High School Requirement Advise

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calla01

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In these unprecedented times, we're finding ourselves with some time on our hands. Due to the nature of my sons high school schedule with Varsity Tennis and Aviation Academy, he will only be able to take three social studies classes through the school year, Pre-AP World Geography, AP US History, and AP Government/Econ. He wouldn't have a World History credit. Given we have a little time on our hands now, we have the opportunity to take World History online through our local university K-12 program, however it would be on level and wouldn't count towards his GPA. Would this be frowned up, since it's an on level class? Our school system doesn't provide any AP or Pre-AP original credit classes online. Just don't want to do something today in an attempt to keep my student fresh and gain credit for a class he wouldn't be able to take during the traditional school year that would/could hinder him later in the admission process. Thank you so much for any advise!!!
 
calla01 said:
In these unprecedented times, we're finding ourselves with some time on our hands. Due to the nature of my sons high school schedule with Varsity Tennis and Aviation Academy, he will only be able to take three social studies classes through the school year, Pre-AP World Geography, AP US History, and AP Government/Econ. He wouldn't have a World History credit. Given we have a little time on our hands now, we have the opportunity to take World History online through our local university K-12 program, however it would be on level and wouldn't count towards his GPA. Would this be frowned up, since it's an on level class? Our school system doesn't provide any AP or Pre-AP original credit classes online. Just don't want to do something today in an attempt to keep my student fresh and gain credit for a class he wouldn't be able to take during the traditional school year that would/could hinder him later in the admission process. Thank you so much for any advise!!!
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My DS had Pre-AP World Geography, AP US History, and AP Government. His World History was on level. I doubt a single on level history course would have an impact overall especially if most of the other classes are AP. He took 5 AP exams his junior year. ACT and SAT scores are just as important as the rigor of a schedule. My DS had what I would consider a low unweighted GPA(3.6) but definitely made up for it with his test scores(AP, SAT, ACT). USAFA computes a weighted GPA which was a 4.2. He received his appointment in early March.

Just my observation and humble opinion. I hope it helps.

Good luck!!
 
Baseballdadtexas said:
My DS had Pre-AP World Geography, AP US History, and AP Government. His World History was on level. I doubt a single on level history course would have an impact overall especially if most of the other classes are AP. He took 5 AP exams his junior year. ACT and SAT scores are just as important as the rigor of a schedule. My DS had what I would consider a low unweighted GPA(3.6) but definitely made up for it with his test scores(AP, SAT, ACT). USAFA computes a weighted GPA which was a 4.2. He received his appointment in early March.

Just my observation and humble opinion. I hope it helps.

Good luck!!
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Hi, I'm a junior in high school and just recently got my status updated to a competitive candidate for the class of 2025. You had mentioned that USAFA computes a weighted GPA on their own? My school is very competitive and our school system is ranked the best in the state (our school is number 2 or 3 if flips yearly). But, the downside to this is that our school is weird with grades, we only have A, B, C, D, and F, there are no high As or any of that. On top of that our school weighs honors classes the same as AP classes which for someone who will have taken 10 AP classes when I'm applying kinda sucks. On top of that, no teacher is allowed to round scores up to the next letter grade no matter how close, I've gotten an 89.97 in a class and denied the A. All of this combined makes me feel like my school is working against me in all this, I have a 3.25 unweighted and a 3.8 weighted with my school systems calculations. USAFA is my dream school and I want to go and know I'm smart as my SAT score on practice exams is a 1450+ (still haven't taken SAT due to COVID-19 canceling it 3 days before I should have taken it). I should also talk about my extracurriculars, I do track, marching band, indoor percussion, and swim. I also enjoy helping out local homeless people putting together packages of supplies for them in the winter.

I want to go to this school an absurd amount and plan on applying until I get an appointment, but I would love to be granted an appointment my first try and I'm looking for some kind of opinion, thanks.
 
its not just about grades or about school activities. Its greatly focused on leadership, a sense of duty, and selflessness.

