc.
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I am not down playing anything. It's a fact that nobody outside of the admissions room really knows how much weight they put on various aspects of the application. Everyone can agree that the candidate must meet minimum standards but anything beyond that is truly speculation. Even if the answer is based on last years statistics, the needs of the Coast Guard may be very different this year. As this question was posed on a USCGA thread and you reference BGO's, you may be reflecting more on the Navy end of things. I don't know anything about that. As far as the Coast Guard, however, I know the APs my family has dealt with through the years would absolutely agree with my previous comment. They have said it themselves - multiple times. At the end of the day, the best that any candidate can do is put their best package forward and hope it is one that makes the cut. (Of course, as stated above, assuming all stats are within reasonable range....)
 
Quoted directly from my son's USMA Regional Admissions Commander (so not exactly sure how it affects the admissions process at USGA). Standardized tests are "huge" in the academic qualification calculation. My son asked him specifically because his HS does not rank (as many do not these days), and because of his weighted GPA inflation due to multiple AP and Honors classes. I listened in on the conversation and it was clear that they view SAT/ACT scores as the one consistent measure, (across the country) that can be used to compare academic potential (or whatever it is these tests are supposed to measure) among candidates. All other measures of academic performance/potential would inevitably be less objective and subject to multiple factors (of which there are too many to get in to).
 
GPA is a somewhat subjective measure of your past performance. Standardized tests are an objective measure of your ability to learn in the future. As stated above, no one knows exactly how admissions weighs each. If a candidate has very high SAT/ACT and low GPA that could raise questions as to how hard he/she was trying in high school. A very low SAT/ACT coupled with a high GPA would also set off alarms and raise other questions.
 
29 ACT with 4.2 weighted GPA with wrestling captain, BSA Eagle, Boys State, Student Govt. Leader, School Ambassador, tennis captain, Founder and Pres. of Car and Aviation Club for three years, lots of volunteer work at homeless shelter, USNA STEM, USCGA AIM....my son knows his ACT is his weakness, but gee whiz those seem pretty solid to me.
 
Very solid - though it's difficult to get a gauge on the "mix" of credentials that will ultimately lead to an admission. No doubt many students will get admitted to the SA of their choice will similar or lesser credentials. So much has to do with factors outside of the student's control.
 
Is this a poll? I'll play!
My guess, just for fun! Back to collegepanda format:

SAT/ACT score: 50%
School based: 30%: Class rank (explicit or extrapolated), GPA, Rigor, AP classes/AP exams, school profile
"Selectivity index" 20%
 
Yup. @Jeepman Your DS has solid credentials. Even his ACT 29 is fine, although can improve. What’s his Eng and Math split? That’s all CGA looks at from tests and equalize to SAT.
 
CrewDad said:
Yup. @Jeepman Your DS has solid credentials. Even his ACT 29 is fine, although can improve. What’s his Eng and Math split? That’s all CGA looks at from tests and equalize to SAT.
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When you say "English", do you mean the super score between English and Reading? And, does USCGA use UNweighted gpa or weighted? OP only gave us weighted; that could make a big difference.
 
THmom said:
When you say "English", do you mean the super score between English and Reading? And, does USCGA use UNweighted gpa or weighted? OP only gave us weighted; that could make a big difference.
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I'm noticing that just my son's English scores from the ACT are being recorded, not a composite of Eng/Reading scores.
 
Only English and Math sections of ACT are considered by the Navy and Coast Guard. Those scores are then internally calibrated to compare with SAT English and Math candidates. It appears only the Navy and CG are doing this across Academies and NROTC candidates. ACT takers get smaller boost if done well as ACT is considered slightly more difficult than SAT. Although SAT has recently made its test very similar to ACT.
 
I think most colleges and Academies use the Unweighted formula. Each schools work differently. Some schools convert to weighted for all candidates after evaluating difficulty of courses including honors AP etc. GPA is not so important in WCS. It’s the test scores and the ranking that take up most of the academic portion of WCS. Of course ranking is relative to GPA. But when the school doesn’t rank, ranking is taken from test scores. i.e., So 1600 top 1%. 1550 top 1%. ACT 34-36, top 1%. Same ranking.
 
CrewDad said:
I think most colleges and Academies use the Unweighted formula. Each schools work differently. Some schools convert to weighted for all candidates after evaluating difficulty of courses including honors AP etc. GPA is not so important in WCS. It’s the test scores and the ranking that take up most of the academic portion of WCS. Of course ranking is relative to GPA. But when the school doesn’t rank, ranking is taken from test scores. i.e., So 1600 top 1%. 1550 top 1%. ACT 34-36, top 1%. Same ranking.
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I read a month or so ago on the forum that USMA was focusing on gpa and not rank for the first time this year?! See attached screenshot.
 

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