Grading for the CFA

[Mason13]

Hello Forums! I was wondering how the grading on the CFA works. Is there a certain category that weighs more than the rest? What is a good score? How often does someone get a perfect score? It would be a great help in how I should prepare for it.
Thanks

 

[arizonapride]

I would say a perfect score is extremely rare if not impossible. Someone has probably done it though. Just focus on doing your best on every event and your score will be great. It's pass/fail, but how well you pass makes a huge difference. I'm sure there are plenty of threads about this already. Just doing the exercises in succession seems to help. Remember that you will have to do all the events in a row with a short break of 2 minutes before each (slightly longer before the mile). And remember it's one of the only parts of your application that you have TOTAL control over... no excuse to do poorly.

 

[landlock]

Just my opinions as a parent of 2 Mids.

I have always thought that the pull up section of the CFA separates a lot of applicants, especially the female ones. So anything you can use to separate yourself from other candidates in such a competitive process should be a focus! Both my DS and DD started training for this a year before NASS CFA just in case they got in. Initially my DD could do one, and my DS could do 2, and they almost maxed this a year later. They tried to do on 1-2 more pull-ups per month for 12 months to get to max. I put up a very solid chin up bar in my garage, one that my current plebe is using regularly for workouts during his online home USNA quarantining. I tried the doorway pullup bars but they were not great. I tried to add photo of the bar I put together but could not attach. I used metal pipe from Lowe's that screws together and has 90 degree pieces to make a "U" and then bolted it to a piece of wood bolted to ceiling stud. I am clearly no handyman but it was easy!

Also since running is so much a part of USNA that I have also felt getting a fast mile is important. This is clearly something that with training can be achieved. Working on intervals as well as longer runs is critical here. If you want to break 6 min mile, aim to do quarter mile repeats at 1:25-1:20 until you can do 6-8 of these in a row with small breaks once or at most twice a week. It is amazing how fast one can get, especially 16-18 year olds, with training

Interestingly 2 recent grads who were at my house, one who was "ironman" for his NASS (best CFA of his entire NASS week), told me the basketball through which my 2 midshipman never really practiced much as they were pretty good at it without training, is something practice really does helps a lot.

I brought up NASS only because if you do it, the CFA has lately been the 2nd day of the session and if you crush the CFA you can be done with it early! Additionally it may impress your detailers who do evaluate you. As has been said many times most Mids never do NASS, so it is not critical to get this....but if you do, be prepared!

As you get closer to a possible CFA date start doing the entire CFA for practice and getting used to running the mile after all the other components.

Lots of threads available for help with specifics components of the CFA. My son used Stewart Smith Navy SEAL fitness videos I believe.

Just my civilian parent thoughts

 

[Dr. Strange Love]

.
... And for the basketball event, you don’t throw it like a baseball. You use the hurling method, like tossing a hand grenade.

It doesn’t hurt to practice.
.

.

 

[Old Navy BGO]

It's pass/fail, but how well you pass makes a huge difference. I

Not really --- this is pass /fail, period. How well you pass may make difference when comparing two relatively equal candidates, but maxing the CFA is not going to overcome a weak application, or vice versa.

I brought up NASS only because if you do it, the CFA has lately been the 2nd day of the session and if you crush the CFA you can be done with it early! Additionally it may impress your detailers who do evaluate you. As has been said many times most Mids never do NASS, so it is not critical to get this....but if you do, be prepared!

The objective of NASS isn't to impress the Detailers. Yes, they do an evaluation at the end of the week, but that is largely part of the training for the Detailers--teaching Midshipmen how to do evalutions. Interest and motivation, being a team player, etc. is going to be more meaningful than maxing the CFA. (And for those that don't attend NASS ...don't worry,

There often seems to be undue emphasis on the CFA on this Forum (particularly as one class Admission cycle winds down and the next begins). I am not saying that its not important ...yes, you need to pass, and by all means, you should train to do your best. This is one area of the application process where you have a lot of control , although genetics do play a factor. That said, train, get the CFA done early, and don't look back and worry about whether you did well enough.

 

[usna1985]

There are a lot of threads about the CFA. USNA has historically weighed three events most heavily -- crunches, push-ups and mile run -- because these events were on the PRT (with 1.5 mile run). However, the PRT has now changed so hard to say whether/how that will influence USNA's view of the CFA.

Agree with OldNavyBGO re importance of CFA. You want to do well -- but if you're a h.s. athlete, don't obsess over it. Doing 10 pull-ups vs. 9 is not going to make the difference.

USNA only publishes the max scores. They do not publish how they score events nor do they publish averages or minimums. If you search this forum, you'll see lots of scores that were passing. Obviously, the closer to the max, the better your score.

 

[Capt MJ]

And, if planks are not part of your routine workouts now, start working in those. Core strength is never not useful, and planks are part of the new PRT. Build the skill, maintain it, and life will be easier down the road.