Dont worry about your grades as much. Keep getting those A's and B's and avoid any C's. AFA and every other institute will take into account the difficulty of the class your taking. Do well on the SAT. Find out when you can next take it and schedule to take it. Those slots will probably fill up quickly. Take it more than once. Shoot for 1500. If money is a problem, you can get a waiver to take two SAT's for free and send the scores for free. Take the ACT as well. Different type of test and different pace. (make sure to take with writing)

What you do need to focus on are the things i outlined earlier. the homeless people stuff you do is great, and thank you for stepping up and doing that but find ways you can do more. be the one to organize and arrange others to participate (leadership) in something that betters the community (selflessness) but dont do it for the resume/application, do it because youre truly passionate about it and because you feel the need to act (sense of duty) Times like these are not limitations but they are opportunities to prove that youre the one to act when others slack.
 
PositiveEnergy said:
Hi, I'm a junior in high school and just recently got my status updated to a competitive candidate for the class of 2025. You had mentioned that USAFA computes a weighted GPA on their own? My school is very competitive and our school system is ranked the best in the state (our school is number 2 or 3 if flips yearly). But, the downside to this is that our school is weird with grades, we only have A, B, C, D, and F, there are no high As or any of that. On top of that our school weighs honors classes the same as AP classes which for someone who will have taken 10 AP classes when I'm applying kinda sucks. On top of that, no teacher is allowed to round scores up to the next letter grade no matter how close, I've gotten an 89.97 in a class and denied the A. All of this combined makes me feel like my school is working against me in all this, I have a 3.25 unweighted and a 3.8 weighted with my school systems calculations. USAFA is my dream school and I want to go and know I'm smart as my SAT score on practice exams is a 1450+ (still haven't taken SAT due to COVID-19 canceling it 3 days before I should have taken it). I should also talk about my extracurriculars, I do track, marching band, indoor percussion, and swim. I also enjoy helping out local homeless people putting together packages of supplies for them in the winter.

I want to go to this school an absurd amount and plan on applying until I get an appointment, but I would love to be granted an appointment my first try and I'm looking for some kind of opinion, thanks.
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Concern yourself with the things you can influence, not the things you can't.
If your school doesn't round grades (and why should they?), make sure you don't need rounding for the grade you want. Many schools do not give "high As." Don't worry about that. Your school doesn't weight AP higher than honors. Neither do many other schools. USAFA computes its own wGPA, so don't worry about that.
 
ij.sam said:
its not just about grades or about school activities. Its greatly focused on leadership, a sense of duty, and selflessness.

Dont worry about your grades as much. Keep getting those A's and B's and avoid any C's. AFA and every other institute will take into account the difficulty of the class your taking. Do well on the SAT. Find out when you can next take it and schedule to take it. Those slots will probably fill up quickly. Take it more than once. Shoot for 1500. If money is a problem, you can get a waiver to take two SAT's for free and send the scores for free. Take the ACT as well. Different type of test and different pace. (make sure to take with writing)

What you do need to focus on are the things i outlined earlier. the homeless people stuff you do is great, and thank you for stepping up and doing that but find ways you can do more. be the one to organize and arrange others to participate (leadership) in something that betters the community (selflessness) but dont do it for the resume/application, do it because youre truly passionate about it and because you feel the need to act (sense of duty) Times like these are not limitations but they are opportunities to prove that youre the one to act when others slack.
Click to expand...
My father is a doctor who deals with COVID-19 patients almost daily and I'm unsure what I am able to help within all of this. Do you have any suggestions that I might be able to do that could help out a community? My younger sisters elementary school had a parade for staff and my family made signs as they drove through our neighborhood but that is about it for things we have involved ourselves in. My family has come to the conclusion that we are probably carriers and think its best to isolate ourselves to extreme limits. My father is living in our basement and not allowed to come into contact with any of us but that was only put into place recently. Also, I frequently donate any spare money I have around to a charity called the Bungie Foundation (https://bungiefoundation.org/). As a big nerd who is wanting to major in Computer science or Cyber Science I really enjoy what they do with kids and think that the iPads they give to kids who are in these hospitals is great. I think these kids deserve to have a distraction like this because what they go through is hard for anyone and I couldn't imagine what I would feel if I was in their place.
 
