How do I stack up?

[SAhopeful1]

ACT Composite - 33
Breakdown - 35 Math, 34 English, 32, Reading, and a 32 on Science.
My GPA is going to be around a 3.92 (UW) with a rigorous schedule throughout my four years. (I will have taken 8 out of the 10 AP classes they offer along with honors classes such as Advanced Physics). Class rank is expected to be in the top 5% of my class.
My ECAs are what I'm most concerned about the most because I lack leadership positions, so any advice on how to improve/what I can do would be greatly appreciated. I will have done football for 4 years next season with 3 varsity letters; I might be captain. Track - 2 years with two letters. Chess Club founder. I volunteer at a local thrift store and I will accumulate around 250 service hours by the end of the year. My positions there entails setting up and organizing donation events where hundreds of people donate every week. Civil Air Patrol - Staff Sergeant. Boy Scouts - First Class. Key Club - 4 years of service, ran for club presidency but I did not win the popularity contest as 95% of the club are female that are all friends with each other. English Language Learner Tutor for 2 years - I basically help out kids struggling with English in school. I will be attending Badger Boys State this Summer along with USNA's SS. I work around 10 hours a week during the school year as a busser and upwards of 25+ hours during the summer as a busser.

 

[anom]

One thing about SA's is that you're not competing with everyone. You are competing with the people in your Congressional District, unless you have a Presidential Nomination, among others. Nobody knows. One year there could be 10 people on the same slate with 36s, state champions, 4.0/4.0, etc. The next year could be the complete opposite. That being said, I am sure some people on this forum can nitpick your resume for improvements. Good Luck!

 

[Old Navy BGO]

Civil Air Patrol - Staff Sergeant. Boy Scouts - First Class.

I don't normally do "chance me" .. Most of our resume is pretty normal...high GPA/ACT/sports, etc. That's kind of expected with USNA applicants. What makes you stand out from the pack ?

The things I noticed first are Boy Scouts /Civil Air Patrol...both good leadership programs with lots of opportunity, but this doesn't show much commitment or achievement in either. It might be too late now, but I would recommend doing one or the other and excelling --leadership positions and Spaatz/Eagle , rather than getting by in both.

Finally, I would recommend ditching the comment about losing Key Club election because its a popularity contest. Of course, everything in High School is a popularity contest to an agree, but somehow leaders find a way to get into leadership positions.

I am not trying to discourage you from applying ..but strongly recommend that you find ways to accentuate the good and improve upon or at least avoid calling out the weaknesses.

Good luck.

 

[OldRetSWO]

I don't normally do "chance me" .. Most of our resume is pretty normal...high GPA/ACT/sports, etc. That's kind of expected with USNA applicants. What makes you stand out from the pack ?

The things I noticed first are Boy Scouts /Civil Air Patrol...both good leadership programs with lots of opportunity, but this doesn't show much commitment or achievement in either. It might be too late now, but I would recommend doing one or the other and excelling --leadership positions and Spaatz/Eagle , rather than getting by in both.

Finally, I would recommend ditching the comment about losing Key Club election because its a popularity contest. Of course, everything in High School is a popularity contest to an agree, but somehow leaders find a way to get into leadership positions.

I am not trying to discourage you from applying ..but strongly recommend that you find ways to accentuate the good and improve upon or at least avoid calling out the weaknesses.

Good luck.

Ditto especially to stop using the popularity contest excuse or other excuses. You don't hear that sort of thing from achievers and leaders.

Also, I think that in general, your extracurriclars are not low

 

[USMC Crayons]

ACT Composite - 33
Breakdown - 35 Math, 34 English, 32, Reading, and a 32 on Science.
My GPA is going to be around a 3.92 (UW) with a rigorous schedule throughout my four years. (I will have taken 8 out of the 10 AP classes they offer along with honors classes such as Advanced Physics). Class rank is expected to be in the top 5% of my class.
My ECAs are what I'm most concerned about the most because I lack leadership positions, so any advice on how to improve/what I can do would be greatly appreciated. I will have done football for 4 years next season with 3 varsity letters; I might be captain. Track - 2 years with two letters. Chess Club founder. I volunteer at a local thrift store and I will accumulate around 250 service hours by the end of the year. My positions there entails setting up and organizing donation events where hundreds of people donate every week. Civil Air Patrol - Staff Sergeant. Boy Scouts - First Class. Key Club - 4 years of service, ran for club presidency but I did not win the popularity contest as 95% of the club are female that are all friends with each other. English Language Learner Tutor for 2 years - I basically help out kids struggling with English in school. I will be attending Badger Boys State this Summer along with USNA's SS. I work around 10 hours a week during the school year as a busser and upwards of 25+ hours during the summer as a busser.

*My opinion* Academics are truly outstanding, but ECA (while very nice) seems to be lacking something that really stands out. If it were me, I would focus on earning Eagle Scout and really leveraging all of the leadership training/outdoor experiences that BSA offers. You might want to consider working at summer camp as a counselor as well. Depending on the class year, 12-14% of midshipmen are Eagle Scouts. That's a highly representative number, especially when you consider only about 6% of Scouts earn Eagle.