PositiveEnergy said:
Hi, I'm a junior in high school and just recently got my status updated to a competitive candidate for the class of 2025. You had mentioned that USAFA computes a weighted GPA on their own? My school is very competitive and our school system is ranked the best in the state (our school is number 2 or 3 if flips yearly). But, the downside to this is that our school is weird with grades, we only have A, B, C, D, and F, there are no high As or any of that. On top of that our school weighs honors classes the same as AP classes which for someone who will have taken 10 AP classes when I'm applying kinda sucks. On top of that, no teacher is allowed to round scores up to the next letter grade no matter how close, I've gotten an 89.97 in a class and denied the A. All of this combined makes me feel like my school is working against me in all this, I have a 3.25 unweighted and a 3.8 weighted with my school systems calculations....
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I believe this is why the academies look at class rank as well. Is that 3.25/3.8 in the top 20% or the bottom?
As others have mentioned, keep pushing yourself, but also focus on sports, leadership, etc. You still have time to improve your complete package. Take it.
 
PositiveEnergy said:
My father is a doctor who deals with COVID-19 patients almost daily and I'm unsure what I am able to help within all of this. Do you have any suggestions that I might be able to do that could help out a community? My younger sisters elementary school had a parade for staff and my family made signs as they drove through our neighborhood but that is about it for things we have involved ourselves in. My family has come to the conclusion that we are probably carriers and think its best to isolate ourselves to extreme limits. My father is living in our basement and not allowed to come into contact with any of us but that was only put into place recently. Also, I frequently donate any spare money I have around to a charity called the Bungie Foundation (https://bungiefoundation.org/). As a big nerd who is wanting to major in Computer science or Cyber Science I really enjoy what they do with kids and think that the iPads they give to kids who are in these hospitals is great. I think these kids deserve to have a distraction like this because what they go through is hard for anyone and I couldn't imagine what I would feel if I was in their place.
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If you want to use your CS skills, you should start an independent project to solve a real problem. What better time than to start than now, when so many people are in need. My mom runs a food pantry as part of her free clinic, and they are doing home deliveries as part of their response to COVID-19. In order to help them I wrote a web form that people could fill out to request food delivery, and would then enter them into the management system automatically. I'm sure your dad or his organization is going through a logistical nightmare right now and some computational thinking can definitely help.

If you want to talk more about it, DM me and I'll be happy to help you out.
 
PositiveEnergy said:
Hi, I'm a junior in high school and just recently got my status updated to a competitive candidate for the class of 2025. You had mentioned that USAFA computes a weighted GPA on their own? My school is very competitive and our school system is ranked the best in the state (our school is number 2 or 3 if flips yearly). But, the downside to this is that our school is weird with grades, we only have A, B, C, D, and F, there are no high As or any of that. On top of that our school weighs honors classes the same as AP classes which for someone who will have taken 10 AP classes when I'm applying kinda sucks. On top of that, no teacher is allowed to round scores up to the next letter grade no matter how close, I've gotten an 89.97 in a class and denied the A. All of this combined makes me feel like my school is working against me in all this, I have a 3.25 unweighted and a 3.8 weighted with my school systems calculations. USAFA is my dream school and I want to go and know I'm smart as my SAT score on practice exams is a 1450+ (still haven't taken SAT due to COVID-19 canceling it 3 days before I should have taken it). I should also talk about my extracurriculars, I do track, marching band, indoor percussion, and swim. I also enjoy helping out local homeless people putting together packages of supplies for them in the winter.

I want to go to this school an absurd amount and plan on applying until I get an appointment, but I would love to be granted an appointment my first try and I'm looking for some kind of opinion, thanks.
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chart2.jpg


You can certainly compensate for a lower GPA with high SAT/ACT scores. A rigorous schedule of AP classes and even the ranking of your HS will make a difference. My son's ACT surely had a bigger impact than his unweighted 3.6 GPA. No matter what your GPA, you need to study hard for those tests. Originally my son hadn't planned on taking the ACT but did so on the advice of a school counselor. His converted ACT to SAT score is higher than he actually scored on the SAT. He submitted only the ACT.

Max whatever you can from the chart and hope for the best.

Having said all of that about academics don't underestimate your interview with the academy evaluator. I believe that interview carries a lot of weight especially if you are not a principle nom.


Fom the portal:

Your GPA listed may be refigured by USAFA and may not match the GPA reported by your school.



From a document generated by https://yumaunion.org/ :

U.S. Air Force Academy Candidates who have received appointments in previous years had SAT scores ranging between 590 - 670 verbal and 620 - 700 Math. ACT scores ranged between 26 - 29 English; 27 - 32 reading; 28 - 32 math; and 27 - 31 science reasoning. The SAT and ACT math scores count more heavily than English. Candidates who score below 590 verbal and 620 math on the SAT or below 27 math/science reasoning and 26 English/reading on the ACT normally will not be competitive for an appointment. The highest SAT/ACT score will be used. The highest score may be taken from two different testings; therefore, to be competitive, the candidate is encouraged to retest one or more times. Extracurricular activities participation and leadership are an important part of the evaluation. All activities including athletics, all-league or all-state recognition, selection as a team captain, leadership in a school club or student government, participation in scouting or the Civil Air Patrol, and involvement in church or community activities or an after-school job are important areas of the Academy's evaluation. Students must rank in the upper 40 percent of their class; however, 57% of the cadets rank in the upper 10 percent.


Chart and text below are from a Rand Corp. document dated 2015.

Rand document - Page 2 1st paragraph:

In its admissions process, current as of 2013, USMA calculates and uses in its admissions decisions a “whole candidate score” (WCS) for each applicant, which consists of a weighted combination of standardized test scores, high school rank (corrected for class size), number and level of extracurricular and athletic activities, physical fitness, and a series of ratings from one of an applicant’s high school teachers.

Rand document - footnote:

“The minimum SAT scores for the academies are 500 verbal and 500 math. The average SAT scores at the academies are 540–620 verbal and 630–710 math. The minimum ACT scores for the academies are 21 English, 19 Social Studies, 24 Mathematics, and 24 Natural Science. The average ACT scores are 23–27 English; 24–29 Social Studies; 27–32 Mathematics; and 28–32 Natural Science (minimum and average scores are slightly higher for the Naval Academy). Virtually all cadets are from the top 25 percent of their high school class.”
 
PositiveEnergy said:
My father is a doctor who deals with COVID-19 patients almost daily and I'm unsure what I am able to help within all of this. Do you have any suggestions that I might be able to do that could help out a community? My younger sisters elementary school had a parade for staff and my family made signs as they drove through our neighborhood but that is about it for things we have involved ourselves in. My family has come to the conclusion that we are probably carriers and think its best to isolate ourselves to extreme limits. My father is living in our basement and not allowed to come into contact with any of us but that was only put into place recently. Also, I frequently donate any spare money I have around to a charity called the Bungie Foundation (https://bungiefoundation.org/). As a big nerd who is wanting to major in Computer science or Cyber Science I really enjoy what they do with kids and think that the iPads they give to kids who are in these hospitals is great. I think these kids deserve to have a distraction like this because what they go through is hard for anyone and I couldn't imagine what I would feel if I was in their place.
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I'll give you an example. One of my friends (a junior who is also SA bound) got two of his friends and put together a ton of blessing bags in his garage. Just food and essentials. He then looked to donate everything he got to a local organization who delivers groceries to impoverished senior citizens. @cache is right. use your skills to benefit the community. Contact your county, see if they need help in distributing technology. See if they are understaffed at their outreach offices. Do the work to find the opportunities, don't wait for them to show up.
 