 

[cbasalt1]

People who say you should focus on Eagle Scout are correct that it is the kind of thing you need to bolster your application, but with the time requirements for rank it would take 16 months for you to earn the rank and my guess is you will be aged out by then. Even if you have already been First Class for the 4 months required to rank up to Star, it is still a year of time in rank before you can rank Eagle.

Assuming you are 17 since you have applied, it is IMPOSSIBLE for you to get the Eagle Rank. You will have aged out of the program as you will have turned 18 in the next minimum of 12 months in rank.

This being said, observe your shortcomings in planning (if Eagle was something you wanted) and divert your focus to leadership in something else. Could you rank up significantly in CAP in the next 6th months? I would work on this instead since I hope it is possible to achieve a position that would look good on your application. Yes, a First Class scout can often do much as a Patrol Leader etc. but if you don't see yourself as Senior Patrol Leader in the next few months I would back off of scouting and focus on CAP or another club that could produce better leadership opportunities this late in your high school career.

Are you Chess Club "President" since you founded it?

Best

 

[USMC Crayons]

People who say you should focus on Eagle Scout are correct that it is the kind of thing you need to bolster your application, but with the time requirements for rank it would take 16 months for you to earn the rank and my guess is you will be aged out by then. Even if you have already been First Class for the 4 months required to rank up to Star, it is still a year of time in rank before you can rank Eagle.

Assuming you are 17 since you have applied, it is IMPOSSIBLE for you to get the Eagle Rank. You will have aged out of the program as you will have turned 18 in the next minimum of 12 months in rank.

This being said, observe your shortcomings in planning (if Eagle was something you wanted) and divert your focus to leadership in something else. Could you rank up significantly in CAP in the next 6th months? I would work on this instead since I hope it is possible to achieve a position that would look good on your application. Yes, a First Class scout can often do much as a Patrol Leader etc. but if you don't see yourself as Senior Patrol Leader in the next few months I would back off of scouting and focus on CAP or another club that could produce better leadership opportunities this late in your high school career.

Are you Chess Club "President" since you founded it?

Best

You are correct on the timelines, but they also might not be 17 yet. My DS is a junior on only turned 17 2 weeks ago. Assuming they are already 17 and Eagle is in fact not possible, I don't know if I would recommend a pivot to CAP straightaway. Not saying that CAP is bad, but Staff Sergeant is relatively low on the rank structure for them, and I believe only signifies completion of their 1st phase. So unless he can really get moving up the ladder with his unit, I would recommend advancing as far as he can go with scouts rank wise and leverage NYLT, OA, high adventure and leadership opps within the troop.

 

[Stealth_81]

Normally I would not comment on chances threads, especially on the Navy side. However, the Badger Boys State struck me. The Boys State will be huge since you will miss out on Eagle. Make sure you work hard there and be as involved at possible.

I will also say, since you appear to be from Wisconsin, your stats are fairly decent for competitiveness. I’m not sure where in the state you are, and you don’t have to say. I will just say that except for the North and West Milwaukee suburbs or the Fox Valley area, your stats are exceptional and you should have a very decent chance. Even in those areas you will be competitive.

Stealth_81

 

[ThomasJ]

Normally I would not comment on chances threads, especially on the Navy side. However, the Badger Boys State struck me. The Boys State will be huge since you will miss out on Eagle. Make sure you work hard there and be as involved at possible.

I will also say, since you appear to be from Wisconsin, your stats are fairly decent for competitiveness. I’m not sure where in the state you are, and you don’t have to say. I will just say that except for the North and West Milwaukee suburbs or the Fox Valley area, your stats are exceptional and you should have a very decent chance. Even in those areas you will be competitive.

Stealth_81

I'm in WI too, and you seem to know a good bit about WI applications. Would you mind a PM asking how I stack up for my region, or at least how competitive my region is...?

 

[anom]

I'm in WI too, and you seem to know a good bit about WI applications. Would you mind a PM asking how I stack up for my region, or at least how competitive my region is...?

I'm sure you got some good information from Stealth_81, but for other people who inevitably look at this thread, your chances are different every application cycle. One year you could be the best on the slate, the second year you could be the worst. It all depends on the year. It also depends on the class portrait from the SA. Perhaps they got a demographic (do not mean race) they wanted, and they want to diversify the class, and perhaps take someone you would deem "less competitive" in your eyes. You will find people with 1600s, 4.0 GPAs, etc. and you will find 1200s, 3.2s, etc.

 

[StPaulDad]

Leadership isn't always titles. See if you can find roles within the organizations you're already in where you can make a difference, where you can tell a story of lasting change that you've wrought. Being the busy hands and strong back of a group can often be as effective as being the head. The academies are not counting volunteer hours, but your job running events for the thrift store could be made into a compelling story. But if you assemble a set of documentation and an outline of responsibilities you might be able to convince them to create an ongoing volunteer coordinator role for onboarding and training new folks. There would be kids coming along each year that would be happy to fill it once you've graduated. Be creative and don't be shy about manufacturing opportunities. Making a difference is not a passive process.