PositiveEnergy said:
My father is a doctor who deals with COVID-19 patients almost daily and I'm unsure what I am able to help within all of this. Do you have any suggestions that I might be able to do that could help out a community? My younger sisters elementary school had a parade for staff and my family made signs as they drove through our neighborhood but that is about it for things we have involved ourselves in. My family has come to the conclusion that we are probably carriers and think its best to isolate ourselves to extreme limits. My father is living in our basement and not allowed to come into contact with any of us but that was only put into place recently. Also, I frequently donate any spare money I have around to a charity called the Bungie Foundation (https://bungiefoundation.org/). As a big nerd who is wanting to major in Computer science or Cyber Science I really enjoy what they do with kids and think that the iPads they give to kids who are in these hospitals is great. I think these kids deserve to have a distraction like this because what they go through is hard for anyone and I couldn't imagine what I would feel if I was in their place.
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Idea Set 1. - Either just you or even better set up you and others to do grocery runs for people with medical issues that should/will/not go to the grocery stores during the pandemic. Start a group that makes masks for the same people - folks who trough age or medical status need extra protection. Doing it yourself as a one person shopping service or PPE supplier would be good but LEADING a group would be better and help a lot of people in your community.

Idea Set 2. - There are probably many younger kids who are having trouble with distance learning. A tutoring service to assist those kids would probably be a great help to many teachers who are having a hard time reaching all of the kids who need help, especially those whose parents
don't have the time or the ability to assist them. Creating and leading a group to fill this gap would probably help a lot of people.
 
@PositiveEnergy
can you: Tutor other fellow students online?
Start a class study group so fellow students can help each other?
Learn to make cloth masks, show others how to do it, and lead a drive to make them?
Find elderly people to buy groceries for?
See if people in the neighborhood need help mowing lawns?
 
bopper said:
@PositiveEnergy
can you: Tutor other fellow students online?
Start a class study group so fellow students can help each other?
Learn to make cloth masks, show others how to do it, and lead a drive to make them?
Find elderly people to buy groceries for?
See if people in the neighborhood need help mowing lawns?
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I get a lot of questions from other students in my math class and was thinking about making videos and uploading them to youtube cause our teacher just links videos that don't seem to communicate well with everyone and I catch onto the subjects fast.
 
PositiveEnergy said:
My father is a doctor who deals with COVID-19 patients almost daily and I'm unsure what I am able to help within all of this. Do you have any suggestions that I might be able to do that could help out a community? My younger sisters elementary school had a parade for staff and my family made signs as they drove through our neighborhood but that is about it for things we have involved ourselves in. My family has come to the conclusion that we are probably carriers and think its best to isolate ourselves to extreme limits. My father is living in our basement and not allowed to come into contact with any of us but that was only put into place recently. Also, I frequently donate any spare money I have around to a charity called the Bungie Foundation (https://bungiefoundation.org/). As a big nerd who is wanting to major in Computer science or Cyber Science I really enjoy what they do with kids and think that the iPads they give to kids who are in these hospitals is great. I think these kids deserve to have a distraction like this because what they go through is hard for anyone and I couldn't imagine what I would feel if I was in their place.
Click to expand...
Suggestion: Start a mask 😷 production gig. Donate at will to local service organizations (nonprofit). In resume, “planned and produced safety masks... donated 500 masks monthly to nonprofit service organizations.”
 
I have yet to see anything that suggests USAFA cares at all what service projects you did. Your nominating source may, but I don't think USAFA really cares. Ideally you show involvement, commitment, growth and leadership in HS. I don't think they care if it was on the football field, the debate team, eagle scouts or charity. To be blunt, donating to charity doesn't in and of itself demonstrate anything they care about. Get involved with something, don't be afraid to lead and make yourself more interesting. I see people on here often confuse charity work or service hours with the stated criteria USAFA is looking for. By all means, donate your time or money if it is what you think you want to do, but don't confuse that with a reason for USFA to give you an appointment. Get great grades, score well on the SAT, play a sport consistently in HS, and demonstrate leadership.
 
Banzaipipeline said:
Suggestion: Start a mask 😷 production gig. Donate at will to local service organizations (nonprofit). In resume, “planned and produced safety masks... donated 500 masks monthly to nonprofit service organizations.”
Click to expand...
I did just that, I think my mom and I produced around 1k masks on the low end. We made too many to keep track to be honest but each batch was at least 100 and we were able to produce a batch every week for about 4 months.
 
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